Frank Micelotta/Getty Images
The 13-time Billboard Music Award winner is gearing up for the June 3rd release of his fifth studio album called Animal Ambition. He’s done it all. In just 12 years, Fitty has topped the charts in the US and UK, won over 80 awards, been nominated for awards at least 130 times, topped ‘best of’ lists, including the 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time with his 2003 release “In da club”, and gotten fans from all over the world to love his smooth delivery.
Source: ZayZay.com
Fitty undeniably brings it every single time.
But he says everything he did on his first album could have been considered selling out by hardcore rap purists. And guess what? He’s fine with that. He told New York’s Daily News that he is ok with making commercial music. He understands that sometimes what is popular in the underground, mixtape, “hustle to make it” scene isn’t what people want to hear booming in their car.
Fitty also touched upon the very real fact that music sells more than just a CD. It can be used on commercials to sell products, can be used in teasers to sell movies, or in stores to sell audio equipment. Commercial doesn’t have to mean weak. It just has to mean clean, in a relative sense.
The message: if its longevity that you want as an artist, moving with the times is a must.
Commercial success has a way of following Fitty. It definitely did with his collaboration with Justin Timberlake in 2007. “Ayo Technology”, a song about a guy who is in love with a stripper (sound familiar?), debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #22 and then rose to #5 a week later, when Fitty’s album Curtis came out. He said that working with Justin was like an easy flow – he hardly considered it work at all. The song took maybe 30 minutes to pin down because their connection was so on point. Maybe we’ll see them find the magic again… hint, hint…
