R.eal A.nd P.ersonal
Bieber-Free Hip-Hop: I Can Dig It
By: Deshair Foskey
Last updated August 31st , 2010

Over the weekend, the remix for "Runaway Love" featuring Kanye West, Raekwon and Justin Bieber reached the internet after a few weeks of on and off promotion. Many of us hope that this teaming up was a joke, a rumor, or simply Kanye running off at the mouth again. I mean, really, history would tell us that oil and water doesn't mix. So who in their right mind believed that Justin and anybody over 18 mixed?

Taking brand sharing into account, everybody wins but Bieber. And this is why. Although Raekwon released a critically acclaimed album last year, his heyday was over 10 years ago when Wu-Tang loved the kids, and Justin was an infant, if that. Raekwon's fan base will not give Justin Bieber a listen beyond this track. As a matter of fact, they are wondering why Raekwon is doing a remix like this in the first place; plagiarizing his own lyrics along the way. As for Bieber's fan base, why would they listen to an emcee as old as their father, beyond this record? They have no clue of who Raekwon is or was because their older siblings didn't listen to him. But you will get a percentage of Bieber fans looking Raekwon up on iTunes: Raekwon wins, Bieber loses.

As for Kanye, Bieber's fans are familiar with him whether it's because of his music or stealing the microphone away from Taylor Swift. Kanye has the best chance of brand sharing with Justin. However, his verse in the song may have added to the sour taste he has built in many people's mouths since the '808's and Heartbreaks' debacle. Kanye lifted enough Wu-Tang references to trade them in for a Wu-Leather jacket. Kanye's fan base thinks of Bieber as a one boy, boy band. They won't run out and buy a Bieber album because of this remix. Justin's fan base will be interested in what Kanye West does after this remix: Kanye West wins, Bieber loses.

What does this say about Kanye West and Raekwon's decision to do this remix? The obvious would be that this remix was to their benefit. The Bieber Wagon is large enough for everyone to hop on; his fan base purchase everything from CD's to concert tickets to practically anything with Justin's face on it. Who wouldn't want to take a shot at grabbing a piece of that disposable income? Sadly, it doesn't look good on either of them. Hip-Hop is past the point of bridging gaps. No one needed this record. And just to think that I've written a column on why Kanye West still matters... this just wasn't it.

[Tags] Rap, POP, Hip Hop

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