The New Hip Hop War: Headphones
Hip hop has always had its rivalries and wars dating back to even before the whole East Coast/West Coast thing. Today, the biggest battle is in the marketplace. Who’s got the best headphones?
Dr. Dre started it with his line of Beats ‘phones, the most ubiquitous iPod accessory since the original white ear buds. And Dre has done well; earlier this year, he and partner Jimmy Iovine (the Interscope Records boss) sold a share of the company for $350 million. No wonder everyone else wants in on the action.
It’s helpful we make a couple of distinctions. On one side, we have the producers, hip hop guys that know their way around a studio. That would include Dre, Diddy and RZA of Wu Tang Clan. He recently spoke to Billboard about how natural it is for producers–guys who love sound–to move into the world of audio products. Headphones are a natural place to start.
On the other side of the divide are artists who endorse headphones without actually getting involved in the physical design of the product. They may have input on the cosmetics, but don’t have anything to do with the actual electronics. This group includes Ludacris and 50 cent.
This is shaping up to be an interesting cold war. As RZA says, “I don’t like to compete against my own crew, meaning, Hip Hop…But you do want to sell the most records, have the biggest song and win the Grammy.” Headphones are all part of the game. This should get very interesting.
