Ghostface

Ghostface Killa, legendary MC of the Wu-Tang Clan, has recently commented on the disappointing sales of his latest album; The Big Doe Rehab. He feels that this slump was the result of illegal downloading, and was commented as saying;

"I got 115,000 friends on MySpace and I get 30,000 (copies sold) in the first week -- that's not good. I know a lot of y'all got (the album) but you downloaded it."

Now, I'm sure you all know how I feel about piracy, so I'm not gonna retread old ground. Nor will I start ripping on Ghostface for his opinion, since I dig me some Wu. No, what interested me was the subtext behind his thinking.

You see, his type of music is designed to appeal to a certain demographic, the lower-income urbanites. His lyrics often refer to difficult times and hardships with living in a huge city and having limited finances. People getting shot, growing up poor, this is all common lyrical fodder for GFK. And while I'm sure that there are tons of people in various economic and social demographics who dig on the man's work (myself included,) the primary fan base for his type of work lies mainly with the inner-city African American. I think we can all agree on that right?
So, if an album designed to target this demographic slumped, and if the result was indeed high traffic illegal downloading, that can mean only one thing....

The inner city denizens have computers.

It means that even in a lower economic environment like the ghetto, people possess a computer of some sort, and have a basic understanding of how to use the thing. At the very least, it means they can install and operate software, manage folders, and transfer files without too many problems. Even if they're using a device as user-friendly as an iPod, there's still a bit of technical know-how to get the songs onto the thing. The ghetto is computer literate.

And personally, I think that's fabulous. It says to me that the bar has truly been leveled and that access to information and technology is finally within everyone's grasp. And many might jump on stereotypes and say that all these people do is steal music, check Myspace, and watch porn. Whilst I doubt that, even if it was true it doesn't mater because the resources are still within arms reach. It means that the days of learning to do word-processing on outdated Apple II's because the school couldn't afford anything better are disappearing behind us. And damnit that's a good thing. I first popped my cherry on one of those things, and didn't develop a single idea of what a computer was capable of. Now, it's like the lights have been turned on, and I can actually use one of these things to accomplish goals instead of just browsing smut. And yes, I consider making half-assed music and pissy blogs a goal, thank you very much.

So Ghostface. Mr. Killa, I know that you must be a little discouraged by making only 30,000 sales in the first week of the album's debut (damn, what I could do if I got 30,000 sales period!) And I know it worries you that your popularity might be waining. But consider the good that is occurring for your listeners. Today they might be downloading music. Tomorrow, they might pursue graphic arts, they might become web developers, or computer admins. Hell, they might just make a Wu-influenced album on a freeware music recording app, and it could all be because of you.