Who You Gotta Call? Ghostwriters!
Writing in Hip-Hop is back at the forefront of the Community this week when an exposé by the Shade Room tried to make a point that Cardi B's new song, "Be Careful", was actually written or supposedly stolen from a rapper named Pardison Fontaine. After having done some research on The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, I was quick to find out that the rapper is credited on this track under his legal name, Jordan Thorpe, as well as on Cardi's smash hit "Bodak Yellow". Some have claimed ghostwriting while others have claimed companionship. Here's my take.
Ghostwriting is not acceptable to be considered an all-time great rapper because you must be able to write whatever you're putting in the studio. That being said, it's not a prerequisite to be considered a good rapper or even a good MC. For that, you need a mastery of flow or great stage presence. Cardi B has proven that she is arguably one of the best performers in this newest generation of rappers, bringing a realness and amount of power that hasn't been seen since the days of DMX (#FreeDMX).
Yet, all this is being said while no one knows the relationship between Cardi and Pardison Fontaine and the extent of the writing. To be considered ghostwriting, firstly, one must not be credited officially on the song. What we can surmise from the video that has been going around reddit for the past week is that he either knew of the song part that he was singing because he co-wrote it or that he wrote the entire thing himself. That central part is very important.
If someone writes the entire verse and then proceeds to give it to someone else, in the manner of a Jay-Z giving an entire verse to Dr Dre, I call that flagrant ghostwriting. What I would call collaborating would be something in the manner of a Kanye West, which would consist of putting a series of people together to get their opinions on lines. These people aren't exactly all writers as explains Noah Callahan-Bever when he went with Kanye in the making of the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album in Hawaii. That's acceptable to me, as he's already written the lines and then proceeds to ask people from different walks of life (rappers, producers, fashion designers, preachers, etc.) advice. It's the overall same concept with Drake, but instead of having a multitude of people from an equally as large pool of people, Drizzy's inner circle is small, with only trusted artists that can enter and be asked for advice on a specific line.
The problem in this entire situation is that we do not know the entire thing. Hip-Hop is based on concepts of authenticity and it has as a pillar of the game since the very beginning. My belief is that the growing industrialization of the Culture has led to rappers and MC's resorting to methods such as ghostwriting and collaborating to meet the demands of a growing market. If Cardi B has resorted to these methods and went full on ghostwriter mode, then props to her but she cannot be number one in the game, nevertheless an all-time great. If she's collaborating with other people, than it's a case-by-case that needs to be studied before a final judgement can be given.