Why the hell would someone tell graphic designers not to work with rappers?! Where does someone come off saying that?? There is probably nothing more influential and commanding in pop culture than hip hop, so we have to ask why shouldn’t a graphic designer get in the music industry and get this money. If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past few decades, you know that rap music dominates and it’s one of the most famous genres of music in the industry. Rappers and their music are not just popular for the commanding lyrics that flow from their raps, but because of the success stories restricted to their vocals and style of rap. There is something else that adds much more quality to their fame: something that most people overlook when discussing the success or failure of rappers. That thing is called (*drum roll please*) “Graphic Design”.

You heard that right!

Graphic design is at the forefront of the music industry, particularly for hip hop. Graphic designers’ and their creativity helps in promoting tours, selling albums and spreading the word across the internet. From the font that is used on Kanye West’s latest clothing line to Rihanna’s album front cover, there is always a graphic design hand behind some of the greatest stars in the world of hip hop.

For instance, Virgil Abloh, the Chicago based graphic designer is regarded as the most famous name in the graphic design — music industry. As a long time Kanye West consultant, Abloh was responsible for designing the front cover of West albums, “Watch the Throne” and “Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” He has also worked with famous hip hop artists like Nicki Minaj and Pusha T, among others.

Other graphic designers like Vlad Sepetov, Cali Thornhill Dewitt, and Roy Nachum has also contributed a great deal to promoting rappers and their brand.

From all indications, it is clear that rappers need graphic designers to promote their work and shine, even better, while graphic designers need hip hop artists to continue bringing in the dollars.

Rappers need to write the music, produce the music and engineer the music to sound professional. Then package it, distribute it, promote it, and talk about it during shows and interviews and perform the music during live presentations. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it?

But with a graphic designer handling this perspective for them, rappers can be far more effective.

But… as with everything, there are also reasons why graphic designers should stop working with rappers. In fact, by the time we are through discussing some of these reasons, you might want to have a second thought about rappers and their mental disposition towards financial stability.

3 Reasons Why Graphic Designers Shouldn’t Work With Rappers

1. Cheap — Never Wanting To Invest

This is perhaps, the biggest problem with a lot of rappers. We all know how rap culture has always been obsessed with the spoils of victory. From private planes to riding Ferraris and Maybachs, shiny chains, and the material goods are the dreams that are featured in many of the lyrics in rap music. But what happens when the material prizes — the cars, the clothes and the money disappear or didn’t even show up at all? One thing is responsible: the lack of investment.

It is sad and pathetic to note that some rappers don’t even have a budget. Even if they do, they don’t or are not willing to invest it. Why should a graphic designer waste precious time with a less ambitious rapper who prefer to be cheap — some record labels would never give the time of day unless they see some self-sufficiency. A good number of what we call rappers today can’t even book their own studio time, buy beats, do shows and promote themselves offline. With that, you’ve got a “wack rapper” who wants to get rich quick but can’t invest to market himself. Those are the kind of rappers who, after bringing in some bread, end up filing for bankruptcy. Because he is the kind of rapper who prefers spending more time on chasing pussy and drinking and smoking whatever the trendy substance of the hour is than investing in his proficiency to climb up the ladder. He somehow has the money (and time to wait in long lines) to purchase every new pair of Jordan’s, Yeezy’s, etc. but are broke when it comes to investing in their craft. So whatever he does is seen as cheap, and is treated as such by people.

Any serious and reputation minded graphic designer that associate with such a rapper would only end up fucking up his/her brand reputation. And you know what that means to prospective future businesses.

Best thing; avoid them.

2. Lack Of Professionalism

A rapper lacking professionalism can come from many sources. I believe one of the reasons can be that they might be uneducated. Either they’re uneducated and/or they simply think ignorance and stupidity is cool. To me, that’s the height of unprofessionalism. Mumble rap and the idea of “dumbing down” is permeated all throughout the hip hop culture of today. What impressionable kids and gullible grown-ups see as “cool” and “trendy” in some of today’s rappers is really infantile, corny and extremely lame to people who have any sense. Not only are the bullshit ass lyrics coming out of these rappers’ mouths unintelligible but so is their regular, everyday conversation and socializing. They talk like they have a pile of shit in their mouth and don’t know how to approach inquiring about services in a professional manner. On top of that, they have a sense of entitlement because they think that they’re talented and that they’re entitled to have anyone work for them for their really small budget because they say so. And those are just a few viable reasons why any reputable minded graphic designer shouldn’t work with a rapper.

But that is not all. Ineptitude is another disease that afflicts most modern rappers. It is a mockery of rap when I see some rappers spilling the same shit over and over again from one album to another, or from one track to another. Rapping is serious business, and you can only succeed not just as an artist, but also as one that knows how to make things happen. Creativity and management is the bedrock of any successful rap career. A rapper needs to have the requisite skills, business-mind, and the ability to be financially sound. Why work with a rapper who can’t read numbers, who doesn’t know where to invest his money nor understand the principles of Return on Investment (ROI)? Majority of the rappers we have today (and some in time past) are the definition of clumsiness when it comes to monetizing and managing their craft. If you think this is a joke or just an exaggeration, ask the rappers who never made it and are washed up and broke as fuck right now.

As a designer, you don’t want to do business with these types of people.

3. Not Serious Enough

Typically, rap music is the Gospel of the street. The rappers are the ministers, the anointing is the streets, and the congregation is the people who buy the music because they share in the pain in the street.

So, when legendary rappers like 2Pac and Biggie Smalls hit the studio, they shook the global music wavelength, because their music was REAL and their story was real, and it didn’t take them long to start reaping in the reward. Why? Because they didn’t see rap as a hobby but exploited it as a channel of expressing the sorrowful, “fucked up” and the unfulfilled life they lived every day in the street — the ghetto. And even when the majority of them are gone now, their story keeps ringing in the minds of people, not just in the US, but also across the world.

But alas, what do we have today? A bunch of overcooked, microwaveably (I made up a word) hot garbage rappers who can’t even put meaningful rhymes together, not to mention managing their brand. It is amazing to see rappers displaying a total disregard for the people around them — the same people they claim to represent. Some even view their fans as some kind of underlings who ought to bow down and worship their lame asses. These are the types of rappers that would ignore your Twitter, Facebook and Instagram comments because all they ever do is approach rap as a hobby, not as a career. These are the type of rappers that will easily fade into the sunset when things aren’t happening according to their expectations. They lack perseverance and the tenacity to keep moving when the chips are down.

As a graphic designer, you can’t afford to do business with such a class of people because, when the house comes crumbling down, your reputation might follow. Who knows; you just might be caught in the middle. As contradictory as this may sound, working with rappers shouldn’t be something to totally stray away from as long as the rapper that approaches you is able to come correct when it comes to doing business.