Moby vs. 50 Cent

I've got mixed feelings about Moby. While I occasionally like his music, I also get the feeling that he's kind of a B-list celebrity, who wants more than anything to really become an A-lister.

He played Salt Lake yesterday and while he was here he did an interview with NPR (listen to it here). The radio show is about how in addition to selling records, he has also opened a vegetarian tea shop called "Teany" and has a book called "Teany book."

I think a lot about music and business and such. I think it's amazing that a young rapper can get his first hit single and within minutes he has his own record label, line of clothing, sports drink and mini empire. Case in point, last week I was watched "Rip the Runway" on BET, and marveling at the fashion stylings of P. Diddy's Sean Jean line of clothing and 50 Cent's G Unit line.

Why is that when hip-hoppers expand out into other business ventures, it is completely cool and when white techno guys do it, it just seems like selling out? What makes it okay for 50 Cent to be all about money-making and still be credible as a musician?

While there are many different factors in this equation, I think the simple answer is this - there's two pictures above of two musicians who both have lots of money. What's the difference?One sells Formula 50 super water (advertising slogan: "Honeys bounce when you throw bad game. Try a dose of formula 50...and lose the pimp cup:) and one sells organic tea (sample tea flavor: "herbal tea calm"). Poor, poor Moby.