Journalist and culture critic Touré (pictured left with Kanye West) insists there is no such thing as an “industry plant.”
In a leaked clip from an unreleased documentary, Kanye called out rapper Cardi B as an industry plant: a mediocre rapper who rose to prominence overnight with major label backing.
In a long-winded op-ed for theGrio.com, Touré referred to the concept of “industry plant” as a “pop culture conspiracy” and “the silliest idea to bubble up out of the pop culture swamps for a while.”
Touré defined “industry plant” as a “slur” that describes artists who seem to blow up very quickly or don’t seem to have much talent.
“The slur kind of says people don’t actually like this artist and they don’t deserve their success,” he wrote.
“Just so we’re clear, there is no such thing as an industry plant. There’s no way for the industry to just pick someone and make them a star. I mean, what they do all the time is pick someone and make them a star but most recording labels are constantly pushing many artists on us all the time, and most of their attempts fail.”
Touré ignores the fact that “Payola” still exists in the music industry. Radio stations and media outlets happily promote mediocre artists like GloRilla and Sexyy Red to get access to bold name artists for interviews.
