So what is “Tha Absolute Truth” behind Big Tuck’s disappointing sales?

by Erin Rice

It's getting more and more difficult to ignore. Worse yet, it's probably getting too easy to ignore. It's been a little hush hush lately, but dammit, what the hell is up with Big Tuck's record sales?

Back in December there was a flurry of excitement as local fans anticipated the release of Tha Absolute Truth. There was talk of the record putting Dallas on the national rap and hip-hop map, following in Houston's footsteps. As many have seen over the last month, the predictions and hopes fell miserably short.

So what are the reasons? Over at bigDlittleD.com, Sam at first admits that Tha Absolute Truth follows the same old formula of "crunk-influenced beats and thoughtless, shouty delivery," which makes many songs in this genre radio-friendly. He goes on to surmise that this very lack of originality is partially to blame for what has held the record back.

When Boogieman and Milad Nazeri of DFWHipHop.com were asked in our interview for their thoughts on Tuck's disappointing numbers, they cautioned not to jump to judging sales so quickly; that some records take time to build. But is it possible to give a record that much time in an industry that inherently judges first weekend sales as the preeminent indication of a record's worth? An industry that for a large part appears to value the almighty dollar over much else?

And where the hell is Universal in all this? Where is the promotion? No matter what your thoughts may be about this local music publication over that one or the other, when a new record with this much hype behind it is released it should be sent to every media outlet available that will feign interest. I can safely say we didn't get our copy. And, as Dd pointed out, "an album release in mid-December is a promotional kiss of death, overshadowed by the biggest Christmas-ready releases of months prior and ignored by the label once '07 rolls around." It's almost as though Universal gave up on the record before it hit the shelves... and stayed there.

So whatever one's take on the reasons and excuses why, at the moment, tha real absolute truth is that Tuck's release has been a bit of a disappointment for Dallas. Hopefully the same fate will not befall P.P.T. as they are on the verge of the Tres Monos in Love national release on January 30. Even with an independently produced and released record, my bet is that they still sell more. Better luck to P.P.T. Oh God, please, better luck to them!