All right--enough is enough--this shit is out of control! I've got something to say, and ya'll may not like it, but hey, if I get banned, I'll keep on living. Everything has a reason, and I'm sure JT's recycling does, too, so I'm going to give a possible explanation as to why, based on what I've read, heard and observed about the music industry and JT.
I'm not saying that the recycling is kosher, and I don't know JT personally, but I have a hunch that JT may not have the MANY millions of dollars which some may think he does. This is not a putdown towards JT or Get Low, it's just a guess, and it's based on what happens to underground rappers when they go to a major and don't do as well as they deserve.
First off: the stuff JT did that was distributed by Priority (1993-96 JT, GLP, San Quinn, etc.) didn't do as well as it could have in terms of national sales, and we all know that a major WILL drop you if they spend x-x-x amount of dollars (for studio time, videos, promotion, etc.) and you make below what they spent. This happened to other Bay rappers during the '90s (RBL with Atlantic, Digital Underground with Tommy Boy, etc.) JT probably didn't come out of Priority with much money (if any) to start with.
Furthermore, in a '99 issue of MURDER DOG, JT said that his home studio was robbed and trashed in '98 to where he had virtually nothing left except for some masters. He said that he and Mac Mall would make tiny amounts of dough at a time during '98/'99 doing features and guest appearances to pay for the BEWARE OF THOSE movie and soundtrack, and (I would guess) the Get Low releases of 2000 (i.e. FAMILY BUSINESS, GHETTO PLATINUM, SOMETHING CRUCIAL, which appear to have been recorded in '99). "So what, Sav-Man?" you ask. Well...
My point is, JT was presumably so strapped for cash that he probably couldn't just make the BOT movie all in one shot, so to speak. And again, since his own studio had been essentially destroyed, and he only had small amounts of cash to work with at a time, wouldn't it follow that he might not have been able to AFFORD to have all new JT/Gamblaz/Get Low Player songs on the BOT soundtrack (thus, the recycled tracks from Spice 1, RBL, E-40, Brotha Lynch, etc.) and the Get Low albums that followed? Since he wouldn't have had his own studio anymore (where he could record anytime he wanted), it stands to reason that JT would have had to use outside studios, which is not cheap! And remember that in '99, JT NO LONGER HAD (or has) PRIORITY OR A MAJOR BACKING HIM UP with extra dough to PAY for the studio time, the way they would for a major star like Dre, Snoop, Cube or Eminem (Bayside's done a pretty good job, but as B-12 pointed out in MURDER DOG, it ain't easy to get someone in every music store these days). I'm not JT, and neither are any of us, so we don't know.
As for the compilations and "colllaborations"--think about this: The market is so overflooded with underground artists in the BAY AREA ALONE (from what I've observed and read) that you almost can't count ONLY on local Bay sales anymore to just eat and live, as JT might have done in '93/'95, when there wouldn't have been as much competition (and again, when Priority would have been backing him up with the $$$ needed). Therefore, while it may not be 100% honest, it's not difficult (to me, anyway) to guess WHY JT would have to make CDs with names like Daz, Young Noble, Juvenile, Nas, etc. on the covers. While those artists may not have appeal to some Bay Area fans, their NAMES are nationally known and sell well to Rap fans elsewhere (i.e., the southern states, NYC, wherever), including some who normally wouldn't buy a CD with JT's name on it alone. I admit that it might not be the most HONEST thing in the world to put someone on the cover and only feature that person on three or four songs, but again, JT may be in a situation where he might ONLY BE WORKING WITH SO MUCH CASH AT A TIME for each album, so he may not have enough bread to make all new songs each time out. And the asking prices that these guest artists like Daz, etc., would have might be expensive as well. I'm not JT, and neither are any of us, so we don't know.
Finally, think about this: JT's type of music (street Rap with consciousness) is a genre that MAJOR labels don't really support as much as they did during the '92 to about '98 or so period. Since JT and the Get Low Artists aren't doing JUST anything to sell (such as making records with Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey, R. Kelly, Christina Aguilera singing on the hooks, etc.), they can't really count on guarantees that the majors will sign them up, nor can they count on guarantees that the MTVs or BETs will play any videos they might make (unless JT and company watered them down in some way). The way the market is now, you can't count on a good song like Spice's "Welcome To The Ghetto" or Cube's "It Was A Good Day" to get played--not enough dancing and jiggling. Thus, another possible explanation into JT's doing what he has to do to sell.
Again, I don't know JT or anyone associated with Get Low personally, but I do believe that we all have to be reasonable and consider the state of things in the music industry and possible events in JT's life and his personal financial situation (whatever it is) before we point fingers at JT or anyone else. As B-12 has pointed out in interviews, this is a business, people. A goddamned business, and sadly, the business side tends to overwhelm the music side at times. Perhaps if JT can accumulate and save enough money overtime (AND get Universal to back him up), he can eventually make CDs with all new material again (it'll be interesting to see what happens at Universal). But to all complaining about JT "ripping you off", etc. JT didn't put a gun to your head and FORCE you to buy his stuff. It's your choice.
Okay. That's It. The End. PEACE!