Success Vs EGO

   So I have been thinking about the local rap scene here in New Mexico and West Texas.  Here is what I think:

   I have met a lot of local rappers recently, some good at what they do, and some horrible.  The one thing I have noticed though is that every rapper or group is walking around thinking they are the absolute best thing going, when really they are a small fish in a huge pond.  Maybe it is the lack of spine these rappers’ so-called “friends” or girlfriends have.  No matter what, those close to him never want to tell the guy he really isn’t that good or “it’s good but I think if you did this, it might sound better.”  Then there is the fact that every local rap group around here has their own “record label,” even though a majority of them mix tracks in their basements or garages.  Now I am not saying that aspiring to own your own tracks and put out your own stuff is a bad thing, but if your back room is where you have recorded for the past eight years and all you do is release free mix-tapes, then you should probably reconsider what you are doing.  You’re not getting anywhere!  And a majority of the major names in the underground will not work with you if you do not have professional studio time and tracks put in; they want to work with professionals, that’s just the way it is.

Another problem I see is that most artists want to manage themselves.  That’s not always bad because it can save you money in the beginning, but if you ever want to get further in your career, you have to focus on making tracks, not on when and where your next show is going to be or how you are going to set up a good collab.  I don’t understand how any good artist can lay down tracks plus find and book shows, set up good contacts/rapport with other artists, keep track of finances, promote their music, etc., all at the same time!  There is absolutely no reason, if you are serious about making it in this business, that you should not have a manager who knows about the business side of your music career.  He or she should have your back with everything except your actual job: writing and performing the music!  It’s sad to see so many aspiring artists out there, trying to do it all and succeeding at nothing.

Of course, there are a ton of crappy promoters and bookers out here as well.  In a previous post, I have talked about the Pay-to-Play mentality that seems to be so prevalent in my part of the country, the southwest.  Let me say once again that NO ARTIST SHOULD HAVE TO PAY TO OPEN A LOCAL SHOW! Sure, an exception would be a major act (I’m talking someone like Snoop, Jay-Z, etc).  However, for an underground act, someone that isn’t big and famous nationwide, you should not be willing to pay for a slot on the show.  You are helping the booker/promoter fill their show!  If they want you to sell five or ten tickets to the show, okay cool.  But remember that most good promoters will give you a cut of your personal ticket sales; that way you are getting paid to perform instead of paying the promoter’s bills.  Also, be careful of all the promoters/bookers down here that book a lot of shows and then end up canceling almost all of them.  You need to surround yourself with people you can trust, meaning people who want to help you succeed.  If you perform with the same six acts every other week and there are no new faces in the crowd, you need to rethink working with those promoters/bookers, because you are not succeeding.  Those people should be booking you with other acts that attract new people to the show.  Because some things I do know as a booker/promoter: if the audience never grows, you are soon out of business; if you screw over bigger labels in your genre, you will not get bigger acts coming in; and if you do not get and maintain contacts, you shouldn’t be in the business, because it’s who you know, not just how hard you work. 

You guys might be asking why I am going off a bit; well, the past week has opened my eyes from a manager, booker, promoter, and business standpoint.  There are so many people in this business who have no idea what they are doing.  Now I am no expert, but I do have a good head for business and how things should be done.  I have maintained positive contacts and expanded my business 10 times over, just this year.  And I just started doing this full time in January.

As a manager, I take pride in making sure my artists make great tracks.  Sometimes I have to tell them the track sucks and they need to rework it.  They understand that I am not doing it to kill their studio budget; I am doing it because if they make great music and become a huge star, I am going to get paid.  As much as they want to make it in the business, I want them to succeed.  If I put time and effort into a project and it fails, I am not going to get any money and ultimately I want to make this business my career!  I also believe in honesty.  Most people don’t believe you can be honest and succeed in this business.  I disagree.  The only thing that can make you successful is being honest.  If you are not, then most people will work with you only once or twice before they get tired of getting screwed over.  Also, if you never hear any negative, you will have an inflated idea of your own worth and abilities.  Someone should be in your crew that keeps you grounded.

    For all of you artists, please please please understand that, unless you are selling out arenas, you still have to be on the grind!  Just because you are headlining in one city does not mean you are known at all in cities within driving distance of you!!  If you have only performed one or two shows, you are not ready for stage theatrics and world tours.  Respect and notoriety in this business are earned; nothing is ever given to you.  Yes, I realize you pack 80-100 people at your shows in your city; most of them are your homies and friends, and once you get 100 miles from home, you are still unknown.  Like I said earlier, if you have the same faces in the crowd, you are doing it wrong.  Don’t let local success give you a nationwide ego.

 

  Now don't get me wrong I have met some great people down here who are doing all the right things.  Those are the people I would love to work with in the future, you know who you are ;)  If anything in this post offended you then you would be the ones I don't want to work with.  It's all underground family love! 

That’s it!  I am done.

MMFWCL,

Juggalotus