My response to the removal of the Gang label

So I was asked recently to post a blog regarding the FBI labeling us a gang.  Back in November of 2011 I did respond to the release of the list, http://juggalosupport.blogspot.com/2011/11/fbi-and-juggalos.html.  After reading the recent post by Dmize I feel as though I need to write and expansion to the first blog.

Dmize posted the following: https://www.facebook.com/dmize505/posts/508326315862145?notif_t=like

The who, what, where, and when are all self explanatory.  Then we come to the why.  This is where I feel the need to add onto this post.  He say “what makes a juggalo "gang affiliated"... there is that small bunch of apples that give us that bad name, but the question on everybodys mind is, why include the whole subculture???”  I agree completely that a few bad apples has spoiled an otherwise peaceful group of people.  He goes on further to state “when these bad apples go out, and commit their crimes, they scream and claim "juggalo" just as a west sider or latin king would represent his set while committing a crime. so as you can see. many bad apples scream juggalo while committing crimes... that got the entire "juggalo family" added to the list. now... do the math.. from one city. to other cities. to state. to nation.....
Juggalo will not be removed from that until it is able to be proven were not all sociopathic assholes that cause shit for people.”  This is where my opinion differs.  Just because someone commits a crime and claims a certain group of people does not give the government or anyone the right to classify that group of people as a gang.  Throughout history crimes have been committed in the name of things.  During the Crusades terrible things were done in the name of God, yet no religions are on the gang list.  Radical Islam commits crimes and horrific acts in the name of Allah, yet they are not on the gang list.  The Arian Brotherhood, Satanists groups, KKK, Black Panthers, etc all commit crimes while claiming their affiliations but yet none of them made the list.  These group actively advocate violence and disorder in our cities and towns.  When it comes to Juggalos, we are a group of people with a common interest in music.  For the most part we do not commit violent crimes similar to MS 13 or the Latin Kings yet we are being mentioned in the same breath with them because of a few “bad apples.”

He ends the post by asking “HOW DO WE FIX THE PROBLEM!???!!?”

To me the answer is simple.  If you are a true Juggalo/Juggalette and the idea that you are included on the gang list pisses you off, stop doing and committing crimes!   And if you do get caught or arrested for something remember it is not cool or fashionable to scream Juggalo at the top of your lungs to cover up your bad decisions.  If you fall into the category I am in being an old school Juggalo or Lette, act right and show the new generations what the movement is all about.  Don’t tag “Fuck the FBI” “Wicked Clowns” or “Juggalo” on things, tagging is a crime.  Don’t sell drugs, use drugs, or give the authorities any reason to arrest you.  That is why so many of us have a bad name.  Am I saying don’t do those things because I oppose them, no I do not.  But if you are driving in your car with ounces of weed and paraphernalia don’t be mad at the cops when you get searched and arrested!  It is not the cops fault you made a bad choice.  They have a job to do as well.  With the exception of a few “mall cops” I have had police pose questions about my hatchet jerseys.  My answer is always the same “It represents a record label out of Detroit” I have not been arrested or labeled a gang banger because of my music or clothes I choose to wear.  If you respect the authorities they will respect you back.

We will never be removed from the gang list if we continue to perpetuate the image the rest of the world wants to see.  As we approach the holidays I suggest Juggalos and Juggalettes everywhere contact local charities and see if you can volunteer to help.  When you go to help wear a jersey or charm.  Don’t hide the fact you are a juggalo!  Once we start to get positive publicity things will change.  Psychopathic records has for the past few years done these things.  From the toy drive to the free performance at the shelter they are setting the example.  Follow their example and things will change.

MMFWFL,

Juggalotus

Perception vs Reality

  It has been a little while since I had a serious topic to discuss, but today we get back to voicing opinions about topics to help up and coming artists.  I have found as I grow into my position as a manager I am finding very different types of rappers/artists.  The first group is the group who have never lost sight of where they stand in the business.  They constantly hustle, constantly strive to improve themselves, never forget what they went through to get to where they are in the business, and always try to remember that there are other people who may not be as far along that might need help.  They are aware they may be a medium fish in a small pond and are not afraid of giving a little to smaller fish to help them grow.  Then we have the second group.  This group hustle when it benefits only them, have a view that they are more important than they are, think the world owes them something because they may be starting to make waves, and are consistently regarded as a pain to work with or and asshole. 

Group one has a lot of characteristics that I find desirable.  My first experience with this group was when I was booking and promoting the T.O.N.E-Z show in April of this year.  I had 6 openers and 2 headliners.  Most of the headliners fall into group one.  They were hustling tickets til the day of the show.  Even the day of the show they were at the mall or out trying to get more fans out to the show.  Most of them knew the bigger the crowd the better the show.  After the show two of the openers hit me up for management services because they knew a good manager can make your career move further.  Yes a manager does charge fees and very rarely puts and monetary funds into the acts themselves, the manager puts time and effort into making collabs happen, making merch discounts happen, finding shows for the artist to perform at and spending their own time and energy to get your name known outside of your town or city.  Because of the time and effort involved in making all these things happen the manager normally takes a monthly fee and gets a percentage of all merch sold, appearance fees, etc.  The first group also realized that as they get more popular they might be asked to collab with newer artists.  This can be a positive and negative for all parties involved.  The positives are that the new artist is getting a known artist on a track that may or may not make them famous, but the money involved can be quite high.  The known artist takes the most risk.  If they are not selective and just do all the collabs that come along because someone is paying them they risk overexposure and weakening their standing by having their name on sub-par tracks.  Artists in the first group are willing to take some risks to help further their career or other artists careers.  For newer artists (1-4 years in the business and a few mixtapes or debut album for sale) who are beginning to get asked to collab on tracks my advice would be to do the collabs for free or a max of like $50 for a verse or hook.  Doing this will get your name more known, get you some money for it, and allow newer artists to help both of your careers.  For more established artists (4-6 years in the business and at least a few CD's being sold on the market) I would say no more than $200 for a verse and $100 for collabs.  Of course artists can make their own choices but should definitely consult your manager for their advice.  The artists in this group will also rely on their manager for business decisions.  If they want to collab with more known artists they should tell their manager and let him/her work out the details.  If you want a music video made tell your manager and let them work out the details.  By doing this you will allow yourself less stress and more time to worry about what is the most important, writing lyrics, creating beats, and recording your next hot track.  A good manager/artist relationship is one where the artist focuses on music and the manager handles the business side of the house.  For all these reasons the first group gets my respect and continued support.

Group two is the group I will only work with until they prove they belong in group two.  Artists/promoters/bookers/etc all have similar characteristics. Here is the list to watch out for:

-  Egotistical, they have an inflated sense of self.  This means they may have no cd's on the shelf, no exposure outside of a small geographic area, and limited stage or recording experience but still want to charge $200 for a verse or hook because they "deserve it"

-  Not trustworthy, They think everyone else in the business is fake or not real.  They constantly talk negative about people and have no loyalty to anyone but themselves. If someone can't get them money or fame they will do everything in their power to make that person fail.

-  Two Faced, they will say all the right things to your face to make sure you think they are your friend but as soon as you are not around they bad mouth you.

- Self promoting, refusing to work with anyone they feel "isn't in their league" or is "below them"  May have a very limited following but feel the need to price their merch or collabs way to high because they feel it is owed to them.

Now don't get me wrong I feel most artists need a little ego to make sure they produce great music, but too much ego is a bad thing!  Self promotion is also a good thing as long as you don't lose your head.  People in group two will want to be pampered and waited on hand and foot.  They want other people to tell them how great they are and kiss up to them.  They don't think a manager deserves anything if they haven't put money into the artist.  They feel like no other artist is anywhere near their skill level so they will not work or do shows with most of them.  To them the rap world owes them something even if they have done nothing to earn it.  If you are an artist and after working with most people they don't want to work with you again, you might want to rethink what you are doing.  If you gained a fan base that is so faithful they will buy anything you are selling, don't take advantage of them at every turn to make a buck.

I know I am relatively new to the business but I know who I will and will not work with ever again.  My past blog posts have exposed some people from both groups.  I didn't do it to start beef or make anyone fail in the business.  I did it to make other managers/promoters/bookers aware of the people I have come across that they might wanna look out for.  There is a huge movement right now in the underground rap scene that people are taking notice of.  This movement is made up of people like me with similar feelings on how things should be done.  So if you think I am alone in this I can guarantee you I am not.  Things are changing for the better.

That is all I have right now.  If you have any input please feel free to comment!

MMWFL,

Juggalotus

Huge news!

  This week has been awesome for me and all of my performers.  First off I found out I am getting a new job in Tucson, AZ.  What does this mean for my music ventures?  It simply means that Wicked Butterfly Entertainment is expanding our wings to cover Arizona now too!  So for those AZ Juggalos and Underground artists be ready cause we are coming out there and taking over!!  Second, Black Project will finally be exposed to the world in the form of their debut album, Highly Classified, on 4/20/2013.  This album will be fifteen tracks and contain five tracks with exclusive features.  I can say we will have a collab with none other than that underground hustla Mars.  I confirmed this week we will also have a song featuring a guy who is blowing up thanks to a little EP you might have heard of, Underground Avengers, Bukshot will make an appearance!  There are 3 other artists we are in negotiations with at the moment and until I have confirmation I have to keep those Highly Classified.

  Wicked Butterfly Entertainment is proud to be a few of the featured acts at this years Slaughterfest in Albuquerque, NM on Sept 28 and 29.  Thanks to Bloodshot for making that happen.  I can promise you we are bringing that straight West Texas fire.  I really don't think you all are ready for the flavor we are bringing.  Draztik the Terrible will be representing on day one.  Black Project and Sikone will be holding it down on Day two!  So come check it out if you are in the area, I promise you will not be disappointed.

  Sikone will have his debut album sometime in the near future.  The album will be called Powerfull.  As of right now it is unknown exactly what will come out of the reborn Sikone but I can say he is always unpredictable and never disappoints.

  Draztik the Terrible is slated to release Between Heaven and Hell on Dec 21, 2012.  As of today I cannot say what or who will be on the album but I can say he has been putting in work.  He has been writing, recording, remixing, and doing all he can to make this one of this years hottest releases.

  We have so much flavor coming to your earholes the next 12 months it is unbelievable!  So be on the lookout for all updates here on the blog and on my Twitter and Facebook.

MMFWFL,

  Juggalotus