GOOD GAME PT. 6 SEVEN WAYS TO WORK A FESTIVALAND GET SOME SHOWS

IM A RESIDENT OF AUSTIN TEXAS AND IF YOU ARE IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY YOU KNOW AUSTIN AS A LIVE MUSIC DESTINATION AND THE CITY OF THE WORLD FAMOUS SXSW FESTIVAL THAT ENGULFS MY FAIR CITY EVERY MARCH. IT IS VERY EASY TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THE HYPE AND THE FUN OF IT ALL BUT AS A ARTIST THIS IS THE TIME THAT YOU NEED TO "CLOCK IN FOR WORK" THERE ARE LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF CHANCES FOR YOU TO NETWORK AND FURTHER YOUR CAREER. HERE ARE 7 WAYS THAT YOU CAN MAXIMIZE YOUR EXPERIENCE AT ANY OF THE MAJOR FESTIVALS

Posted by Kosha Dillz ON AUDIBLEHYPE.COM

1. Fliers that are fly-er:

Be memorable and pass out a flyer that is awesome. If it does not look awesome at least make it look creative and memorable. Maybe you can’t afford to get flyers in advance, so at least go to Staples and buy your own fliers made from cardboard stock. You can get like 400 flyers for 30 bucks. There are thousands of people there, so make sure you save them for people you want to come to your show. If you want to give you fliers to chicks that listen to Mac Miller, they’ll probably look different than the chicks that listen to Psycho Realm. I’m just trying to be honest.

2. Shake Hands like a man, not a sham.

A good handshake goes longer than you think. I think there are about 20,000 people that are at a Guerilla Union event, and my goal is to always let them know that I am there in support of the festival. I support these festivals because they are the gateway to huge fan base of mine, and they are a homegrown effort just like my career is. Every ticket sale is earned genuinely from the work of real people. They are the banging on office keyboards and inviting things on Facebook just like we may be, except it has grown to more than a dozen kids in the office. What’s not to love about it. I am passing out my fliers and shaking hands with people that know me and selling a few cds as well. I am also thanking the volunteers and kicking it with the sound guys and shooting the shit with the security guards.

3. Did you rock yet?

This was the question Raekwon asked me.

I thought to myself “Damn, well Rza was gonna invite me out to do a verse but it didn’t happen. Last year it did, and did Peter Rosenberg invited me out too.”

“You in the mix. As long as you in the mix its all good. “- Raekwon

I thought to myself again…damn…I should listen to Rae. He knows about hustling, and I’m hustling to get to that next level.

Guys, you really can’t do anything else except that. I can’t stress enough that if you are at home, you are missing the single most important hip hop event of the year. You are fucking up. Sure you won’t be rocking the stage this year but you must be in attendance if you want to know what it is that you’ll be a part of. This is whether you make rap music, hip hop, trap music or whatever the fuck. Its a congregation of the biggest conglomerate of your potential fans. I bought my ticket to Paid Dues in 2011 because i knew I wanted to play the festival in 2012. I snuck into the festival because my intention was to rock that shit no matter what and I didn’t have money to get in.

As quoted by Raekwon this year, “Be you in the mix. As long as you in the mix its all good”

A lot of the rappers who know me haven’t ever seen me kill a show, but they see me so much they don’t even realize that. They’ll see me when the time is right. Until then I make sure I’m killing it.

A lot of other rappers I see that do the same are Verbs and Alpha…or Sav Killz and J Ronin and Poison Pen. People are always in the mix, but I haven’t got to see them perform either in who knows how long (or how little)

4, The most important Man is the Sound man

Still at any festival, or anywhere for that matter, the most important man is the Sound Man (Don’t tell the sound man that is paid thousands of dollars he is fucking up on stage. There would never be a sound guy who is fucking up on this level. Its the drunk n high artists that are, the DJs who don’t know how to plug shit up, and the requests of turning music down by headlining stage.) Mundy Sound (guerilla union sound for Paid Dues, RTB.Cypress HIll Smokeout) and I have linked over the past year and is genuinely a fan of mine.after SXSW (Supergoodmusic/ heard Ent. /Root Music HQ) and Paid Dues 2012. He was cool enough to take my iphone and play house sound and play my entire Gina and The Garage Sale album through out the day and before ICe Cube’s set with about 10,000 people in attendance. I also got to rock some songs of Homeboy Sandman’s album which was cool. So I didn’t get to play my own shit, but I got to play my songs over the most banging sound system, and I’m sure some people heard it.

Whether you are playing a show or not, say what up to the sound man. You will see him/her around eventually. I said hello to him and next thing you know my music was playing all day, for both days of Rock the bells. Now that’s Guerilla Marketing!!

5. Vendor booths are your friends

That’s right guys. Go kick it with the vendors. Seriously kick it with them. You are trying to sell yourself and they are trying to sell things too. The difference is they paid a lot more to be there. For that reason, I went over there and said what’s up and realize I know tons of people in the vendor village and they have heard my music. They decided to give me free clothing and send me tweets/Facebook likes. They all hopped on my e-mail list and they should. This is the way to rock it for them. They all paid bucks to be in this Vendor situation for the biggest festival of the year and they want to make the most out of their experience. If they are willing to invest so much in this opportunity, maybe they would want to invest in me.

6. Finesse the Press (and make sure you’re on the list)

I decided to cut out from hustling in-doors, to kicking it by the trailers with artist friends while I had the chance. I said peace to Zumbi from ZIon I while he played with his kid, and even saw my friend Jaimie Adler who reps Bone Thugs and Harmony. A lot of these guys respect me for being a solo hustling maniac who is passionate about Hip Hop and representing my Jewish-ness to an absurd level. I stick in their brains. All you people who rap or rock need to remember how to stick to someones brains and not piss people off (a skill I am still working on, to an extent.)

This year I enjoyed this personal time. I really consider these people my friends and I ask them about their families. I genuinely care for their well - being. C Rayz Walz once told me that it not all about “wanting something.” People enjoy speaking with each other about things that have nothing to do with work. While press is backstage interviewing them (artist friends), they happen to notice I am everywhere and they ask me questions. If they don’t ask me questions, I ask them if anyone has kicked a freestyle yet, and mention to them that I played Paid Dues this year so I’m supposed to be here.

Oh yeah…what about being on the list? Make the effort to get on it. If you can’t be a guest of an artist or a member of the press list, get a writing job and make sure you create your own blog and leave yourself available to interview people. Volunteer to be part of the street team. I see artists do it all the time.

As a rapper, people wanna hear you rap, or hear about how you are selling a shit load of records. Since I didn’t play Rock The Bells and haven’t sold a shit load of records, I ask them if I can kick something on camera and I finesse the press that way.

7. Emails and details

I don’t give a flying fuck if you are not performing. You are performing! Make sue you have the ability to enter emails. Do it less conspicuously by entering it in the notepad. Next thing you know after all the fliers and handshakes you get 20 emails from each event. 40 emails can equal a lot more business . Get Emails and details from the guys you need it from. Sometimes a bigger connection will only want to give you an email, but knowing this beforehand is better. Make sure when you shake those hands, know your demand. If you have nothing to offer the other person yet, or they are genuinely busy, its better to go email. Drop a hello, and your name will come up in other conversations for sure.

Pretty Simple right?

Now go get booked!

GOOD GAME PT. 5 (DON'T PUT ALL YOUR PROMO EGGS IN ONE BASKET)

BY FUNKWORM ON INDIEHIPHOP.NET

Social networks like Facebook oftentimes switch shit up on you whenever they feel like it. And it sucks that you’re powerless to do anything about it. These changes can have huge effects on your marketing and promotional strategy. Recently, this is exactly what Facebook did with their Pages. Facebook is now restricting your posts from reaching the majority of your fans because they’d like you to pay for that reach.

You’ve probably already noticed that lately the number of fans seeing your Facebook page updates has decreased tremendously. Now, depending on how much you’re willing to spend, you can reach a larger percentage of them. I have almost 6,700 fans on IndieHIpHop’s Facebook page. When I post an update, I’m lucky if it reaches 15% of them. It would cost me 20 bucks an update just to reach half of those people. I have no problem with paying for something that I feel is a valuable. But I question whether or not this kind of investment has any longterm benefits.

The folks at Facebook have the right to do whatever the hell they want to do with their platform, provided it’s legal. Those of us who have opted into their network, don’t pay for the basic service of it, so it’s useless to complain when they blindside you with changes. And they have a long history of doing that. Facebook has gradually made it more difficult to directly communicate the those who voluntarily become fans of your page. It must be very disappointing to those who have paid to increase their Facebook fan numbers only to have them become unreachable.

The way to avoid being negatively affected by these ever-changing social networks is to not put all of your eggs in one basket. Their popularity will come and go. If you’re using one that’s working for you at the moment, continue, but start thinking about how you’d connect with those fans if that social network were to suddenly shut down.

Right now, creating an email list of your most loyal fans seems to be the only way that you can be sure to stay connected with them when social networks become ineffective. So maybe all of the energy and effort artists spend asking people to “follow” them or “like” their page, should be replaced with asking them for their email addresses

9th Wonder Explains Black Colleges' Failure To Embrace Hip Hop History

by JUSTIN HUNTER

Exclusive: The Harvard Fellow readies the first New York City installment of 95 Live, a four hour dedication to music made before 1995.

Grammy-winning producer 9th Wonder brings his music and cultural celebration, 95 Live, to New York City’s MIST Harlem tonight (February 1). Featuring guests Statik Selektah and Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg, 95 Live is a four-hour dedication to music made prior to 1995.

In describing the difference between music produced before and after 1995, 9th explained to HipHopDX that pre-1995 tracks prominently featured bass drums or a thick bass line—creating a sound that is often referred to as the “bottom.”

“Pre-1995, everything was all about the bottom; all about having the boom behind it,” said 9th. “It was more than just the 808s. Early 1980s and mid-1980s music was mastered way louder. If you listened to ‘It’s Like That’ by Run-DMC, the whole record is really turned up as opposed to how it’s mastered [now]. But it’s not as kicking and hitting as hard as those old Run-DMC breaks.”

9th Wonder was accepted into Harvard University’s prestigious Harvard Fellows program in March of 2012. The North Carolina-native will teach a class on the history of Hip Hop as well as complete a research project entitled “These Are The Breaks” where he will examine the original records sampled on his ten favorite albums, including Nas’ Illmatic, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint, and The Minstrel Show—which he produced as a member of Little Brother.

When asked if he is surprised by higher academia’s embrace of Hip Hop culture, 9th shared that he’s more surprised that historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have yet to show the same acceptance.

“It’s incredible to me that they don’t study [Hip Hop] at every Black college,” he said “I think that it’s just a sign of the times, man. It happened with Jazz. Jazz was studied somewhere else first. African-American studies was studied somewhere else first. At some point we have to break that cycle. There are some: Florida A&M, North Carolina A&T State University. And then you have some that don’t want that because they think that we’re gonna teach about what happened on BET last night.”

9th also believes a generational divide between staff and students is part of the reason there is a dearth of Hip Hop history courses on HBCU campuses. While he began his professorial career as an Artist-In-Residence teaching Hip Hop history at his alma mater North Carolina Central University—where Little Brother was founded—the program was cancelled after only three years.

“They felt like the budget [wasn’t there] or that [the course] didn’t serve a purpose or whatever it was, but they stopped it,” 9th tells DX. “After that I went to Duke [University]."

He continued: “We try at our historically Black colleges to make those strides and be first at things and be frontrunners but it’s tough because you’re dealing with three generations of people. You’re dealing with us: The 38-year olds. Then you’re dealing with the 18-year olds and then you’re dealing with the 60-year olds who run these colleges. All of that together is a tough communication to get going.”

95 Live was first created by one of 9th’s fellow Universal Zulu Nation members, Roman Castro. With Castro’s consent, 9th extended the brand into a bi-monthly party held in North Carolina. Previous special guests include DJ Premier, Erykah Badu, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, among others.

“For four hours we don’t play anything past 1995,” said the North Carolina-native. “We tried to go to 2000, but that’s just a little bit too far. It’s not only Hip Hop. It’s R&B, Reggae—just celebrating that time of culture of music.” Tonight is 95 Live’s first New York City installment and is presented in conjunction with The High End Agency and includes a visual presentation by UpNorthTrips.com. On Wednesday, February 6, 9th will present his research findings at Harvard University’s Barker Center at 12PM.

GOOD GAME PT. 4 MONITIZE YOUR MUSIC

WRITTEN AND POSTED TO RAPREHAB.COM BY Brianna DeMayo, Artist Development/Marketing

Monetize Your Movement

Remember, the ultimate goal is to be able to make a living by doing what you love. In order for that to happen you need to make sales. You have to earn an income. You have to be able to get people to buy into your product - whether it be through selling your music, booking shows, selling merchandise etc. And here’s the best part – you don’t need a label in order to do this! As a matter of fact, if you are already making money off of your music, shows, and merchandise, it will be much easier for you to get that record deal that you are longing for (and you will have much more of a say as to how that deal pans out).

There are a few basic concepts that drive a sale regardless of what you’re selling.

Below are some main things to remember when making music and coming up with your marketing plan and technique.

In order for someone to buy into a product/brand there are a few things that have to take place:

They must know the product exists. The product must spark their interest. Both the product and the presentation of the product must be quality. The product must be easily accessible. They must have a clear understanding as to WHY they should buy the product. Now how can you relate all of the above to your music?

Of course, in order for someone to purchase something they must be aware of it. The main way to accomplish this is by marketing and promotion. Your product, which in this case is your music, must be marketed properly in order to get it the exposure that it needs. How can anyone hear and buy your music if they don’t even know it exists?

A good way to spark interest is by putting out a quality product – and by this I mean that both the actual product AND the presentation of your product must be professional. If your music is presented in the right way you shouldn’t have a problem getting a good response from your marketing efforts. This is also the reason why it is so important to figure out your target market – it is much easier to spark someone’s interest if you can relate to them. If you already know a bit about the people that you’re offering your product to, it will be easier to make a sale. For instance, you’re not going to promote a rap record on a country music site (that wouldn’t spark the viewers interest), instead you would promote it on a site likewww.hiphopsince1987.com that targets the hip hop market.

You’re product (music) also needs to be easily accessible. You should have one website (www.yourartistname.com) that ties in all of your other websites (youtube, facebook, twitter, reverbnation etc) that your fans can go to to download your music, see where your next performance will be etc. You can also make it even easier by uploading your music to iTunes, Amazon, etc (I explained a little on how to do this in another recent blog here). You need to make it easy for someone to search for you. People shouldn’t have to take 10 minutes to find you. If you want a flat screen TV from best buy, when you search ‘best buy flat screen’ it will come up immediately. Your music/brand needs to be the same way.

Last but not least, the person needs to have a valid and clear understanding of why they should buy into your product. You need to learn how to seal the deal by taking away any doubts. Before you release anything, you should have already thought to yourself ‘why should someone buy this?’ Understand that this question doesn’t always have to be answered verbally. Part of the answers should be confirmed by both your actions and the product itself – Your great marketing skills, the dope sound of your music, the overall quality of your presentation will all speak for themselves.

In conclusion, it all starts with a quality product, then you seal the deal by presenting yourself properly (making a great first impression) and by building a strong brand. If your fans can see the product, if it is marketed to those that can relate to it, if your presentation is professional and can stand out among the others, you are on your way to making some great sales (if you aren’t already)!

GOOD GAME PT.3 LISTENERS vs FANS

Posted by Justin Boland on AUDIBLEHYPE.COM

It’s deeply stupid of me to admit this in public, but I give a lot of feedback to artists I don’t know. I run several blogs and work at a non-label “record label,” so I’ve got several inboxes worth of new music waiting for me. Always. It’s happening right now.

I try to listen and give detailed feedback to at least five of them, every day I’ve got time online. I’ve developed an acute allergy to computers lately, but they’re an unfortunate necessity. So in 2012, I’ve probably given well over 50 strangers blunt feedback they were not expecting.

What have I noticed? First off, cats are getting better at not throwing tantrums. Only a few of them have called me a hater. Nearly all of them, on the other hand, have added me to their email lists and asked me to get involved as a fan. This is an important point, because I see the same mistake when people reach out to World Around Records and try to wow us with their stats, usually plays and views: that’s transitory bullshit, rather then metrics that reflect real fan engagement.

Being the being I be, I listen to new hip hop all the time. I’m a fan of probably 5% of it. This is not about me, though — because 1) it doesn’t annoy me at all when artists put me on their promo lists, and 2) what the fuck would it actually matter if it did?

This is about you, about independent artists trying to get their numbers up. The message is simple: stop trying to get your numbers up. That was already a dead scene in 2007. You need to work on your product. You can just buy numbers once you’ve got a project great enough to really catch on, go viral, get noticed…you know, whatever version of the fairy tale you’re clinging to these days.

If I’m just a listener, you don’t want me on your email list.

You’re going to have a lot more listeners than fans. Fans buy your shit, fans talk about you to their friends, fans send you emails about how dope you are. It’s easy to get frustrated but remember, this is a slow process unless you’ve got money to burn. “Friends” are not fans. Other artists are definitely not fans.

Be patient, be realistic, and stop dicking around online.

GOOD GAME PT. 2 "HOW TO PLAN A HIP HOP ALBUM RELEASE ONLINE"

THIS IS AN ARTICLE TAKEN FROM A SITE CALLED AUDIBLEHYPE

In order to launch a project successfully, you want at least 4 months in advance. It’s perfectly acceptable to release an EP and wait over a year to release a follow-up, but as long as we’re planning in advance, you should plan on keeping your momentum and going big. Don’t allow the online conversation about your music to die down.


Managing Your Online Album Promotion.
If you don’t already have a Gmail account, now would be an ideal time to upgrade from whatever bullshit you settled for…your career depends on your tools. Set up Google Alerts immediately for your artist name and album name, and then set up a Tumblr account so you can post links to and snippets of every single review and mention of your project, including your own content.
Next, sit down and make a list of artists you like and think you sound similar to. (If you can’t think of any, take this as a reliable sign you have no future in this business.) The reason you’re making that short list? So you can look up which blogs are consistently talking about those groups. Start writing down domain names, because you’ll be taking that list over to Compete.com.

Heads-up: Compete is a useful tool but not the “real numbers” on visitors to a website. You should check out their explanation, and especially bear in mind that their numbers are only for US internet users. I definitely recommend signing up for their free membership, which allows you to search subdomains, such as specific blogger and wordpress hosted blogs. (My favorite is Poisonous Paragraphs…respect to Dart Adams.)

What you’re doing at Compete is checking up on who’s getting the most traffic on your list. Those are the blogs you want to be reaching out to. Here’s a really key point: your relationships are more important and more powerful than your tools.

Bloggers have needs and goals of their own. They’re looking to increase traffic and a surefire method for that is exclusive releases of new music. Give them exactly that: first dibs on your new singles. (Other blogs will re-post it after the fact—reach out to those sites, too.)

Remember the point of all this work: you want your album to be put in front of the audience that wants it. You need to do research in order to figure out where that audience is. Getting your name in front of 100,000 readers of The Source might be totally useless for you…seriously. You might be much better off getting rotation on a blog that reaches 6,000 people who are already into your style of hip hop, instead of 100,000 people who are not interested in you at all, and never will be.

With this added layer of album planning, now our 4 month template is looking more complete.
1. What about reviews? Most reviewers are happy with a link to a digital copy of the album, some of them insist on CDs. Like all other human behavior, I can’t give you a single answer. What I can tell you is that you want to get all your review copies out more than a month in advance. This gives everyone breathing room to get their reviews done in time for your release…and yes, you run the risk of getting leaked beforehand.

2. So really, what about reviews? Personally, I think you should let bloggers review your album after it drops. Having reviews come out later, even months after the fact, is actually a good thing because it extends the “tail” of your online buzz. The exceptions should probably be the blogs you’re giving exclusives to—let them have get the first review out, too. It’s easier to trust a single source because they know it’ll be obvious where the leak came from. Overall, though: let blogs review your singles and your EP/mixtape. If that content is strong enough it will build your buzz without risking leaks.

3. When should the tracks be done? You really should not be starting this 4 month process without having your tracks completed. I know that’s unrealistic, but then again, your goals of making a living off music in a genre as over-crowded as hip hop? That’s pretty unrealistic, too. This whole process will run more smoothly if the project is finished, instead of trying to finish an album at the same time you’re promoting it. The outcome is almost always the same: missed deadlines and lost credibility.

4. But what about…? “The Template” is going to be an ongoing series. I’m not gonna pretend I know everything—or even enough to call myself an expert. I’m wide open to suggestions, refinements, and most insults. The next installment will look at several case studies of how successful indie labels break an album, so we’ll be seeing many variations on the chart you see above. If you’ve got experience and you’d like to be interviewed, hit me up: powerweirdo at gmail dot com.

Until then, I want to leave you with two outside perspectives—one from independent powerhouse Godamus Rhyme, and the other from the genius behind Duck Down Records known as Dru Ha.

JB: Now that you’ve got a few finished projects under your belt, what are the biggest lessons you’ve learned about planning an album or EP?

#1. There is no one way to make an album.

#2. Mastering engineers are your best friend, but a shitty mix is a shitty mix. If your mixing engineer is retarded, get a new one. I don’t care if he’s free and your best friend. Your record will sound like shit and no one will listen.

#3. Quality is way more important than quantity in a tracklisting.

#4. I make better music when I have a definate goal in mind.

#5. Every artist works differently. As an engineer and producer, you have to adapt and be flexible.

FROM A SITE CALLED MAKING A MOGUL

I think that we’ve done some of that some over the years, and we continue to do it. Twitter being the newest craze, we haven’t really set that up too tough yet. Some of the guys here are setting that up and are showing it to Sean [Price] and other members of Bootcamp who would do it.

We keep music out there though; we’ve used the internet to document the process of putting out a new record. We post new music early ““ we like to put our music up first on our site before people hear it anywhere else so that we can drive more traffic to duckdown.com, where you can hear new music, and like you said, be part of the process…

The majority of our staff are all internet people. People like Franz, Othella and Mazza from our staff and a couple other behind-the-scenes people that we have, they help the artists with that. Sometimes they’re creating the artist’s pages for them and even maintaining them…

What it’s done now, is that you create such a following online, that even before an artist is signed, you know whether or not that artist has a fanbase, and approval form the general public, not just a group of industry insiders. You’re able to see real feedback in real-time.

It’s definitely changed the game. Most artists can’t come to labels anymore and ask to make a demo or just spit 16 bars. Now the labels ask how many friends you have on MySpace and Facebook, what are your total views on YouTube. We want to see a following…

GOOD GAME PT. 1 "TAGGING AND GOOGLING"

I WANT TO GIVE A LIL GAME TO ALL MY FELLOW ARTIST. GOT 2 POINTS: (1) ALWAYS TAG ANYTHING YOU POST ONLINE (VIDEO, SONG, BLOG POST, ETC), YOU WANT TO TAG IT WITH ANY WAY THAT SOMEONE MAY GO AND SEARCH FOR YOUR ART. FOR INSTANCE WHEN I TAG MY STUFF I DO IT WITH MIRAGE512 OR MIRAGE 512 (WITH OR WITHOUT SPACE) I ALSO TAG WITH AUSTIN, AUSTIN TEXAS, ATX, ATX HIP HOP ATX HIPHOP AND A LOT OF OTHER STUFF. WHEN YOU TAG YOUR STUFF, ITS MUCH EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO FIND YOU ONLINE AT GOOGLE, BING ETC. IT WILL ALSO ALLOW YOU TO GIVE A SIMPLER WAY FOR FOLKS TO FIND YOU, YOU JUST TELL EM GOOGLE ME........ (2) GOOGLE YOURSELF, FIND OUT WHERE YOUR STUFF IS (VIDEOS, MP3's ETC). IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO KNOW WHAT FOLK SEE WHEN THEY SEARCH FOR YOU. CAN THEY FIND YOU? ALSO YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE CAN SPELL YOUR NAME IF YOU HAVE A TITILE THAT IS UNCOMMON (SPELL IT A COUPLE OF TIMES FOR THEM). YOU WILL BE SURPRISED AT WHERE YOUR STUFF IS. IVE FOUND MY VIDEOS IN PLACES THAT I DIDNT SUBMIT IT TO, ESPECIALLY OVERSEAS. I FOUND THE CONTACT PORTION OF THE WEBSITE AND SENT A EMAIL THANKING THEM FOR POSTING MY MATERIAL I INCLUDED LINKS TO MY OTHER PRODUCT, AND I SAVED THE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR FUTURE SUBMISSIONS HOPEFULLY YALL WILL FIND THIS TO BE USEFUL INFO TO HELP YOU PUSH YOUR ART. HAPPY GRINDING

NEW VIDEO AND SINGLE BY THE FLY & ROOSTER - CPMB Official Video

MY DUDES FLY AND ROOSTER GET FREAKY ON THIS ONE TALKING BOUT THEM CROTCHLESS PANTIES AND MATCHING BRA's (DONT WATCH THIS ONE AT WORK, LOL) DOING IT HOUSTON TX STYLE

PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH: 25th ANNIVERSARY SHOW FOR MECCA AND THE SOUL BROTHER ALBUM

As one of Hip-Hop’s greatest musical partnerships, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth hold a place not only in the rap history books, but also in the hearts of loyal fans worldwide. The Money Earnin’ Mount Vernon duo’s output in the early-to-mid-90s consisted of nothing but back-to-back classic material, from their debut 1991 EP “All Souled Out” through to the remix singles that came off their brilliant 1994 sophomore album “The Main Ingredient”. Whilst Pete Rock also blessed the likes of Public Enemy, Das EFX and Nas with his trademark horn-driven production, it can’t be denied that few sounded as comfortable on a Chocolate Boy Wonder track as the Mecca Don, C.L. Smooth, who wrapped up street knowledge, social commentary and self-reflection in his instantly recognisable, warm, buttery flow. Since that initial golden-era run, Pete and C.L.’s relationship has been rocky to say the least, both musically and personally. With promises of reunion projects amounting to little more than the odd single here and there, the pair’s on-off status has kept supporters guessing for years, surrounded by a dark cloud of supposed unresolved differences

But the pair came together and made magic this particular night in London England. Thankfully, if the childhood friends do still have any unsettled issues, they didn’t allow them to spill over and negatively impact what, essentially, was a great performance of a classic album. So, after this successful live reunion, the question that now needs to be asked, to paraphrase Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth themselves, is what’s next on the menu for the iconic duo



Venue: Jazz Cafe, London Date: 29 October 2012

NEW MIXTAPE BY DIRTY POLITICS ENT "THE ELECTION:

NEW MIXTAPE BY THE HOMIES OVER @ DIRTY POLITIC ENT. FEATURES YOUNG NICK, CRENSHAW, ARSON OPTICS, KAZANOVA THE GREAT, MR. C's AND MIRAGE512.

LISTEN, DOWNLOAD AND SHARE

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NEW VIDEO BY AUSTIN'S OWN T-FLASHA

I FIRST MET TYLER T-FLASHA BAREFIELD ABOUT A YEAR AGO THROUGH MY COMRADE YOUNG NICK. NICK HAD HIM PERFORM AT A SHOW THAT HE PUT TOGETHER AT VICTORY GRILL AND WAS REALLY IMPRESSED WITH HIM SO NICK STARTED WORKING WITH HIM. I WAS AT THAT SHOW AND I REMEMBER THINKING OH THIS IS A YOUNG CAT WITH THEM SAME SONGS AS ALL THESE OTHER CATS OUT HERE BUT HE DID HAVE A NICE STAGE SHOW. SO NICK PRODUCED SOME MUSIC FOR HIM AND ADDED HIM TO HIS DIRTY POLLITIC ROSTER BECAUSE OF HIS HUMILITY AND WORK ETHIC. I REMEMBER NICK TELLING ME "BIG HOMIE YOU NEED TO MEET THIS YOUNG CAT FLASH, HE REMINDS ME OF MYSELF AT HIS AGE" SO I WAS THINKING HOW HUNGRY THIS DUDE FLASH MUST HAVE BEEN TO GET ON THAT MIC CAUSE I REMEMBER HOW HUNGRY NICK WAS AND IS.

IT HAD BEEN A MONTH OR 2 SINCE THAT SHOW AND SINCE I HAD BEEN OVER TO YOUNG NICKS STUDIO AND THE FIRST THING HE DID WAS PLAY NEW MUSIC HE HAD DONE, WHICH WAS NOTHING NEW. WHAT WAS DIFFERENT WAS THAT NONE OF THE MUSIC WAS HIS OWN STUFF IT WAS STUFF THAT HE DID FOR T-FLASHA AND THE SHIT SOUNDED GOOD. THEN NICK GOES "YEAH BIG HOMIE THAT CAT IS FROM YOUR HOOD 2-3" IM LIKE "WORD"? HE LIKE "YEAH AND HE HAS A VERY HIGH OPINION OF YOU TOO, HE LIKES YA MUSIC AND YA GRIND AND HOW YOU PUT ON FOR THE HOOD". THAT PEEKED MY INTEREST IN THE YOUNGSTA. SO I KEPT MY EYES ON HIM AS ONE OF THE UPCOMING EMCEES IN TOWN. WE CROSSED PATHS AGAIN AT A LOCAL SHOW AND HAD A LIL CONVERSATION AND I WAS REALLY IMPRESSED WITH HOW HE PRESENTED HIMSELF AND WHAT HE TALKED ABOUT. HE MENTIONED THAT HE WAS SHOOTING A NEW VIDEO AND ASKED ME TO COME OUT CAUSE HE WANTED SOME OG AUSTIN CATS IN IT AND I AGREED. IT TOOK HIM A WHILE TO PUT IT OUT BUT HERE IT IS THE NEW VIDEO BY T-FLASHA ENJOY

T-FLASHA -- OFF THA RIP



CONTACT FLASHA ONLINE @TFLASHA
AND ON REVERBNATION

MEET MORRIS DA KAT

11 YRS. IN DA RAP GAME UNDER HIS BELT, MORRIS DA KAT CEO OF 512 TEKS ENTERTAINMENT. EVERY SO OFTEN A ARTIST COMES AROUND WITH A CERTAIN UNIQUENESS THAT GRABS YOU FROM THE VERY 1ST SONG, AND THEN HE GETS BETTER WITH EVERY LISTEN, WELL THIS IS MORRIS DA KAT. HE LEAVES YOU FASCINATED WITH HIS INSTINCTIVE ABILITY TO CONNECT MANY GENRES OF MUSIC, THEREBY SHAPING AND MOLDING IT INTO SOMETHING OF HIS OWN! MORRIS DA KAT HAS A NEW SCHOOL BRAND OF MUSIC COMBINING HIP-HOP/RAP WITH A SMOOTH R&B TIP. HIS MIXTURE PRODUCES AN EMOTIONAL, ENERGETIC, CONTAGIOUS, MODERN RADIO SOUND, HE COLLECTIVELY DISPLAYS A VIRTUOSITY RARELY FOUND

I must admit that I'm new to this cats catalog but I will say that 30 minutes of watching his videos on youtube was enough to start the process of me becoming a fan of M.K

Here is the video that got me interested in his music

FOLLOW KAT ON TWITTER@MORRISDAKAT

ALSO ON FACEBOOK.COM/MORRISDAKATMUSIC

NEW MUSIC BY DAVID SHA "HER HAIR"

(MIRAGE512 & DAVID SHA)

Tha homie David Sha is back with a new video and single called "Her Hair" it's a anthem for those who wear natural hair styles. I first met David about 4 years ago at a show that local Austin artist Gidon had, I remember being impressed with his stage show and the energy he had. I also got this feeling that he had an old soul, like he was raised on some good old soul and blues music. I exchanged numbers and facebook and reverbnation info with him and we did'nt talk for about a 6 or 7 months. Then i started putting the song "Long Story" together and i thought about getting david on that song, so I got in touch with him via web and we had a couple of phone conversations about what the song was about. I emailed him the track with just 1 verse and no hook and he sent it back to me a week later. Again he put it down with his seemless soul singing and spitting. We got a great response from that song and the video and folk come out on rare occasion that we get to perform it (kinda hectic with him in Houston and me in Austin)

"Her Hair" is a great song, its very him. The video features his real life soul mate and his new son. I know David and his family on a personal and artistic level and I got a good feeling from this video, you can tell that all the folks involved had a great time making this video, it seems like everybody in this video knows eachother. I think this will be a song that gains David a more solid following. "Her Hair" is the anthem to promote the natural hair movement! The video displays innovative and stylish hairstyles that are sure to make you put down those harmful perms and expensive hair care products. "Don't remove the kinks from your hair, remove them from your brain" Marcus Garvey





Here is a short bio on David Sha

A native of Houston, Tx. David Sha brings a refreshing mix of philosophical spirituality & vivid urban truth to an industry lacking much substance. His love for music started in his grandmothers kitchen, as she sang gospel songs while preparing dinner. Growing up in the midst of a neighborhood notorious for drug dealing & frequent violence gave him a close look at the realities of " hood life". His unique upbringing has evolved Sha into an artist that has traveled the country & performed with the likes of Jodeci,The Isley Brothers,Tank,Silk, Brian McKnight,and more known artist. Influences include Jimi Hendrix,Stevie Wonder,Marvin Gaye,Curtis Mayfield, Rakim, Scarface, Busta Rhymes, Michael Jackson, James Brown,Prince.






FOLLOW DAVID SHA ON TWITTER@DAVIDSHAMUSIC

http://WWW.SHARIDDIM.COM

WWW.REVERBNATION.COM/DAVIDSHA

http://WWW.713BLACK.COM/DAVIDSHA

KAZANOVA THE GREAT ONE IS BACK WITH A NEW VIDEO

OUR HOMIE KAZANOVA THE GREAT ONE CONTINUES TO CARRY THE FLAG FOR THE DIRTY POLITIC MOVEMENT WITH ANOTHER GREAT VIDEO Kazanova – “Closure (I'm Sorry For...)”. THIS SONG IS DEFINITLY ONE THAT WE CAN ALL RELATE TO ITS EVIDENT BY THE 300 VIEWS IT GOT IN THE FIRST WEEK IT WAS ON YOUTUBE. IT DEALS WITH A NASTY BREAK HE HAD WITH AN EX-GIRLFRIEND, I KNOW NOVA ON A PERSONAL LEVEL SO I KNOW THAT THIS WAS A SONG THAT WAS VERY PERSONAL FOR HIM AND I KNOW HE HAD TO GO TO A DEEP PLACE INSIDE HIMSELF TO WRITE IT. IT WAS FILMED AND EDITED BY THE GOOD FOLKS OVER @ DETOX LIGHTNING MEDIA. CHECK THE VIDEO AND A SHORT CONVERSATION WE HAD WITH HIM BACK IN 2010.

Does Hip-Hop Hate the Educated Rapper?

By Truth Minista Paul Scott

During a recent episode of BET’s (Black Entertainment Television), Friday Rap Battle, the crowd went wild as the champ, B. Grimey, dropped bombastic bombs on the challenger, MC Imhotep. By the time he said his third “yo mama so Black” rhyme, the celebrity judges were applauding loudly as hosts, Clarence J and Rosie danced across the stage. However, when MC Imhotep started rappin’ about how Grimey’s sneakers were made from sweatshop slave labor, his bling courtesy of South African diamond mines, and his swag a product of a dysfunctional educational system, the audience sat dumbfounded, and the judges ran for cover as Terence J yelled “cut to commercial….”

Hip-Hop has a long history of beef with intelligent rappers. I remember back in the day when Kangol Kid of UTFO dissed fellow group member EMD, “The Educated Rapper” in front of Roxanne, with the classic line “I know you’re educated/But when will you learn/Not all girls want to be involved with book worms.” Since EMD was just a character who wasn’t exactly known for droppin’ knowledge, it was understood as just part of the act.

However, when rappers infer that intelligent MCs are just hatin’ on him and his crew because they are “winning,” that, sir, means war! In fairness, over years more than a few commercially successful rappers have taken random shots at intellectual rappers. Remember back in 2002, Nelly aimed a diss at “tha Teacha,” KRS-ONE, when he said that people judging Hip-Hop are the ones whose album flop on his song “Number 1.” Ouch.



So, does Hip-Hop really despise smart rappers? Historically, America has always feared intelligent Black men. Even going back to the early 19th Century with Nat Turner. Although he is portrayed in history books as a mindless brute, runnin’ around slaughtering slave owners, Turner was intelligent. Also, even though the Black Panthers of the late 1960s were known for bustin’ their guns, it must remembered that the party was founded on a college campus, and their main threat to the power structure was their political education classes. Today, since Hip-Hop is dominated by Black male voices, the paranoia is still there.





Although Ice T is mostly known for his pimp and gun talk, his most threatening lyric was “my lethal weapon is my mind.” That still holds true today as, although White mainstream Americans profess to hate violent, misogynist rap music, the reason why they back it financially and give it a platform is because of their fear of the alternative; music that will inspire Black people to challenge the status quo.

So, it is not really hate that fuels the animosity against intelligence in rap, but fear. And when this fear is internalized, it morphs into self-hatred. As Marianne Williamson said in her oft quoted poem, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure.”

Although some rappers are actually intellectually challenged in real life, many are just playing dumb. One of the best examples is one of the hottest rappers in the game right now, 2Chainz. Although, he is rumored to be academically gifted and, according to his website, even down with the Hip-Hop Congress’s “Respect My Vote” campaign, the message that he sends our children does not reflect any of that. His latest songs, “Riot” and “Rich Man’s World” could have easily been the political anthems of the Occupy Wall Street/Trayvon Martin Era, but instead he chose to continue with the same misogynistic tales of murder and mayhem.

So what do we do? We declare war.


Contrary to popular belief, there has never been an all out war against Hip-Hop ignorance. The solutions are simple. First, we have to stop parroting the lie that the reason that Hip-Hop is in its present state because that is what “we” want. Uh…no, “we” don’t.

Unfortunately, anyone who is smarter than a fifth grader is, somehow, always left out of the official Hip-Hop census. Also, conscious rappers and Hip-Hop journalists need to stop goin’ out like suckas. Although, playing dumb may be an entrance requirement for the cool kids table for high school freshman, when adults dumb themselves down to fit in with their kid’s homies…Well, that’s just wrong.

Finally, as unbelievable as it might sound, the best sage wisdom comes courtesy of the late Notorious B.I.G. on his song “Unbelievable”. “Dumb rappers need teachin’.” If we can’t make being smart cool, at least we can make being stupid, uncool.

So, we ain’t mad because you’re winnin’. We’re mad because of lyrics like yours, our children are losin’.

Although, school is out for the summer, we have to admit that for Hip-Hop, school has been out for decades. It’s time ring the bell and yell, “Class is back in session!”

A generation ago, KRS One proclaimed, “The age of the ignorant rapper is done.” Unfortunately, we’ve been singin’ that same song for 20 summers. Maybe this year, KRS. Maybe this year….

ICE T DIRECTS NEW FILM DOCUMENTARY ON HIP HOP "SOMETHING FROM NOTHING"

Los Angeles rapper-turned-actor Ice-T made his solo album debut in 1987 with Rhyme Pays, waxing poetic with his pimp philosophies and hustler hijinks. While west coast crime scenes became the basis for Ice-T’s cinematic tales of fun and violence in the sun, the crafty veteran was always searching for other ways to challenge his artistic temperament. Flipping the script in 1991, Ice starred as a cop in the classic crack-era film New Jack City, and proceeded to establish yet another pimpin’ path that today includes various films, a regular gig on NBC’s Law & Order: SVU and the E! reality show Ice Loves Coco with his pinup-worthy wife, Nicole “Coco” Austin.

Now Ice is stepping behind the camera, making his directorial debut with The Art of Rap (Indomina Media), a documentary about hip-hop’s continuous rise in popularity. Ice gets personal with his lyrical peers, who reveal their own process of transforming life into a perfect blend of street swagger, urban poetics and pop-culture success. The film, which received positive reviews at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is scheduled to hit theaters nationwide June 15.

Turn the mic up.

What was the motivation behind making this film?

ICE-T: I have a sincere love for hip-hop. Hip-hop had a lot to do with getting me out of trouble and putting me in the position I am in today. I’m totally aware of its power. With artists like Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Ice Cube, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, KRS-One, the music was able to change the world. This film is my way of giving back to hip-hop. When I came into rap, I came from L.A. and kind of had to come and bow down to the Zulu Nation and have them co-sign me to get into rap. There were times if you weren’t from New York City and you didn’t have the right connections, you couldn’t rap.

Was that when you started working with Zulu member DJ Afrika Islam?

I was introduced to the Zulu Nation where hip-hop started, in the Bronx. They taught me that hip-hop required skill. If you wanted to be the DJ, the breakdancer, a graffiti artist, you don’t want to be a toy, you want to be a bomber. You want to be respected for your skills. But more recently, I started seeing this art form that I love becoming diluted, because once you take the skill level out of it, hip-hop just becomes a joke.

What do you want the audience to learn?

The passion and respect that should be connected to hip-hop, that’s really what I want. Ninety percent of the new rappers, they got skills, they can rhyme, but they don’t have any real guidance. But, there are 10 percent who don’t give a fuck, and it’s a joke to them. It’s about whatever they gotta do to get money. That is poisoning hip-hop. To some people, hip-hop is symbolic, like a church. If you say something bad about rap, muthafuckas want to fight. I hope my film helps hit the reset button on the hip-hop scene. I want to make the old-timers feel good and show the new kids where it’s been so they know where it should go.

June = Black Music Month "The one good thing George Bush Jr did"

BLACK MUSIC HISTORY MONTH

While I disagree with about oh.......98.9% of the shit that George Bush Jr + Sr did while they were in the White House and in other high ranking positions that they held in our government. I must give Jr his props on starting Black Music Month, or at least having the first one on 2005. It's a small step and may seem insignificant but hey he did something. Bush acknowleges the works of some of our greatest musicians but let me add some names to the list here

JAMES BROWN
ARETHA FRANKLIN
MAHALIA JACKSON
SAM COOKE
OTIS REDDING
B.B KING
MUDDY WATERS
JOHN COLTRANE
GILL SCOTT HERON
SLY STONE
GEORGE CLINTON
JOHN COLTRANE
CHARLES "BIRD" PARKER
ISSAC HAYES
ANITA BAKER
MICHAEL JACKSON
RUN DMC
WHODINI
AND THIS LIST CAN GO ON FOR DAYS BUT YOU GET MY POINT

Praising their works as "...the voice of hope in the face of injustice,"

President Bush recounted the artistry of famed black musicians, like Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday, in proclaiming June 2005 as Black Music month. "Black music's origins are found in the work songs and spirituals that bore witness to the cruelty of bondage and the strength of faith," wrote the President.

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America
During Black Music Month, we pay tribute to a rich musical tradition and honor the many contributions African-American musicians, singers, and composers have made to the culture of our Nation and to the world. This powerful, moving, and soulful music speaks to every heart, lifting us in times of sorrow and helping us celebrate in times of joy.

Black music's origins are found in the work songs and spirituals that bore witness to the cruelty of bondage and the strength of faith. In the strains of those songs, we hear the voice of hope in the face of injustice. From those roots, black music has grown into a diverse collection of styles, and it continues to evolve today. Black music captures a part of the American spirit and continues to have a profound impact on our country.

This month is an opportunity to reflect upon the achievements of African-American artists and to look forward to the future. We remember Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and countless others for their love of music and their pioneering and passionate spirit. We celebrate today's musicians who continue to build upon the rich and vital heritage of black music.

D'Angelo Makes A Surprise Appearance @ Bonnaroo Fest

MANCHESTER, Tennessee — Questlove always has a few tricks up his sleeve, and the Roots drummer saved his one of his biggest stunts in recent history for Saturday night's (June 10th) "Superjam" session at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Just a couple hours after the Roots finished their own set on the festival's main stage, D'Angelo joined Questlove for his first U.S. performance in over a decade.

The Superjam session (billed as "?uestlove with very special guests") didn't kick off until well after midnight at "This Tent," and Quest wasn't on the stage for long before he proudly introduced the legendary R&B singer to the crowd, telling them, "I've been waiting 12 years to say this: Ladies and gentleman, D'Angelo!"

'What I wanted to do was recreate the magic of the songwriting process at the time when I was taking residency in Electric Lady Studios," he explained, referencing Jimi Hendrix's studio facility built in New York's West Village in 1970. "I made that my central location from 1996 'til about 2004, and during that time that's where D'Angelo's Voodoo album as created, Mos Def's Black on Both Sides was created, and even some of Phrenology and The Tipping Point was created," he said. "That was really the central location for our soul querying catalog, so what I've done [for the Superjam] is gathered a cast of characters to show what a night in that period was like."

And what exactly what a typical night in Electric Lady Studios like? "Around 3 a.m., we would sit around bored and decide what album to re-do," he reminisced. "So let's say Prince's Under the Cherry Moon album — we would get in the studio and karaoke-style do the album from start to finish. But if at any point we started playing something that sounded good, we kept playing the groove over it, then all the music would go away, the drums would still go ... and it slowly morphed into another song. That was our songwriting process. So tonight, eight musicians of historical significance will be on stage and when we're in that circle, it's just gonna be the eight of us. I'm not even gonna look at the thousands of people watching."

The thousands of people who were watching had a hard time believing that D'Angelo was really jamming at the late-night set, and it's safe to say that not one of them was "bored" as Questlove joked they might be. The next time fans will be able to catch D'Angelo live is at the upcoming Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, where he'll likely treat crowds to his own classics.

D'Angelo pops up on stage with Questlove for a jam session

Get More: Music News

D'Angelo Live in London 2012

MIRAGE512 PUTS IN WORK WITH ATX LEGEND O.G FATAL

If you know anything about ATX hip hop history, especially from the late 1980s and early to mid 90s then you have to be aware of O.G. Fatal or M.C. Fatal or Mr.B as he has been know by in the past. I was one that always watched this cat from a distance yet i always looked up to Fatal and cats like Papa Chuck, DJ Casanova, Big Scar and many others that were pioneers in the local Austin hip hop scene. While Austins hip hop history does not get as much national exposure as the Dallas and Houston scene it is one that is rich with Hip Hop music. The thing about it is that most of the cats that were doing it on a local level have moved away to other cities or don't really talk about the early days of Austin hip hop. Meeting Fatal was quite an experience it was all that I expected and a bit more. I had to balance the time out. I wanted to pick his brain about the history of hip hop in the city but i also wanted to make sure that we got as many songs done as possible. I told him that he would have to come back and let me record his account of the early days of hip hop here in Austin. Anyway here is one of the songs that we got to complete called "Flyer Than I" it features Ghetto Angel and myself (MIRAGE512). This particular version will appear on Fatal's next album coming soon.

ARTISTPRENEUR VIDEO COMING SOON!!!

In my effort to ramp up my media presence, I shot 2 videos this past May. I shot a video for my first single "Artistpreneur" off new project Art & Commerce. I also shot a video for a song that i was featured on with Austin Fuze & Kazanova The Great One. For Artistpreneur I commissioned a local graffiti artist Nathan Sloke Nordstrom to paint a custom burner for the video, I caught some footage of him painting the piece. Check it out and stay tuned for the official Artistpreneur music video coming July 2012 WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/MIRAGE512FILMZ