Makin' It Magazine

Every month I find myself in a barbershop, record store, or club parking lot listening to artists claiming that record labels will sign just about anybody these days. I hear them complain about radio stations not playing their songs. I hear them talk about the lack of opportunities for artists with real talent to get heard. I’ve listened to many different versions of these same complaints for over five years as an artist, a manager, a studio owner, and a consultant. These complaints were the exact reason that I put together “The Beat Game: $5000 Rap Contest.” My whole purpose was to provide a level playing field where artists could showcase their talent and get some much needed exposure regardless of where they came from. The funny thing is, when I mention the contest to those same artists, half of them turn their nose up because they feel they are too good to be participating in such a contest while the other half will ask for more information. I’ll talk to them and explain the details but once I tell them there is a $35 entry fee all but a few will loose complete interest. I’ve had artists tell me everything from “I don’t pay to rap…” to “You should be paying us to participate…” I laugh it off because these are the same artists that sit around complaining about their situation, which brings me to the title of this article, “Why wack artist get deals!”

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For years, the studio was the central location for music production. A mixing desk, filled with hardware synthesizers, samplers, and sound racks feeding it. However, the evolution of technology has changed this, making hardware less necessary by providing software alternatives that can achieve the same results. In the last few years, applications such as Fruityloops and Reason began to find their way into mainstream music production producing the same results that could be found in digital hardware synthesizers and samplers such as the MPC, Motif, Phantom, etc. When you don’t have access to all the most expensive gear, you can do a lot with a little these days.

While software is cheaper than most samplers and keyboards, the argument always comes up that software is designed to imitate hardware. It’s also said that software doesn’t have the same quality sounds like hardware. Nowadays, there is nothing about using hardware that you can’t do with software. Any knob you can turn on a sound rack, you can do the same with the click of a mouse.

The importance of personal computers in modern music is something people are going to have to get used to, because for every new keyboard that’s out, there’s a software program that can do the same thing. With that being said, if you like to use hardware, then use it. If you like computer based programs, learn how to use them and I guarantee you’ll have them sounding just as good as hardware. At the end of the day, people don’t care how you make your beats, or what equipment you use to make them. Just make sure they sound good.

Too often I hear people brag on their equipment. I hear studio owners and engineers talking about their new $8,000 microphones, or the number of tracks they can simultaneously record. I hear producers brag about their MPCs, keyboards, software and sounds. But what is the benefit of having all the best equipment money can buy if you still produce bull$h!t songs?

It seems to me people have gotten this horrible misconception that technology will make them more talented. Though it can be used to help you reach your true potential, that potential has to already be inside of you. If you don’t understand basic music theory or what it takes to make good music, whether you produce tracks on an MPC, a Korg Triton, or Fruityloops they’re all going to sound pretty much the same. You can upgrade your sounds. You can even buy new processors and effects, but a poorly produced track is always going to be a poorly produced track. I have yet to see a microphone or the preamp that will make up for bad writing or arrangement.Just because you pour syrup on $h!t, doesn’t make it pancakes. It’s like buying a Lamborghini and not knowing how to drive a car. You may impress a few people, but its really foolish to spend all your money on something and not benefi t from its intended use. But everyday someone purchases a high-end piece of equipment or software because they’ve been convinced that it’s the industry standard only to never take the time to learn how to effectively work it or enlist the aid of someone that does.

Now don’t get me wrong, investing into your equipment can be one of the best moves you make. But before you invest money into a new piece of gear, invest time into the equipment you already have. I’ve seen plenty of people blow a few hundred dollars on an upgrade for a feature that was readily available to them in a piece of equipment or software they already owned. As producers, the most important upgrade we can make is constantly educating ourselves on new production and recording techniques, pushing our equipment and creativity to the limit. As a business man I could care less what you use to make a hit song as long as one gets made. So just remember before the advent of the MPC-2000, Triton Workstations, Protools and all these modern marvels of recording technology, many of the classic records from hip hops golden age were churned out using nothing more than a four track recorder and somebody’s drum machine, proving once and for all: “Its not the technology; It’s the talent behind it.”

So we’re back for another round of Myspace marketing techniques and advice. I’m sure if you’re a loyal MySpace junkie that you’ve logged into your account at least once in the past month only to find a post from one of your friends telling you, “All girls are str8 up lying when they say size doesn’t matter…” If you don’t know what I’m talking bout then let me elaborate on a little thing called Phishing. This is what they call it when someone uses a phony webpage (usually resembling a Myspace login screen) to steals your account email and password. They then use this information to log into your account and spam everybody on your friend’s list by posting comments for everything from penis enlargement pills to ring tone websites.

Unlike most of the spam you may receive on Myspace these are messages from people’s accounts that you know and have added to your friend’s list. The worst part about it you may even be a victim of it and not even know until someone tells you. This can easily lead to a bit of confusion and embarrassment seeing as how they are posting comments using your identity. For instance a couple of months ago I was negotiating an agreement with an artist who contacted me through Myspace when a couple days latter I get a comment from him about penis enlargement pills (LOL). Now if I hadn’t read an article about account phishing the week before, I probably wouldn’t have known what to make of it. Simply put if you receive a message from someone who you think may be a victim of phishing let them know by sending them a message. If you think that you yourself may be a victim we advise that you change your account password and remember to never give out your account information

There’s no denying the relationship between hip hop and basketball and no matter how many changes they make to the dress code, the culture is still going to bleed on to the court. In between the fact that every rapper thinks he could’ve went to the NBA and every basketball player thinks he can spit a hot sixteen, I don’t see this relationship coming to an end any time soon. Go to any basketball game and you’re likely to hear MIMS, Jay-Z, or Nelly playing throughout the arena. Turn on MTV or BET and you might just catch a story about Jay-z or Nelly buying a team.

So when John Ameachi outed himself, becoming the first openly gay man to have played in the NBA, I had to turn my head toward the hip hop world and wonder… Which one of our favorite rappers is living a life on the Down Low? Now, I’m sure Wendy Williams would love to give you a list of names with addresses and telephone numbers, but for our story we’re just going to focus on one, Kanye West. It’s no question that a lot of rumors have been thrown around regarding the Chicago rapper’s sexuality. And while a lot of it stems from his diva-esque Grammy rants and prima-donna attitude, I believe there was no bigger contributor to the rumors than his notorious outburst on MTV regarding homophobia in hip-hop. For those of you that don’t remember lets just rewind the clock back a few years to late 2005. Kanye was fi lming a special for MTV to promote his new album, Late Registration.

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