rappers

I recall being criticized for referring to Future as the “soul of Atlanta music”. Maybe I was premature in my assertion, but that same statement today would hardly raise an eyebrow. I can clearly remember my first time meeting Future at the Def Jam office in Atlanta, and not too long after, spending an evening in the back of Magic City for the Dirty Sprite listening party. Atlanta was buzzing; but I was still on the fence. Having seen so many independent artists come and go, there was a clear pattern of their buzz lasting only as long as their budgets. “Racks” was an undeniable record, but it was YC’s record. When “Tony Montana” dropped, it was inescapable. Even Drake jumped on the wave.

Every month I find myself in a barbershop, record store, or club parking lot listening to artists complain that record labels will sign just about anybody. I hear them complaints about radio stations not playing independent music. I also hear them talk about the lack of opportunities for artists with real talent to get heard. I've listened to so many different versions of these same arguments for more than five years as an artist, a manager, a studio owner, and a consultant. These complaints were the exact reason that we put together our OnTheGrindMixtape.com. The goal of this site was to establish a level playing field where artists could submit music to DJs and A&Rs, with the best records receiving a serious promo push including placement on 5,000 Mixtapes distributed in Atlanta. Ironically, when I mentioned this program most artists would be all ears until i told them there was a $20 submission fee. I've had artists tell me everything from "You need to put me on there for free..." to "You should be paying me to submit music." 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 Artists Get Deals!"