As many of you should know by now, I had to take a break from music to focus more on writing. Meanwhile I very much loved what I was doing, I felt my services were needed in other areas of our culture; areas that were not being adequately handled or that needed a different perspective; my perspective. The outcome is this platform, PoiseSocial.
On Friday the 19th, Dijay Karl released a beatape of five instrumentals for free download. In the past, many artists when reprimanded for their poor work ethic have had among other complaints, the lack of instrumentals to work with. I saw this as an opportunity for us to know the truth about the matter.
Less than 24 hours after the release of the beatape, I recorded a hook and a verse on one of the beats. In that same timeframe, I used a couple of videos I have taken with my iPhone over time and put together a lyric video which I uploaded to YouTube and sent a link to Dj Karl. It is now more than 48 hours since the release and I have not heard anything from another artist. Dijay Karl tells me Minks has recorded something which he is yet to publish. Minks could be considered as an already established artists so I wasn’t really expecting him to be excited about the free beats but that he did probably explains why he has made it over many of the lesser known rappers.
The recording I did is not studio quality, neither is the mix. I am not a good sound engineer and I also happened to be in the village at the time so I could not make it to a studio. I used my built in computer microphone to record the song and played around with some mixing effects to get something that was listenable, all from the comfort of my bedroom. The lyrics of the song do not come close, in my opinion, to some of the best verses I have written but that’s not the point. The point is I shipped. It was a big risk since I now have the reputation of the hardest music critic but I still shipped.
So why did I rap again?
I first heard Coolkid’s ‘Seriously’ about two years before he released it officially with a video. He finally released it and he got some traction but the follow up song (Je suis zen) took too long to come out and did not advance his career when it finally came. Since then, it would seem he has given up.
I also know many artists who have been walking around with 2 recorded songs for years saying “ I di just find now na budget for do video.” Most of the artists I talk about here always seem to have this belief that the song they hold so dear is their breakout single but for those who have gone on to finally get the video money they wanted, their lives never changed.
As an artist, especially one that never made it big, I know that feeling we all have that the song we just recorded is the ONE. Any experienced artists will tell you the idiom “do not count your eggs before the hatch” has a whole new level of real when it comes to music. Artists have their taste and the public has its tastes - the two do not always meet.
I would love for those who can’t quite remember to go back and watch Bobby Shmurders ‘Hot Ni55a’ video. We all know it was a worldwide hit. The video though, does not even have iPhone6 quality but nobody ever complained. Ngoma’s Mangosi video is doper than all of Jovi’s but the impact no correct for beep Jovi e worst video.
What am I saying?
I am saying that eh - Cameroonian rappers are too romantic and over calculative about their art which is supposed to be something organic. All palava packaging.
I know people who walk around introducing themselves as artists but they do not even have a computer. I once wrote an article on here saying the artists that will last in this industry are those that also produce. Many had counter arguments but as time goes on, I will be right. Artists especially those who are not also producers like to go emotional and defensive when such statements are made but I don’t care for that.
I will say it again. If you are an independent artist which is the fate for more than 90% of our artists, if you can’t produce, you are boiling beans - your shine is going to take some extra time and extra luck. I am talking especially to rappers. To close this case, I will remind you of these three names. Diany aka Philbillbeats, Salatiel, and Jovi. This article is already getting too length when I have not yet dropped the punchline so let me leave you to think about those three names on your own time and figure out why they have made it to where they are. Rap heads should know the American rapper Russ. Add him to the list and figure out what I am saying.
It is true you must not produce but I believe if you are a rapper and you want to learn, you can do it.
Any-Ha!
Here is the take away:-
1. Don’t pay Adrenaline 800,000 XAF or even half of that to shoot a video if you don’t have a home recording studio. My first video cost me 1.3 Million francs and had budgeted 1 million francs to promote it but my laptop got stolen. I found someone with a brand new MacBook Pro and I sacrificed the promo money to make sure I was able to continue working in case my song did not blow after the promo. I still don’t regret that decision
2. Learn how to record yourself and do a basic mix (There are a million youtube tutorials to help you with that and you probably know more about bootlegged software than I do
3. Record a song everyday if all you want to do is rap. Even if the song is wack, it came from you and it counts towards your thousand hours
4. If you cannot produce, learn how to produce or find out how you can get free beats online
5. Do remixes of every song you like. Instrumental remakes of some of the popular songs are almost always available. Release them. They are a great way of hacking the culture
6. A song is made by its content. Quality matters but let it not stop you from releasing. You can always come back and redo the song if you find that it is getting a lot of attention
7. Learn how to do basic video editing. Lyric videos are not that complicated. I use Filmora to edit my videos and I have never watched a tutorial on it. It will cost you about $70 but it is totally worth it.
8. Your iPhone Camera is good enough for your freestyle videos. Get a friend, go out and get footage. Be creative
9. Releasing a wack song will not make your next dope song wack.
10. Number 10 is kind of a revisit of number 6. Basically, SHIP. CLICK SEND. UPLOAD & PUBLISH.
NOTE: There is nothing like too much content in the age when everybody is producing too much content.
That said, let me leave you with these words from my second favorite virtual mentor Seth Godin.He writes:-
Fear of shipping
Shipping is fraught with risk and danger.Every time you raise your hand, send an email, launch a product or make a suggestion, you're exposing yourself to criticism. Not just criticism, but the negative consequences that come with wasting money, annoying someone in power or making a fool of yourself.
It's no wonder we're afraid to ship.
It's not clear you have much choice, though. A life spent curled in a ball, hiding in the corner might seem less risky, but in fact it's certain to lead to ennui and eventually failure.
Since you're going to ship anyway, then, the question is: why bother indulging your fear?
In a long distance race, everyone gets tired. The winner is the runner who figures out where to put the tired, figures out how to store it away until after the race is over. Sure, he's tired. Everyone is. That's not the point. The point is to run. Same thing is true for shipping, I think. Everyone is afraid.
Where do you put the fear?
- Tino Foy