Hip Hop Isn't....

...Dead, it lives on in the fucking underground. So, from the intro, I'm pretty sure you can already guess what this blog is going to be about. I'm writing about fucking HIP HOP, not RAP, REAL FUCKING HIP HOP. I'm also going to add my opinion on what I think is killing the scene, if you will. At least, in my area. I'm gonna start it off with what in my eyes, is killing the hip hop scene....

Where the fuck to even start on this subject? I mean, in my locale, there's so much fucking stupid shit that goes on, that's just turning the scene to shit. I'm gonna break it down into sections, just so it's easier to read, feel me? So, lets start this off the right way...

• Promotion:

If you're going to throw a show, and you want it to do GREAT, not decent, not okay, not "good" but, great? Promote the fuck out of it, anyway you can. Whether it's fliers, word of mouth, social networking sites, the radio, whatever. Just promote the fuck out of it. Combine ways of promoting it. Don't focus on JUST social networking, or JUST word of mouth. Make posters and put them up all over the area. Not just one city. I live in Huron, and I NEVER see any promotion for shows being played in Sandusky. That's fucking weak, man. Get out there, do the leg work, DRAW A CROWD. Hang up posters, go to various stores and leave little 6x10'' or whatever size fliers there for people to pick up. Go to the mall and hand out fliers, while dropping more off in various stores. Hand them to people, then actually talk to them for a minute about what you're doing, why you're doing it, and why they should SHOW UP. And when you DO make posters, remember... the fliers are going to be a lot smaller, so don't fucking overcrowd it. I mean, you don't need to put EVERY artist that's playing the show on the flier. Throw up the most well known names, and add a few local cats. Keep the WHOLE list for the bigger posters. If you have the money, get an advertisement on the radio. Put it in the "events" section of the newspaper. Yeah, it might cost you some money, but you'll get to a wider audience, without actually doing a LOT of work. It's really not THAT hard, man, really. If you want a GREAT turn out, you have to put in work. Yeah, it MIGHT be a lot of work, but it will be well worth it in the end... Okay, that's all I'm gonna say for the promotion aspect of this, onto the next one.

• Artists:

Truthfully, I really don't know where to start on this one. There's so much shit I could/have to say about it. There's just so much bullshit that goes down with a lot of the artists in my area. Okay, so.. to get into it a bit. First off, when putting together a hip hop show, you don't need to have a bill with 20 or 30 fucking artists. That's just excessive, to say the least. Especially when the show starts at say, 9PM, and the bar closes at 2:30AM. That's just fucking stupid. Each artist is going to get what, TWO songs, if that? And that's not even counting the time between artists, either. So you're pushing it. You just don't need THAT many fucking artists, at all. What you NEED to do, is have between five and ten artists, and that's it. And that's if it's just an all local show, with nothing but local cats performing. If you're having a national artist perform, you know they're going to play at LEAST a full album. So that could range anywhere from 40 minutes to 2 hours. It all depends. So if that's the case, five or six opening artists would be PERFECTLY fine, and would fit the time slot fairly well. Because in between artists, you can have a DJ spin for a little bit, 15-20 minutes or so. Let the artist getting ready to go on time to hype himself up, let his DJ [if he has one] get his stuff set up, maybe talk to the crowd, and just let them know who's coming up to rock the stage.

Because that way, the crowd is actually able to get a feel for them, instead of just having the artist throw two songs at them, hope the crowd feels it, then get off stage. I mean, who's going to buy your cd after listening to only two tracks? I wouldn't, unless those were the two best songs I'd ever heard before. So I mean, by having a BUNCH of artists performing, you're actually fucking the artist on potentially making some money. And when you're selecting artists, select them wisely. Because, remember.. people are going to HOPEFULLY remember your show. And if all but one or two artists suck, guess what? People are going to remember that, so when they see you're throwing another show, they probably won't go. Not only that, but they'll probably tell their friends not to go either, because it'll be a waste of money. So in the end, you're losing money, and so are the artists. Also when selecting artists, don't stick to just one "style" so to speak. Don't make every artist be hyper and loud. Switch it up. Not everybody likes all of the same shit. And if you're putting on different types of artists, guess what? You're going to appeal to a bigger audience. So what happens then? The people who were at your show are going to remember that, and then they'll tell their friends about it. So the next show, you'll have a bigger and better turn out. And that's what you want, right? A good turn out, good music, and an all around good time. By having all of that, people are going to be more willing to spend their hard earned money on going to one of your shows, because the last one was a success....

Remember, just be smart when booking artists. Don't just book the first few that come to you and say "hey, I wanna play your show, brah!" Be selective.
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I'm going to do this blog in a two or three post series, so stick around and continue to read it, because trust me, I've got a lot more to say. This is just a teaser if you will...TBC.

...And by the way, Ohline & I both say.. "SUCK MY DICK, BITCH!" :D


Respect,
-(J!)