Fed Up With Philly Rap

I've seen many of these posts. It's ok. You're not alone. I've been here before. It's going to feel a little lonely when you realize where , who , and what the ceiling is , in terms of shows , entertainment , building for yourself , and the rounds of the Hip Hop community. And then you just shout. Fuck this. Fuck that. These rappers ain't this. These people are snakes. There are a lot of many of the things that the true temperamental rage you have , can very well confirm.

Let's say you have children here. Let's say you're married. Let's say you want to rap , but you're one of the few Black , Brown , or oppressed class people that landed a job with one of those lucrative companies in the city. This blog is going to play out on what you can do , what I have done , and how you can keep your Hip Hop entertainment experience as creative , rewarding , and valuable as possible.

Step One - Get off Facebook. There are a portion of rappers that I know from Philly who may have a visible Facebook presence , but cannot be found at the venues , events , causes , and showcases. This will not help you. I don't care if you post in 60 groups a day. We are human beings that need to witness , experience , build , love , and use all of our emotional energies on one another. Facebook has a shit ton of events that are in your feed. Whether these events are in your network of friends or not , it doesn't matter. Your purpose as a Hip Hop Entertainer is to be seen.... by any and everybody.

Step Two - Who are your supporters? This has nothing to do with social media whatsoever. This has everything to do with , who your colleagues , associates , family members , and friends are. That DIRECT base of people that you can identify with. You know them all. You know what they mean to you. This will be your direct supporting base. They will come to your show. They will tell their people's about what you do. Here's a direct formula equation for ya. Let's just say , when you do this equation , there are 25 people that really love you to death. You go drop your CD. Since they hold on to everything you do and say .... they will go above and beyond to support you. Once you dropped your CD , these 25 people are willing to buy it for 10 bucks. Now you're up $250. Not bad for not breaking a sweat eh?

Step Three - The weekly grind. This step gets overlooked by so many Hip Hop Artists. And it shouldn't. It's actually the most important one. To really go over the top in Philadelphia... you need to do at least 2 weekly shows a week. That would put you at 104 shows a year. And you can say that you performed 104 times as opposed to the rapper who waits around to get on some bill , and finds himself in a non paying or uncompromising ticket selling situation every 4-6 months. The mirror of glamour in the industry suggests that we have our fans miss us. Well , that's more of a mainstream protocol. Beyonce can be missed for a year. That's because when Beyonce comes back , she has an entire staff of social media account contributors , live people booking with stadiums and arenas , a marketing plan that will span different cultures , and you see why she can be missed but not you? Ok , if you don't understand , look at it this way , people have short attention spans as is. If you perform at a show , drink a beer at a bar with a guy that was at the show , and then you do a public appearance where this guy feels passionate about the cause you attend , he is more LIKELY to buy your album because he has identified with you in various cultural settings.

Step Four - Using a different message. For an outsider who casually can recognize that you are a musician , that is the first recognizing variant that the outsider sees. You may make a mistake at drawing that outsider if you use the SAME exact message of communication on a different day , at a different time , in a different place. The same message , whether it be a flyer , music link , or the post with similar verbatim may come off immune to the social media user. They have already witnessed this. They have already known what it was like to feel for this message. If you , drop your music link , then interact with every one of the music site , tell your fans about the stats , see who engages with this , and find diverse platforms to convey the music alternatively , it's a lot better than .... on Monday here's the dope song. On Tuesday , here's the dope song. On Wednesday , here's the dope song. We good here? Ok. Next step.

There is no next step. Though there could be one. There are many sub conversations to be had. Things to improve our dialogues. What we can do to be better , with the quality of how we are presenting news to people collectively. I'm going to address as much as I can from a vantage point that gives the most universal clarity. My inspiration to write stems from my own testimonies... and I find the mode to write , through the very views , opinions , and trials that you all witness.