Most Influential

Of the countless entertainers and performers that have become before us, who would you say has had the most impact on your life from a creative standpoint? For me, it would be a combination of people. I would have to say Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, Deion Sanders, Andre 3000, Kanye West, and Jay-Z are very active influences in my daily life as well as my music. Who's influential to you and why?

NBA ELITE 11 Delayed

I downloaded the NBA Elite 11 demo this past weekend................ When I tell you that NBA Live 09 is better than that, I mean it!!! That game is pure trash! I couldn't play more than 2 trips down the floor cuz it was that bad. But apparently I am not the only one that thinks the game is trash. EA sports is reportedly delaying the game til next year because of the many flaws within the game. When I heard this I instantly "laughed out loud" because they just cant keep up with the NBA 2K series. Then I thought, how bad must a game be for you to delay the game an entire year? Remember, I only played the demo and that has limited game modes. The bottom line is, the EA sports basketball series is for people that can't hoop or have no idea of how to hoop in real life! 2K for life!

Check the link for the official word from EA
http://www.easports.com/blogs/itsinthegame/post/slug/nba-elite-delayed-nba-jam-ships-on-wii-next-week-xbox-360-and-ps3-coming-before-holidays

Perfection vs. Gun Shy

In trying to create the dopest album ever for myself and listeners, it has obviously taken longer than expected. I actually thought the album would be available for listeners in October. That doesn't seem to be the case now as I am on my third revision of the album. As I started on this 3rd revision I asked myself "am I being a perfectionist or am I being gun shy"? What I mean by that is, am I over thinking what I am doing and taking people's opinions into account? I think the answer is a little of both. I know being on the level that I am right now I can't afford to lose listeners. The 2nd revision of Heartbeat was a dope hip hop album. There lies the problem. If I am going to catch a listeners ear, I have to catch them from the very first moment they hear my project. I can't assume a listener is going to listen 2 or 3 times before getting it. That's just not the music listening society we live in today and people have short attention spans. So I apologize for the delay once again but I promise the album will be worth the wait. Be looking out for new music coming from me in the coming weeks!

Revis Island vs. Primetime

OK football heads... if you got to pick one of these shut down corners, who would you pick and why? For me, it's a no brainer. Give me Primetime. Yeah, Deion's technique wasn't the best but his speed was unmatched. And if he intercepted the ball, you might as well put 6 on the board. Revis is tough though. I gotta give him credit but I don't see him turning interceptions into 6.

Hip Hop Album of the Decade

I saw this question yesterday being asked my man Mike B. for his radio show. He got a majority of answer of Jay-Z's Blueprint for the best album of the decade. I would beg to differ (but what else is new). Instead, I'll pose the question to you. What was the best album of the decade?

9/11 Hoax???

The 9 year anniversary of 9/11 just recently passed and I found myself watching some documentaries on the History channel the day of (Yes, I like the History channel). While I was watching, I started to think about the government and how they spin things and how they hide things from the American public & media. In this same thought, I thought maybe 9/11 could have been some kind of cover up or something. So in the days following, I started looking up information and video on 9/11 and I came across this film called "Loose Change". All I'm going to say is watch it and tell me if you don't have a different perspective after your viewing. I am not saying that 9/11 was entirely made up, but I am saying that it is possible that there is more to the story than what we saw.

Thoughts on Trey Songz Album

I cant say that I'm a Trey Songz fan (and I know a lot of ladies think I'm hatin) but I'm just not a fan. At best, I can say that he is cool and he can sing but that's usually where the conversation ends for me. But I must say I am impressed with this new album! I didn't like that Bottomz Up song at all but this album may get rotation in my ipod. And that depends on if I feel like hearing R. Kelly or not lol. But I would definitely suggest that you buy it or download it. It's worth a listen. My only knock on the album is it's a tad bit too long. Its only so much we can take...

NAME THAT SAMPLE

Can you name what modern day song used this sample? I'll give you a hint, one is a neo-soul singer and one is a hip hop legend.

Fan Building 101:Dummies Guide to Your First 100 Fans

I was asked the age old question people ask in this business of music. How Do I GET RICH? There is no easy answer to that question. There are no tricks and short cuts to making it and if you find them be very leery because your career will end just as dramatically as it started. If you notice, most of the commercially made stars tend to fade after a few years because they missed the most important step in the business; Fan Building. True fans are the reason Atmosphere can tour consistently across the country and overseas without having any radio play at all. When was the last time you seen Lil Flip? The most talented artist around you who spit hot fiya and got 16s that rival any Jay whether its Z, Cole, or Electronica often miss this step. Nice MCs with the rarely seen and mythological "budget" that most DIYs never see, sometimes fall short of this. Its not the size of your email list either; its the effectiveness and efficiency of it.

Lets start at the basics. Your family and friends should be your biggest fans in the beginning. Your homeboys that you play Xbox with, smoke, drink, hoop, play laser tag, bird watch I don’t know what you do, but those are your first consumers. At your family reunion and picnics everyone should know your music. This is the easiest way to start because these people tend to care about you. They are often dismissive at first but if you continuously work and they see that you are serious, most will have a vested interest in your success and the word of mouth begins here. They tell a friend who tells a friend who tells a friend etc. The underline goal is to build a network of BRAND LOYAL fans that are active participants in your career.

Next let us visit the world that is social networking. Now somehow people misunderstood the term "social networking" and it became "hey i don’t know you but I’m going to bother the hell out of telling you to listen to my music without ever making a serious connection to you". This is NOT cool. If you have followers or friends you don’t know, get to know them. Talk to them on a real level before shoving kool aid down their throats. It’s a personal relationship that converts people to fans.

Get out of your house and find a place to perform. Find outlets whether open mics, local showcases, or block parties and get emails. Free is a great tool and a way to grab people immediately. Giving away free music in exchange for email addresses is one of the old tried and true methods in this business. You have to have a way to keep the people updated to build the story. Limit the amount of messages you send. No one wants to open their email and see five messages from you every day. Have a monthly or bi monthly schedule. It is important to keep them updated with the latest important news, but sometimes less is more.

These are not mind blowing tips and are pretty standard for beginners. As you grow so should your marketing plan. If you noticed, I didn’t mention media and press. Some people start immediately which is not wrong, but media tends to like a polished product. After building a small base and getting some stage time you have a better story and gives the media something to talk about. But be strategic in the manner you approach press. This is a copy cat industry so use press and media from similar artist. Contact the people who wrote stories about them and build from there. And lastly ABS(always be selling). Everything needs to be sharp and precise. Stand apart and above.

This article was written by @bignatewill follow him on twitter!

C'MON SON 17

Favorite R. Kelly

I was riding into work today and I popped in an old R. Kelly CD and I started to think, "this man got hits...". I'm more of a fan of his "lets get it in" songs than bs like "Supaman High". But if you had to pick one R. Kelly song to listen to for the rest of your life, what would it be? There are only a few wrong answers in my book but I'm interested to know what people's favorites are.