Music
7 tips every budding rapper needs to hear
Are you trying to make it in hip-hop? Here's some indispensable advice from the artists and tastemakers who know the rap industry inside out.
#1 Identify the yes men and replace them with critical thinkers
From: Hau Latukefu
In a perfect world, everyone will love your music. But as we all know, we do not live in a perfect world. So instead of people inflating your ego, surround yourself with people who will push you to be your best. Even if that means telling you the things you don't want to hear.
#2 Create your own lane
From: Urthboy
1. Get another job (as a way of complimenting your creative vision without putting all eggs in one basket).
2. Prioritise developing a good team around you rather than investing in your own hype.
3. The market is saturated with budding artists now, why are you different? A large percentage of artists follow trends and emulate what they see is running numbers up. Career artists create their own lane.
4. Keep your expectations low and manageable. It's always better to be pleasantly surprised than frustratingly disappointed.
5. Dream big and be creatively ambitious (not just egotistically ambitious).
#3 Think outside the music
From: Christopher Kevin Au, editor at Filter Zine and manager of Triple One and Nerve
Outside of lyricism and punchlines, what do you really stand for? What long-term impact do you want to make on your community? Be passionate about your cause and view everything from a perspective bigger than your own. Move with such conviction that fans are not only invested in your come up, but actively campaigning for you to win.
#4 Speak what you know
From: MC Trey
Hip-hop has always been about self-expression and telling your story. Write about your experiences and about what you know and share that with the world. Those that resonate with that will relate, and for those that don't, it's an insight into a world that they may not know of.
#5 Figure out what success means to you
From: Genesis Owusu
'Success' is a very ambiguous term that means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. My advice is to figure out what being a successful artist means to you early in your process so you don't get clouded and confused when other people start projecting their definitions of success onto you.
My personal parameters of success for my career are just to be able to make whatever I want in its truest form, live comfortably from it, and to have it reach all the people that will resonate with it. If your parameters are winning a Grammy, amazing, as long as you figure out what you want.
#6 Be authentic
From: Maya Jupiter
Hip-hop was born out of struggle and oppression. At its very core is the authentic expression of self. When you're practicing your wordplay and working on your lyricism, make sure what you're saying is true and honest.
You will connect with people in a deeper way because they will relate to you, and this will give you longevity. People will feel a connection to you and will be a fan for decades to come because of what your music meant to them at different points in their life.
#7 Don't be afraid
From: Jordan Dennis
Find people who you can align yourself with outside of music. Build solid relationships, work with the people you rock with like family, people who are going to be real with you and build from there. More importantly don't be afraid to start it up.
