New York, NY (November 30, 2007) – If thievery wasn’t already forcing the major labels’ hands, news today from Billboard Biz surely will.  

Pepsi and Amazon.com have joined forces to provide soda-drinkers with the opportunity to earn MP3 downloads for free, sources told Billboard.  The official announcement will likely come during the Superbowl on February 3rd, but it clearly shows the demand for physical product has been usurped by the ease and flexibility of the MP3 format.  Sources iterated that for every five bottle caps collected, fans would get one free download.  For office staffs or chronic caffeiners, it’s the perfect opportunity to cash in.

…”In the new Pepsi promotion, sources say, Amazon will serve as the supplier for the downloads, and customers will need to visit a specific redemption store on the Amazon site to access music from participating labels. While all majors have been approached about participating in the offer, the price that Amazon is willing to pay appears to still be a sticking point for some labels.

“Sources say that Amazon will pay labels in the area of 40 cents per track. This compares to the 65 cents-70 cents labels currently receive from Amazon for digital track sales and the 70 cents they get from Apple.”

News of this promotion coincides nicely with Wal-Mart’s announcement that they have officially asked the Big Four to provide walmart.com with MP3 versions of their catalog.  Read more:

“Another factor driving the labels’ decisions (to go MP3), sources say, involves mass merchant Wal-Mart alerting WMG and Sony BMG that it will pull their music files in the Windows Media Audio format from walmart.com some time between mid-December and mid-January, if the labels haven’t yet provided the music in MP3 format.

“…Though Wal-Mart maintains a modest 2% market share in the digital download arena, its market share for physical CDs is considerably larger: about 22%, Billboard estimates. A senior executive at one of the other majors says that if Sony BMG or WMG resist the merchant’s digital requests, they may be concerned about risking such consequences as losing out on prime in-store real estate or smaller buy-ins on new releases in the physical world.”

While it was always inevitable, the news out of Wal-Mart Land has seemingly given finality to the discussion, and it reverberates like a punch to the gut.  I’d suspect that Warner and Sony will have to follow suit unless they have something left up their sleeves.  Read more about why it’s do-or-die time for the CD in the NY Post here.

New York, NY (November 30, 2007) – More financial news for you. This podcast is a helpful guide in navigating a slowing economy.  While the Dow had a good day yesterday, there’s always the possibility people will freak out for no reason and value will fall. 

Cue into these small business tips and you should be able to keep your enterprise, and interests, afloat.  FYI, you’ll need Quicktime 7 or iTunes to listen.

New York, NY (November 30, 2007) – As a young kid, it’s usually everybody’s dream to live a rich, famous and happily-ever-after life.  Prior to graduating eighth-grade, we filled out surveys for the yearbook.  It was the usual, favorite TV show, favorite song, celebrity, etc.  One question still lingers though - in ten years (that was 1996), I was supposed to have been playing in the major leagues and been married.  Most of my friends were going to be NHL or NBA stars, married to models and, oh yeah, rich beyond their wildest dreams.

Fast-forward to 2007, and you’d be hard pressed to find any of us living the dream we aspired to.  Out of that particular 8th grade class, only one of them is locked into doing what he set out to do… and even then, he assumed he would have transitioned from playing football for Army to a career Army officer, not football for the Navy and a career underwater.  At the time of this writing, I know of two people (not from that eighth-grade class) that are living their childhood dreams – one buddy is in the Army flying Blackhawks, the other, in the Navy flying F-18s.  Many are successful in their own right as cops, racing gurus, doctors or mothers, but no one, at least to my knowledge, is uber-rich in pocket.

At least, not yet.

But what am I talking about here… Well, it’s a personal belief that the way we fix this nation (and culture) is through widespread and accessible education.  Through education children, adults, whoever, can unlock the potential of their own mind.  It’s in that process that we begin to think for ourselves and that our own little idiosyncrasies and quirks and interests and desires are given a foothold to become reality.  I was fortunate to be able to take advantage of that.  Others were not, and are not, so lucky.  And it’s those missed opportunities that make for a lot of shattered American Dreams.

Money and perspective make the world go round, and for those that have money, they’re allowed to flex their perspective and influence the rest of us.  Those few are the dreamers, the entrepreneurs and self-made millionaires of the world.  They played The Man right, gambled on a hunch or FOUND the right mix of idea, means and passion.  Newsweek ran an interesting article about how past and current generations/social classes have actually achieved more of their financial goals than previously thought.  What those people did with that wealth was not part of the study, but what I found interesting in the whole thing was the diffusion that had to take place.  It’s a necessary evil in a capitalistic society, but it’s the evil that makes for the good of the whole.  While not everyone can be rich, everyone has the OPPORTUNITY to be rich.  It’s a matter of finding the motivation within oneself, developing the ability needed to achieve and maintaining the attitude to succeed that separates the classes.  It’s not race or religion or sex.  It’s that ‘something’ everyone struggles with and not many conquer. 

Maybe I’m a little too optimistic; maybe I’m shortsighted.  But in the end, I think that’s all that keeps us from our own American Dream.  Here’s an excerpt from the article, written by Robert J. Samuelson:

…”Indeed, the high degree of intergenerational economic mobility is Pew’s most interesting finding. What happens at the bottom of the income scale also happens at the top. About 60 percent of children born of the richest fifth of parents do not themselves end up among the richest fifth; about 23 percent drop into the next-to-highest group and 9 percent fall to the bottom. Parents influence their children’s destiny but do not determine it.

“Everyone knows that economic inequality has increased in recent decades. The richest 10 to 20 percent of Americans have gotten richer faster than the rest. But the people at the top are not all the same people or even the children of the same people. This vindicates one version of the American dream. There is opportunity. People do move up—in both total income and class rank. Economic success is not static.”

So what does that mean?  It means that regardless of status, there is always the opportunity to succeed.  Looking back, if I had really wanted to play baseball professionally, I would have worked out harder in high school, gone to more mini-camps, foregone other activities like skiing, martial arts, student senate and chicks, all to basically dedicate myself to the sport.  Hindsight is always 20/20 and that’s what a lot of us miss at the time.  In our own minds, we are on the right path, and anyone with any type of advice seems more like an obstacle than a set of wings.  But right now, I have the opportunity to write about music, musicians and everything associated with it.  While it wasn’t my boyhood dream, it’s 50% of my dream as a man.

After reading the Newsweek article, I’m in agreement only up to a point, and it’s mainly because the American Dream has become so defined as economic success.  Wrapped up and packaged neatly on our TV, satellite radio and Internet, we don’t see the caustic effects the pursuit has on us a whole.  If money, power and success are what you’re after in this music shit, you have brains in your head, feet in your shoes, go steer yourself.  From the dugout, balcony or wherever else the rest of us are sitting with our perspectives, though, I hope that there’s more to it than that.

But, hey, what do I know?  I’m not rich.

New York, NY (November 30, 2007) – Yesterday, I posted an article about LinkedIn and how it’s a great resource for connecting people via the web.  But what about making those same connections person-to-person?  While some execs seem to thrive on it, for others, it’s the thing they hate most about the industry.  BusinessWeek just ran a great piece on this very issue.  From author Christine Comaford-Lynch:

…”Getting and staying financed is as much about relationships as it is about your company’s performance. In my experience as a venture capitalist, angel investor, and serial entrepreneur, I’ve found that if your relationships are strong, you’ll be given more time to improve your performance. (The) key to building relationships is networking.”

In the article, she outlines six ideas that will help you build not just contacts, but relationships, and hopefully, relationships that will keep your company, artist or brand solvent.  Whether it’s at industry events, showcases, galleries, open mics, the studio, the record store, the corner, the Board room… wherever it is you’re meeting people, these tips can help you maintain an even playing field as you negotiate your way to the top.  Adjust them to fit your own style, but keep the general principles the same.  Try it at the next event you’re at.

New York, NY (November 29, 2007) – I write often of Facebook and it’s uses, but this article is good because it clearly shows that FB and marketing through FB actually works.  Shouts to the Wall Street Journal, too, ordinarily their shit is locked down and you need a subscription to view it.  This one, however, is free.  An excerpt from author Riva Richmond:

…”Rootsgear LLC of Laurel, Md., which designs T-shirts with political and social messages and a hip-hop sensibility aimed at Punjabi Sikh youth, says its Facebook group helps the company stay connected to regulars in its ethnic community and the socially conscious rap scene.

On Rootsgear’s group page, people can look at the firm’s designs and see a calendar of events. The company stokes its group membership — currently about 1,375 — by sending out invitations to join the group every few months to new Facebook friends collected by co-founder Sunmit Singh and his colleagues.

Mr. Singh says the page drives more traffic to Rootsgear’s e-commerce site than Google’s search engine or MySpace, another social-networking site where it has a presence. And it has helped the year-old company’s sales.”

Maintaining your FB page is just as daily a routine as coming to Loud.com, checking messages, voting, listening to music and connecting with other emcees.  Heed the advice of experts consulted for the article, though: “…There can be danger in mixing business and pleasure — and that anyone who uses Facebook for business purposes should be careful to maintain a professional demeanor.”

Hip hop lives.

New York, NY (November 29, 2007) – If you haven’t, you should.  LinkedIn, often billed as MySpace and Facebook for the grown and accomplished, has seen its profile rise significantly in the last few years.  It’s been one of the few social networking destinations that have endured in a time when sites often start up and fail within the same week.

Go West caught up with LinkedIn CEO Dan Nye about what it would take to sell the company, and thankfully, that price point hasn’t yet been reached.  The news comes as LinkedIn is preparing to update and upgrade it’s service.  Some are praying they don’t follow FB’s path (Beacon, sucks) for advertising, but a select few mused in the commentary that certain FB-like applications might be of value to even further connect LinkedIn’s savvy user-base on a business-to-business level.

If you haven’t signed up, get an account and start making connections.  Invite those that aren’t hip to the site.  LinkedIn is one of the best networking tools around; just don’t act like a jackass.  Leave that to MySpace.

New York, NY (November 29, 2007) – When LeBron James laced up his sneakers and made his National Basketball Association debut in 2003, the expectations were galactic.  The NBA pantheon is reserved for only a select few, and King James, as we know him now, had little more than a frightening high school resume as proof of concept.  Television, talk radio, the Internet and the streets were buzzing about what this kid could actually do for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and even more, for basketball.

Fast-forward to late November 2007 and things are markedly different.  Doubt lingers no more in regards to James on-court ability, and anyone that initially questioned his maturity level has turned to talking about Stephon Marbury instead.  However, despite his image-making, OK-we’ll-ready-the-marble-for-the-statue Game 5 performance against Detroit last season, the expectations are still there.  They aren’t so much ‘Will Eli ever be Peyton?’ as they are ‘Alright, if not today, tomorrow?’ but the question still hangs in the air (pun intended). 

Such as it is, though, that’s not of utmost concern, because James, along with the multitude of executives banking on that success, are focused on how to overcome the Jordan Syndrome.  As one of the world’s most recognizable, most popular, richest and talented athletes of all-time, Michael Jordan is at the head of the table.  James, for all his potential and accomplishments in these 4-plus seasons, still effectively holds court at the kiddie table.  Winning a championship will catapult him to the big table, of course, but on the other side of the sport lay the challenge of engaging the public to LeBron James, and allowing them to know who he really is.  Once James is embraced across borders of race, creed, ocean and time, only then can he lay claim at the crown Jordan is wearing – and truly fulfill his destiny as King.

Fortune Magazine landed two exclusive interviews with James and his, ahem, entourage (you’ll read about that), seeking answers to the machine behind the roving Beast of Quicken Loans Arena.  As it turns out, meetings with Nike and Upper Deck are met with the same ferocity as suicides and lay-up drills, perhaps even with the same frequency.  Author Tim Arango also offers a look at the man behind James’ empire, business-savvy, childhood friend Maverick Carter, who has deftly handled his client’s financial interests since James fired his previous agent, Aaron Goodwin.  The article, if not an expose, is a study on how to structure a business plan, execution of that plan and why dynamic ideas are today’s frontier gold.  Success hinges on James becoming the player everyone expects him to, but you do get the sense that he will ultimately prevail and conquer the world to become that bona-fide, authentic, Billion-Dollar Athlete.

New York, NY (November 29, 2007) – From the Cool as Shit File comes this dandy of a video. 

CNN.com ran this two days ago, and it’s generated big hits on their website.  Scientists and engineers in Utah have developed an incredibly nimble exoskeleton that can respond directly to a human’s individual muscle movement.  The possibilities for future generations of these exoskeletons extend from the mundane (assisting soldiers in heavy-lifting) to the ultra-crunk (check out the futuristic Halo/Storm Trooper suits at the end that are likely to be bullet, flame and chemical resistant – with opposable thumb and finger joint movement). 

No word yet on when the future finally becomes a reality.

New York, NY (November 28, 2007) – We’ve been talking for a few months now about the music industry’s business model, DRM-protected music, artists, labels and the ubiquitous problem of digital thievery.  But nothing more succinctly captures the essences of these issues and gives them perspective like this article at Wired Magazine by Seth Mnookin.

Wired sat down recently with heavy-handed Universal Music Group CEO Doug Morris to talk about how the industry got itself into its current predicament and what sort of exit strategies are available to possibly rectify the situation.  The article is a surprisingly candid account of how the industry as a whole seemingly made little (if any) acknowledgment of the looming digital dilemma in it’s infancy, and paints a stark picture of Morris as an unabashedly analog player in a digital world.

UMG’s solution is one that’s had the hotwires humming for a while, and it centers on the idea that consumers will buy into a DRM-free monthly subscription-based service.  The bold print makes it look like the artist is winning and getting paid, but it’s ultimately a shot at Apple, iTunes and their tidily-dressed, iPod-domination of the mp3 format as we the consumer knows it. 

To supplement the article, I’ve included two others that you should check for.  The first is a rebuttal from former Reprise Records founder Howie Klein, detailing how his efforts to sell DRM-free music were initially rebuffed by the same executives (like Morris) that are now up to their necks in hot water and hailing the model as a savior.  The second is from the folks over at Silicon Valley Insider, defending Morris’ position and his seeming lack of knowledge about technology.

Very interesting stuff.  The questions put forth here and the answers still being devised will define the music industry as you know it for the next five years.  Whether any of it sticks is up to the consumer and how fast said solutions can keep pace with technology.  Should it not work, the next step might just be government intervention. 

New York, NY (November 28, 2007) – There are a number of stories credited to random happenstance that often lead to the breaking of a new artist.  One such story belongs to CSS, a Brazilian electro-funk-indie-rock outfit that has more or less risen from beyond obscurity to seeing their hit single “Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex” make waves on the Billboard 100.

Nick Haley, a college student from the University of Leeds in England, paired the song with a video about the features of the iPod Touch and posted it to YouTube in September.  To sum up quickly, the Advertising Department at Apple was so impressed with the 30-second clip, they flew Haley to their headquarters to help produce the first commercial for the yet-to-be-released product.  An excerpt from the article by San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer Chris Cadelago:

…“Since 2001, small, independent bands appearing in iPod commercials have sold thousands of records, been placed on numerous Billboard charts, and drawn the respect and admiration of music fans around the world. Apple’s promotional influence has grown so great that music industry insiders now compare it with Oprah Winfrey’s ability to create best-sellers through her book club.

CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy, a Portuguese translation of "tired of being sexy," taken from a Beyoncé Knowles quote) released its debut album in July 2006. American fans and critics touted the group for its high-energy act and playful innocence. But CSS soon learned that buzz, rave reviews and a small indie following do not necessarily translate into lofty record sales. The album sold just 340 copies per week through October, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Then the iPod Touch commercial premiered on Oct. 28. In the next two weeks, CSS sold 2,000 records and climbed to No. 15 in song downloads and No. 5 in ring tone sales at Apple’s iTunes Store.”

Chalk it up to fluke luck, but you can’t underestimate the power of social video and the people watching it.  The right video is like pop culture magic.  If there’s a formula, no one seems to have found it, other than the end result being a quality product (regardless of whether it’s lo-fi or hi-fi).  Think about the videos you watch on-line vs. the ones you actually share with other people after watching it.  More than likely, it has a combination of the following: some artistic quirkiness (kind of a go-for-it-or-go-home attitude), maybe a small heh/chuckle-factor, probably an ‘oh shit, that’s fresh’ five times in a row thing, and, yes, the perfect soundtrack.  Music is a huge influencer on the emotional and rational parts of us; it makes people feel more than words can alone, and it opens the mind’s senses to let a little bit more of the art into what otherwise is a skeptical, analytical ‘NO, NO, NO’ factory.

My own personal rule of thumb for songs – if you can listen to it on repeat for at least 2 hours and not find anything wrong with it, and when you put it on again in a month, you are actually blown away that you even wrote/recorded it… it’s a hit.  I have nothing for you when it comes to video, though, only that I’ll watch it if it’s really fucking cool.  Chances are, I won’t share a video and you’d have to bet on someone else to do that.  But then again, I might.  Only if it’s really fucking cool, though.

New York, NY (November 26, 2007) - Lex Butter is an emcee’s emcee.  He raps, he produces, he’s into the fresh shit, he’s got swagger and yet somehow, he’s down to earth.  Grown from New York’s own South Bronx, Lex is a product of the struggle, too.  But what’s more, he’s proof that the baggage from the journey only makes you better prepared for the next stop.  His own bio says it:  “…while others have succumbed to these factors, (he) has utilized them to paint a picture of a tough but inspiring world of struggle, success, death, and commitment.”  The flow gets vicious sometimes, perhaps an ode to his idol Pun or perhaps more because it’s his soul being exposed.  Either way, it makes for good music.  You only know him as the dude that won Rock With Wu, but vibe with us as he talks about WHY he won the contest, his personal approach to making mature music and an uncompromising belief that, regardless of the circumstances, you can’t ever, EVER give up. 

Loud.com:  What’s up man, how you feelin this morning?

Same old grind, my man – get up, take care of the responsibilities, breathe in and exhale out.  No complaints.  I’m chillin at the moment, like, it’s raining out here, and I’m a private contractor, so I work on a flexible schedule.  Everything is everything at the moment.

Loud.com:  Your style reminds me of Pun a little bit, lot of multiple-syllables, real fast rapid-fire delivery…

Oh, wow, yeah, I can’t deny that!  Pun is probably one of, if not THE biggest influence for me, everything he stood for, what he exemplified, everything, you know what I mean?  PR, the Bronx, representin him, I can definitely see it.  You saying that brings a smile to my face.  Like, I don’t straight up try and emulate him, I write how the beat strikes me, no preconceived notion, like, if you listen, I got different flows.  But when I hear you say that, it’s like a star shining real bright, rest in peace.

Loud.com: Word up, he was definitely a rare talent.  So check it out, like, introduce us to Lex Butter.  Where are you from, what are you all about, what do people need to know about you?

I’m from the Bronx, South BX, NYC all day, good ol’ Boogie Down, Ghettoville, USA, you know what I’m sayin!  I think the biggest thing out here that people need to know, it’s like, with the music scene, a lot of times it’s not always what you bring to the table.  There’s a lot of hunger on these blocks.  Too many people ain’t get their shine, these streets trap people, you know?  I’m fortunate that my situation isn’t like that, I told myself a long time ago that I’ma use what God gave me – mind, talent, ambition… all of that for my family.  People out here know what it is, everyday is a struggle.  I don’t give up, and that’s one thing I want people to remember about me.

Loud.com:  Lex Butter sounds almost like a throwback name, was that on purpose or how did you come by that name?

It was given to me from the hood.  I was always bein that dude, whether it was the gear, the flow, the whips.  I had whips with the name BUTTER on the plates, it just came in and kind of stuck.  Heads might not even know my government in the hood, it’s funny.  LEX is an acronym though.  It stands for Lift Every Xpectation, and is derived from my given name, Alex,.  Lex came from my family, Butter, my adopted family.  That’s where it all came from and it stuck.  It wasn’t preconceived.

Loud.com:  That’s fresh.  So I’d say most people on the site know you from winning the Wu-Tang/Rock The Bells contest.  Tell me how that came about and how you approached the song.

When I first saw they had it up, I was already sharpening my teeth up, like, let’s see what we gonna have to choose from.  I saw people were bangin it out, doing like 10 different entries.  I wanted a track that could vibe off of, so I went thru the whole list.  I ended up using  “The Alert,” the last one on the list.  It just struck me, I was sayin, ‘This is it right here!’  I started spittin the hook, went about writing it, and had it done in like two hours. 

I think what separated it from the rest was that it wasn’t a straight quickie, it had a concept.  The name of the track is “The Spot,” and it’s basically how music is more like a drug to us out here in this culture, and the club is the spot.  So I was basically getting my hustle on in the spot, and it took me to Hawaii!!  Once it came together I was like yeah!!  I told my wife, like, not getting cocky, but I was like, ‘Get your bags ready.’  Ha, she’s laughin at me right now, even as I tell you this. 

But when I got the call, telling me about goin out there, it was just a culmination of so much blood, sweat and tears, God just let me know.  Like, He sees me, sometimes it really looks like you ain’t getting the shine you want or deserve.  It’s crazy out here, but I knew I could do it, that’s what I felt through the entire process.  All the drive and the dedication to succeed would come out and it did in that song, it perfectly captured the moment.  And even if I ended up not winning, I knew I gave my best effort.  That whole Rock With Wu was a great opportunity.

Loud.com: So did they let you do a full set out there?

They told me I had 15 minutes.  And I had like 2 days to get a set together!  But it was all good, I can’t say nothing else, I was just so thankful for the chance to be out there.  To get 15 minutes together was no problem.  I bunched it in as much as I could, and I actually got like 18 minutes on-stage; the set, it was beautiful.  The whole vibe, everything.  The energy in Hawaii was crazy.

Loud.com:  Was it weird writing to a RZA track knowing that you might actually get to spit it for him in person?

Not to say so much as weird, because like, you want that.  Like something like that is what you want, you’re hopeful, you know what I mean?  But it wasn’t weird, I was just… you know, hoping.  Once I heard RZA was actually doing the judging, I was saying ‘if he really does, he will HAVE to feel what’s goin down on this track.’ 

But it’s like we all feel that, when you put your baby out there, that it’s gonna do it’s thing.  There were a lot of haters on that leader board, and people know about that, it got a lot of people discouraged.  My track is on page 25, type of thing, lost in the sauce or whatever.  You just have to promote and get your name out and spread the word.  It’s a blessing, I have no negative energy at all about the whole experience; it was positive for music, for hip hop and Loud.com as a community.

Loud.com:  What was it like meeting Wu-Tang?

It was beautiful.  Meeting someone that you look up to that’s doin it, it’s surreal.  You know their whole album, their words, I was a fan, I can’t lie!  I was like ‘Wow, I’m shakin the RZA’s hand right now!’  Bobby Digital baby!  It was remarkable, kind of like a once-in-a-lifetime event.  Thus far, it’s the biggest show I’ve ever done in my life.  To be there and meet them and talk about regular street shit.  They’re down to earth kids.  There’s a little kind of, I don’t know, turmoil going on now, but at that point I felt they were a team and in the mix.  Rollin out with everybody it was crazy.  I was thankful more than anything.

Loud.com:  Is there a message that you try and convey in your songs?

I want to come off to the listener like ya mans talking to you on your block.  I don’t sugarcoat things, I will tell you what you gotta hear.  I will give you my best on every track.  And I’ll never downgrade the music where I’m gonna be telling you bullshit.  But the overall message is don’t give up; a lot of my songs come from the viewpoint of like, there’s no stopping us, Drugs vs. Lex, I got tracks letting people know what the swagger is about, of course, hood wylin type shit.  And, you know, sometimes the energy around you is negative, so it’s your responsibility to capture that, too. 

But when you listen to my whole catalog of music, it’s going to be positive.  I can’t get down with that negativity, because regardless of all that, you can still put your mind to something and finish it.  In any aspect, people out there that are ballplayers, you can’t get mad if they startin so-and-so, but when you get on the court, you do what you gotta do to shine.  Anymore there are images bein fed to the hood, people get caught and can’t get perfectly right, asterisk on their record bullshit.  From within we can’t be caught looking at something in here or how we doin in here, that we stuck in this box.  There are other things available to us besides basketball and rap.  You could even be a cop.  As long as you do something right, I don’t care.

Loud.com: The songs on your Loud.com page always seem to feature a hook and it’s usually pretty catchy.  Does that come naturally to you?  Is there a process you find yourself repeating when writing one?

Thank you.  But not really, you know?  They all come out different.  I hear the music, the beat and I can just hear the hook already.  For some reason, I can put a track on and the words come out first and then the melody, or vice versa, sometimes both at the same time.  I can do tracks to pretty much any song on the Loud.com pages, there’s heat all over the place.  But it just hits me and it happens and I start doin it and givin it love. 

That’s really the key, though, you can’t force it.  You might could make it happen, that way, and don’t get it twisted, forcing it or whatever can get you a hit, but the best work comes when it’s natural.  For me, there’s no real pattern, at least not that I notice.  People that work with me, they put the track on, get quiet, and then kinda let me do my thing.  I thank God for all of that, letting the beat take over.  It’s a part of me, I don’t even think about it.  Everyone has his or her own little techniques, but, yeah, that’s just me.

Loud.com:  Your music has a very mature sound to it, the delivery, the structure, the content.  At this point in your career are you looking more to write songs than just come raw?  What’s your mentality when approaching hip hop?

If you want to get serious about the music, you have to understand it’s a business.  You could be the hottest rapper and kill a bunch of people on your tracks, but if you aren’t relating to your audience, and giving them something real, they can tell. 

I stand behind my music 100%.  I have to be honest with you, the songs just happen.  My content just comes out that way.  I’m happy when I hear it, it makes me smile.  That’s what’s up!  You know?  I don’t approach my music as trying to come off any certain way, but I’m an aware individual, you follow me?  There’s a bigger picture than what we see in our faces day-to-day.  That Hawaii trip, you see the same interaction between the hood and the cops out there that you see in the BX.  All in all, it’s the same deal wherever you go, so when my music comes out, I write it from my perspective but it seems like everyone can relate to it.  I guess that’s where people come together, kind of like I’m makin the song that you could have made.  It’s just I thought of it first! 

The bottom-line is that I want to stay aware and positive.  I’m not big on makin a diss track or an ‘I’ma kill you’ track, talking about how I flipped 8,000 birds next Friday.  Like, we spit that out here cuz it’s a part of our swagger, and sometimes the swagger shows up in my rhymes, but when you hear the music, you just hear it as a cool dude on your block that you could kick it with.  So-and-so could have beef and I could be fam with both of them and I’ll be chillin.  If I keep things real with everyone I meet, I don’t have to worry about the bullshit and the music comes across like that.  If I don’t feed the bullshit, it’s always love.

Loud.com:  What kind of movement do you have on a street level, like are you out at the venues in NYC doin your thing?

Everything is poppin right now.  Workin on some mixtapes, shout out to DJ Who’s Kid Is This, Maximillion Entertainment, SOS, the US Unit, Kam crew, Murderville dudes and a grip of other cats that have shown me love and that I’ve gotten into it with. 

Other than that, I’m always jumping around networking.  Definitely still on top of my production game, lacin the squad up, you know, I blaze tracks.  I’m workin on my album, working with producers, networking, many things are up in the air right now.  I have a few titles I’m thinking of, either “Spic Bastard” or “To Catch a Predator.”  And that’s aside from the Loud.com grizzle, my nigga, I’m tryin to sit at the dinner table and ribs is touchin right now.  As far as my show game, I stay on top of that, I love to perform.  I’m tryin to get my own showcase situation to pop off, to help myself, my squad, everybody I get down with.  Got some tentative dates lined up for Dec, January.  But yeah, that’s gonna be happening.  Everything else is building upwards every day.

Loud.com:  In what ways are you finding that Loud.com has helped you?  Maybe in ways you didn’t expect?

It’s purely positive.  It’s given the opportunity for people who don’t have the outlets that other people have to do something with their music.  If they have the talent, they can get the shine.  That’s the number one thing, they bring to the table.  Artists can network, promote, and do what they gotta do. 

As a writer and lyricist, it’s a great tool; it sharpens you.  You could be out there makin a million mixtapes and get them anywhere in the world.  It forces you to stay on top of your game.  If you want to be a part of it, you’ll feel obligated to participate and to submit songs.  Anyone not on top of their game, well, they will fall out.  Maybe said artist only has three songs out.  I can’t knock those people, but as a lyricist, you are getting top of the line production to cut your teeth on.  There are beat tapes and all that available, but on Loud.com, you’re hearing tracks that no one has spit on yet.  It’s a raw piece of meat for you to season it the way you want.  It’s like Hell’s Kitchen, you know what I mean?  You got a lot of people tryin to be that person doin it right and at the end of the day, you go hard and hope they sample yours.  That’s why we in it. 

I initially thought Loud.com would be a positive experience, and it’s proved to be that.  Respect to everyone, but I came in expecting to win.  Yet I also knew I had to hope people would recognize that and give me that win.  The majority of people in this world are real and they want to hear good music.  Not everyone is gloomy.  I came in with something to bring to the table.  But my shit, like, if you want to hear something new, I’m the dude to check out.  I won’t let you down on that.

Loud.com has given me that opportunity.  My hood holds me down, the BX holds me down.  NY holds me down.  But now I got people in Cali and England and wherever else holdin me down.  There are people I would never have been able to reach before.  Bottom-line, Loud is the shit!!  Lex Butter said it!!!  No one else is getting an opportunity like this.  You wanna get on a Sha Money beat, join Loud.com.

Loud.com:  What are you most excited about when it comes to hip hop these days, what gets you up about the culture and the music?

The fact it gives a voice to the culture.  For the people not given the shining light, the people down in a rut and that can’t do anything with themselves.  It’s given me so much; really, it’s been a platform to speak.  Music is life.  I truly feel that. 

A lot of people that have been close to me have passed away.  The music is like, I don’t know, I feel like they are tappin people up there from heaven tryin to get me in the game the way I should be.  Hip hop is a way for my talent to not go by the wayside.  You might be the wildest basketball player ever, but never played in MSG and never got a real chance to shine.  Hip hop is like, you might not have had that silver spoon, but if you get on the mic and rip it, at the end of the night, it’s all love regardless.  It’s bigger than any kind of divisions they can lay on us.  We’re split up into social networks, social demographics, wealth and no wealth, popular and not popular.  But hip hop is a great leveling ground for the culture as a whole.  Whether people know it or not, hip hop is part of everything everybody does right now.  It’s an energy, it’s truly an energy.   There’s light at the end for hip hop.  It’s not dead and it won’t be dead.  As long as someone is spittin, there will stay hip hop.

Loud.com:  My thoughts exactly.  So is rap your only day job?

I’m a private contractor.  I work for a cable service provider, doing audits of systems in buildings and all that, so I get my swerve on in the morning.  Drop off the kids at school, wifey at the train, get my tools, throw my ladders up, hit the field, do what I gotta do, and then get on that music grind at night.  Of course, I stay on my Loud.com grind.  Constantly peeping my head in, trying to connect with people and all that.  I need a 25th hour, believe me, I need more time in a day.  But you know, it’s a routine that you make work.  Kids, studio, wifey,, work.  Staying on top of everything is hard, so you gotta be an opportunist. 

Loud.com:  Word up.  So… any final thoughts?  Anything we didn’t get to address, feel free to speak on it, the floor is yours.

I want to make sure I give a genuine and sincere gesture of gratitude to everyone that supports me.  My wife, my kids, my brothers… everyone that keeps me grounded and goal-driven.  The BX – for that strength, wisdom and experience.  Of course to Loud.com for the opportunity.  And lastly to hip hop for being the voice of my people and my culture.  I’d like to say rest in peace to Big Jim, Charlie Rock, Mike Diaz, he was taken from us last week.  Along with everyone else…

New York, NY (November 25, 2007) – Cheah, hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was good.  Green Bay kicked ass and I got some ill leftover sandwiches, so uh – yeah… all went well for me.

This week’s Sunday Fashion is a mix of new and old.  A buddy of mine sent a link to me the other day from Star Style.  Hannah Morrow, the site’s resident behind-the-scenes voice, spoke with industry Image Consultant Ivan Jasper.  He’s been Kanye West’s barber for 12 years in Chicago, and currently works as Kanye’s stylist and advisor.  In this podcast, Jasper talks with Morrow about Kanye’s rise to fame, how he puts together looks for Kanye, certain brands and products he uses with his clients and of course, traveling the world.  It’s clearly from sometime this summer (around the time of The Game’s “Wouldn’t Get Far” video), but it’s an interesting listen regardless.  I wonder if he was smoking or catching brains or something during the interview, notice how he sort of fades to black at the end.  Hilarious.

The next piece actually comes from MTV and is about two weeks old.  Lupe Fiasco has an embeddable widget out right now that features some of the styles he rocked in the video for “Superstar,” the lead single from Lupe’s sophomore album “The Cool,” due out on December 18.  There are some pretty fresh kicks, jackets and glasses available, as well as some sexy shoes and dresses para las chicas.  “Food & Liquor” was my shit last year; word on the street has “The Cool” being a much darker album, so I’m interested to hear the evolution.  Now if he’d only keep his mouth shut outside the booth…

Lastly (only a few days old lol), this one comes from Dr. Jay’s.  Clearly the celebs love Triko, as you can see from the pictures.  Get over to their site and check it out, or go here to shop on Dr. Jay’s.  Some of the designs remind me of old Nintendo games.  Now there’s an idea for cross-marketing/co-branding… designer threads in video games… someone take that and run with it.  I will expect royalties. 

Maintain, kids… another big week starts tomorrow.

New York, NY (November 24, 2007) – With everyone in America already singing “No One,” and with a few excellent, nationally televised performances mixed in, Alicia Keys continued her year-end momentum by grabbing the top spot on the Billboard 200 with the debut of her fourth album, “As I Am.”

The beautiful piano-playing singer-songwriter moved 742,400 copies in her first week, giving her a fourth consecutive No. 1 debut.  She sits behind only Kanye West’s “Graduation” tally of 957,000 for this year’s biggest debut.  While her work continues to draw mixed reviews from critics asking her to fully realize her potential and stop playing it safe, fans came out in droves to support her.  “As I Am” features John Mayer, and production help from Kerry “Krucial” Brothers and the very hip Jack Splash.

Read about Jay-Z, Chris Brown, Boyz II Men and the rest of this week’s chart toppers at YoRaps.com here.

New York, NY (November 22, 2007) – Just a quick note to the site and everyone out there wishing ya’ll a Happy Thanksgiving. 

For those like me that hate cranberry sauce, shout out to 50 and his Porche.  All you turkey lovers, flip the birds proper, cut with the preciseness.  Stuffing is sex for your stomach.  If anyone wishes to pick a bone with you today, let ‘em know there’s no beef.  It’s all gravy. 

My List of Thanks –

1.    God & Family
2.    Hip hop
3.    Writing
4.    Latin women
5.    Chips, salsa and feta cheese
6.    The gym near my house
7.    Being able to pay rent with no help
8.    The opportunity to get crunk at Loud.com every day
9.    My brother’s dog that just passed away
10.  Yankee baseball

“Celebrate not what intrigues, but rather, what moves.”

Enjoy your gobble day. Be safe.

New York, NY (November 21, 2007) – For nearly 600 years, generations have marveled at Leonardo da Vinci’s work as a painter.  Most know that he was also an engineer and inventor, but an equal amount overlook his numerous lesser-known talents:  son was an active architect, sculptor, anatomist, geometer, scientist and mathematician.  But even more revealing, da Vinci was a musician.  Through the Internet and books and movies, people have begun to see him in a new light.  Well, you heard this one here first:

Leonardo da Vinci was hip hop.

From the beginning, he embodied the ultimate do-it-yourself mentality that you find only in hip hop’s most successful.  If da Vinci were alive today, he would have been Basquiat, Mos Def, Dame Dash, Mark Ecko, Mop Top, Rem Koolhaas and Davey D all rolled into one.  Hip hop’s elite can say they do one or two things great, but da Vinci did seemingly everything artistic with fervor and such unrivaled preciseness that he defined the concept of a Renaissance Man.  Never stopping to think about accomplishing the next thing, his mind simply told him to create and he went out and did it through sheer will.

Hip hop in it’s purest form draws from that same place, that spot deep inside the heart of urban America, where perception isn’t always illuminated and definition is hard to come by.  From inside that world, people follow their own path, whatever lay inside their hearts and minds, and it gives birth to the music, the clothes, the slang, the dancing, the art and the swagger that hip hop is known for all over the world.  It’s been said before, but it’s through our eyes that we shape what we see.

Yet looking at America now, it’s become very specialized.  One person does the beats.  One person raps.  One person does the this, one does the that.  On a doomsday note, that could prove to be the very downfall of hip hop and culture overall.  Once we decide to focus on a singular thing and ignore other aspects of our personality, other aspects that might complete the whole picture of “us,” we lose a portion of what makes the world dynamic.  da Vinci never stopped to say, ‘Fuck it, I’m an ill painter, what do I want to do this wack shit for?’  If that were the case, the world wouldn’t have ‘Horse And Rider.’  If he decided that flying was nothing more than a pipe-dream, where would the Wright Brothers have been?  Everything is everything, even more than we think it is.

Carey Chico over at FilmMusicMag.com wrote a great article about how we’re losing the battle for the Renaissance Man (or person), and argues da Vinci would not be happy about it.  As a graphic designer and Art Director, Chico spends days making video games look hella sweet, but also works avidly as a composer.  The article talks mainly about how people designing video games used to be able to code AND score the games, whereas now, with big budgets and lofty expectations, things have become highly specialized.  The picture painted is applicable to hip hop because, in an industry struggling to make money at a time when the music has stagnated, there exists the opportune moment for people to stop and look at the other parts of themselves they can bring to the studio, and outward, the streets.  It’s an interesting read and should provide a bit of food for thought.

In case you missed it, check out the music da Vinci may or may not have placed in one of his most famous works, “The Last Supper.”  Don’t get it twisted, Discovery Channel is hip hop, too.  Bear Grylls is gangster.

Additional Reading: Hip Hop & Architecture

New York, NY (November 21, 2007) – In light of the RIAA stepping up it’s efforts to prosecute those sharing digital music files illegally, the Free Software Foundation is attempting to do it’s part to help.

The FSF announced on Monday that they would be creating an Expert Witness Defense Fund in direct response to the RIAA’s use of expert witnesses in cases brought against illegal music downloading and file-sharing, ala the Jammie Thomas decision.  Following the $222,000 award levied against her (on behalf of Capitol Records), there has been a public outcry of unfairness and a motion from Thomas that the punishment was excessive.  From the fan’s perspective, much ado was made that she didn’t have the kind of expertise on her side that might have helped her in court.

The defense fund will be advised by Rey Beckerman, an NYC lawyer and author of the blog Recording Industry vs. The People, along with several other lawyers, all of who share the opinion that the RIAA are bullies. He established the site “to collect and share information about the wave of sham ‘copyright infringement’ lawsuits brought by the four large record companies to abuse the American judicial system, distort copyright law, and frighten ordinary working people and their children.”

Money in the fund, he says, will be used “to pay fees and/or expenses of technical expert witnesses, forensic examiners, and other technical consultants assisting individuals named as defendants in non-commercial, peer-to-peer file sharing cases brought by the RIAA, EMI, SONY BMG, Vivendi Universal, and Warner Bros. Records, and their affiliated companies, such as Interscope, Arista, UMG, Fonovisa, Motown, Atlantic, Priority, and others.”  Beckerman fully explains how the fund will work on his blog here.

While Beckerman implores you to donate to the fund, it’s clear that some folks don’t share his same sentiment of contempt for the RIAA.  Here’s an excerpt from a lively conversation over at P2Pnet.net (the writer is responding to another reader, Aaron):

…”Aaron said “It all comes down to the question, whose side are you on?”

How about the law? Is that a good place to start? Infringers are not being run over by a multi-million dollar industry Aaron, it’s the courts and our legal system. We are not in a “revolution” and you’ve been reading too much Marie Antoinette French history. The recording Industry works like every other industry and their business model is legal whether you like it or not. I’m on the side of the ARTISTS and it would be nice if you were too. But instead you offer your cash to an organization sworn to defend infringers and refer to “messy revolutions” with “innocent casualties” as if they were regrettable collateral damage. This is business you idiot, stealing is not business and war has nothing to do with this. We are families with lives and we just want to be paid like everybody else. “That’s just the nature of war.” You sound like fucking Rumsfeld.”

The comments, questions and rebuttals are long, but well-worth the read.  Very insightful and intelligent devils-advocate commentary from both sides.  Also, read through to see some of the ideas Congress is working on to help stem the flow of piracy in the music industry.  The entire argument is intriguing and only adds more fuel to the fire about why record labels will always exist and how necessary it is to find a business model that works for everyone in the digital age.

New York, NY (November 20, 2007) – While there is always fierce competition to be the next big artist, do the best live shows and influence the world (ala U2 or Jay-Z), there exists a genuine camaraderie among independent bands and artists that often goes overlooked by the general public.  It’s a pure feeling, one that you might find in a hidden spot up in Brooklyn, where the line around the building is as hype as the shoulder-to-shoulder energy inside, where every eye is focused on DJ Premier’s hands, you sweating him, him sweating you, all in anticipation of the next cut and a classic chorus.

In hip hop, though, even with events like Primo getting loose for 250 people in a weedsmoke-laced, small-as-shit club, the underground community can still be a fickle beast.  Because as much love as you get from the fans, 97% of every artist you meet is looking to take you out of your lane so he or she can push ahead.  It’s nature - there aren’t many people out there looking out for YOUR best interest who legitimately want to build.  It’s a tooth and nail mentality and in truth, there’s nothing wrong with that.  The culture has bred their artists this way, they want them this way.

But through all that, fans and artists need to understand that the only way they can get on is side-by-side.  That’s the way it was done in the 80’s and the early 90’s, and we call those years the best years of hip hop.  Why, you ask?  Because the battles didn’t erupt in gunfire and the swath of music available satisfied everyone’s tastes.  PE and NWA and Tribe could co-exist without one being labeled underground, mainstream or gangster.  Hip hop is no where close to dead; it’s alive on every corner, in every notepad, at every cubicle, in every sneaker scuff, in every late-night design inspiration, in every love-making session and on every fingertip that comes to this site and double clicks on someone else’s page to show love and receive it back, all for the glory of letting yourself go and giving the fans a chance to decide which music is the dopest.

If your ego can’t take it, I’m sorry, I can’t do anything for you.  But for those that embrace that chance, for those that can’t get enough of music and devoting themselves to the independent spirit every day, there is the Annual PLUG Independent Music Awards.   

…”PLUG is about the independent music community coming together to recognize our own,” reads their website.  “We’re fans from every walk of the music world who gather each year to recognize the artists who live and flourish in the margins of mainstream culture.  While many of the artists on the PLUG ballot are well known to fans steeped in the independent music world, most are nowhere near the household names they deserve to be.

“How does it work?  Each fall, we gather the PLUG Cartel (advisory board of 250-300 people who select the nominees), and after collecting/tallying the votes, the official nominees are announced in the form of an online ballot.  Fans from around the world then logon to vote the winners who are announced at the PLUG Independent Music Awards Ceremony and Concert in March.”

So… that said… get over to the site, listen to some new music, see what you’ve been missing and VOTE.  You might even come across some genres of music you’d never thought to explore.  But as is the true essence of hip hop, the urban reaction to the American experience, these are your compatriots telling life as they see it;  they’re your friends in the trenches, doing exactly what you’re doing.  Check out the indie rock swagger, appreciate the punk aggression, dig into Brother Ali’s vocals and pull out something doper than his rhyme schemes. 

Hopefully, by this time next year, we’ll be saying the same thing about you.

New York, NY (November 20, 2007) – Tonight on CNN, Larry King will interview Dr. Jan Adams, the embattled plastic surgeon who operated on Kanye West’s mother, Dr. Donda West, less than 24 hours before she died at Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center in Marina del Rey on Saturday.

TMZ.com has posted an extensive list of former clients that have filed suit against Adams for one kind of malpractice or another, with most cases being settled out of court.  With a less than stellar track record, I’m sure after this period of grieving has settled a bit, Kanye and his family will be seeking some sort of retribution.  In the American justice system, one is always presumed innocent until proven guilty, but with such a shady (and documented) track record, Adams is going to have a tough time proving that his hands and knowledge of his patients are as clean and adept as they should be.

Get over to CNN.com and e-mail the questions you’d like to see answered, and tune in tonight at 9pm ET/6pm PT to Larry King Live to watch the interview for yourself.

New York, NY (November 19, 2007) – As sales continue to lag and with no concrete evidence yet that new strategies are working, some labels are going the route of adding extras to pull customers back into stores and keep the registers ringing.

Justin Timberlake will drop "FutureSex/LoveSounds Deluxe Addition" on November 29, and the move is both genius and risky. USA Today did a feature last week on the topic, and while the original album is already nearing quadruple platinum status, sales are finally beginning to trail off after 14 months (no shit) to the point where the label is seeking something to help stem that erosion.  The new edition will feature “Until the End of Time” (his duet with Beyoncé), new versions of “SexyBack” and “Sexy Ladies,” along with and a DVD that contains videos for “SexyBack,” “What Goes Around” and “LoveStoned,” plus additional performance footage and various interviews.

"Consumers are getting leery," says Geoff Mayfield, Billboard’s director of charts. "If there’s an expectation that a high-profile artist will re-launch an album later, you’ve given them a reason to think twice" before they buy.

"Consumers would rather have the choice up front," Mayfield says. "In the early ’90s, the enhanced package came out the same day.  Then someone got the idea to wait and goose sales later in the album’s trajectory.  It does give a second life to an album.  But artists need to be careful.  Consumers can feel played."

It’s always interesting to hear both sides, so getting some commentary from Timberlake on the topic would be nice.  Ultimately, the artist wants to get his or her music to as many people as possible (for money, ego and/or art’s sake, of course), but bringing fans something totally new is obviously always best.  I can remember back in the late 80’s and early 90’s when some artists, usually rock acts, would release new albums containing hits from the previous album.  Being an organized person, I appreciated the fact labels would give me all the good songs in one spot, but it still never really made sense to have only six new songs on a nine song album. 

That aside, though, deluxe additions are not a new trend.  This year, they have been seemingly almost everywhere, and not always from the most popular acts.  Click here to see some of the notable deluxe addition releases from 2007.  The unsigned artist viewpoint on the topic would also make for an interesting read.

New York, NY (November 18, 2007) – I’d guess that most, if not all, of the Loud.com community have heard of Garbege.  Some of you have probably rocked their gear at a show, or maybe it’s on another level and you kick it with someone on their team.  The bottom-line is that they’ve got some real fresh concepts and have laced a grip of celebs with some truly fly shit.

DrJays.com paid a visit to the Garbege offices and met up with co-founder Malcolm Phipps to talk about their new line for Fall/Winter ’07.  In between, though, you’ll find him dropping some good insight on success and how to ultimately position yourself for that success.

Check out their site here and go friend them on MySpace here.  They’ve got an active blog on their MySpace as well as some fresh music and videos.