Looks like my boy Big K.R.I.T. is back after leaking the track “Dreamin from his debut album “Return Of 4eva”. K.R.I.T. leaked the song earlier today from his new site returnof4eva.com.
Looks like the south has another classic on their hands. Checkout “Dreamin” below:
Wiz Khalifa comes out of fuggin nowhere and drops a Mixtape to supply all those Taylor Gang fiends until Rolling Papers drops. Looks like Wiz is going back to the streets after those pop songs flopped.
Download Mixtape Here
Listen To Mixtape Below:
Wiz Khalifa – Cabin Fever by DJ SQBIZ
….ps: why is everybody using the Kanye design (blacked out photo in the background with text on top) for their artwork… Kanye’s influence is crazy.
Wiz Khalifa covers The Fader’s Spring Style Issue and the cover looks dope as hell. I love the minimalist design of all the new Fader covers. I took the same approach when it came to designing my site. Kudos to the homies at The Fader and Cornerstone….. Now they just need to get back to throwing those wild ass parties again…. I miss those parties.
I know I’m making this post a day late but that exactly how long it took me to recover from what I saw Tuesday night. I am 100% convinced that these guys (odd future) are foreal. The energy, command, and sure honesty of the group is crazy and translates even more during their live show. Before i was unsure if their live show could match the creativity of their visuals but I was definitely wrong… I feel like shit for even doubting these cats.
When I take a look at all of my favorite artist, they all share one common thing. Its not their talent level, style, or crazy beats. The one thing that they share in common is that they are all tribal leaders. Artists of all stripes can entertain us, certainly, but when you create a movement, things change, a new force appears and the world becomes different and thats what Odd Future showed me the other night. These dudes are foreal.
Take a look at the show below and tell me what you think.
Photos from the show below:
I’ve been on the Oddfuture bandwagon for a while now. They’re definitely a welcomed breathe of fresh air to the over commercialized rap music that I’m used to hearing. I’m so much on the bandwagon that I’m venturing out to watch this group of rag-tag MCs live at Santos tonight and I’m not going to lie, I’m kinda skeptical about seeing Oddfuture tonight. Their videos and songs are dope but i cant imagine seeing them live. Checkout one of their videos below:
Just starting to get geared up on the Pac Div campaign for their debut album “Grown Kids Syndrome”. Pac Div is easily one of the favorite projects I’ve ever worked in terms of being able to be creative and think outside the Box. Today we dropped the teaser for their new mixtape “Mania!”, check it out below. And stay tuned for updates, as we go in on the Pac Div campaign.
It seems like Wiz Khalifa can’t lose right now. He’s making all the right moves and his new video with Too $hort does not disappoint. “On My Level” will be on Wiz Khalifa’s debut album “Rolling Papers”, slated to drop March 29th.
Artist Have to stick out in a sea of monotony
While working in the music business I come across hot buzz words/phrases ALL THE TIME and one of the hot buzzwords for the moment is “Artist Branding”. People are always telling the artist that they need build, promote, and protect “your brand” but unfortunately most of the people using this term really don’t know what it means (because they’re usually talking out of their ass).
A great book that I read not too long by the Name of “The Brand Gap” explains it like this:
The perception of a product, service, experience. Its a gut feeling. Its a gut feeling because in the end the brand is defined by individuals not by companies or markets.
For an artist, their brand is determined by the consistency of their persona and the continuos quality of their music, which leads to the overall gut feeling that music fans get. Regardless of what genre of music an artist delves into, the feel is the same and you can tell its the artist at first listen. For example, the rap group Outkast… Andre 3000 and Big Boi change their look and sound every time they release an album but no matter how many times they change, the music quality and personas stay consistant. Kanye West is another artist that has tried a variety of different musical directions but you never once questioned who you were listening to. Kanye’s music is always fresh and new but still Kanye.
On the other hand you have an artist like Common that completely mislead his audience with the release of his 5th album Electric Circus . Electric Circus alienated some of Common’s most loyal fans because the album no longer “felt” like the Common they had grown to love. Common’s original sound was built from dope hip hop drums and samples but as soon as his music became regimented and mechanical, he lost his fans.
In order for an artist to recognize and successfully promote their brand, they must have a great sense of self-knowing. They must know who they are, where they came from, and where they’re going. They must know what they like and don’t like, and what they stand for and why. And they must have an inherent feel for their sound and what works for them. After they have all of that squared away, they must have the strength to fight for their vision and not succumb to the pressure of a record label, manager or quite possibly their fans.
Before I end let me leave you with this, the artist’s brand is their identity: how they dress, make music, communicate with fans, make videos, perform at shows, etc. All of those elements put together creates the DNA of the artist A.K.A. the brand of the artist. Don’t Fuck It Up. Pay attention.
That’s not all there is to their brands, but it’s a big part. Stay tuned for more post on artist branding…