HOW THE SOUTH KILLED HIP-HOP! Who killed hip-hop? I’ve heard some say D4L killed hip hop. I’ve heard others say it was Dem Franchise Boys, Lil Jon, ThreeSix Mafia and even Young Jeezy. Right now we are on the verge of an East Coast/ Down South feud that I am sure the media will sensationalize until we loose even more of our talented young men and women in a hail of bullets and bullsh*t.
who killed hip-hop, but the last time I checked you don’t investigate a homicide without a body. With Three-Six Mafia just winning an Academy Award and T.I. nominated for multiple Grammies, hip hop is looking very much alive to me. It seems the more important question on everybody’s mind should be, “Who in the hell said hip hop was dead?” Before we turn this into an East Coast vs. The Dirty South beef Everybody’s talking about lets remember that Smoke ON DECK
MAKIN’ IT
Every issue, in this section, we are going to tell you a little about a company or person that you need to be on the look out for. I feel its only right that we start with ourselves to let you know a little bit about the company and what we stand for. Let me start off by saying thanks for to all of you for taking time to check out our premiere issue. We know that the most important asset of any publication is its readers and we hope that you continue to support us
just as we plan to continue supporting you guys. In short the Makin’ It Newsletter is only the beginning of a line of publications and services we plan on bringing to you over the next two years. The goal of our company is to help anyone pursuing a career in urban entertainment achieve success. Whether you rap, sing, produce, Dj, manage, promote, own an independent label, model, shoot videos, do comedy, or anything in Continued pg. 2
HOLLA BACK
of Field Mob, just this past summer was quoted having said, “...hip hop is dead and D4L killed it.” I personally couldn’t disagree more. Hip hop started in the streets of New York as a musical reflection of what was going on in the hood. New York is the father of hip hop and you’ve gotta respect your elders, but that doesn’t mean that New York is where hip-hop ends. Continued pg. 3
Makin’ It Magazine Continued from pg 1 between we are here to help you succeed. We will be working to make sure each and every issue is lled with the information and resources that will help take you to the next level. I would like everyone to know that this publication is here because of you, so feel free to hit us up and let us know what you think about the publication and suggest topics you think we should cover in upcoming issues. Every issue you will be guaranteed the following four departments: Reality Check – We are going to be dealing with various issues that deal with the human side of the entertainment business. Holla Back – An editorial piece that will also be a blog entry on our myspace page (www.myspace.com/makinitmag) We want you to weigh every issue and let us know what you think about the topic. 212 Degreez – At 211 degrees water is hot. At 212 Degrees water boils. Sometimes one degree can make
REAL TALK
all the difference. In this section we will be giving you the knowledge and resources that can be that one degree of difference in your career. On Deck – This section right here, as I said earlier, is where we will be spotlighting the people and companies that are on the rise. This will be the future moguls and industry trendsetters. Let us know whats going on in your world and you might be next month you might be “On Deck” This is just the beginning we have a ton of other sections and things in the works we are just asking that you take time and grow with us. If you like what we are doing and are interested in being a part of the time contact us. We are currently looking for writers, promotions specialist, distributors and graphic artists, but if you have any kind of talent or skill that you would like to contribute please contact us. And don’t forget to add us to your friends list www.myspace.com/makinitmag.
YOUR BIGGEST INVESTMENT
When it comes to any business one thing will always be true. You are your biggest investment. The time and money you put into yourself is directly reective of how seriously you take yourself and how seriously other people will take you. The truth is technology is evolving so fast that what used to cost thousands of dollars can now be done for a little over a hundred bucks. There is no reason for anyone to claim to be a model and not have comp cards and photos, with tools like digital cameras and Photoshop so easily accessible. There is no reason for a manager, promoter, or producer not to have business card when you can get 5000 full color for just $80 (www.JpegGraphics.com). How can you call yourself a rapper and not have a single song recorded when there are so many programs that will let you turn your home computer into a virtual studio. When you approach a label or agency that is interested in your talents or services how seriously would you expect to be taken, when you don’t even have the ba-
sic necessities for conducting day to day business in your given eld. The best advice I can give you is “Quit being cheap, and break bread.” How you gonna have on some bathing apes while you selling me a CD with the title hand written over a Verbatim logo. Then have the nerve to tell me with a straight face that you’re the next thing to blow. Nigga please! You obviously care more about your feet than you’re your music career. You can get 100 CD duplicated with thermal printing for just 79.99 (CJC Media Services 678-570-2745) That’s like a model who doesn’t take care of her body or an engineer who doesn’t stay up on the latest gear. What would your impression be if you went to record your demo at a studio charging you $45/ hour and when you walk in see them cueing up a four track recorder. (LOL) No matter what your goal is in this entertainment industry you have to realize that someone will be investing Continued on page 3
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YOUR BIGGEST INVESTMENT Continued from pg 2 money into you. Whether it is a modeling agency, a record label, a lm company, or just your fans they will be spending time, money and resources on you. You can’t expect them to do this when you don’t do it for yourself. You have to constantly develop market and promote yourself. You are your greatest product and your biggest investment.
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How The South Killed Hip Hop Continued from page 1
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for me to compare D4L to Eric B & Rakim I say its no better than you trying to compare The Bronx circa 1985 I moved down to Atlanta last summer to Bankhead in the summer of 2006. If and when I rst heard “Laffy Taffy” the world changes why can’t hip hop. on the radio, I thought, “What the hell is this bullsh*t doing on the air?” Two How can anyone say D4L killed hip days latter I’m out at a club when I hop when they are just putting out hear it again and the whole place goes songs that reect their culture. The wild. People was leaning, rocking, fact is the streets made “Laffy Taffy” snapping, and walking it out, and to hot, not a million dollar promotional be honest.... after ve years of n****s budget. “Trap or Die” made Young standing around clubs mugging, I was Jezzy, not Def Jam. Cash Money was happy to see people dancing and hav- independent and getting paper well being a good time. It was at that moment fore Universal came along. Master P I realized that “Laffy Taffy” was the made more in a calendar year off muepitome of hip-hop. No different than sic than most of these so called record Rakim’s “Paid in Full” or Grandmaster moguls are worth (net), with the incluFlash’s “The Message”, “Laffy taffy” sion of clothing lines, liquor, movies, is a reection of the streets. And for fragrances, and additional streams of those of you who don’t think its right income. Real talk, The south is what’s
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hot right now. From Houston to Atlanta, from Memphis to Miami new sounds are being developed that are fueling the next generation of rap. With all do respect to Nas (who is one of my all-time personal favorite rappers) and people who share his viewpoint, how can you say hip-hop is dead just because it’s not what you want it to be. Like I said New York is the father of hip hop but just like every child Hip Hop has to nd its own way in the world. You can only guide a child for so long before it nds its own identity. Maybe you don’t like the crowd he’s hanging around now, but it’s his life and you got to let him live. Don’t say Hip hop is dead just because you choose to disown it. -Holla back! www.myspace.com/makinitmag
Makin’ the Most of Myspace PART 1: THE 5 MOST COMMON MISTAKES
For independent artists and people in the entertainment industry Myspace has become a great tool to connect with fans, other artists and even industry professionals. Unfortunately a lot of people are not maximizing Myspace to its full potential. Over the next few issues we are going to give you some great tips to make the most of you Myspace experience. Now for the 5 most common mistakes people make when it comes to Myspace.
1) Not having a Myspace 3) No Information in your page – With over seventy million people Sounds Like section –. One of with Myspace accounts you are missing out big by not participating. Myspace is one of the 10 most daily visited sites on the internet and many days is often among the top 5. As an artist or anyone in the entertainment field you are doing yourself a huge disservice by simply not participating.
2) No Information on your About Me section – You
wouldn’t walk up to someone on the street who you want to buy your CD, book you a show, or maybe even sign you to a record deal and just hand them a demo tape, picture, and walk off. Of course not you are going to introduce your self. The same is true for Myspace. Your “about me” section is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the people who visit your page. You never know who might be stopping by.
the biggest mistakes I see made is in the “sounds like” section. I know as artists you would like to think of yourself as 100% original but by leaving this section empty or feeling it with something like “Nobody” or “Myself” you are severely limiting the number of people who will find your page. When someone wants to find a hot new female R&B vocalist they might search for someone who sounds like Mary J Blige, Ciara, or someone similar. When you don’t have any information in this field you have excluded yourself from the party.
4) Busy Background Images – One of my personal pet
peeves is when people use background images that interfere with the reading of the text and information on their page. I used to highlight the text to read through it. But
this has become a nuisance and I now just opt to move on to the next page.. In short if you are going to take the time out to put any information on your page don’t make it difficult for visitors to read or find.
5) To Many Widgets
– The last thing I will touch on is all those slideshows, videos, mp3 players, video games, message boards, and other little extras that so many people feel their profiles with. When properly used these can be very beneficial but more often than not I find pages that are bogged down with so many of these little doodads it causes some important features such as your Myspace Music player or even the entire page to load extremely slow or not at all, even on DSL or cable. When I come across pages like this I usually move on to the next page and don’t look back. Try to remember too much of anything can be bad for you.