HIP HOP BIZNESS 101 Visualz: Sourceglobe | Verbalz: Naboth ‘Rizla’ Rimayi
Hip hop
s s e n z bi 101
IN OUR QUEST TO TAKE OUR CREATIVITY ACROSS BORDERS AND FIND MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR ABUNDANT TALENT, WE FIND NOMADIC WAX RECORD LABEL BASED IN NEW YORK. THIS INDEPENDENT RECORD LABEL HAS PRODUCED, AND CONTINUES TO PRODUCE, POSITIVE SOCIALLY- CONSCIOUS MUSIC WITH ARTISTS, NOT ONLY IN AFRICA BUT GLOBALLY. WE HAD A CHANCE TO LINK UP WITH L AURA CUNNINGHAM, THE MANAGER OF THIS ESTABLISHMENT, TO FIND OUT WHAT RECORD LABEL MANAGEMENT IS ALL ABOUT, AS WELL AS HOW WE CAN EXPOSE OUR TALENT THROUGH THEIR LABEL TO THE REST OF THE WORLD. HERE’S HOW IT WENT DOWN… Please let the world know who you are and what responsibilities you have at Nomadic Wax. My name is Laura Cunningham. I live in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from New York University’s Clive Davis Institute for Recorded Music. I am the Record Label Manager at Nomadic Wax. My responsibilities include helping artists through the signing process, developing contracts, organising promotional material, maintaining an extensive synch licensing catalogue and facilitating the online distribution process for tracks and albums.
hop in the Arab world is one such project. The album Busta! by the famous Italian rap group Zero Plastica, is a perfect example of one of our groups who really speak the current political and social attitude of their people. It’s really a great record too! As far as music is concerned, we’re always on the lookout for artists who are experimenting with the elements of hip hop and fusing those sonic characteristics with the indigenous sounds of their heritage. A great example of this would be Burkina Faso’s Art Melody, who we’re proud to say joined our label a few months ago.
What does managing a record label entail and what tips can you give to others trying to get into the game? I take care of the day-to-day tasks associated with keeping our roster fresh and internationally recognised. In order to successfully manage a record label, you must truly understand an artist’s needs and where they fit within the evolving genre of their music. The definition of a record label has changed so drastically since the ‘80s and ‘90s. Without the revenue resources that record sales once provided, you have to get really creative about how to best represent your artists, and partner with like-minded companies and organisations to get your music on the map. I would advise prospective record label entrepreneurs to learn as much as they can about music publishing, keep a well-rounded catalogue of music, and adapt as much as possible to the goals of the artists they work with.
You have done extensive work with artists all over the world. Please fill us in on what prompted those projects and what the reception has been like. Since Ben Herson founded Nomadic Wax in 2001 after working closely with hip hop and politics in Dakar, the priorities of the company have been what we call ‘fair-trade’ in their nature. Many of our projects involve putting hip hop at the forefront of youth empowerment workshops in the local communities which our artists and colleagues come from. Nomadic Wax works with an international network of artists and activists to cover the role of hip hop in the political and social evolution of these communities. We share these stories with the world through both the music we discover and the film projects we spearhead. Check out the DC 2 Cape Town Exchange project to see the kind of cultural exchanges we sponsor and workshops we have organised. The work we do to highlight the connections between music and social issues has been received incredibly well by hip hop heads, educators, activists and artists alike. This is how an international network of collaborators for more projects is created. We all share the same love for hip hop, and recognise its potential (and success) as a tool for social unity and change.
What characteristics are you looking for in a group or individual when searching for talent to work with? At Nomadic Wax we really try to focus on groups and individuals who embody a positive, sociallyconscious message and image. We work with artists who use hip hop to work closely with their community and represent a social vision. These are who we can work with in our political coverage pieces and global workshops. The special news piece we produced this summer called Thawra: youth & hip 22
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Please tell us about your mixtape series and how artists can take part in similar projects and better yet how feasible it is to
work on a South African mixtape together. The Diaspora Mixtape Series (diasporamixtape.com) features collaborative mixtapes featuring MCs, DJs, producers and vocalists from around the globe. The goal of the series is to show the interconnections of the hip hop world. Borders are dissolving as technology improves and people travel much more easily. These are the factors that define music, especially hip hop which has always been a genre devoted to personal expression and urban identity. We work with a diverse group of artists for each volume in the series in an attempt to contextualise the inherent similarities among artists worldwide, while at the same time showcasing their unique, cultural differences. We also produce the Internationally Known Mixtape Series, which was conceived by Dumi RIGHT of pH Music and Magee McIlvaine of Nomadic Wax. This series gathers material from some of the best hip hop artists around the globe, in order to showcase some of the underground talent that has formed the foundation of global hip hop. Some of the artists featured on Internationally Known Vol. One include Zero Plastica (Italy), Alfaress (Morocco), Wagëblë (Senegal) and OBC (Senegal). Artists can take part in these and similar projects by joining our mailing list or checking our Facebook page frequently for ‘open calls’ for artists and updates on projects. They can also contact us directly with music samples and an artist statement at info@nomadicwax.com. Of course, it would be feasible to work on a South African mixtape together! It could be a great opportunity to introduce some lesser-known artists and perhaps, examine the variety of musical influences that the country’s complex history and diverse population provides. Thanks for this opportunity. Any last words to the readers? Thank YOU for this opportunity to share Nomadic Wax with your South African readers! Last words are always tricky, but I think it’s important to say that we really believe in promoting the voices of urban youth around the world, and we aspire to be helping artists at the forefront of this rapidly expanding international hip hop scene. Please check out our albums, projects, and plenty of free downloads at www.nomadicwax.bandcamp. com and www.nomadicwax.com. We’re also on Facebook, where you can get updates about our projects and the opportunity to work with us on upcoming mixtapes. www.hypemagazine.co.za
2011/12/15 11:46 AM