The Rhythm Issue

THE FOX

DREAM BIGGER WITH US.

MAGAZINE

THE

RHYTHM ISSUE

PHOTO BY: WILLIAM HAWK

EDITOR IN CHIEF MIKE FOX

EDITORS LISA KHIEV KENZIE SHULTZ CLAIRE LEGERON

INT ROD UCTI ON GRAPHIC DESIGNERS EMILLY ANDRADE SHANNON KANE TAMMY FANTAUZZI

Rhythm is such a fundamental aspect of music, ear training for rhythm by listening to a diverse selection of music can be hugely beneficial to musicians and music fans from all corners of the musical universe. Discover emerging artists that are embracing their rhythmic talents to deliver great music.

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EDI TORS’ NOT E

While times feel uncertain, one thing we can count on is music. It has helped me get through numerous situations, connect with amazing people and hear stories from all across the world. If you’re anything like me, you listen to music everyday and understand the importance of rhythm in a song. Rather it’s floating on the beat with 16 bars or strumming to a guitar solo, rhythm is a fundamental aspect to making great music.

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S ECT IONS

IN D U ST RY IN SIGHT

COVER STORY

RHYTHM RAPP ORT

The music industry contains tons

Novyon’s inuence and electric

Discover a diverse selection of

of opportunities and challenges.,

sound have earned him the right

artists that are embracing their

discover industry insight to

to open up for hip hop royalty

rhythmic talents to deliver great

embrace these obstacles.

such as YG and Wiz Khalifa.

music to the masses.

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TA B L E OF CONTENTS

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16

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STREAMING IN 2020

MUSIC BIZ GUIDE

DIY MUSIC STUDIO

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44

30 30

40

NOVYON

RUEPRATT

50

54

60

DINA RENEE

NIK WEST

GET SOCIAL

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JANDTREE

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INDUSTRY INSIGHT The music industry contains tons of opportunities and challenges no matter which path is taken. To make things even more challenging, most will have to do a lot of work well before seeing any of the benefits. Discover industry insight to embrace the big opportunities and difficult challenges.

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ST REAMING DUR ING

A PANDE MIC

Digital music is an emerging market with three major players enticing thousands of people to give up pirating their music and actually paying for it.

Instead of buying songs or albums, they offer subscribers the ability to rent their entire collection of over 1 million tracks for a low monthly fee.

Aside from the cost savings, renting music has more advantages over buying. For one, it is convenient. Imaging having over 1 million full-length high-quality songs at your fingertips, so whether you want to listen to your favorite song, something different on an impulse, or are just curious about an emerging artist, you can have it all.

On top of that, you don’t have to worry about slow downloads, poor audio quality, corrupt or infected files.

When taken into consideration that people have been stealing music long before the advent of the MP3 file, which made pirating music a widespread epidemic, why now are people all of a sudden going straight? So many, that 2005 was the first year legal downloads of music exceeded illegal downloads on P2P sites.

Convinced? So which music subscription service is right for you?

While they are all pretty comparable, Spotify is probably the cream of the crop.

They offer the most streamlined interface and the best jukebox functionality, all accessible from any PC connected to the web. Artist bios, radio stations (which allow you to skip songs), and advanced playlist features are all integrated into the interface.

Tidal also has an attractive interface with advanced playlist features and a massive catalog of music that is continually growing. It has a few nice personalization features, but transferring songs can be more difficult with Tidal than the alternatives.

Apple Music also includes a nice jukebox, radio stations and can integrate with the popular podcasts across all Apple devices.

If the appealing price outweighs a lack of extras like artist bios and a few bugs here and there, then Apple is probably the way to go.

Thank Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music for finally offering models that make sense.

Don’t sleep on Soundcloud either though.

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With digital music sales soaring, it is a safe bet that all three of these music subscription services will flourish and continue to develop even more features, grow their already extensive catalogs, and convert more and more pirates into renters.

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2 020 MUSIC BIZ

RE S O URCE GUI DE

Want to know how to become a successful full-time musician in the music business? First, you should forget about all the ‘conventional wisdom’ you’ve been told by those who have NEVER been highly successful in the music industry.

It’s a fact that most musicians who try to succeed in the music business will actually fail... but YOU do not need to be one of them!

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Musicians who build and sustain successful music careers utilize an entirely different set of skills, thought processes and values that help them achieve music business success.

These things are not music business secrets that are only available to rock stars and music industry executives - anyone can learn and utilize them (this includes you). Throughout the rest of this article, I will discuss these various qualities and help you understand how you can use them to benefit your personal music career.

Contrary to what you might first think, learning to play your instrument at a ‘professional’ level isn’t included in the list below. Why? Because it is a ‘given’ that you must be working towards that goal already every day. In addition, your musical abilities (on their own) will not be enough to guarantee your success in the music business. Fact is, there are countless musicians who can play extremely well, but nevertheless do not build a successful music career... so it is clear that musical talent alone can only take you so far.

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Here are the most important qualities to develop for yourself in order to build a highly successful music career: The Right Work Ethic Mentality - The type of dedication needed requires more than just working a lot on your career.

Steadfast Loyalty - In the music industry, you will not reach a high level of success alone.

A Positive ’Everyone Wins’ Mindset - The musicians who become the most successful and gain access to the greatest opportunities in this business are always getting what they want while ALSO finding a way to help the people they work with do the same.

No matter if you are working as an independent musician or together with a music company, you will greatly benefit by knowing how to negotiate, book shows, build a following of fans, put together a tour, communicate effectively, think of profitable business ideas and more.

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In the music business, you will need to do things like a tour, complete recording sessions and work on several projects at once - while at the same time working together with musicians who all have different personalities, desires and ways of thinking than you.

This will create a lot of stress but is an inevitable and unavoidable aspect of working as a professional musician.

Being able to move a project forward without becoming overwhelmed by everyday causes of stress is something most musicians struggle with.

Music companies, musicians, promoters, managers and other music industry types will all act as your business partners at one point or another in your music career.

The majority of musicians take loyalty for granted and only ‘pretend’ to be loyal until they can take advantage of an opportunity at the expense of their partners.

These people will all invest their time, energy and resources into you and because of this, they will expect your loyalty (as you will likewise expect it from them).

Musicians who are not loyal are frequently banned from future business ventures and music career opportunities.

Most of the qualities have to do with the way you ‘think’ rather than the specific actions you take. It is rare to find someone who has the right mindset that contains all of these qualities. However, you can get ‘trained’ to develop a success-oriented mindset and thus massively increase your chances of making it in the music industry.

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B U I L DIN G A DIY R ECO R DIN G STUDIO In this modern era, if you have talent, you don’t need agents and publicists to take your work to masses. All you need is quality content and the right channel to share it with the public.

If music is your domain, you should seriously consider setting up your own recording studio at home and start working on your next masterpiece. Don’t worry, a home recording studio does not necessarily have to be as expensive as it sounds.

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Things are digital nowadays and you simply can’t think of recording and processing music without a computer.

Given that most people own a desktop or laptop PC with a reasonably modern hardware configuration, this won’t be a significant expense. That said, if you are really serious about setting up your own recording studio, it is recommended that you check out PCs that are known to be better than others for this type of work. For example, the latest Apple MacBook Pro is an excellent piece of equipment for music production.

The DAW is the computer software that enables you to record, edit, mix, and perform other activities that are involved in music production. The MacBook already comes with built-in basic DAW called Garageband that can be upgraded to a full-fledged application called Logic Pro X. Reaper, Ableton Live, PreSonus Studio One, Pro Tools, and FL Studio are other DAW options that you can explore based on your budget and requirements.

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An audio interface or a preamp is a hardware tool that receives analog audio signals from your microphone and instruments and converts them into digital signals for the computer to read.

They also play an important role in enhancing the quality of the input signals. There are many options in the market depending on the type of music and the number of instruments you are going to use. In any case, the sound gurus at Musicaroo recommend selecting the best preamp for your mic, irrespective of your level of expertise. Some recommendations of audio interface/ preamps for multiple instruments are Focusrite Scarlett OctoPre and PreSonus Audiobox USB 2x2.

Monitor speakers are essential for proper mixing. The choice primarily depends on the size of your recording studio. Most sound engineers and music producers around the world recommend Yamaha HS series monitors that are considered to be the best in the world for this application.

KRK Rokit 5 G3 is also an excellent choice, especially if you are on a tight budget. If monitors are out of your budget initially, you can use the headphones for mixing as a make-do-measure.

Most recording studio newbies overlook the importance of acoustic foam pads that improve your recording studio’s acoustic characteristics drastically. The difference in the overall final output of your music will be quite significant if you trim your recording studio with acoustic foam pads.

Recommendations include Auralex Acoustics and Acoustic Fields. Some companies offer room analysis services in order to determine the acoustic pads to buy and the place of installation to achieve the best results.

Connecting all your fancy recording studio accessories would require sufficiently long cables (mostly XLRs and quarter-inch instrument cables). Also, you may need adapters for headphones and other instruments.

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RHYTHM RAPPORT Rhythm is such a fundamental aspect of music, ear training for rhythm by listening to a diverse selection of music can be hugely beneficial to musicians and music fans from all corners of the musical universe. Discover a diverse selection of artists that are embracing their rhythmic talents to deliver great music.

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NOVYON COVE R STORY Born and raised in Minneapolis, Novyon rose to hip hop success when he was highlighted as an extraordinary artist by touring with Red Bull as a sound select artist. Now he is based in Miami, FL creating banger after banger even during self-isolation. His influence and electric sound have earned him the right to perform and open up for hip hop royalty such as YG and Wiz Khalifa.

PHOTOGRAPHY ROBERT HENRY

CREATIVE DIRECTOR TRAVIS GORMAN

FILM PRODUCER MORNING SIDE FILMS

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fig 6.

MODEL : NAME HERE PHOTOGRAPHER : NAME HERE STYLISH : NAME HERE

In this cover story, we interviewed with Novyon to find out his start in music, favorite instruments, being consistent, and inspirations along the journey.

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When did your start your musical career?

My real career wouldn’t actually kick off until I was 18 & a senior in high school.

From that age up until I was 23/24, I spent all my time locally in My hope me town of Minneapolis. Trying to be accepted and taken seriously.

It wouldn’t be until I was 24 with the release of my project #TheFoodNetwork produced by one of my bestfriends, & my tour dj Travis Gorman. That project was picked up and premiered

by Pigeons & Planes ahead of an opening spot I had in LA for Big Sean. And the project did extremely well.

I would say that that was my professional beginning. That was the real start in my eyes.

What medium or instrument is your favorite to work with and why?

There are tons of instruments I love, and before this I get into this I want to disclaim that I do not know how to professionally play any instrument. With that being said, I love Guitars, there’s just something about the song of the strings you can hear the fingers sliding across them.

My second favorite is the piano.

There are so many variation of keys out there and being a producer as well as a vocal artist, I’ve learned how to play they keys off of sound, keys help make about any song so emotional or they can make a trap song a hit with a simple 3 key variation.

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Music is all about expression, what do you like expressing in your music?

This is a straight forward answer, I like expressing how I feel and things I experience in my life.

As a young black man in America I think we’re been conditioned to think that showing emotion makes you soft, or insecure.

I feel like my music is the only place where I get to put it all on the line without looking weak, or being judged.

“Be consistent, this is a craft where the fans will love you today and forget about you tomorrow.”

Do you feel you would create music forever?

I think that I’ll always create music forever, I may not put out music deep into my 40’s but It’s something I can’t let go. It’s like a drug to me. And it’s also my outlet. I’ll always do it for myself. But doing it for other people has a time limit to it. Especially with different avenues I’m starting to dip my feet into.

What motto, quote or words do you use to stay motivated when you aren’t feeling inspired?

There’s only one, that motivates me, and it’s “Keep Going” it’s simple but it’s something that keeps me focused. A lot of people give up right before they strike gold. So keep going. You never know how close you really are to your goal.

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What’s something people would be surprised to learn about you?

I think people would be surprised that I can draw really well. I only like doing anime styled drawings but seeing how many artists only get so much love from doing anime styled art I feel like I could do it to, once I get some more free time from music I might start getting back into the swing of drawing.

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What’s the best part of being a musician?

The best part about being a musician to me, is being able to create something in your mind, write it down, put it out to the masses. That fact that you can reach and touch people who don’t know you in person but support you more than most of the people who you’ve grown up with is the best feeling in the world. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

The past, present, or future. Which period would you like to recreate in a form of art?

I don’t believe in recreating the past. Because once the past is gone it’s gone.. A lot of my best songs are drawn from my past. I think I would choose to recreate the future because that’s the only thing in life that I have control over. I love the future cause it’s hopeful.

No matter who you are.

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What’s your best advice for aspiring musicians?

Be unique, there’s tons of people who are doing all the same thing trying to be the next whoever but there aren’t many people trying to be the first anything. Love the music more than the drugs, & the woman. The money will come and go. AIM HIGH. And use condoms. I could go on forever but I think these are all important.

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RUEPRAT T Ruepratt is an American recording artist, songwriter & music producer born and raised in Prince George’s County, Mar yland. After performing over 75 local and regional gigs in 2016, Ruepratt began 2017 with the release of “Est. 1994” on Valentine’s Day. Following the release, Ruepratt headlined her ver y own “90’s Babies Tour”. After a highly successful east coast campaign run for “Est. 1994”, Ruepratt has relocated to Los Angeles for stage two of her music career.

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Within months, Ruepratt earned an opportunity to become a resident artist for Unplugged Sessions: LA, a premier music showcase featuring live performances from emerging and established talent while consistently performing at local LA gigs and network with industry tastemakers.

“Make sure what you create reflects a part of you, and don’t be afraid of judgment - when behind the mic confidence is key. If you don’t believe it, the audience won’t either. Aside from that, the most important part is having fun! Nothing is worthwhile if there’s no enjoyment.”

Ruepratt is currently building her musical catalog while working with Grammy Award Winning producers @ myguymars & @Rance1500 of 1500 or Nothin’ as well as T.I.’s official DJ @DJMLK. Ruepratt’s digital catalog consists of over 1.5 million streams which will include the release of a handful of EPs in 2020, starting with “Ruemantic” & “Ruethym N Bluez”.

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JANDTREE A year ago, no one knew of rap-duo JandTree (J Mask & Tree High) on an artistic level. Fast for ward to 2020, and the Richmond, VA natives are making their way as rising artists in Los Angeles. The journey from VA to LA was rough, unpredictable, and a testament to their dedication to music. From summer 2019 until now, 2020, JandTree went underground - revamping their brand, creating content, developing their sound, and building their music catalog.

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After signing with the brand and talent agency, Ten X Talent Inc., JandTree released two singles in 2018 called “Yearned” and “All On Us,” and within three months, both singles received over 35K streams and 19K listeners on Spotify alone. Nine months following their single releases, JandTree dropped their debut album, Neveruary, in June of 2019.

“Stay consistent, know how to interact with an audience, and obser ve current trends within today’s music that can carr y over and be implemented into a great sound, as best see fit.” - J Mask

At the beginning of their career, JandTree, like many upcoming artists, were eager to release music - projects they’ve put their whole hearts into - however, in this industry, sometimes, leading with your heart will only get you so far. Now, with solid strategies in place and undeniable music, JandTree’s sound will have the impact they’ve worked hard to create. Without a doubt, this is the year the name JandTree will spread throughout Southern California.

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I NNOVATOR IN SPIRA-

DINA RENEE Dina Renee is an upcoming pop artist originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, and currently based in Los Angeles, CA. She always wanted to be a singer and taught herself how to play piano by ear at 3 years old and started writing songs soon after.

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Dina looked up to her older brother and sister growing up who were also musicians, but was also inspired by artists such as Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, and Sheryl Crow. She has always had a unique vocal tone which is a blend of retro pop and she creates catchy hooks that will be stuck in your head. This year Dina released her latest single “What I’m Not Gonna Do” which has been her most successful single so far receiving many write ups and over 150 k plays on Spotify.

“Practice ever yday. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable.

Don’t put music out that isn’t 100% you. Go out of your comfort zone and know that if this is something you’ve always wanted to do the time is really now. You can do this!”

Dina’s goal for everyone she meets is to inspire him or her to follow his or her dreams now- “Do it now” is her mantra as life is short she says. She released her first two pop singles before losing her mother to cancer in 2015 with a percentage of the proceeds going to St. Judes. The passing of her mother changed Dina’s perspective on life as she never thought she would be able to survive without her mom. She made a promise to her mom that she would be ok and she started performing all over Los Angeles soon after her death.

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I NNOVATOR IN SPIRA-

NIK WEST Explosive stage presence isn’t enough to describe the way Nik West moves, wows, and shocks crowds ever ywhere. With credits that include Quincy Jones Productions, Prince, Glee, American Idol, Dave Stewart of Eur ythmics fame, and more, bassist, singer, and songwriter Nik West is anything more than just another pretty face.

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She sports a colorful mohawk shaped like a bass clef. She is also a highly expressive singer. Known for impressively recording a cover of “Back In Black” by AC/DC, Nik shocked many rock fanatics and became a new favorite of Steven Tyler and Lenny Kravitz.

“Be yourself, but be THE BEST AT WHAT YOU DO! If someone else is doing it better, find a way to specialize and differentiate yourself… and then be the best at THAT!”

Nik West has also shared stages with John Mayer, Sugarland, Macy Gray, Bootsy Collins, George Clinton/Parliament Funkadelic, and Orianthi. In June 2016 Nik joined Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, and Slash as a cover girl for American Musical Magazine. She has appeared on the covers of virtually every bass magazine and has been featured in numerous publications for People Magazine, Vanity Fair, Teen Vogue, Rollingstone, Ok! Magazine, Billboard, Afropunk and more.

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I NNOVATOR IN SPIRA-