Keys to success

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There's a new wave of artist on the rise, steady innovating and changing the game as we go. One can almost say we are living in a renaissance era of technology, with advanced technology in visual and audio design. Everything is much more easier to use and accessible that technically someone dosent have to go to school in order to learn about a particular subject. All you have to do is have enough drive and will to learn about it on your own, which is a good and bad thing because some people simply never learn. The most important thing to remember when it comes to being successful is staying consistent. Consistency shows people not only that you are reliable and can but trusted, but that you are actually serious about what you do. Thus making it easier to network which is also one of the most important things to remember when being successful. All you have to do is develop a great product or service and let the right people see it, and your whole life can change so remember to network. Learn to encourage yourself, often times we have more then enough words for our friends but learn to practice what you preach and you cant go wrong.

Drake makes History

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Drake has officially made history with his new album "If You're Reading This It's Too Late", matching the Beatles record of having 14 songs on Billboards hot 100 list at one time. First this is a giant step for hip-hop, proving that it is in fact the rock-roll of this generation.  Also there is some controversy surrounding the tape as well. Drake was supposed to release 4 albums under Cash Money before his deal could be over, and with the recent division between Lil Wayne and Birdman, Young Money and Cash Money have parted their ways as well. Lil Wayne is now suing Cash Money for a reported $51 million, as well as his Young Money imprint which also includes the artist Drake, and Nicki Minaj. Drake is loyal to Lil Wayne and Young Money, so instead of releasing this project as a free mixtape as he intended, he decided to release it as a studio album, thus history was made. Moving half of million units in the first week, "If You're Reading This It's Too Late", is definitely going down in the books as a classic, and it may be even hotter then Drake's debut mixtape "So Far Gone". Anyway if this was just a mixtape, then I'm real excited to hear what the album sounds like. If you're not sure what songs to check out "Legend", "Energy", and "Riding thru the 6".

Hottest Mixtapes of The Year (So Far)

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There has been a wave of hot new music being dropped this year. Earlier this year Chicago's own Leather Corduroys released their mark making project "Seasons". Then we seen the impossible happen when Lil Wayne let it be known that Birdman was holding his album back, but then we got the popular, unforgettable mixtape, "Sorry For The Wait 2". A lot of other artist have dropped tapes this year two such as Trinidad James and Og Maco. Some of the hottest artist to drop tapes this year was Yo Gotti with his "Concealed", Future with "Beast Mode",  and Slim Thug with "Hogg Life". Still a lot more new projects are on they way such as Curren$y's long awaited "Pilot Talk 3".  Gucci Man just released his new Tape "Views from Zone 6", which is really weird because Gucci has been locked up for the past two years, in which he has released more mixtapes then any other artist in the game right now. Juicy J just released the much anticipated "Blue Dream &Lean 2", the prior tape making very famous with this young generation. Drake just released his first tape in about a year called"If Youre Reading This It's Too Late", which is really making numbers and getting people hyped up for his album. Mixtapes are definitely the best way to promote your album, and is a method used by some of the best artist in the game. When you get a chance check some of these projects out, since if i mentioned them they are very good.

Album Sales Vs. Ticket Sales

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Today when someone release's new music weather it's released for free or not it rarely gets paid for. The availability of streaming and file-sharing today makes it possible for you to not ever buy a record again. All you have to do is search for it and it's yours basically. With the market for album sales steady falling a lot of artists artistry has declined as well. People no longer use a lot of time to write music anymore they just freestyle it, which is okay, but it generates a whole genre of music with barely any content at all just people talking about bullshit. In turn people who look up to these guys as artist flood the game with their bullshit thinking that, that's how it supposed to be but really it's not. With the decline in Album sales the artist depends fruitfully on going on tour to make most of their money. Today consumers now are more pumped up then ever to attend the live concert rather then listen to the album anyway. Enabling artist to almost focus on the show more the initially making the music. Had it not been for touring and merchandise a lot of artist wouldn't have made Forbes this year, unfortunately this has what the industry has been downgraded too. Now it entirely up the the consumer if they wish to support you or not by buying your album, rather then it being the only ay they can hear your music. I believe that there should just be a more effective way to distribute your music for profit on the internet to solve this problem. Maybe artist should make their album and their live show more syncopated.

Best Artist Alive

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There have been many lists and comparisons on who exactly is the best rapper alive, and today IndieRips would like to tackle the topic. Off the top when people start talking about the best rapper alive you hear names like Lil Wayne, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J-cole, Kanye West, Jay-Z, and so forth. I think some of the best rappers though are those who are not the super stars of the industry but are solid with their market and consistent with their longevity. The music industry has long been a popularity contest but just because someone is popular, that doesn't actually make them a great artist. I only made a list of five but check it out and tell me who you think should be up there and who shouldn't. First off number 5 on the list is the infamous Kanye West, who has mad as many hits as he has produced for other people. In 4th place i would like to put J cole who is a new artist in the game but he has been very consistent with his delivery and he was the only rapper to go platinum last year. In 3rd I'd like to rank Kendrick Lamar, he should be number one but not quite yet, with his sophomore album on the way Kendrick Lamar is definitely a game changing artist who has always stayed true to himself and his music. At number 2 on the list i would like to put Jay-Z, who has had success with every album he has ever dropped in his 20+ year career. Then finally at number 1 is someone who is not quite a rapper but more importantly a artist and his name is Pharrell, no explanation needed.

Independent Artist In Chicago

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Chicago is home to a really complex Independent music scene as well as alot of major artist and labels. With the roster including artist such as Chance the Rapper, Kanye West, and Chief Keef, their are so many different aspirations expressed in the music made by this city's natives. One of the reasons for their success are simply people like me and you. Chicago is also home to a diverse large amount of people, who all share one thing in common they love music. And with the advances in technology that one has to connect directly with their fans, especially the ones in their city, labels are rarely needed for an artist to reach their maximum potential. All over Chicago where ever you go you'll find that the people mainly only listens to artist from their city. There technically is a large enough selection, of artist from this city alone for you to never have to listen to someone outside of the city again to find what you're searching for. I believe that with the accessibility to have a studio a lot of artist are finding being independent way easier then signing to a label. As well as being able to have the freedom to sell your merchandise and basically do anything you want to do as a artist. I believe in the coming years were going to see a rise of independent artist putting out music, and it's only right, because labels have been exploiting artist ever since they found out it was possible. I commend you artist to go innovate new ways to get your music out the the public, the world revolution has yet to start, but the revolution of music has just begun.

Favorite song

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This is one my most favorite songs I recorded. One day I was just searching youtube for samples and came upon a orchestra with the stings in it. Then I sampled that, and made the rest of the beat in Fl studios. Next I exported each instrument track separately, wrote some bars, and took it to the the studio at the loop campus, where I recorded myself using an AKG 414 mic. After I recorded it,  I mixed and mastered the track a little bit although it's not yet done. Anyway I hope you enjoy!!!!!!!!

Are mixtapes the new album??

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Were starting to see artist more frequently drop free mix tapes, rather then make a label produced album. Today in the music industry a lot of artist are suffering simply because no one is buying their albums, or at least not as many as who use to. Now a days you can search the internet and find a way to download anybody's music for free whether they have it for sale or not. In addition a lot of artist release free mix tapes as a means of promoting their studio album which has been an effective marketing tool, but still albums are just not selling like they use too. On the bright side while it use to take an artist almost 10 years to break into the industry, now all they have to do is release a successful mix tape and almost in an instant they catapulted in the industry, this method has been successful for a number of up-an-coming artist such as Chance The Rapper, Lucki Ecks, Mick Jenkins, Joey Bada$$, and Alex Wiley. Are mix tapes the new album?,  in a industry where artist now predominately makes a majority of their money touring the country and performing live shows of their music, unfortunately yes it is. Artist no longer aspire to even create a album instead most of them rush to make mix tape, thinking at least they didn't waste their time on something that would sale. But with the rise of independent artist i see albums making a comeback, when the mix tape is simply not enough and you want to be taken deeper into an artist world and experience their music on a level meant only for them to understand an album is essential.