The Hip Hop Game: Getting In

So, you think that you can spit the rhymes. You think you have game? What you can do in your room, in front of your mirror is not going to mean a thing if you can’t get your lines in front of others.

If you have hip hop dreams, then you better know a little about how to bust into the game but more importantly, how to scratch your way on up to the top of the heap. Whether you are an artist looking to make it big or a producer with an ear out for the next big thing, there are some things that you are going to need to know. First off, know your competition.

In the hip hop world, up and comers might be seen as a dime a dozen. For every artist that makes it to the lowest rung of fame there are dozens more left struggling and fighting for a place, unable to get their foot in the door at all.

They come from all across the country from little clubs, from high schools and from colleges, from the streets and from factories. Like Guilty Simpson who came from Detroit, who finally got to lay down tracks on the indie label Stones Throw from California. Nova the Rebel, who comes from Cleveland, Ohio has not only broke out on the scene but has earned some awards in the process, including the 2011 award for Lyricist of the Year.

Winning awards and getting noticed is great, but your sales are what get you back in the studios. There are no producers who are making money on artists who are not selling, after all. Studio time is expensive and no one is going to waste money on people who won’t be making it back.

Producers and artists alike have to spend their own money until they start making it- and that often means putting expenses on business credit cards. Before you invest your cash or incur that debt, make sure that you have a winning artist to back, some great rhymes to be heard and of course, the best credit card deals so that you are paying back those charges without a ton of interest on top of them.

Keep the rhymes fresh and the expenses under control until you are famous and always keep a watch on those who are coming up behind you as well as those who killed that mic before you.