I think this is the first blog post ever to be remixed!  From my Clicky analytics I see a lot of you really enjoy this past post. I am going to update  and remix some info for you.

Creating your music is one thing. Getting it to people, however, is another story.

While commercial labels find it easier to connect with people in-the-know to get their content for wide distribution, independent artists have to struggle with menial connections and limited funds for advertising.

But your hopes of releasing your music doesn’t end there! We’ve prepared five tips to help you get your presence online and to start marketing your music online.

Remix: With this digital age even the so -called commercial music labels are having it hard .  You can’t just throw money at radio station hoping the music is going to sell. A lot and I mean a lot believe as an artist you can’t make money off of your music. My thought is the old ways of doing music biz are over!  With the new ways there is no map you have to take the time to draw the map to be profitable and successful.

Tip #1: Get a domain name. Getting your own domain name is the best way to get an online presence because it gives a mark to your readers – a special site to check out what’s new with you and your group.

Remix of Tip 1: Yes having a domain is the first step in setting up your online presence, it  help sets  your foundation.  But another thing  I mean huge first step is setting up a SQL database of top Music blogs/sites and having a fan/customer database also.  I became hip to data bases by reading Dream and Hustle Ed gives good instructions on what a data base is and how to set it up CLICK HERE.  A recommended book on data bases is Sams’ Teach Yourself SQL in 24 hours.  I can not stress enough how artist need to be more business minded. Part of being business  minded is building a strong team.  On this strong team you might want to think about having a computer programmer part of your team.

Tip #2: Make your music streamable. If you want people to listen to your music or view your performance, you should get them online in streamable format. Load music up using Last.fm, iMeem, and iLike and have your videos hosted on Youtube. You don’t expect people to hear the first thirty seconds of your song or view only half of your performance and love it – you have to give them a full preview of what you’re made of.

Remix of Tip 2: Nobody cares about your music.  There are so many outlets for getting music especially online.  Here is the thing when you do make your music streamable. YOU HAVE TO  MAKE THE MUSIC REMARKABLE.  If Kanye West goes over his music 1,000 times or more to make it correct you should be doing the same!  When you make it digital,   billions of people have access to your art. Make it great!

Tip #3: Make yourself known. While creating your own website might be the start of promoting your music or group online, supplemental connections would greatly boost your online network. Create Myspace pages, post tweets, make your own Facebook fan page, post pictures to Flickr but most importantly, establish your own Youtube Channel. That way, you can still maintain a connection with your fans and followers through updates, videos, and photos.

It’s really important to be part of your followers’ everyday lives because you keep them hooked to stuff that you could offer to them.

Remix: of Tip 3: Make sure when you pic these social networks you want to be where your listeners are.  A lot of people might not think Myspace is not popping anymore.  But if you are an artist you still might want to consider having a myspace page still.  Also remember you have to participate in these social networks don’t be talking about bull shit beefs.  Just entertain and give informative info.

Tip #4: Encourage fan contributions. The more you could let your fans feel a part of your music or group, the more they’ll come back for more. Remember that your fans remain to be loyal to you because they could relate to your music or group. If you have a significant number of fans, why don’t you try out encouraging fan contributions? From simple contests that ask your fans to help you name your next song, to encouraging them to submit their suggested cover for your next album, you’re sure that fans will come looking for more.

And if you want to push it further, try creating fan forums on your site as well as chat boxes where people could talk about your music or latest performance. This greatly helps keep people talking about you – its advertising at its best!

Remix of Tip 4: As an artist you want to be imaginative in trigging people or to get  more fan contributions.  You might want to think about creating a cool online tool.  You might be hold up here I am rapper I don’t have time for that.  I’m like ok but check it out what if you created a online tool that would help the average cat spit a better rhyme. People love tools, don’t forget one of the main reasons people log online is to solve some problem they have.

Tip #5: Give some away. Who doesn’t want free stuff? Practically almost anybody in the plant loves to get something once in a while; so why won’t your fans want some too? Giving away a free track from your latest album or the coolest video you made is one way of maintaining online presence. Fans feel compelled to purchase your songs and follow you if they can actually feel that they are given importance and this is one of the best ways to show it.

Remix of Tip 5: You  have to let your online content go buck wild!  You don’t want your stuff online to be controlled or restricted you want your content to be the freak of the week.  You want everybody taking turns! You want to think about making your music free, here is a post I did called the Dead Head Music model that will help CLICK HERE

Always remember if nobody is putting You on Put Yourself on!

“I’m Connected to a Higher Power” Jay Z taken from Light Up Drake’s Album

The new frontier is not under the ocean or some distant planet.  It is right between your ears,  your mind.   The more I realize things about myself and this world is that it is not necessarily and outside world.  Meaning life is not happening to you it is happening through you. If you want  to build something in your life know matter how big or small,  you have to believe in your inner Goddess or God.   Here are some questions  that might help expand our  minds to get off the Mental Plantation.

• (All these questions are in my Jadakiss voice)What if you realized when you go to your house of worship you were praying to yourself?
• What if you didn’t have to wait 3,000 yrs for your savior you were the one that could save yourself?
• Would you treat everybody better around you because you realized they are you and you are them?
• How would it feel if you realized you created everything in your life both positive and negative and everything in between?
• What if you didn’t have to chase security,money,and power once you realized you were all those things but hid them from yourself?

It is interesting watching people especially those in power how they have this confidence about themselves that they can create anything they want.  Maybe  people that think they are victims or powerless need to tap into their own <Arm>< Leg><Leg>< Arm>< Head>.

I would like to give a special shout to the Incredible Historian and Photographer  Runoko Rashidi for the above pic.  If you like African History the way I do you can check his Face book page by CLICK HERE

I know We as Black people have tried to put a positive spin on  the word Nigga by using it as a term of endearment and I myself use it like this to.  We also always have to explain to other people why we use the word.  But we never question the actual creator(s) of word and why they created it.  Regardless of how we use the word. I notice  we never deal with the feelings or  the energy in the word Nigga.

Nigga energy can be seen as the Yin and Yang in us, or devil or angel inside of us. It  can be very negative and destructive energy that is mostly used to terrorize, destroy and victimize other Black people.

True fact Nigga energy is not going anywhere.  Nigga energy began on plantations and on enslaved African slaves ships by White Supremacist.

Another true fact everybody has Nigga energy in them.

My Nigga energy was created in me when I was born in a women’s prison and not knowing who my real biological father was.

The point is instead of letting this energy destroy us we can use that energy towards things that really matter and effect our lives.  So when you feel like you are getting up -set, destructive and wanting to let somebody know they a Nigga! Don’t waste that energy put it towards these following events that are actually affecting your life!

High rates of Black unemployment:

http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/17253,

Lowest household income:

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/income.html

High Blood Pressure:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4621

Youth Violence:

The Gulf oil Spill is real Fucked up but also our Brother’s and Sisters in Nigeria also deal with devastating oil spills:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/30/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-shell

Black men are getting locked up at crazy rates but also Black women:

http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=3a51b1bfb3b5c5a04b6c29bd6107f4d6

High Suicide rates:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89151091

Reparation check these two views out interesting:

And

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First off you are probably like what the fuck is a Dead Head?   I have answer for that a Dead head is a person that follows the Grateful Dead.  Your next question is who the fuck is the Grateful Dead ?  Your final question is Shawn you are about HipHop why talk about a hippie rock band?  Simple they are one of the most successful and profitable bands in music history! Here are the reasons why I think the Dead Head music model is something that will help you in your Digital HipHop career.  They are Bottom up Management, Strong customer loyalty, and Give free content away.

Bottom up Management: Before we go into Bottom up lets talk about the most familiar management style Top-down. This approach is extremely popular in todays corporations. The phrase “top-down” means that all the directions come from the top.  The manager/management  in charge has to be a great communicator if not his/her message can effect the companies bottom line negatively or positively.

The Bottom-up approach implies team work, team members are encouraged to  participate in every step of the management process. The decision on a course of action is taken by the whole team.  Then team members are encouraged to be entrepreneurial and problem solvers with- in the company. The advantage of this approach is that it empowers team members to think more creatively. Plus they feel more involved with company projects  and know that their initiatives are appreciated. When a team is thinking correctly planing and company objectives flow significantly faster.

Working for Whole Foods we had meetings every 2 wks, team members had the power to recommend and hire new team members.  The better the team operated regarding department profits, and showing use of using efficient time.  The team was rewarded with a sharing of profits called gain sharing.

The problem I had with bottom up management at Whole foods was individuals were not rewarded for their own accomplishments.  Also it can be come like a clique if you are out shining your co workers.  But this approach might be helpful musically if grant your core fans more access into your music.  The fans could provide all types of input into how your music should be heard and sold. Check  a post a wrote to learn more  called “Long tail of Hip Hop”

Strong customer loyalty: These are loyal customers that would wipe your ass for you while you take a shit.  To get to this level you got supply your customer base with the products they want, plus always make your core customer base happy. The Dead are know for people to camp out for the best seats at their shows.  The Grateful Dead have a template where the reward their fans regardless where they come from or location. For example you might  live in New york but you  want to see a show in LA. Usually you would think have to camp out just like everybody else to get great seats. But the Dead reward their fans if they call or order tickets online  for the ability to get great seats without camping out in line for tickets.

Give free content away: The Dead always make their musically content easily assessable to their fans. An example is how Grateful Dead were one of the first musical acts that aloud the fans to  record,film and share their music online and offline. Also check out an article I wrote about giving things away “Will you buy something for free”

Here are some other things to think about with the Grateful Dead.   On the outside they may appear to be dirty hippies but they were straight hustlas and business men.   They got incorporated and created a board of directors  in beginning when their band was created.   Here is a great quote of wisdom from John Perry Barlow who is The Grateful Deed’s lyricist:  “What people today are beginning to realize is what became obvious to us back then—the important correlation is the one between familiarity and value, not scarcity and value. Adam Smith taught that the scarcer you make something, the more valuable it becomes. In the physical world, that works beautifully. But we couldn’t’t regulate [taping at] our shows, and you can’t online. The Internet doesn’t behave that way. But here’s the thing: if I give my song away to 20 people, and they give it to 20 people, pretty soon everybody knows me, and my value as a creator is dramatically enhanced. That was the value proposition with the Dead.”

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Vampire movies like Twilight or the vampire hit TV show True Blood. Are hits for the simple fact that vampires are real!  The difference between the real vampires and movie ones  is they don’t take your blood and kill you.  Instead the real ones feed off your energy and make you a living and walking zombie with self doubts.

These vampires are both day walkers and night walkers.  You know these vampires as friends that like to argue with you and get you riled up for no reason.  They can be family like the cool cousin that tells all your business and tries to throw you under the bus over some club hoes.  Or even the ex girl friend that you try to get back with but plays hard to get to just to drain you . Or you might have the nagging wife that doesn’t know when to shut up and never appreciates you.

It would be easy for me to tell you to just ignore these emotional vampires.  Here are some way of destroying them. Change your mind set they start burning up all around you. Have more confidence in yourself and your dreams.  If you can’t find winners to surround yourself with yet  meditate,  do self study of yourself by reading books that help your mind and pockets.Take a break from the clubs or do  like Dead Prez says turn off the Bullshit  Radio and TV. You will  be surprised how wonderful people start popping up in your life once the Emotional Vampires disappear.

It seems like the mainstream media luv to talk about how f@&ked up Black relationships are
Here is a tip for the fellas only date women that smile a lot. Here is a tip for the ladies only date men who have a vision.

If you enjoy this blog post or enjoy the blog please donate CLICK HERE. Or donate by clicking on the button in the right hand corner.  Thank you Peace and Power

I was once a Vegetarian,  Vegan,  Raw foodist then this past winter I went on the Fat Ass diet.  I wasn’t at the point where I was getting man boobs. But I didn’t want to wait till I got to that point. Winter time is definitely the time I sit around and watch extra TV like football and drink quite few Guinness.

What I did to over come this is I sat my big ass down and did some research on Amazon.  What I found was an amazing book by Supa Nova who is the son of Queen Afua called The Remedy. He has a great 5 day cleanse where you detox. The cleanse is the simplest and safest cleanse I have ever done. What you need is 12oz glasses of fruit  juice for 4 days, 1 gallon of distilled water per day, and a powdered greens food like Supa Mega Greens or Barleans greens.  I tell you what I never cheated on the cleanse or had a fasters crisis. It was perfect it helped get my body and mind back into balance in wanting to put natural healthy foods back in my diet,   caused me to drink more water on the daily,   I had more energy,  plus my stress levels were down.

The most important thing though is  I didn’t need a training bra and I’m not a fat ass anymore. I am not going to go back to being a vegan but I am going watch more carefully in what I am going to eat. I highly recommend you try this great cleanse.  We all like the finer things in life like the dope ride and nice clothes.  But sometimes we forget the human body is the dopest thing on the planet. I suggest you check out the book and take it  from there.

If you enjoy this blog post or enjoy the blog please donate CLICK HERE. Or donate by clicking on the button in the right hand corner.  Thank you and Peace

Warning if you have a Black mother I strongly suggest you don’t say it directly to her face, she might just kill you for It!

I know it might sound harsh,  but sometimes when your trying to build a business or career.  Family and friends can be a major deterrent sometimes to know fault of their own.

You might have a mother that worries about your financial security it is understandable.  Plus no good mother wants to see their child go through pain and hardship regardless that it might be short term.

You might have friends that are not use to you talking about career,money or business.  They might be your friend because you both complain about dumb stuff or they feel justified in sharing their lack of success with you.

Plus when you start moving and getting more successful it can sometimes make family and friends insecure since it appears that you are moving up and  leaving them behind.

If you have true friends and family they are going to be there  regardless for you no matter what situation you are in.  Here are somethings to consider before telling people to fuck off!

1. Realize you have friends for different occasions:  I have friends I  hang with to party and have a good time.  I also have friends that I can talk to about my dreams.
2. You can’t tell family members everything: Sad but true.Especially close family they have seen your failures and how you felt about them.  You explain a business or career move you want to do.  They will tell you why you can’t do it and base it off of past failures you had.
3. Some friends like being around friends that are during worst then them: Some friends really get off on this and helps boost their ego.  You might work at McDonald’s making $5.50 an hr your friend is working at a bank for $7.50 an hr.  He might feel justified in telling you how much stuff he buys and what car he drives all the time.  Because he feels like he has one up on you. When knowing he is only making a couple dollars more.
4. When building who wants to be dragged in someone else’s bullshit: You ever have friend call you up and tell who they seeing and all the crap they are going through.Knowing the back of your head that they could easily solve the problem.  Don’t get me wrong sometimes friend and family truly need your help and you should help them.  But lets be honest 80% of someone else’s problems they can solve themselves.

Shout out to Stoner Hippie for a dope blog and great pic

I’m a looser, I’m a female,I’m to old,I’m just a Black man struggling,they tried it but never could do it. Or is it I’m the best HipHop blogger on the planet, nothing is going to stop me, I appreciate myself.

We all have voices in our mind, but no one ever told us is we can pick and choose in what we want to listen to.  One way to get off the mental Plantation is to improve our self talk for ourselves and not wait for  someone else to tell us, what we truly are!