Ok, so i'm finally making money at this. the latest moves from Cold.

Cold Truth

IllMuzik Moderator
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 25
well lets see... no money *in my hands* just yet and we all know how that one goes, soo..
but here is proof that going for that big money from the jump doesnt always pay off.

but i got three artists right now.

the first one, Ced (tahts all i know him by) has several cd's (kinda like merc in that sense) recorded but they are all used beats. he is the nephew of a dude that i live with, who i have known for about 11 years. i have known his brother, Joe,a succesful buisness man, (he owns a fairly prosperous construction company here) about the same amount of time. so Ced comes over and i check his cd, which is very commercial, gangsta rap. anyways the beats are pretty generic to my ears and whatnot but ced can be molded into a pretty good artist. i gave him some songs to write to but let him know they were tracks taht were already being written to etc but he could write and spit over them, and gave him a 3 song, $200 deal for it. so im thinking, i know my beats are worth far more then that, but hey its my first customer.

turns out, he is Joe's son- which i didnt find out til la few days later. Joe tells me, you help my son get going and i'll pay you. i cant pay you what you are worth, i can tell (he heard "my old soul" and was like..."you got skills like THAT?"), but i can pay you something to help him. he's going to pay for the first three songs for Ced.

here's the kicker. Joe is successful and has always thrown his money and help to people who were worthy investments- not for a return but just to people who would actually do something with his resources and succeed.

so, joe says once he sees where the finished product is going (for both of us as artists, not just ced over my beats) and sees us making moves, he plans on throwing his hat into the ring. which means, his name, his credit, and his money. he plans on building a small recording studio for us and whatever gear i need to get produce as high quality a product as we can. he has no plans on dropping 20 g's or anything, but he certainly plans to help us help ourselves.

i know all of the "be careful, mixing money with friendships and family" and all that, i understand all of those things. but this is the first person who has come to me, believed in me and offered up their financial backing and unless god shows me this isnt the thing to do, this is a direction i am going to explore.

i have another cat named Bo within the same family circle who is from Chicago and has that typical fast flow and a solid voice and delivery. he's gettin his little settlement and wants to do a whole cd, but i told him we'll negotiate that then and there.

i also have a chicano rapper who wants chicano rap beats.

NOW, before i get the "sell out" statements from people who know that i have my particular standards and thoughts, these cats wanted my beats as they were, my style and all. do not expect dumbed down from me; do not expectthese artists to be typical of the industry cats you normally hear.

i plan on doing my best to develop these three guys and pushing myself to still ake Cold Truth beats that fit the westcoast, chicano, and midwest sounds (they are each of a different sound and style completely) that they prefer..... but i plan on making these guys better artists and pushing them to their limits..... as well as myself.

i dont do west coast naturally, i dont do chicano styles naturally, i dont do bounce or midwets naturally, i do 4/4 melodic boom bap. hopefully i can develop new sounds from all of this...

because these guys are not typical of the types of artists i would choose to work with but if i really consider myself a producer, and a talented one at that, then this is the best way to make that mark. out of my comfort zone, with completely different artists and all of that. and *TRY* and do it MY way. yes, i am going to work with and adapt to them, but none of these dudes have a sound that defines them, and my job is to develop that sound around them for them- and instead of making cookie-cutter, typical industry beats that fit what they are looking for, i am planning on developing sounds that work but yuo wouldnt expect for them.

anyhow, thats the latest in my journey. what do ya'll think?
 
ill o.g.
i think thats great that you got some more production work for yourself. I wouldnt really call that "selling out", like how your explaining it. I feel like thats what id do, if somebody asked me for a type of beat like that. You aint gonna be like "No, i dont do those kinda beats, sorry."

But good luck with that.
 

afriquedeluxe

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 221
sounds good man, keep it going. right now am trying to work with some local peoples but aint as lucky as you to be charging them cuz i need the artists as much as they need me. but that sounds good man, you could use that money to save up for some nice gear.
 

Cold Truth

IllMuzik Moderator
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 25
lol, nah my first bit of money is paying of the $2000.00 or so of debt, then buying my girl her engagement ring, and then we'll look at gear.

i figure my setup is solid enough, just start getting my name out. february is my month for recording myself (already started that), and then march the big hustle begins- recording these three dudes, and hustling my own cd's, getting my press kits made up, all that stuff...
 

J Rilla

Tha Fresh Prince of L.A.
ill o.g.
Congrats .............I was always told that one of the differences from being a producer and just a beatmaker was the ability to break artist. You are takin on alot at the same time trying to devlop three different styles for three differnt artist, but i do feel u can do it...... The "friends and money" thing me personally would not do. I have a few Family members in the music industry and one of them is major player in it and i dont take them up on any offer or ask them for anything just because if and when i blow i dont want it to get funny know what i mean. You said u were listening to God though and that is one cat i make a habit of not argueing with. So good luck.
 

afriquedeluxe

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 221
Cold Truth said:
lol, nah my first bit of money is paying of the $2000.00 or so of debt, then buying my girl her engagement ring, and then we'll look at gear.

i figure my setup is solid enough, just start getting my name out. february is my month for recording myself (already started that), and then march the big hustle begins- recording these three dudes, and hustling my own cd's, getting my press kits made up, all that stuff...

dang, debt.. thats one something i gota be ready for. anyway i didnt know you rap? when are you gona post some stuff up?
 

RigorMortis

Army Of Darkness
ill o.g.
Hahaha cold you should make a movie script of that story with some under the table shady industry point of view hahaha.
But nice job, should be a great learning experience more valueable than the money that is getting coughed up.
 

DJ Hoppa

Broken Complex Records
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 50
good shit Truth. Im anxious to hear what these new tracks sound like. Im sure these guys will get your production level even higher, I wish nothing but good things for you... and your wife I might add. Congrats!
 

ManDAmyth

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
Yo Cold, that sounds like the beginning of something big. You gotta do like the Neptunes they didn't like how pop music sounded how everything was cut from the same mold, they went in and changed that.

I'm anxious to hear the finished products. You should also get at me when you got everything done. In Denver their is a mad Chicano/ rap scene going down.

Just keep working hard.
 

sYgMa

Making head bangers!!!
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 26
Having artists that you can "mold' and work with is what a beatmaker needs to become a great producer, to me...

I wish you good luck and I hope it all works perfectly... maybe we'll hear them in a year or so in BET or something... :)
 

PRIZM

Beatmaker
ill o.g.
biggest challenge for producers startin up is gettin their beats heard by the right audience.. and when i say "the right audience" - i mean serious cats interested in purchasing beats.. the whole soundclick ish really doesn't interest me too much, havin tried both that and the local hustle myself.. soundclick might be cool in terms of gettin you lots of feedback and such, but there really aren't that many cats serious enough to pay for any half-decent production.

i think the best thing a talented producer can do is to establish himself/herself locally by producing for up-and-coming local artists.. coz when you hear a hot track, first thing you usually ask is who produced it.. i've always been fortunate in terms of selling beats because i'm in a bit of a unique situation as an emcee.. i've never had an issue findin cats interested in pickin up beats from me because i'm generally known for my work as an emcee through spins on local radio, shows at local shows, and through my releases... esp. when i do local shows, cats will be tradin me their demos for my beat sampler CDs coz they like the beats i rocked durin my set or what not.. last note i have on this matter is, its not necessarily bad to start low and sell beats cheaply at first jus to get the name out while you polish your craft.. that way you'll actually be able to charge what you think is a fair price for your beats when the right time comes and when you are recognized as an established producer.

random thoughts of mine... peace.
 

Rhythmikal

Beat's Disciple
ill o.g.
well done blud, thats the type of shit im aiming for.

sAfE.
 

Qwerty

Sshsh-Straight fiya!
ill o.g.
Cold Truth said:
lol, nah my first bit of money is paying of the $2000.00 or so of debt, then buying my girl her engagement ring, and then we'll look at gear.
.

"What are you thinking about, Cold:? Marriage? Family?..They're prisons. Man made prisons. You're doing time! You get up in the morning! She's there. You go to sleep at night. She's there. It's like you gotta ask permission to use the bathroom. Is it all right if I use the bathroom now?"
- Kramer, from Seinfeld
 

x-squizet

Roll Tide Roll
ill o.g.
yo truth thats tight man i hope the stuff comes through and you not sellin out you doin what you got to do to make that money, but you mostly doin it for the love of producion, but as long as you don't change your personality you straight dog, in the words of my favorite book the outsiders, "stay gold pony boy stay gold."
 

O-H-TEN

aka Tha' NVZABLE DRAGON
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 3
Yo, congrats Truth! I'm sure you'll be able to come up with some tight ish for those cats. It's good that you have the mindset to incorporate your own style and influence into these new artists. I'll be looking forward to something besides the everyday carbon copies that usually emerge from new deals.
ONE
 

brooklynstyle

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
congrats truth, u making moves man. I'm feeling Qwerty on the marriage shit. I guess one day u gotta get married but i still cant see why...
 
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