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Article: How to Start Your Rap Career

In this article, we will talk about the most important moment in a rapper's career-his initiation to the game. We will go over:

• Common mistakes young rappers are making

• Factors you need to consider before you go public

1. Common mistakes young rappers are making

You can see a lot of aspiring rappers, with good flow, good content and good voice, but lacking the ability to play the game.

Most of them have the understanding that if they're good at what they're doing, they will succeed. Well, unfortunately that's not the case. Being good is not enough. You have to be able to strategize your moves within the music business.

Here are the biggest blunders that aspiring rappers should try to avoid.

-Spitting out Songs with no Direction

This is very common. A rapper gets an instrumental, write the lyrics, records it and posts it straight up on youtube. After 2 days, he repeats the same process.

The motives behind that strategy in most cases are the notion that he will saturate the market to such a degree, that eventually people will notice him. By doing so many songs, he will eventually make that banger and it will get him the attention required.

Let me tell you why such an approach is wrong for me. In my opinion, your public image should be very carefully established. You should carve up your character with the utmost attention, get a reputation for a specific type of content, develop a USP(Unique Selling Point) and so on. By spitting out all of those songs, you are an open book to your viewers. There is no mystery. That's first.

By having 20 songs on youtube and all of them below 100 views, this is not a good look. You're giving the wrong first impression to people, ingraining a rather damaging perception of yourself. Once that happens, people will start to think less of you.

It's always better to have 1 song with 1000 views, which you effectively promote, rather than having 20 with 30 views each.

Next time people hear your name, they would want to check out your content and if they see that one song with high number of views, they'll see that there is a certain desirability about you. This immediately generates more interest for them and they get curious as to what you have to say.

It must be good, since so many people heard it.

-Low quality songs

You see that the flow is good and the beat is the bomb, but the guy didn't put no effort in editing his vocals, adding some ad-lips, nothing. It sounds mechanical. The difference between recording your song at home and recording it in a studio can be as little as N7,000.

This however is the difference between people coming back to listen to your song again and checking it out only once, seeing that it's amateur made and just leave. Always make sure that your public image is as professional as it can get. Even if you don't have the cash for it right now.

Take your time, get the paper and do it the proper way. It's better to be patient and blow up like you should, rather than being impatient and just bubble in the background.

2.Factors you need to consider before you go public

Content

You have to find your style. Another article has been written about that. You can find it here. You have to be able to generate an association with your name. For example, when you say DMX, you think of the crazy impulsive guy.

When you say Jay-Z, you think of the slick hustler. When you say Snoop Dogg, you think of the cool chilled guy, who likes weed. You have to put yourself in a category depending on your character.

If there is no such category, make one-that's even better.

This is vital, because once you know your style, while defining it, more people with similar style will gravitate towards you. You will be representing. So you really need to think about that, before you post anything on the web.

Attention Grabbers

You have to think of factors which would separate you from the crowd. Maybe it's the controversy you will get yourself involved in, maybe it would be your insolent comments, maybe it would be your intelligence, or appearance.

It has to be something, which is going to make you different from the other rappers and which would grab the attention of the viewer. Simply joining the crowd and rapping about what they rap about will not work.

The market is saturated by rappers who glorify money and people are looking for something other than that. Something fresh. Package it nicely and give it to them.

Money Sources

You have to think about that too. Before you start your public relations, you have to know from where you're going to get your money. Not knowing that, will simply make you ignorant to the opportunities you could have and missing opportunities is the shortest way to failure.

Think several steps ahead. So what if you get that record deal? What would you do? Would you sell shoes? Would you sell clothes? How are you going to use your popularity and how will you double it.

To be a successful rapper/entertainer, you have to be a businessman too.

That's for those of you who want to make money rapping. If you don't want to mix with all that shady, manipulation money environment, you can write your lyrics and don't care about the music business. You will however remain underground and underpaid.

The bottom line is that you have to strategize if you want to make it. At one point, you would have to step away from the rhyme schemes for a while and get some knowledge on the game. Don't let yourself be manipulated by the record labels that don't give a dime about you.

Learn the game and learn how to play it. That's the only way you could win.

Read more at: rappingmanual.com

 @drpure01