Published: Monday - October 8, 2007
Words by Donny Goines
Blog by Donny Goines (Photo: n/a)
First Entry: Focus On Your Craft
Many aspiring artists make the same mistakes. In theory, a lot of the concepts and ideas they use may be effective to some extent, but in the end, the result is usually the same. Starting beef, making "hit" records, using gimmicks and other shortcuts as a tool to jumpstart your career not only affects your credibility within the industry, but it also hurts you more in the long run. You might make a good sprint, but eventually you'll become winded and fall out of the race.
Several artists don't seem to understand that ultimately it's your artistic ability, not the shortcuts that solidify you and become the foundation of a solid career. You might be thinking to yourself "Well if that's the case, how did (insert any one hit wonder here) get on?" or "How come it worked for (insert any trend follower here)?" and I can understand that. I use to ask myself the same questions, but I realized that those same people who I wondered about back then are not around today. They disappeared. Vanished. Dropped off the face of the earth. Why? Because they chose to focus on other things BESIDES their craft and in the end, whatever momentary success they had fizzled away along with whatever they built on that weak foundation. Essentially, the castles they built in the sky fell back to the ground.
Many people ask me "How can I get my songs on a certain website?" or "How can I perform at the shows your doing?" so on and so forth. Honestly, I don't focus on any of that for the most part. I REALLY focus on making the best possible music I can make. I focus on the beat selection, sound of the track and the cadence, my writing, my concepts and ideas and then the recording process. I sit down and really concentrate on every word, every hook and every single pattern within the song. I write, then rewrite, then edit, and then practice on my delivery for hours BEFORE I even step in a booth. When it's time to record, I do several takes of the same verse until I am completely satisfied with y voice, the emotion and the flow. I then make sure my records are mixed properly to present to the public and even when all that's done I analyze it as a whole. If it doesn't sound right after that I re-record, re-mix or scrap the record all together. After that, let the chips fall where they may. I know what you're thinking now "This dude is too anal, why go through all of that?" Simple. My music is the only thing I can stand on at the end of the day and it has to be strong. If my foundation is weak, the career I am building on it will eventually crumble. It's inevitable.
So to all the aspiring artists out there, think about what I've said before you try to get your record spun by a DJ, get it placed on a website or get it played on the radio. Before your give your music to an A&R or a producer you want a beat from ask yourself one question, "Am I really as focused on my craft as I should be?"
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