Hustle Harder: Building Your Buzz Locally

The other day I had a conversation with my boy Ox about how he wanted to build up his buzz. We both live on the same block, but have different views on how we want to come within the music game. While I am focusing outward (more towards a national and global view), he is focusing inward (on the neighborhood and areas in Harlem), and truthfully I would say that's the smartest way to go about it.

You see, when I decided I wanted to rap seriously, I used the Internet as my path. I sat down and really thought about the situation as a whole and figured that this was my best route. Now though, I have to get the people in my neighborhood and surrounding areas to support me because I did it slightly backwards. Anyone will tell you though, starting from your hood and spreading outwards is usually the best way to go. Think about it. When you secure your hometown ,you will always have a solid fanbase within a certain area that you know well. You also will be a big fish in a small pond because your name is buzzing in one area, city, town, etc. So when people visit that location and ask "Who's doing they thing out here?" Guess who's name they gonna mention? Building your buzz locally also helps to narrow down and target specific demographics (certain age groups, nationalities, genders, etc.) versus doing it on the Internet where you really don't know who's listening. There are many advantages to building you buzz locally and many artists have built their careers with this blueprint -- Young Jeezy, Dipset, etc. And by building that core fanbase, they are able to sustain their movement whether or not other people outside of their region supports or not.

So how do you go about doing this? There's no one set way to go about this. In all honesty that's the beauty of doing it, because you know your area better then anyone else, so all you really have to do is analyze and do your research. Take me for example, I live in Harlem right? If I were focused on building my buzz locally, I would hit all the mixtape spots, the barbershops, even the bodegas in my hood and just provide them with CDs to give away to their customers. Then I would stand on 25th and pass out promotional items such as stickers and other misc. things to the people. After that I would drive around my hood and put up posters anywhere I think people would see them. I would also use the people within my neighborhood as my street team to help push my music hard in the hood. This is just an example of how I would go about doing it (and in time when I acquire the financial resources that's exactly what I'm going to do), but your plan may vary from mines. Again, you have to figure out what is the best way to get your area buzzing. Maybe you could hit all the local open mics? Or you could go on public access television? There are many ways to go about this, you just have to figure which way best suits you.

Me and my boy Ox tend to disagree on a lot of things, but when you're right, you're right. Building your buzz locally is a great way to spring board your career and is a method I would highly recommend. If your in Harlem and don't know who I am yet, don't worry. I also follow my own advice. Much love.

For more on me and my music visit my Myspace page at MySpace.com/DonnyGoines.

GO BACK TO SITE