It’s been such a long time since I posted commentary from someone other than myself. Ironically (or not), the last time it happened was way back in March 2011 when 9th Wonder addressed the North Carolina hip hop scene and cleared up a lot of misinformation that was being spread about him not helping anybody from NC get “put on”. He made some excellent points, y’all should go read that post if you haven’t.
This time around, A. Robb from Raleigh, NC’s Eargasm Entertainment addresses the North Carolina hip hop scene and culture, from a totally different perspective. It’s definitely worth the read. Be sure to leave any thoughts in the comments or Tweet her @EargasmENTLLC. Check it out below.
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#FactsOnly: People can wave that North Carolina flag until their arms go numb. It’s like pissing in the ocean; it doesn’t change the water level one bit. You can’t reinvent the wheel and nothing can be done that hasn’t already been done before. The reality is there’s no hip hop epicenter here so no reason for investment on a large scale. People are waiting on some type of musical revolution or renaissance in this area that is just highly unlikely to happen. I won’t say impossible because nothing is impossible. But you can’t force a square peg into a circular hole.
Eventually we just gotta face facts and accept the reality. If I lived in Vegas I wouldn’t give scuba diving lessons on the desert. Same concept. The resources just aren’t here and there’s no incentive to bring them here.
I love my state. And there’s nothing wrong with rooting for the home team. But from a business perspective look at it like this:
You might love the Bobcats because they’re from Charlotte… But if you come into some money, who are you investing in; the Bobcats… or the Heat? We are in a digital age and geography does not matter. Music is a universal language. Stop worrying about the state and just put out good, quality music with a plan and a purpose!
There are several artists and producers from here who make their living off of music. You may not see them on BET or on the cover of magazines but they have established themselves enough to create revenue streams and make enough of a living that they do not have to punch a clock.
Put some promotion and marketing behind your projects and work on brand management. Expand your network. Don’t try to force feed your music to people. Go wherever your talents are recognized and appreciated. People think this is an NC problem but it isn’t. New York artists are saying the same thing. “New York doesn’t support New York.” But at the end of the day folks don’t care WHERE the music comes from. They just know whether they like it or not.
We gotta get over this loser’s mentality. That someone else has to get out of the way and “let” someone else shine. If you wanna shine, SHINE! Unless someone is physically holding you down or breaking into your studio and stealing your music, no one is holding you back from going where you want to go and getting what you want. It’s crazy to expect someone else to dim their own light to give you some.
It isn’t that NC doesn’t support NC… It’s human nature (and good business) to put your money and your resources behind what is winning. Unless you have the funds to be on the road regularly in other places, the reality is you are not going to successfully launch a career sitting stagnant in this state, waiting on a change that probably ain’t gon come.
Hollywood ain’t coming to Knightdale looking for actors so if you’re serious about acting you may have to move to LA or New York or ATL… places where you’re more likely to be seen and heard. If you can’t move, get out of town as much as you can. The world is so big! Reach out to people online. With the internet it doesn’t matter where you’re from. If you put the plans in motion you can go wherever your music will take you.
I encourage you to see the world and not be consumed with putting NC on the map. It’s already on the map. It’s below Virginia and above South Carolina. #GetOutTheBox
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What do y’all think? Does A.Robb make some good points? Should NC artists care about NC hip hop?
I’d like to hear from you. Leave a comment below, Tweet A. Robb @eargasmentLLC, me @nancioishiphop or drop an email to nancioishiphop@gmail.com.