21 GRaMs: How To Be A Producer

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Guevara

BETTER THAN YESTERDAY
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 34
21 GRaMs is the weight of the soul, it is about being as creative as possible and giving your all, with that said i have an oppurtunity for all producers seeking major exposure.
this is a bit much to read but its worth it.

For those of you who buy instrumental CD's, whether youre an MC or you just study other producers, you might be familiar with J Arms "How to be an MC". Ive put my own spin on it. How to be a Producer is an instrumental CD which will showcase new up and coming producers at a time when we are in very high demand. to increase my own visibility i decided to release an instrumental mixtape featuring my own production, if youre in New York you will see the flyers very soon, or you might just see me in the streets makin moves. the CD features 28 tracks in total with 21 being instrumentals and 7 tracks of bonus material featuring some of my best Remixes, work with other artist and songs by my own inner circle of artist for promotion.

my goal is to sell 1,000 cds and i feel like this will be a successful project, which will bring attention to not only myself but to the artist i work with. if i do this alone i can only do it once a month and it will be a struggle to give my best to the streets without selling my self short by giving away other high quality tracks.

this mixtape world however is big enough for everyone to shine and eat off of their hard work.many of us work long hard hours without much return on our investment, this is the solution.every month i will review submissions from those interested and one producer will receive 10 tracks on the cd, 7 for instrumentals and 3 to showcase any songs theyve produced or remixes they have done. the other 18 tracks will be spread amongst as many other producers as possible.

whenever an oppurtunity like this comes up people get stingy with money, weve all heard the "exposure" argument, "son i cant pay you but niggas is gonna hear your shit and ill send folks your way..." its a neverending cycle. i will compensate anyone who contributes to these projects with money and free copies of the mixtapes. how well these sell determines how much bread i can break but it will be $100+. and you will also get major exposure in the city as i will be pressing no fewer than 1,000 copies and i have an active myspace page for online promotion. i will also email Fade with suggestions to place the cd in the store section, and interview the main producer from each mixtape. in the future we can deal with themes and other misc. items but this is the main idea for now. creating a buzz and feeding people.

these cd's will be distributed by my Big City Music production company.
to date i have released 5 mixtapes Glory (2003),21 GraMs (2005), 21 GRaMs New York: State of the Art (2006), Executive Hova (2006), and Live From the Bridge (2006), this first installment of How To Be a Producer will be my sixth release, the first instrumental cd and the first release of 2007.all my footwork will be done within this month and iwill be back here to let everyone know how its all being received once the wheels start turning.

my main intentions for BigCityMusic is to create an outlet for artist and producers to network, and work towards a common goal of raising overall awareness of the talent that flies under the radar and consistently releasing music on a month to month basis.
we are currently working on a compilation mixtape set for an April release which will be capped of by a huge party that same month in Harlem. there are endless oppurtunities.

if anybodys interested or has any questions, email me or visit my myspace page.
bigcitymusic@optonline.net, www.myspace.com/bcmnyc
 

afriquedeluxe

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 221
welcom back Guevara. this sounds like a great idea, especially for folks that cant grind out in new york in person since we across the pond. ill definately consider entering after my may exams at uni!
 

LonChainy

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
this sounds like a wonderful op Guevara...ill shoot you a message on myspace..look for me Coagulated Recycles....good look here man!!
 

Guevara

BETTER THAN YESTERDAY
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 34
CHAiNY i SEE YOU, LiLHATEDON i SEE YOU, RELiC THAT MAP ON YOUR MYSPACE iS CRAZY, AFRiQUE DOiN THE TRUFFLE SHUFFLE...LOL, ADOMAV i GOT YOUR EMAiL. i APPRECIATE ALL YALL FOR TAKiN THE TiME TO COMMENT, IM ON 56K SO i CANT LiSTEN TO ANYTHiNG ON MYSPACE JUST YET. iLL BE BACK WiTH MORE DETAiLS TOMORROW ABOUT GETTiN STARTED FOR FEBRUARY. AND SHOUTS TO FADE, i CANT SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THAT DUDE.
 

Guevara

BETTER THAN YESTERDAY
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 34
IIAGHT YALL CHECK IT OUT ITS JANUARY 12TH IM RELEASING VOL 2 ON FEBRUARY 19TH.
THE CITY IS BUZZIN A LITTLE SOMETHING RIGHT NOW, IVE BEEN PROMOTING HARD SINCE THE BEGINING OF THE WEEK, MADE A COUPLE SALES, MY MYSPACE IS JUMPING AND IM BUILDING MY RELATIONSHIPS WITH A COUPLE PEOPLE BUT ILL SPEAK ON THAT LATER. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MIXTAPE IS IS FOR US A PRODUCERS TO SHINE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME MOST OF THE FOLKS WHO WILL BE PURCHASING THIS MIXTAPE WILL BE MC'S, AND PRODUCERS CANT SHINE WITHOUT MC'S. PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND WHEN YOU ARE FORMATTING YOUR BEATS. WITH THAT SAID IM GOIN TO DISCUSS ANSWER A FEW QUESTIONS YALL MAY HAVE. QUESTIONS THAT I MYSELF WOULD ASK IF I WAS AT THE OTHER END OF THIS SCREEN.

HOW LONG SHOULD BEATS BE?
PLEASE KEEP YOUR BEATS UNDER 3 MINUTES OR IN THAT RANGE. IF ITS A COUPLE SECONDS OVER 3 MINUTES THEN THERE SHOULD BE A REASON, IT SHOULDNT BE A 3 MINUTE LOOP, ILL CUT IT TO 2. AFTER THE 21 INSTRUMENTAL TRACKS HAVE BEEN FILLED I NEED ADDITIONAL SPACE FOR THE 7 SONGS AT THE END. IM TRYIN TO CRAM ALL OF THIS ON AN 80 MINUTE CD.

SHOULD I TAG MY CD'S?
YES, BUT DO NOT OD. YOU WANNA PROTECT YOURSELF FROM BITERS NOT WRITERS.YOU WANT FOLKS TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE BUT YOU DONT WANT TO MAKE IT HARD FOR MC'S TO WRITE, PERFORM OR RECORD TO YOUR BEATS, THE MORE ACCESSIBLE YOUR MUSIC IS THE MORE EXPOSURE YOU WILL GET. A COUPLE WAYS I PROTECT MYSELF FROM BITERS IS, ILL LOWER THE SOUND QUALITY JUST SLIGHTLY SO ITS NOT A PERFECT TRACK, SO A SNARE MIGHT BE A LITTLE LOUD, I MIGHT DROP THE HI HATS, FILTER, WHATEVER BUT WRITERS CAN STILL SHOWCASE THEMSELVES.I ALSO TAG MY BEATS WITH A DROP "YO THIS IS MC YO-YO, IM CHILLIN WITH PRODUCER GUY, HOLLA", KEEP IT SIMPLE.I KNOW PROTECTION IS A BIG ISSUE FOR US,

SHOULD I SEND MY BEST BEAT?
NO. DO NOT SEND ME THE BANGER TRACK THAT YOU FEEL IS GONNA BE YOUR TICKET OUT OF YOUR BEDROOM, SEND ME A FEW HOT TRACKS SO PEOPLE GET AN OVERALL IDEA OF WHAT YOURE ABOUT SO WHEN THEY COME CHECK YOU, YOU CAN HIT THEM WIT HOTTER SHIT.HOWEVER IF YOU DO DECIDE TO SEND YOUR ILLEST TRACK, IM NOT MAD AT YOU, JUST GET TO WORK ON STACKIN YOUR CATALOG. PEOPLE ARE GOIN TO BE USING YOUR TRACKS SO MAKE SURE THAT YOU REPRESENT YOURSELF WELL, YOU DONT WANNA BE THE TRACK THAT EVERYBODY SKIPS.

WHERE WILL THE CD'S BE SOLD?
CD'S WILL BE SOLD HERE @ ILLMUZIK.COM
IM ALSO WORKING ON ANOTHER SPOT ONLINE CALLED BAG HAT VINYL. THATS A BIG RESOURCE FOR THE CRATE DIGGERS.IF THAT DEAL GOES THROUGH THESE WILL BE THE ONLY PLACES ONLINE TO FIND THIS MUSIC.
IM THE STREETS HEAVY, THE FIVE BOROS WILL SEE THE MAJORITY OF THE HAND TO HAND DISTRIBUTION, BUT I ALSO HAVE CONNECTS IN LINCOLN, PA. BALTIMORE, MD. VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. PETERSBURGH, VA. AND UPSTATE NY.

WILL I BE SOMPENSATED?
YES, BUT PLEASE GIVE ME TIME. BEING THAT THESE ARE THE FIRST TWO VOLUMES MOST OF THE MONEY WILL GO INTO REPRODUCTION AND PROMOTIONS, BUT IT SHOULDNT TAKE LONG AT ALL. BY VOLUME 3 I SHOULD BE ABLE TO BREAK BREAD ONCE THE TRACKS HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED FOR THE MIXTAPE AND WELL BEFORE THE RELEASE.
I AM GOIN TO BE PAYING FOR TRACK SUBMISSIONS, YOU WILL NOT GET PAID PER CD.

HOW WILL TRACKS BE JUDGED?
I WILL NOT TURN ANYONE DOWN, IF FOR ANY REASON I DONT LIKE ANY TRACKS YOU SEND, ILL ASK YOU TO SEND MORE UNTILL WE FIND SOMETHING THAT FITS. TRACKS WILL BE JUDGED ON CREATIVITY ALONE. I DONT CARE ABOUT INTROS, 16 BAR VERSES OR HOOKS, SHIT DONT HAVE TO STAND OUT LIKE THAT, JUST TRY TO MAKE YOUR TRACKS AS MUSICAL AS POSSIBLE.

I HAVE ARTIST AND/OR REMIXES I HAVE DONE. SHOULD I SEND THOSE ALSO?
YES. LIKE I SAID BEFORE I HAVE 7 SLOTS TO FILL FOR SONGS, THREE OF THOSE WILL GO TO THE "MAIN" PRODUCER BEING SHOWCASED AND THE OTHER 4 ARE UP FOR GRABS.

WHO IS THE "MAIN" PRODUCER?
THE "MAIN" PRODUCER WILL BE WHOEVER BRINGS THE HEAT FOR THE MONTH, THE "BEST" PRODUCER FOR THE MONTH GETS 7 INSTRUMENTAL TRACKS AND 3 SONG/REMIX TRACKS.

I DONT KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY MAN, IF YALL GOT ANY MORE QUESTIONS, POST THEM HERE. YOU CAN START SENDING TRACKS TO BIGCITYMUSIC@OPTONLINE.NET
IF YOU WANNA POSTAL MAIL TRACKS HIT ME UP, ILL GIVE YOU MY ADDRESS.
 

Guevara

BETTER THAN YESTERDAY
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 34
Update!!!
These Cd's Been Moving Really Well, It Could Be Better But I Like The Response So Far, Im Still Working Out The Schedule For The Next Mixtape Because Im Gonna Try To Sell These For As Long As Possible.
However The Recent Raids By The Riaa Have Become An Obstacle, I Have A Few Close Friends Who Have Mixtape Spots Who Have Been Shut Down, And There Are Other Spots That Have Not Been Shut Down Yet But Are A Little Scared To Make Any Sales Until Shit Die Down.
They Try To Take Everything From Us But We Always Find A Way Around This Shit. Since I Have A Solid Foundation Up Here Im Goin To Be Doin Some Travelin, Ill Be In Va As Early As Next Week, And Im Making My Way South From There, And Then Workin My Way Back To New York, Ima Be On Some Real Motorcyle Diaries Shit.
Im Still Takin Submissions My Email Aint Change, I Stay On Myspace, Holla At Me, If You In The South Ima Be Grindin Hit Me If You Wann Link Up.
 
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