Krayzie Element

Like basketball players you can find good talent in any city and on virtually every street corner. The reality is that only a select few make it to the big times of riches and renown. The NBA dream for many has been transformed into the Hip Hop illusion. But if you think you are ready and have the skills to make it big, and then make sure you are ready to do business. Record labels are in the business to make money, so you need to have your eyes wide open.

Here are some quick systems checks to put you in position to sign that big deal.

Have the right tools:

-Good music (talent and experience

-Look signable (look like you can make the label money, local buzz)

-Professional looking demo package (CD, Bio, photos, press clippings

-Will your music sell?

Locate A&R Representatives:

-Try to contact directly

-Ask clubs, radio stations, other artists, make connections

-Showcases (perform often)

Get an A&R Representative to listen:

-They are accepting unsolicited demo submissions

-They are interested in your style of music

-You have the correct name/address to send the package attention to

Know what to do when you get an offer:

-Get a good entertainment lawyer

-Know what you want out of the deal (do some homework)

-Know where you want you career to go

-Ask questions

Krayzie Element

Like basketball players you can find good talent in any city and on virtually every street corner. The reality is that only a select few make it to the big times of riches and renown. The NBA dream for many has been transformed into the Hip Hop illusion. But if you think you are ready and have the skills to make it big, and then make sure you are ready to do business. Record labels are in the business to make money, so you need to have your eyes wide open.

Here are some quick systems checks to put you in position to sign that big deal.

Have the right tools:

Good music (talent and experience

Look signable (look like you can make the label money, local buzz)

Professional looking demo package (CD, Bio, photos, press clippings

Will your music sell?

Locate A&R Representatives:

Try to contact directly

Ask clubs, radio stations, other artists, make connections

Showcases (perform often)

Get an A&R Representative to listen:

They are accepting unsolicited demo submissions

They are interested in your style of music

You have the correct name/address to send the package attention to

Know what to do when you get an offer:

Get a good entertainment lawyer

Know what you want out of the deal (do some homework)

Know where you want you career to go

Ask questions

"Most blues begin "woke up this morning."

"I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line:

I got a good woman-- "with the meanest dog in town".

Blues are simple. After you have the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes. Sort of:

Got a good woman with the meanest dog in town. He got teeth like Margaret Thatcher and he weighs about 500 pounds.

The blues are not about limitless choice.

Blues cars are Chevies and Cadillacs. Other acceptable blues transportation is Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Walkin' plays a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die.

Teenagers can't sing the blues. Adults sing the blues. Blues adulthood means old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis.

You can have the blues in New York City, but not in Brooklyn or Queens. Hard times in Vermont or North Dakota are just a depression. Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City are still the best places to have the blues.

The following colors do not belong in the blues:

violet

beige

mauvre

You can't have the blues in an office or a shopping mall, the lighting is wrong.

Good places for the Blues:

the highway

the jailhouse

the empty bed Bad places:

Ashrams

Gallery openings

weekend in the Hamptons

No one will believe it's the blues if you wear a suit, unless you happen to be an old black man.

Do you have the right to sing the blues?

Yes, if:

your first name is a southern state--like Georgia

you're blind

you shot a man in Memphis.

you can't be satisfied.

No, if:

you were once blind but now can see.

you're deaf

you have a trust fund.

Neither Julio Iglesias nor Barbra Streisand can sing the blues.

If you ask for water and baby gives you gasoline, it's the blues.

Other blues beverages are:

wine

Irish whiskey

muddy water

Blues beverages are NOT:

Any mixed drink

Any wine kosher for Passover

Yoo Hoo (all flavors)

If it occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is a blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse, or being denied treatment in an emergency room. It is not a blues death, if you die during a liposuction treatment.

Some Blues names for Women

Sadie

Big Mama

Bessie

Some Blues Names for Men

Joe

Willie

Little Willie

Lightning

Persons with names like Sierra or Sequoia will not be permitted to sing the blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.

Other Blues Names (Starter Kit)

Name of Physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Asthmatic)

First name (see above) or name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi)

Last Name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.)

Mix and Match

Krayzie Element ©2007