DIY--Common ground for the small to larger band and artists.
In the times of success, you can only think (at least I have, in my rap perspective) that hording all of it will keep you on top. This is absolutely wrong, and I only learned this from the feelings it gave me by giving away contacts to people who really desired to excel in their work.
My current tour with Matisyahu is like a dream come true. In this time, of grind, I always look to other people who have helped me in the past. For instance, even those who I hire to assist me in PR and email blasts, etc., will benefit from my hard work because with me, even giving them material to work with, it builds trust and branches out far more than a "service-only relationship."
I am currently collecting hundreds of emails of people who have serious interest in staying in touch and purchasing product in the future, because they saw me rock a show of over 1000 people. Now, it would only hurt me if I didn’t give these contacts to other people I trust. (1) They work with me. (2) A team in a unified group of players coming together for a reason (victory).
We get confused that, on occasion, DIY means “every man for himself!” (remember those games you played?). Once I realized that I couldn’t keep up with my blogs, or get computer access all the time, or get things on the road to everyone, I stopped and decided to formulate a plan. Lets change DIY to DIT (Do It Together).
Everything is branding and team work. Currently, like I said, I am on the MATISYAHU tour. I am part of the MATISYAHU show. This is not the KOSHA DILLZ show.
If it was, I would be doing my own music. I perform with the main intention of making his set better... livening it up. Once I roll up my selfish sleeves and begin to think for the betterment of my TEAM, I realize we all benefit and do better in the long run, for results are always positive.
With that being said, I want to show you some awesome video footage of a stage dive last night that probably hasn’t been done since Method Man and Redman came to town on their first album.
And hey, if you like… watch this live freestyle in Omaha, NE.
Enjoy!
- Kosha Dillz
PS: my new album, Beverly Dillz, is on iTunes.
Do you think you have what it takes to be the best? Do you have what it takes to be on the big screen, rock a stadium?
In the words of Montell Jordan "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT!"
With the tide against me (a usual day in my music career)--various racial slurs being emailed to me, put downs, and hate-filled statements balanced with the occasional support of my family, I decided to continue this grind of independent music. I want to let you know that the better you do, the more people hate on you (this includes your family sometimes). The more successful you become, the more people try to bring you down.
But then once, that one time, it suddenly happens, and you begin to feel people are supporting you. I have found this out in the past few months. When you begin to let people support you and just treat everyone nice in return, it can happen. People are supportive. If you're circle is not supportive and conducive you might be in the wrong circle.
Ironically (or not), I found myself, all by myself as usual, on a plane trip to Hip-Hop Kemp, a festival that features hip-hop from all over the world at some old air base in Hradec Kralove, 1 1/2 hours out of Prague, with hopes I might be on that "summer jam screen" as Jay-Z says. After $1000 in expenses, 3 pairs of socks, shorts and underwear, and a carry-on bag filled with tee shirts and CDs, I decided to do a PR campaign in a city who’s name I can not even pronounce! Mind you, I landed on stage, with everyone who is anyone in underground rap.
I approached every video camera back stage and demanded an interview and offered a custom freestyle just for their audience. I gave out CDs and sold them as well. I needed to build the adrenaline. Not for my sake, but for my careers sake. I realized the impact I was making was not as a tourist, but as a hard working musician overseas in Europe with the opportunity to make tons of friends.
I rapped on every bus. I rapped in every cab. I performed for every soul I met there with the intention of making it bigger than I was before I got on that plane to Paris or to Prague.
Whether you are holding an iPod letting people listen to your indie rock band at the last Bamboozle Fest or rapping in a cypher or playing your music on a sidewalk in Austin, Texas, there is not other thing you need to do except "believe."
In face to face conversation statistics say that 7% of the things you say will be remembered, 36% of your tone of voice is remembered, and 54% of your body language will help you be remembered in how convincing you are. That's crazy, right? Only 7% of what you say is remembered. By the end of the festival, I did interviews with media from Croatia, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Austria. I speak English, Hebrew and Spanish. Go figure.
So whether you are a band, comedian, rock-star on a acoustic, emcee, or the average fire juggler, you better BRING IT...because if you don't believe it, it can’t be done.
* November 10 is the release date of Kosha Dillz' highly anticipated solo debut, Beverly Dillz produced by Belief. It is awesome because you can drink a lot of coffee while listening to it without eating pastries, which leads to less weight gain than the normal album listening session.*
I had allot of great experiences on this tour.
I realized that keeping in touch and keeping people posted on all your "happenings" from rapping, coffee spots, to beds you sleep in and weird places you go are things that you can "achieve" just like your peers, even the ones who are more well known than you, and your band.
I rocked shows with 10 people and also with 10,000..please read on if you are interested in how you can do something like this.
Perhaps you are in touch with a band who is huge. They sell 200,000 + records and you knew them before they were big. Maybe they sell 10,000. Whatever the case is, you are trying to emulate their success.
I have found out through experience that the best way to build relationships is through common ground.
Finding common ground through personal communication via social networking sites is great for a band/singer.
Common ground can include a variety of things, freestyle sessions or eating at the same Tom's diner In Denver Colorado to liking the same type of authentic sneakers or even heritage.
You can be dang sure that Jewish artists have a common bond in that area. But let's get more specific. You had noticed a twitter message saying _______ artist/band is in Milwaukee having eggs Benedict at ________ diner but you had a bad experience there with a waitress named April.
Now you retweet back that you should order blueberry pancakes because of ______ reason.
In the end, this artist is playing 700 person shows and yours are between 7 to 70.
However, you were in the same city, at the same diner, and ate almost the same food. Perhaps that waitress April is a bastard or maybe she's not, bottom line is you guys can all have some weird trifecta going on.
Anyway, if people who follow you or them see this they know you, the superstar act ___, and April are all experiencing something special that they are not.
That is the experience of common ground, which all starts on the road.
Be cool... be nice... and be respectful