You and Music

[R.I.O.T. {019}]

In this thread, I wanna hear about what inspired you to become a producer/artist.

Q: What is music to you?
A:
Q: What got you into music?
A:
Q: How'd you start?
A:
Q: Why do you like/love music?
A:
Q: Do you take music seriously?
A:
Q: Do you want a career in music? Any dreams?
A:
Q: What's your inspiration?
A:
Q: What genre do you love the most?
A:
Q: What's your next step in music (if any)?
A:


Let me start this off:

Q: What is music to you?
A: Music to me is a few things. First and mainly, it's my way to express myself. Music is a form of expression. It's the best way I express myself today. Second, its like an "escape" from the real world. When life gives me hell, I take the time to bump up my music to get my mind off of things. It's like a stress reliever. Third, music is such a beautiful art.
Q: What got you into music?
A: Let me tell yall somethin. When I was a lil kid, I did not give a damn about music. I didn't even like it. I would sit bored as'f in the music class just day dreaming the time away. Never in my life did I think I would do something with music. Today, I LOVE music with a passion.

I ask myself today, "What the fuck was wrong with me back then?" lmfao

Now to answer the question, what got me into music today is the passion for music. I found out that music has no definition. YOU as a person set that definition. Music is your own world.

Q: How'd you start?
A: I started when I found out there was virtual studio software (Reason, FL Studio, LMMS, Mixcraft, etc) and you can create music at home without a studio. I started as a young teen. I didn't know shit about music, but I loved it haha. I forgot how to read music notes, didn't know how to play an instrument, etc. My first "attempts" at instrumentals were honestly pretty damn horrible haha. The sentiment came to my mind that I would never be good at music, so I stopped for a while. But then Im like to myself, "Naw man, pick your ass up and get to making raw shit! We all gotta start somewhere." I started getting better over time and if you've heard my instrumentals today, they ain't bad. I still could improve them, but they're decent, you know? I just never gave up, and that's why I'm here on BP forums.

Q: Why do you like/love music?
A: I love it because I can express myself with no boundaries. I could give two fucks less of what people think of me. Music is MY world. I get to make up its OWN rules. No one bosses me around (I feel sorry for you guys in record labels. That's why you stay I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T and/or create your own independent record label. You think the CEO's of Sony, BMG, Interscope, etc give a damn about you? All they care about is the moola you'll make for them). I find music a creative way to express myself too.

Q: Do you take music seriously?
A: Yes, I do take music seriously. Its my passion, not a job. Music can get very personal to me. I don't just listen to music, I CREATE it! It means a lot to me. Its something Im going to do till the day I die. Just picture an old man with headphones still spittin ona mic xD Who knows, maybe I'll die in a studio haha

Q: Do you want a career in music? Any dreams?
A: Hellz yeah! It's more than a career and dream though, its my purpose in this world. I imagine myself as a well known rapper. I don't picture myself in Hollywood or on the mainstream radio or winning Grammy's. There isn't a person out there in the world who doesn't like fortune or fame, but it's not my intention to gain that. If you know how fucked up today's mainstream industry is, you'll know where I'm coming from.

I dream of owning an independent record label. One day, I was downtown at a mall. There was a person playing a piano, a melody and lyrics he created. No one was paying attention to him. I decided to walk up and hear whatever he was gonna preform. His shit was so original and tight! He had a container for money. I gave him some dough, and even though it was only a lil, it gave him such a big damn smile. He didn't look like the healthiest person, but my money gave him so much happiness, it made me think of myself in a way. How music makes me happy, and how I [at the moment] am like him. No one knows me, no one really pays attention to me, but like him, I have skill. I swear if I was some A&R, I would've offered him a deal not to make money out of him, but to help him make something out of himself, offer him a chance at surviving the real world. My record label wouldn't be there to make a fortune and get artists as commodities, but to help someone live a dream. I hate today's mainstream labels. They'll fuck you for millions. Word to you people who want to become something big, careful with the labels. Once you sign that contract, your their property.

My biggest dream though is to become a (R)evolutionary MC who raps real shit. Fuck the money, the bitches, the bangin, the liquor, the weed, and all those fallacies. If those are your ambitions in life, you will fail. I rap about the shit that goes on in the real world, how people in 3rd World countries get treated unfairly by the system. How this world is made up from lies. I want to inform the people of the truth out there. "You can call it conspiracy, I dont give a motherfuck" (Immortal Technique). I want to take the cataracts out of everyone's eyes and make them see the world for what it really is.

Q: What's your inspiration?
A: Hip-Hop, Immortal Technique, my life, God, and my girlfriend haha.

Hip-Hop is a culture, not just music. Its a way to express yourself once again. Today, people call hip-hop a type of music. No, it's a CULTURE. There's graffiti, there's breakdancing, and there's music in the hip-hop culture. I like how some artists today keep hip-hop original. Breakdancing, graffiti, and cyphers on the streets inspire me a lot. Hip-Hop is original, and a lot have forgotten what Hip-Hop really is. I tend to bring it back.

Immortal Technique is my favorite artist of all time, no exceptions. When I first started listening to rap, I was hooked on mainstream bullshit. The typical Eminem, Lil Wayne, Drake, and all them fake rappers. At first I thought I was the shit, rolling with the crowd. I one day wondered "is there anyone who doesn't rap about drugs, sex, girls, gangs, etc all the time?" I started writing my own lyrics, away from that BS, and kept wondering if there was anyone out there. A friend re-introduced me to one of Imm Tech's songs (I wasn't into underground back then and dusted it off my shoulder). It was [Only admins are allowed to see this link]. The first time I heard it, I only heard his last verse because a friend was bumping it and just showed me his last verse. I judged the song off of that and said it sucked. The second time I heard it, I finally knew the title of the song and listened to the lyrics and was like "Damn, that is cold yet real shit." I looked up more of his songs, and I was really impressed by this MC. His lyricism was so damn good. I swear I grabbed a dictionary when I was ignorant haha. He made mainstream rappers look like stupid fucks xDDD I have heard just about every song/freestyle that's by Tech. He made me realize that someone has went against the crowd. His music made me fearless of what people think of me. I started reading more books and shit because I also realized that knowledge is power. Today, my lyrics have a lot of vocabulary and references to real world scenarios. Im not on that mainstream BS.

Shit has happened in my life. In a way, I'm not scientifically supposed to be here. People say I'm lucky, but I say I'm blessed. Music is my purpose, and I intend to meet my dreams. "The purpose of life is a life with a purpose/ So I'd rather die for a cause than live a life that is worthless" (Imm Tech). No one gives me a purpose but myself. I realized that on my own. Im in control of my life. When Im about to die, I want to reminisce and say "I lived my life to the fullest potential of what I was given. I can look back and say I'm proud of what I've done and accomplished. My body can rest in peace."

God gives me inspiration and motivation. I'm not religious at all. I hate religion. It blinds you from the truth. I used to be a Christian, but I saw beyond the lies of mankind. I believe in a God though, I'm not athiest, and I'm not a free mason. My personal definition of religion is "a group that has isolated themselves from another kind because of a belief they have adapted." Today's religions are based upon another person's beliefs. It's not your own beliefs unless its your own religion. Man made "God" in his own sentiments. Then Man caricatured that image and placed it into other people's head. A thing I ask if a person follows a religion is, "Do you know where that religion comes from? How it originated?" A lot of the time the answer is "No". Then I tell them "then how can you call yourself a Muslim/Jew/Christian/Hindu/Buddhist/etc if you dont even know its foundation?" Like I said, it's all a different man's belief and not your very own. I love a quote that Dr. John Henrik Clarke said, "Nearly all religion was brought to people and imposed on people by conquerors and used as the framework to control their minds. My main point here is that if you are a child of god and god is a part of you, then in your imagination god is supposed to look like you and when you accept a picture of the deity assigned to you by another people you become the spiritual prisoner of that other people."

My girlfriend has made a huge impact in my life. I trust her more than I trust my closet homies. I literally choose to hang out with her than with my crew. She's been there for me when I needed her the most. The shit I've been through in life is something we both have in common. I mean we've been through very similar things. Its like God copied our life's together, slightly modified it, and put it in two different books. I love this girl. She supports me and my music. She's really honest, I swear she motivates me to do my best in life. I picture her in the future, her by my side while I accomplish my dreams

Q: What genre do you love the most?
A: Hip-Hop. I can express myself through it the most. Hip-Hop runs in my blood. We were destined to cross paths. I've seen many forms of Hip-Hop because Hip-Hop is different to people. I can create my own definition of Hip-Hop.

Q: What's your next step in music (if any)?
A: Come out with a free mixtape and distribute it through the internet and on the streets. Then hopefully, make another mixtape and sell that one, hustle my shit on the streets haha. I gotta start somewhere. I dont expect to be big and and famous so quickly, but I expect that at least my city will know me by name.



Reply if you have comments to my answers.

Now its your turn. Tell me your story.