Is there a particular person that you met along the way that you credit as a mentor in the business?
Going through life you find out different things, and the different people that you meet, they're all associated with energy or extra life force that you need. My manager was one of the people that pushed me over the years and taught me how to be sharper. I had to get through smaller phases in my career to be able to get to the much bigger phases. A lot of people around my way have been supportive. And in order to be able to work with people, especially when you have a relationship with them, you need to know how to let it be a love-hate relationship. Sometimes, with your brother, you're going to wake up in the morning and you're all pissed off with each other. You still got to live together. So all of my friendships and relationships have shown me that, "Okay, there is going to be a lot of stuff going on, a lot of stumbling blocks but just keep it moving."
Over the course of your career, the Internet has played a major role in your publicity machine. At the moment, you have several videos on YouTube and you have seen the mixtape industry evolve full-scale into the digital generation. Although you haven't had a major label debut yet, you've managed to secure a nice following online. So in what ways has the Internet benefited you best?
One of the things that I learned in the industry is first, you have to learn how not to do it. I want my listeners to be as confident as I am about the music. The internet is definitely a tool to get people to become solid listeners and learn to know you. I was talking to Missy Elliott the other day and one of the things she brought up to me was people don't love the artist no more. Lil' Wayne and Kanye West – people love those dudes. It's very, very rare nowadays that people get a relationship with the artist and love the artist. The love is there but you kind of fight for it. You have to put it out there. When I'm putting records out there for free, I feel like people will love that. It's like I'm not saying, "Hey, go buy this album." I'm giving them some of my music to listen to and get to know me and enjoy the music. One of the things that I live by is you have to get people to want your material for free before they buy it. I have the internet to reach out to people. I want people to embrace me and embrace my movement. It's important to have those fans, those people and make them say, "Okay, we like this guy. We want to hear more." It makes them appreciate it more. Everybody is trying to reach that next level but sometimes – and this is another thing Missy told me – you can play it slow instead of going for the quick fame. Another thing I live by is anything worth having is worth waiting for. Get people to know you, build your foundation from the ground – it makes your fan base solid.
Article comments
1 - Kaine
KAYO MARBILUS MYSPACE BLOGS myspace.com/kayomarbilus Hip hop music is a musical genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with backing beats. Hip hop music is part of hip hop culture, which began in the Bronx, in New York City in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans and Latin Americans.[1][2] The term rap music is often used synonymously with hip hop music.
Rapping, also referred to as MCing or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the performer speaks rhythmically and in rhyme, generally to a beat. Beats are traditionally generated from portions of other songs by a DJ, or sampled from portions of other songs by a producer,[3] though synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands are also used, especially in newer music. Rappers may perform poetry which they have written ahead of time, or improvise rhymes on the spot with or without a beat. Though rap is usually an integral component of hip hop music, DJs sometimes perform and record alone, and many instrumental acts are also defined as hip hop.