On the Artist Ego

On the artist ego:

An artist is someone who bares their soul to the world. Everybody ain't gonna like it. There seems to be this push, especially in the hip hop realm, to quench the ego...stop being "me me me" oriented, be more humble, be nicer, build bridges etc. I disagree with all of that.

Art is not a popularity contest. It's a true and honest representation of your soul in tangible form. If you're an egotistical asshole, it's gonna come out in your art, stage presence, and interactions. No amount of "politeness training" is gonna change who a person is at the core of them. Figure out how to make it work for you and stop trippin' off people who don't like you because, frankly, if they were doing what the FUCK they were supposed to be doing, you would simply become a "part of our culture" as opposed to "that artist nobody likes." In my experience, the only reason "artists" complain about other "artists" is because they feel threatened, intimidated, or insecure around them. Nobody has time to care about how drunk you get before going on stage or how much of a mic hog you are or how "dope you think you are" when they're holding their own in their own way and baring their soul honestly to the world. You don't have to be nice to make great art...you just have to make great art....now if your shenanigans get everybody kicked out the club, you're gonna deal with consequences that may include law enforcement. #choices

The problem is not the egotistical asshole emcees, diva vocalists, and heavy handed drummers. The problem is everybody screaming at the same time and not listening to each other. Moreover, many don't even know what they're doing or why. A bunch of copycats are copying what they think was dope in 2007 instead of doing what they do. Stop racing other people's races!

If the drummer at the jam session gets too loud, stop playing and let him play by himself. If everybody doesn't like it, boo his ass. If you find out that he's the dopest drummer you've ever heard, add a bass line. Then rhythm guitar come in. Then add keys. Then brass. That's called communication.

If the young emcee is yelling over everybody on stage, cut off everything but her mic and give her ass 10 minutes. If she ain't shit, the whole room will know in 2. However, if she's the most prolific emcee the world has ever known, step your game up and battle or sit the fuck down.

If the diva vocalist is fucking up the harmony or being rude to the musicians, make his ass sing lead. If he ain't shit, he'll know, we'll know, and he won't do that shit no more. If he's the most amazing singer you've ever heard, put a camera in his face, make him sing for the commercial and pimp his ass on youtube for ad revenue.

Love,
Blue