How Can I Be a Rap Artist?

Build relationships with other artists in your community.

Whether your interest lies in the glitz and glamor of fame or the opportunity to create art and spread your message, the path to rap success is paved with an enormous amount of hard work. Writing songs and performing them seems like the lion's share of the work, but in truth you must be prepared to spend countless hours developing your image, marketing, distributing and promoting yourself. The competitive nature of the rap industry means that sometimes even the most talented rappers spend their lives undiscovered and the discovered artists have the potential to go from today's hit-makers to yesterday's news in seconds.

Instructions

1. Create an arsenal of original songs that you've written and can flawlessly perform. Practice performance and write new songs every chance you get. Your body of work speaks not only to your talent, but to your work ethic, unique sound and marketability.

2. Perform your songs in clubs, at events, in contests, at rap battles and at parties. The more you perform, the more people get exposed to your music and the more opportunities you have to build a fan base, network and catch the ear of a producer or label talent scout.

3. Put together a demo CD of your best, most polished tracks. Send copies of the demo CD to the submissions department of major record labels and to local producers, DJs, radio stations and rap artists. Keep copies of your demo CD with you at all times in case the opportunity to market yourself presents itself.

4. Promote yourself and your music on a near-constant basis. Start up a MySpace page, a Facebook account, a Twitter feed and a website. List sample tracks and videos of live performances so people can hear your sound. Continue to perform and attend special events or rap performances by other artists in the community to keep your face fresh in everyone's minds.

5. Hire a manager once you get to the point where your marketing and gigs are too much to handle on your own. A manager will command 20 percent of your earnings, but may be able to use industry connections to get you bigger shows at better venues or to get your demo to the right people.

6. Persist with your marketing, writing, performing and demo submission, even in the face of rejections. You never know when you'll get your big break.

References

• Education-Portal.com: How to Become a Rap Artist: Education and Career Roadmap
• Rap Coalition; What is a Manager; Michael McCready
• Rap Coalition: Artists Don't Make Money From Record Deal; Wendy Day