TOP 10 REASONS YOU WILL NEVER GET RADIO PLAY!

Top 10 Reasons You
Will NEVER Get Radio Play

I never been the one to speak out of turn, in fact most of
the time I only speak when spoken too. Not because I am timid or shy, but
because I value words, and learned at an early age that “For one word a man is
often deemed to be wise, and for one word he is often deemed to be foolish. We
should indeed be careful what we say”. That’s one of the many drunken quotes
spewed on Mt.Vernon Ave that I never forgot.  

With that being said, a lot of local rappers have been
crying about not getting radio play on the local station. They blame the
station for the fact that their career has yet to reach beyond I-270, yet they
fail to take the steps necessary to even be consider for airplay. Don’t take
this blog as a diss to ANY local rapper in Columbus, because honestly I am
rooting for all 50,000 of you. Use this as a checklist of what not to do!

10. Your grown and
your name starts with “Lil”. The only people who can survive with the
prefix “Lil” on their rap name are those rappers who entered stardom in their
early teens. “Lil” as a prefix automatically disqualifies you and makes your CD
a great Frisbee in our offices.

9.   Your “baby momma” is singing all your hooks.
I HATE HATE HATE when a rapper gives me a demo and the same girl (who has a
horrible sense of range) is singing on every single song. 99.9% of the time,
the ONLY reason you think she can sing is because she is also paying for the
studio time.

8. Stop buying
bottles at the club and buy a beat!  I
hear a lot of re-used Soundclick beats. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very
dope producers on Soundclick, however NEVER, NEVER EVER EVER, download a FREE
Soundclick track with the producer tag playing through the entire track and use
it as your “Radio Single”. There is nothing worse than hearing “purchase this
beat for $9.99 at WeGotBeats.net” in the middle of your subpar verse. Columbus
has a number of locally based producers who are making national moves. Ie Rashad (Stalley: Lincolm Way Nights), The AudioUnit, Supanatra, B-Banga, Ron
Riley (Fatty Koo, NBA Finals, Disney, Wyclef Jean etc), Brandon Alexander,
QueTheBoyWonder (Gucci Mane, Chubby Baby), Jay Swiffa, Iyeball, J-Rawls.

 7. Your album cover pic was snapped with
camera phone. The classic, this is me in the bathroom mirror, boost mobile
4.1 megapixel snapshot struggle will be the death of many of you.

6. You have tattoo
tear drops, with no bodies. I am in no way promoting killing people to
obtain a reputation, but it’s clear that the “Lil Wayne’s” of the world have
made it ok to create a new “you” whenever you drop a mix-tape. But I shall warn
you, people who have earned their Tattoo Tears really really hate those who
didn’t work to get theirs. I guess it’s similar to Frats and Sororities who look
down on people who are “paper”, but this is worse and involves less stepping
and way more shooting.

5. You made a theme
song for your hood; but your hood doesn’t buy CDs. It’s great to represent
where you’re from; community pride is awesome. But if you’re seriously trying
to make it in this industry, then your song about every casting member that
contributes to your two block radius is not going to equate to album sales or a
top ten record, and will guarantee your CD a spot up under the coffee mug in
the Program Directors office. Sidebar:
Shouts out to BigBro GT because he created a dope joint called “Wack Wud” that
definitely should have got radio play though. Big Ups to the Southside.

4. Your Youtube video
has 76 views. Hmmm let me say this again, your single has been on Youtube
for 3 months and it only has 76 views. The only person checking for you; is
you.  One of the biggest criteria to
getting your record played is actually having a fan base.

3. You sound like
him, and him, and them, and him, and her, and him, and them too.
Originality seems to be lacking in music in general. Every since the Kid Cudi’s
, Drakes, and Wiz’s have hit the scene, everyone is smoking weed, depressed,
insecure, and slurring the end of all their words to match the tempo of the
beat. Back track circa 2006 most of you all weren’t drinking, smoking, wearing
skinny jeans, or embracing the Emo-culture. In fact you were copying and
pasting Jeezy adlibs on your songs. Pop an anti-depressant and find your own
sound.

2. We can’t
understand you.  It’s amazing how
many local rappers tweet about how much money they are making, popping bottles
from Thursday-Sunday at the your favorite local social establishment, copping
511 Levi’s and all the color Foamposites, but don’t want to spend money on
going to a real studio where they can put out a radio quality record. Believe
it or not Columbus, OH has some of the best studios and engineers in the
country. I’ve had the opportunity to work with a nice majority of them. For
example: Storm 9000 (Aftermath, Interscope Engineer); Chauncey with Outlet
Studios (Jazmine Sullivan, Nicki Minaj, Mary J Blidge, Joe); Dan Green
(Amerisound Studios).

1. Everyone raps. Being
a rapper is the leading cause of poverty in America, everyone is rapping, but no one is working! There are no longer
any fans, just rappers in the crowd looking for the next trend to call their
own. Don’t get me wrong, please go after your dreams, but trust me from the
inside looking out, this industry is not at all what you think it is.Don't just be another person that raps, own your company, turn it into a business and build brand equity. There are many Columbus based artist who are learning to master this, take notes.

If we are all thinking the same, then someone is not
thinking…-me

Free at last,

YavesLutherKing