The-Dream Teams with Timbaland for New Jay-Z Album

Whassup Peeps?

If you haven't heard Jay-Z has been working on a new album. It may be old news to some but its brand new to me. He's got some A-List producers working on it too like Swiss Beatz, Timbaland, and The Dream.

Click on the link below for the original article:

Rap-Up.com || The-Dream Teams with Timbaland for New Jay-Z Album


Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

Kanye's Got Big Names For "Good A** Job"

Talkin' bout str8 heat!!! We all know Kanye West is hell on the beats but check the list of the producers for his 4th album:

• RZA
• Pete Rock
• Q-Tip
• & Kanye himself

I would cop this album just off the producer credits alone.

Here is the link below:

Kanye's Got Big Names For "Good A** Job" | Official Flywritergurl Blog | Flywritergurl News and Celebrity Blogs | Global Grind

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.Beats4ADub.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

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DJ, Beatmaker & Musician, RJD2 Interview: Check This Video Out

I kinda slept on RJD2 for a long time. Well, really ain't no kinda. I slept on dude REAL hard.

I had heard of him through several other artists but I really didn't check for his music. I remember him being on El P's label but I still I was asleep.

This interview truly changed that for good!

No only was what he was saying on point but the beats in the background are sick. I'm still trippin' on how I slept on this dude.

You can peep the interview below.

RJD2 Interview With Pyramid West | NODFACTOR.COM

Now I gotta go brush up on my RJD2 beats. I'll be back shortly with more hotness!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.Beats4ADub.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

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Systemize Your Music Business

We’re in the second month of 2010. Yes, I said it: the second month!

How are you coming with your New Year’s Resolutions? Even better than Resolutions…how about your GOALS?

I set some goals for 2010 and it’s been a crazy month so far. What I’ve learned and working to apply in my business is systems. Systemizing your business helps you put it on autopilot. Successful businesses are run by systems and those systems are run by people.

What is autopilot? It simply means your business runs without you, the owner, being there. Just let that sink in for a minute.

A true business is one where the owner doesn’t have to be there for it to operate. In fact, in some cases, the business will run better if the owner wasn’t there.

This is done by systemizing your business.

How do we apply this to the music industry?

Let’s say you are an artist who wants to start a label. You really don’t want to be a day-in, day-out businessman, you just want to write, record, and perform music.

You need a team of people around you to help you realize that vision. You need a personal manager, a business manager, and an entertainment attorney. You will also need a booking agent when booking shows gets to be too much for your personal manager.

These people help manage you as an artist. Now as far as your label is concerned, you are going to need to systemize recording your music as well as mixing and mastering it. Once you have that completed you need to find a good distributor.

In the meantime, while all this is going on, you still have to have a marketing division so that fans will know who you are.

The most successful artists have done this WELL! Look at artists like Jay Z & Ludacris who own labels but are still artist. They have their companies on autopilot. Another example would be the Rolling Stones. They have been in the game for years.

Even though they don’t own their record label, they still have their careers on autopilot. They only have to focus on recording and performing music. People are hired to run systems that do the other parts of the business.

Wouldn’t you like for your career to be like this too?

So how to we systemize?

Make a list of all the tasks it takes to operate your business. You really have to break your business down. In the food industry, McDonald’s is the perfect business model.

Actually, McDonald’s is the perfect business model for any industry.

The owner of a Mickey D’s franchise doesn’t have to work the register, cook the fries, flip the burgers, and work the drive-thru window. McDonald’s has its systems in place. When you buy a McDonald’s franchise, everything is already set up for you and anybody can operate it.

You should think of your business the same way. A good business system can be duplicated, packaged up, and sold.

It’s good to have an exit strategy as well for your business. At what point would you sell your business?

Jay Z and his partners built Roc-A-Fella Records from the ground up and sold it. Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons did the same thing with Def Jam Recordings. These businesses were valuable because they were systemized.

Truly systemizing your business is the way to be financially free in the future because it frees up you time to do the things you really want to do.

There is a business saying that holds true and stands the test of time:

“Work on your business and not in it”.

This means delegate the mundane, time consuming tasks that need to happen but suck up all your time. You should be using your time to be creative and grow your business.

Start by brainstorming everything you want to do this week.

Pick the top three tasks so you won’t get overwhelming trying to systemize your whole business at one time.

Take those tasks and break them down step by step. From this list, you create a procedure manual anybody from off the street can pick up and implement to run that particular system in your business.

That’s how you know when your business is truly systemized.

Let’s Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.RapBeatCreator.com

www.Beats4ADub.com

www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

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Developing The Habit Of Persistence

One of the keys to being successful in life is developing the habit of persistence. It doesn't matter if you want to be the best beat maker, emcee, football player, doctor, lawyer, etc.

If you want to be the best, you must be persistent.

The legendary basketball champion Michael Jordan is a great example of being persistent. Mike practiced and practiced until he became almost flawless. You know the story. Cut by his high school basketball team, he went on to become one of the greatest basketball players in history.

He won a NCAA Championship in college, 6 NBA Championships, NBA All-Star Trophies, Olympic Gold Medals, and all kinds of endorsements.

The passing of my friend JAX showed me something and it made me take the time to reflect. STAHR The FEMCEE said JAX told her she needed to get in the habit of writing everyday. It didn't have to be much. It could be a couple of bars but as long as it was done everyday it would become a habit.

Last night on WRFG 89.3 on Jay Force's show Rhythm and Vibes, I heard so much music from JAX that I never heard before. That Brother was truly on the grind...

...before it was even cool to say grindin'.

What I came away with was to step up my game. Double my failure rate. Stay focused on what I want to see manifest in my experience. Use concentrated force to overcome road blocks.

I'm already committed to blogging everyday. I would like to add a new commitment of making my own beats everyday and/or working on a song.

This is not hard for me to do because I'm so used to writing. Writing is easy. What is hard is staying focused on the big picture sometimes.

With all the challenges life brings your way, it can be difficult to prioritize and do what really needs to be done but once you put all the excuses to the side and just do it, life gets simpler.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Oil

With Hiphop and Rap music being dominated mostly by males, the ego pretty much comes built-in. "I'm so and so, I'm this, I'm that..." is not only a hot line but it is the truth about the music industry.

There are all kinds of colorful artists out here in "the game" but the ones that truly shine are the ones who are not afraid to promote themselves.

I'm talking about the ones who have no shame in promoting themselves to the point that you MUST listen to what they are saying or doing.

My experience in the business world has proven this to me time and time again. I remember when I was promoting Da Unfold EP by my group Prophetix. I was out promoting in the streets and online all the time, every moment I could get. People knew that I was a hustler because of how much they saw me in the street. They bought into the hype I was selling.

Since then, whenever people see me or one the other members to this day, they always ask where the other members are because of the standard we set in the underground Hiphop scene in Atlanta.

What about you? What are you doing to promote your music...

...AND ARE YOU LOUD ENOUGH?????

Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the oil!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.RapBeatCreator.com

P.S. If you already make beats online and you would like to learn how to promote your music then click here to check out Liveoffbeats.com. Now go ahead and get your squeaky wheel on!!!

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$700 Billion or Bust!!! Make Beats Or Die Bitches!!!

With all this talk about politics (Obama & McCain), the economy (Big bank takes little bank), and the $700 billion bailout (Um, where's my cut?) , its nice to know that making beats is still a good source of income.

I came across this ad about how to make money selling your own beats and of course I just had to see what it was about (since that's what I preach and teach).

What I found was a great candidate for review at my main site over at www.RapBeatCreator.com.

The site was called LiveOffBeats.com.

This site was not focused on how to make your own beats but it was focused on how to make money off the beats you've already made. I read the sales letter on the web page and I said to myself, "my subscribers might be interested in this."


I checked out the free video that was posted and it was pretty good. So I signed up for the newsletter about 2 weeks ago and I've been getting all sorts of free music "placement" tips.

The producer and webmaster is named Postman and he really has the production game down pat plus the Internet marketing game too. The testimonials are really good and he even list some names you may know of people who've used his system and made money.

So for all those people who are cryin' about not having any money and are too broke to buy a 25 cent Little Debbie Oatmeal Pie, this site is for you.

You already know how I feel about educating your self about the music biz...

....and the bottom line in ANY business is about what? Making money!

Click on the link below and see for your self:

www.LiveOffBeats.com

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Beats On The Beach Music Seminar Hitting Miami,FL : NODFACTOR.COM

Check this out! For those that are able to check this out...please do it!

Click on the link below for hands on lessons on how to make your own beats:

Beats On The Beach Music Seminar Hitting Miami,FL : NODFACTOR.COM

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Video Interview: Pete Rock & Green Lantern : NODFACTOR.COM

Anytime you get to hear music legends talk, you should just shut the fuck up! Here are 2 of them together: Pete Rock and Green Lantern being interviewed by Nodfactor.

Click on the link below to check the interview:

Video Interview: Pete Rock & Green Lantern : NODFACTOR.COM

Also, although I consider myself to be a Hiphop historian, I realized I dropped the ball. Yup, I have pie on my face about this one. Here it is: I didn't know Large Professor made beats on the Eric B and Rakim "Let The Rhythm Hit Em" album.

What's funny is that I remember buying the cassette back in the day when it first came out. I really didn't know who Extra P was then but I have a whole new respect for him today.

I felt like a dunce when I found out. Ouch!!!

Just thought I'd throw that lil tidbit in...

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Top 20 Hip-Hop Albums of All Time: No. 20 - The Boombox Music Blog

Yo, I came across this while I was fumbling around online. It's the Top 20 Hiphop Albums of All Time compiled by employees of AOL. The comments posted at the end of the list are krazy!!!

Hiphop is so diverse. People were chiming in on their favorite joints and voicing their opinions about what should or should not have been on the list.

There were a lot of mentions about the producers of the albums as well. Some of them might surprise you.

Click on the link below for the full list...according to AOL. LOL!!!

Top 20 Hip-Hop Albums of All Time: No. 20 - The Boombox Music Blog

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Super Producer Dr. Dre Son Passes Away

As some of you may know, Dr. Dre who's real name is Andre Young, Sr. lost his 20-year old son Andre Young Jr. last week.

It is reported that he passed away at home. My prayers go out to Dr. Dre and his family.

Dr. Dre is one of the greatest producers in the world and his discography is to be admired. I've been a Dre fan since the World Class Wreckin' Crew and I've even tried to make beats like him. Death is never easy. Once again Dr. Dre you and your family are in our thoughts.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.RapBeatCreator.com

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How NOT To Make Money In The Music Business!

I get all kinds of email regularly asking me about free beats. Okay, I know that my original site was called www.Free-Hot-Rap.com, and I guess I should've saw it coming but damn!

Here's a little business lesson: the reason anybody or any business gives away anything free is to get something in return. At my site I offer free beats as an incentive to my visitors to give me their names and email addresses. Now, if I gave away more than the 7 free beats that are posted on my site, then I wouldn't be in business long would I? In fact, I don't know to many business that offer their product free forever. Many business use the 'free sample' technique. I has been used for years...way before there was ever such a thing called the Internet.

How does this apply to you and the music business?

For starters, sending out demos is giving the recipient a free sample. Most demos have 3 to 5 songs on them. More established artists use their whole album as their demo.

Let's relate this to social networking sites like MySpace.com. If you sign up as an artist on MySpace you get to upload several songs. You can choose to let the visitors of your page download your songs if you want to for free or you can place a link on your site where they can buy your song or album for money. Personally, I like to get paid for my hard work.

Its funny because many artists wonder why they never make a dime and it's because they don't understand the music business is a business. The sole purpose of a business is to make money. Its not so that the owners can have more time and freedom or be more flexible or give people jobs. Its to make MONEY!!!

The sole job of a business owner is to generate revenue and raise capital. Without these, the business will not exist long. I don't care if your selling wigets, CD's, beats, make your own beats services, dance lessons, cooking lessons, toilet tissue, candy bars, ham sandwiches, shoes, computers, etc. The bottom line is how much you've made at the end of the day.

I know this might sound harsh for some of you but its the truth. Anyone who is in business to do anything else is setting himself or herself up for failure.

Listen, I AM Hiphop and a true understanding of the kulture of Hiphop helps you realize what has been called "street entrepeneurship". Its a long term for hustlin'. If Russell Simmons didn't get paid for all his work with Kurtis Blow and Run-DMC, we wouldn't have heard of LL Cool J or even Kanye West. Same goes for Diddy. No Diddy, no Biggie Smalls, no Mary J. Blige, etc. The list goes on.

If you want to be a failure in the music business here is the recipe: Do everything for free. Spend time (and money) getting your songs recorded, put together a press kit, spend all kinds of time (and money) getting exposure for your group, give away your songs and albums for free, do free shows, and give away all the rights to your music. Did I leave anything out?

Now if you want to get money you must do the opposite. Spend some time learning about the music business and figure out ways you can make money in the business. And don't fall under the stupidity of the "Keepin' It Real" idiots. Keepin' it real is keeping your bills paid. Keepin' It real is feeding your kids. Keepin' it real is being able to buy the things you want to buy by earning money from your God-given skills and abilities. Keepin' it real is building enough wealth to last for several generations. If you want to make money, follow this formula. If not, follow the first one.

And as with all things you want to be good at, you must practice. Success is usually not an accident. If you want to be a better Hiphoppa then focus on your chosen craft, whether it be emceeing or street entrepeneurship. You may have to spend some time and money on it but if you don't focus on the end result then you won't get ahead in the game...and believe me it's all a game.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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The Source Magazine Picks 20 Greatest Producers

In 20 years, there have been some great Hiphop producers. For their 20th Anniversary, The Source magazine has named their top 20. I've put the list below. What do you think about this list? And why the hell isn't my name on it?! Or yours?! LOL!

Anyway, I can pretty much agree with the majority of the producers on this list. Who would you put on the list and who would you kick off? Here it is in alphabetical order:

1. Bomb Squad
2. DJ Paul and Juicy J
3. DJ Premier
4. DJ Quik
5. Dr. Dre
6. Erick Sermon
7. Jermaine Dupri
8. J Dilla
9. Kanye West
10. Lil Jon
11. Marley Marl
12. Mannie Fresh
13. Pete Rock
14. Puff Daddy & The Hitmen
15. RZA
16. Scott Storch
17. Swizz Beatz
18. The Neptunes
19. Timbaland
20. Wyclef Jean & Jerry Wonder

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
http://www.rapbeatcreator.com/

P.S. Our names should be on this list for the next twenty years. If you haven't check out Music Producer Pro then you might not get on the list. Click here to start making beats for only $39.00!





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The MF Doom Body Double Controversy - Is It True?

Wow! I don't know how many of you are familiar with my man MF Doom but it looks like he's catching some heat. It's been rumored that Doom has been using a body double or not even showing up at all for booked shows.

Now, Doom is my man hands down. I don't know what's going on as far as this body double business but he is a down to earth dude. The fans all see the "metal face" mask but all that aside I don't see Doom hiding anything.

Doom not only produced "Somethin's Gotta Give" on my High Risk album but he also helped me do some lawn work once and didn't ask for a penny. No joke. I put that on my daughter life. This is someone whose crashed at my crib before folks so I don't know about these allegations.

Like I said, I don't know what's going on. Dude wears a mask so it could be some clowns out there just gettin' money by using his name. I've seen Doom perform at clubs where there were only 20 people so why would he dodge a packed house? It doesn't make sense.

Check out the video below. ANYBODY could've done this.




Click the link below for the full story.

CunninLynguists Producer Calls Out MF Doom : NODFACTOR.COM

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

Make Your Own Beats: To Beat Or To Blog? That Is The Question

Okay, so it's almost 3AM and I'm just sitting around. I'm kinda exhausted and I'm contemplating should I make a beat or post on my blog. Well, you're reading the results. Do you remember the post I put up a couple of months ago about the 3 essential things you need to make beats? It was The Will, The Way, and The Movement.

Well, I can tell you right now I'm having trouble with The Will and The Movement. I think I took the easy way out and just decided to blog. LOL. I'm such a lazy muthafucker sometimes. And I know my X-Board and Reasons both miss me but I'm just absent today.

Does this mean when you make your own beats you will get these slumps too? Probably so. Why? Because your HUMAN!!! Everyone is entitled to a break. Especially if you make beats using the computer or do any type of computer work for a long extended period of time. You need a break.

I just don't feel like making my own beats right now... Hey, at least I'm honest, right?

Tomorrow will be a different story. I'll holla...

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

Make Your Own Beats: Selling Beats vs. Leasing Beats

I've been thinking about the different business models in which you can sell beats online. There are several different ways that I've seen since I've been actively selling beats online.

There are membership sites where you can pay a one-time fee or monthly fee and have access to a catalog of beats. There are sites where you can buy royalty-free beats for different prices but. If you buy these beats from these sites you also don't have control over who else buys the beat because you're not the exclusive buyer. There are also sites where you can buy beats with full rights that you own straight out and don't have to share with anybody.

I think the best sites that I've seen combine several of these features in one. They are like hybrid sites. They combine being able to buy royalty-free beats and getting a beat custom made. I know one guy that makes over $15,000 a month using this model!

I told your about Base Jase a while ago who makes beats for MTV as well as sells beats online. His beats sell for different prices but once someone buys them, he takes the beat off his site and the buyer is the sole owner.

Both ways have advantages but I think ultimately to keep headaches down a person who is looking for beats should buy them straight out. The downside to leasing or buying beats royalty-free is that somebody else can buy the beat as well and the beat loses it originality.

Anyway these are just some thoughts I had. I hope you think about your business model when you are making your own beats. If you have any questions, hit me up! Peace...

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

Make Your Own Beats: Old Skool vs. New Skool

There is a big difference between the music today versus the music 20 years ago. The Hiphop Kulture was in its "Golden Era" back then and the music was alot more fun. It wasn't making as much money as it is today but it seemed a bit more pure.

Everyone was working to be different from the competition, not trying to emulate them. I mean Heavy D was different from N.W.A. Public Enemy was different from The 2 Live Crew. Big Daddy Kane was different from Run-DMC. And being in the true spirit of Hiphop, the artists strived to be different from each other. What was cool is that you could hear all these artist on the same radio playlist. There was balance.

Today I can't say that at all. Most mainstream rappers are consistent when it comes to talking about Ballin'. How much they are ballin? How much money they have? How many girls they have? Let's talk about my Phantom and my Bentley and how I got to be this way selling drugs, etc., etc. Yeah right!!! The only ones that sound different now are the underground emcees. There are some who still flex skills like Common and Lupe Fiasco but they are rare and they ain't selling records like the drug dealer/pimp types.

The music is different as well. Some of the music still bangs but since everybody found out that Soulja Boy made his break off of Fruity Loops & MySpace.com, people have been trying to copy that formula.

What???

There are still some producers that sample and there are still some who try to make their music have a signature sound. I applaud these producers for wanting to be different. Make your own beats. Make your own sound. That my friend is Hiphop. Peace...

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com