reyshizz

A while back ago, I did research on how some big name artists like, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and Soulja Boy achieved stardom. I wanted to use what they did as a road map to guide my own path. What I soon realized was that repeating what they did would not guarantee the same results, mainly because it’s been done already.

Conventional wisdom says to find successful people in your field and do what they’ve done so that you too can be as successful. When you take a close look at history you’ll realize those people became successful because they’ve done something that no one has done before. Now I am not sayin that you don’t need a Website, Myspace page and mixtape. However, you do need to add an original touch that will make you stand out from the crowd.

Case Study

50 cent started re-mixing popular songs and hooks, making it his own. He would put these songs on a mixtape and release directly to the streets. He probably wasn’t the first to do this but there were several factors that made his execution original.

1. He made song he remixed more entertaining than the original. 50 Cent would do this by making fun of original song itself and/or other rappers on the track. This made the music a topic of conversation allowing it to spread easily.
2. His persona and real life situation. He got shot 9 times on one occassion and lived to rap about it.
3. The music was good. At the end of it all, the music is most important. He represented passion and skill on every track he made.

If you do exactly what 50 did I am almost certain you will not get the same results because

1. It has already been done
2. People will recognize this and call you on it
3. See #1

Conclusion

Instead of trying to do exactly what others have done, try to think of somethig new and creative that will get people talking about you. That “something” can be adding a unique element to a mixtape. Whatever you come up with, make it your own.