Approximately the first 34 minutes are about Chris, his book, Ruffhouse Records, and old school hip hop from Schoolly D to the Fugees. The second half of the interview we dive into music business advice for artist.
Chris’s Book:
Ruffhouse: From the Streets of Philly to the Top of the '90s Hip-Hop Charts
Mentioned Book:
The History of Gangster Rap: From Schoolly D to Kendrick Lamar
Songs mentioned:
Coolin in Cali (audio) - 7A3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmBIW-XRs7c
The Piper (Video) - Cheeba
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-OEmg0bi7I
Typical American (Video ) - The Goats
Mentioned Stories::
- Chris swiping Schoolly D’s phone number from a rolodex
- Schoolly D and Chris become neighbors
- The Goats received more fan mail over a 15 year period than all the other Ruffhouse label mates combined.
- You can be dropped by the Amercian branch of a label and still have huge success overseas.
- Wyclef Jean taking off all his clothes and performing in his boxers during an office audition.
- Music Business advice for artist:
- In the era of mumble rap, does great song writing still matter?
- If you aren’t creating your own market, you’re just following.
- The greatest way to perfect the craft of songwriting (or anything really) is to network with other songwriters.
- Don’t torture people you want to connect with by spamming them with your music.
- His label never got a demo in the mail and signed that artist.
- The secret is YOUR NETWORK!
- Less is more. Don’t send a demo with 14 or 18 songs. No one has time for that. Send 2 bangers.
- Make sure you send a photo or video with the demo.
- You have to sell the label before you every sell to the general public.
- Major distributors are looking for 20 to 30 million hits on streaming/social media/YouTube.
- Get Online to Get Offline. The entertainment business is a relationship business.
- We are a singles driven music culture. Singles not albums.
- The missing element of A&R. Man artist haven’t developed live show skills in this era.
- Touring companies are creating small venues in order to develop artist.
- Put together a focus group!
- Matthew Knowles holds a grudge.
- Will AI put beatmakers, producers, and musicians out of work?
- Chris online:
- Instagram.com/ruffnationrecordsoffiicial
- Side bars into a story about Chuck D sitting outside of Schoolly D’s house for two hours!
- Who is coming out on RUFFNATION:
