Mixtapes have been the latest craze in Hip Hop. Although they have been around for years and many are familiar with their popularity…few know what goes in to producing one. I will tell you first hand that it’s a lot of WORK! There is much more expected from an artist mixtape these days due to the success of Lil Wayne, Drake and many other artist who’s mixtape success has pushed them to star status. With that said…the pressure is on!
“The Challanger” mixtape began with a small idea from a friend and blossomed into our biggest project to date. I took challenges from our supporters and began to post them on Youtube, Facebook and Myspace. I would post a new challenge every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. By the end of that run we amassed over 35 tracks of new material!!! EMQtv.com got word of our project and we quickly began a partnership with them to broadcast SIMPtv via the web. We did live broadcast via Ustream and even Itunes Podcast. The team was able to shoot and edit all video, record and perform all tracks, develop a social network following, produce graphics and create a website from scratch.
After this was all said and done it was time to take the project to the next level. We began to review the tracks and come up with a list of the “best” to compile the mixtape. With the help of DJ Dainja we were able to Mix and Master the entire project at Beat Studies. During this process we scheduled a photo shoot with Diana Lavender of Lavender Ink and a video shoot with the folks at Studio 8. From these two shoots we brought you the “Run This Town” video (edited by: Beko) and “The Challanger” cover art (Designed by: Kristen Alden). We where even able to get support and show our support to the folks at Falling Whistles through the art and design of the project.
(Run This Town Video Clip)
(SIMP addresses the camera on set of Run This Town)
When the material was finally ready to be given to the public it was time to start the promotional campaign and find a place to house it. Our promotional campaign required getting someone with a lot more expertise in that field. Thus, we hired Jonnice Slaughter of Chatterbox Publicity to help us garner a “Buzz” for the project. Our promotional materials consisted of web banners, videos, promo photos, reconstructing my bio to make it current, and press releases for the project. We decided to house the mixtape using bandcamp.com. This would allow us to track the downloads and plays that the project received and not compromise the look and quality of it.
There is a lot of background work that goes into producing a mixtape…if you want to do it right. This can put a lot of stress and strain on your team and you as an artist, because you are forced to wear multiple hats. During this entire process of developing “The Challenger,” my team and I have gotten little sleep, argued, and at times become irritable with one another. But, through this process we have also learned how much we can depend on each other. We all have our expertise, but it isn’t until we push ourselves to the limit and CHALLENGE one another that we find how much more we can do. At the end of the day, we couldn’t have made it without each other. Now…its back to the performance GRIND! 1st stop Smith’s Olde Bar on Jan.15 @8pm.
I hope you guys ENJOY!!!
SIMP
Tags: behind the tape, Simp, the challenger
Great post man. Whew, that was allot of work now that I sit back and think about it. I really believe that it will payoff and you will be considered a trend setter for the new decade. Keep on your hustle homie and congrats on the fine release.