 I know what you’re thinking. Another Drake Stan. But hear me out do you really hate Drake? Do you really hate Iceman? Let’s break down the word hate. Hate, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury”. This is when you have to ask yourself, does Iceman bring you fear? Does Iceman bring you anger? Do you think that iceman will cause injury to you? If any of these answers are no, then can you really hate iceman? I would challenge that with maybe you feel strongly about Iceman or you flat out just don’t like it. Kanye West once said that art is supposed to make you feel something and that true failure in art is when an audience doesn't care. So by that definition alone you acknowledge that Iceman is art. It provoked emotion it caused action. It got your algorithm algorithmithing. It got you to care. Can I sit and say that Iceman is a classic. I don’t think so yet. Classics need to breathe. Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt wasn’t deemed a classic when it initially came out but people are still dissecting the bars on that album to this day. What I can say is that the more that I listen to the album, the more I realize it has great replay value and that’s one attribute of a classic album. I think what many people get wrong about artists is that, that them themselves have evolved and the artist that they heard has also evolved, so I don’t think Drake was lying when he said on the song Make Them Know, "that Drake from 2009 I don’t think we’ll be seeing him again." There are people who say that Drake hasn't evolved, but then in the same breath say, they miss the old Drake. To evolve is to change right? So how can you evolve but be the same person? I think it’s up to us as listeners to also evolve in seeing the person as who they’ve become, versus who we have met them as. It’s like anytime you see someone from high school, and you knew them as one thing, but in actuality they’ve grown to be so much more than this one thing that you knew them as. What more do you want? I think that’s one of the questions that I ask. A lot of the people who don’t like the album have this reoccurring criticism that it's not introspective enough, but I think from the very first song "Make Them Cry". Drake shows you how introspective he, and he even speaks on the harsh reality that no matter how deep he digs, they’ll always tell him to dig deeper, which I would say anyone who has listened to his music knows that he's always been introspective. But this one record talks about the things that he's going through in life, like his father battling cancer, or also realizing his uncle's bad decisions and with that the realization now that he’s in this place in his life that he can understand some of those choices. That's life. That's introspection. But what about the bars? And then I think it comes to the bars, like a lot of people criticize Drake and kind of dismisses him for certain bars, mistakenly as surface level, but not realizing that these can be a technique to connect to deeper bars or more technical, more double entendre style, or even set ups for the larger couplet or quartet or of bars. "I swear I’m going looney over tune like that green martian." This one bar alone lets you know Drake's pen is still penning. That's not it though, The Internet is going crazy over all the bars in this album, but I also think that in itself is a marketing strategy. There’s this new marketing role called "clippers", these are Instagram pages, social media pages, and TikTok pages, that are incentivized to post content, sometimes 10 to 40 posts of the topic in order to go viral. Sometimes that's lyric breakdown, sometimes that's funny dances. But what makes this different is that not only do the content creator gets millions views, but they’re also monetarily incentivized to go viral so with each mill views on sites like Vyro and Clipify, and I believe that Iceman did use and benifit from this marketing strategy in order to kind of sidestep the normal music label promotion rollout. Especially since Drake is still in legal litigations against his label Universal. I think he had to come up with a more creative way, and since Drake is very much in tune with the social media age, this new style of clipping clippers is a way for him to not rely on the machine in order to push his album and market it without having to worry if the machine will do its thing, without having to rely on radio interviews and this big tour media circuit tour, which is what typically the artist's label sets up. An interesting perspective was also that Kendrick Lamar used the same strategy to push his albums and his singles, so this is essentially the new way of marketing. Sort of how influencers used to be the new marketing strategy, clippers are the new music marking strategy that even big named artists are using. And this makes sense, especially with the way that the Instagram algorithm has changed to suggest content that it thinks you would like more than the people you follow. What you thinking? But let’s not forget the psychology behind this. The algorithm is what it thinks you like, the algorithm thinks you like Kendrick Lamar more, then it’s going to push Kendrick Lamar and reviews and more Drake hate. And in the same vein, if you like Drake more it will push more Drake music and more Kendrick Lamar hate. The psychology behind that like I said the algorithm is more Content based so it’s suggesting things it thinks you’re interested in it. Also the psychology of the content creators that know that hate gets more eyes and likes, meaning that making a video about something you hate or saying something in a very hateful way is more likely to stir up more emotion more comments, and more interaction than just, talking about things you like. This is sometimes called ragebaiting or click baiting for views. I've seen social media influences at times use ragebaiting to get views where in one since they totally bash Drake and all the music he’s made, but then a couple months down their feed you can see them saying they love his song or they even have one of his songs playing in the background, but as you follow these social media influencers you realize that it's not, that they’re not necessarily in the business to love or hate, they’re in the business to get views. and getting views sometimes mean using psychology, tricks that include ragebaiting and Click baiting. Is this really your opinion? Big K.R.I.T. had a skit on his album Cadillactica called “Classic Interlude” where two men are talking about an album that just got released. The main guy asked the other guy has he heard this new album, and his friend says immediately that the album is a classic. But it's with this one friend's opinion that the main guy agrees. Until he then goes on to talk to a female friend where the same question comes up. This time he answers and says that the album is a classic, however she replies that she wasn't feeling it, and that it was wack. This causes him to again change his opinion and says you know what, you're right, it was wack! Sometimes we’re so quick to be in agreements that we don’t even haven't even formulated our own opinion, which then also causes us to not be confident enough to take a stance on a subject. Right or Wrong, people are more respected for taking a stance instead of being fickle. This kind of goes back to school and how we used to have to write book reports. You started with your thesis statement, and the rest of the report was were you added your supporting sentences or paragraphs to show that you actually have research to back up your theory. I say we do that with albums. Lastly, it takes too much effort to get away from the album. Iceman has already lived rent-free in your head and your algorithm. Go outside and you’ll most likely hear it also. The radio and the clubs are playing the album. Social media is going crazy with it as background music. Even your favorite brunch spot probably has Drake on in rotation. To get away from the album you literally have to stay inside the house. Not impossible, but it’s probably a miserable experience. If it’s music, just let it be music. Use that energy for good. My suggestion. Give the album a chance, go into a room where there are no distractions. Don’t try to turn on your phone and record. Or have some reaction video. Don't even listen to the album with a friend. But do bring a blank piece of paper and ask yourself after every track. How do you feel? How did this music make you feel? Did you remember the hook? Was there a catchy part? What didn’t you like about a particular song? How is the arrangement of songs? if you can articulate those things, then I think you have an adequate opinion on whether you like it or not. Let us know your thoughts on Iceman!
0 Comments
 You could feel the music. You could feel the soul echoing through the streets. That's how people might've described Black Wall Street before it’s commercialization. Before the highway that divided the community, before the luxury apartments and the fancy restaurants, Black Wall Street was a place where music brought people together. Steph Simon is bringing back that spirit with his live band rehearsals that not by coincidence was held on Greenwood, right in the heart of Black Wall Street. This day started like any other Monday. A cool walk with the I Grow Daily’s walking group. The group meets around 5:45 with the usual route around Black Wall Street and downtown Tulsa, though we did stop to see the new social club being constructed called "The Block" (which is set to be open later this year). But as we came to the end, we could hear drums echoing down the street. My pace increased as a familiar voice sang out, “Just another sunny day, on the Northside”. These words I’ve heard numerous times. "I made left on Pine, headed to Apache." Steph Simon and The Rowlands are a band from North Tulsa that encapsulate what it means to not give up on your town. To stay here when so many left, or as he put it, “took water and made Pade Tea”. If you know Steph Simon he’s always promoted the people and shared the profits by buying local merch and supporting local vendors and most importantly, continuing to do events on Black Wall Street. This particular rehearsal was them gearing up for their next show on June 2nd. To be front row of a band rehearsal felt raw, like being at a Tiny Desk performance or an MTV Unplugged show. But there was also the improvisation of it, one example of this was when the band started to play "Sunny on the NS", but on 2 times the speed, I promise Steph Simon didn't miss a single syllable. The band also didn't miss a single note. That's what the creative process is, it's realizing that it doesn't have to be all business, because the creativity is created in experiences. Another experience we were treated to was hearing Steph Simon's new song “Local Markets”, which the band performed, this let me know that the set list was still being flushed out, as they tried new arrangements and practiced subtle cues that let each member know that the next song, or next sound, or what volume to play at. There were restarts. There were instruments being tuned. But that's life! That's LIVE! That's Unfiltered! That's Black Wall Street! The people came. Drawn in by something you felt in your soul. Samples like, “It Never Rains in Sunny California”, or “Come & Talk to Me” took the crowd to a nostalgic place. But it was the switch to Simon’s original tracks that pulled everyone back to the present. As the crowd grew so did the band’s realization that this was more than a rehearsal, this was a popup show, so they did what any band would do. Give the people what they stopped for. A SHOW! You could see that having fun which came thru in the music. Simon on this day was surrounded by the ancestors because he was finding pockets and flows and even showing off a few dance moves. To hear Steph Simon live is to see a return on investment on any ticket price, any merch price, and album price, ten times over. He is gem to everything Tulsa. What happened that day was magical. I just hope you catch the next one and see what Steph Simon and the band bringing live music back to Black Wall Street. Make sure you follow Steph Simon on social media:
Instagram: @stephxsimon YouTube: Steph Simon Spotify: Steph Simon  It might almost be summer, but in Oklahoma there’s still a chance for snow. No one knows this better than the artist that goes by Snowy Freeman, who is changing the forecast when it comes to music coming from the state. His flow may be unpredictive, but it's his bars and cool persona, that has many looking forward to a full-length project. And even though there has been no official announcement, Snowy Freeman is feeding the streets with the release of his new single “How I Do It”. Snowy Freeman is an artist from Tulsa Oklahoma who brings with him the experience of putting out great music consistently. and has created his own lane. Creating his own lane isn't only seen in his music but was learned from his love of skateboarding and motorcycles. Snowy Freeman is running his own race and not jumping from trend to trend to reach his audience. The future is bright for the artist known as Snowy Freeman. The song How I Do It uses a familiar and soulful instrumental that leaves room for Snowy Freeman to spit introspective bars. To the listener the beat lines up with the feeling you would get from a more southern influenced blues song where the storytelling was the focal point of the song. This is what Snowy Freeman is able to do best, tell his story. He takes on the track with a confidence that is heard in his tone and echoed throughout the lyrics. "Formed a style, you can gamble all your pieces on". Lines like these showcase this confidence that you hear cleverly throughout the track; while backing ad-libs become almost a stamp of approval for every bar, these ad-libs give you that feeling from those early Jeezy tapes, who was himself is no stranger to snow. "Flow ugly, risky chunky, no clam chowder." A hidden gem in the track is when Snowy Freeman spits the last bar, "If you don't want me on your grass, Stinkmeaner clone", Stinkmeaner referring to the hilarious character on the show Boondocks, but also, the main characters last name is Freeman which makes the bar hit that much more. Then comes the technical aspect of music, Snowy Freeman's bars are artful in the sense that they aren't just strung together words for the sake of rhyming, but they're well thought out similes and metaphors that give a glimpse into his genius, each line makes you go back and listen for things you might not have caught in the first listen. One bar that made me run the track back, was in verse two where he spit this creatively unique bar that I've never heard any one use before, "Flow ugly, risky chunky, no clam chowder." That's a bar! That's also the thing about this song, I found myself able to reference bar after bar, and catch small clues in each listen, that's the tell of a true writer. That's why Snowy Freeman is winning. Checkout Snowy Freeman's new single "How I Do It" below and let us know what you think: Make sure you follow Snowy Freeman on social media:
Instagram: @itssnowman2u Facebook: Snowy Freeman YouTube: Snowy Freeman Spotify: Snowy Freeman  Can you truly do what you want? That’s the question that many people have to answer each day when clocking in, whether that be to a job, a business, or a side hustle. Doing what you want comes with a freedom that you can live life on your terms and have fun while doing it. No boss, doesn’t mean not having responsibilities, but that your responsibilities are things you really care about. Rappers Booz and Lil Polo Da Don are answering this question in their new video “I Do What I Want”. Booz is an artist from Sanford, Florida, who has seen success early in his career with the release of his hit viral hit “Lil N*a**”, landing him collabs with artist Pooh Shiesty, BIG30, and Julio Foolie to name a few. The other featured artist, Lil Polo Da Don, (not to be confused with the producer) is a rapper from Fort Pierce, Florida, who himself has seen success with shoutouts from big names such as Gillie the Kid as well as viral hits. He has also landed big names features such as YNW Melly, JackBoy, and Young Taz, just to name a few. It’s right only that these two Florida standouts collab on their new track. “I might pull up in that AMG like homie what you sayin’.” First up is artist Booz, who makes sure there’s no confusion with his first bar as he spits the line, “I might pull up in that AMG like homie what you sayin’.” The fact that he spits it a cappella makes the listener feel every word. Booz has a high energy bounce that can be seen in the video and heard in his verse, his aggressive tone brings his street life bars to life that become supporting statements that further give credibility to his music. “28 just for a bird, push up just like the chicken man.” He’s about that life. Booz mentions loyalty to his friends as an important code he lives by while balancing relationships. It’s also his backing ad-libs that reinforce his aggressive tones lending weight to Booz’s verse. “Pocket full of Greenland, Iceland on my wrist, The next rapper up is Lil Polo Da Don. What is most impressive about his verse talent is the multiple times he switches his flow, starting out first with a slower vibe that grabs elements of Lil Baby’s flow being relaxed, conversational, and of course swag, it’s no coincidence that he names Lil Baby in his verse. Next, he switches flows to a more unorthodox flow that skips a bar instead of rapping on every single one, he pauses for as to be an exclamation mark in the track. “Play, I bounce out, jumpin’ like a pogo.”. His final flow is a faster paced more aggressive tone, he ends it with a clever bar inserting different geographies known for their cold weather and of course Italy for being a hub for designer fashion. “Pocket full of Greenland, Iceland on my wrist, Alaska on my pinky rang, Italy on d***k designer”. Can you do what you want? Booz and Lil Polo Da Don show you, that it is possible. Booz’s high energy and grind has helped him get to this place. Lil Polo Da Don has used his versatile flow to achieve this level of freedom. These two artists are playing the game by their own rules. Their song “I Do What I Want” is just one example of how they are doing just that. Make sure you follow Booz and Lil Polo Da Don on social media:
Booz Instagram: @thereal_booz Booz YouTube: Booz Lil Polo Da Don Instagram: @lilpolodadon129 Lil Polo Da Don YouTube: Lil Polo Da Don 
As an artist I’ve always wondered what famous people did with the art they didn't release to the world. What if Michael Jackson had a better album than Thriller? What if Lauren Hill had a better album than The Miseducation? Jay-Z doesn't write, instead everything comes off the top of the dome. Believe me he has too many great verses to just pick one. But what if he had a better verse that he forgot? These questions do linger, but luckily Steph Simon has answered this question with the release of his new project called "Lost Gems".
Steph Simon is a hip-hop artist from Tulsa, Oklahoma that has continued to push the culture forward in ways that many would've considered crazy as an idea, he has always had the knack to make those ideas a reality. From throwing the biggest hip-hop festival in the Southwest called DreamLand Festival, to helping 50-plus artists be signed to the prestigious MoTown Records, to creating a hip-hop course curriculum that allows him to work with younger artist in high school and middle school. That's only scratching the surface of his community work. As an artist Steph Simon, has put out multiple projects that have defined the Tulsa sound and encapsulated its history. He's also appeared on numerous songs and has performed on almost every stage in Oklahoma. So, when an artist of this stature says that he has music that didn't make the anticipated album "All Roads Lead to DreamLand". I began to wonder what was he going to do with these unreleased tracks? That's where the album "The Lost Gems" was birthed. The Lost Gems is a 10-track project that clocks in at only 29 minutes listening time. There are 7 credited featured artists in the project's tracklist. An interesting note about the track list is that out of all the featured artists, there is only 1 Oklahoma artist on the album, and that's Dolo Loco. Furthermore, there are no World Culture Music members featured on this project, which is really unusual, sort of similar to Benny The Butcher dropping an album without one single Griselda member on it. Is it a crime? No. But is it unusual? Yes. But to give context that this is more of a compilation of songs and not a true album gives us a little hope that there may be another World Culture Music album one day. (side note: "What Would Jim Do?" is no longer on streaming) We also had the pleasure of going to the listening party for the project that was held at Silhouette Sneakers & Art, the same place that Steph shot the video for "Built Different". Let's sit with this a little. A listening party. What exactly is it, and what makes a successful listening party? The answers, in my opinion. First, not everybody is invited. It's not a place for socializing per say, it's a time to get the tastemakers in the room to have a truly transparent interaction with the art. The tastemakers include the bloggers, the newspapers, the podcasters, the publicists, the djs, the radio djs, the club djs, the radio program directors, A&Rs and other music executives. This isn't a time for you to have all the homies, every single rapper in the city, the social media influencer who posts funny videos, the streamer whose content is about gaming, the TikToker that does dances. The former is what will get your music played, and the latter might play you. The experience is also supposed to be interactive. It should be a two-way interaction where the artist plays the song, but also gives space for feedback, which will also be data for the artist to maybe tweak the album or use for future releases. The listening party is as much for you as much as it is for the tastemakers. They get to listen to music early enough in the hopes that they can craft content for your up-coming releases. They also get to see trends happening real-time. Lastly, this helps tastemakers continue to build trust with their audiences by showing why they are tastemakers and the fact that they get into exclusive rooms and have these VIP experiences that the regular person wouldn't and put their necks out for why the listener should spend their time and money with an artist. It's a mutually beneficial relationship. The Lost Gems Listening Party. Let's get into it. What made Steph Simon's The Lost Gems Listening Party so memorable is that he is great at storytelling and he's great at performing. Both of these strengths he leaned into by A, telling stories behind the tracks and how they were created, and B, by performing either a verse or a certain part of the song such as the hook acappella, this brung the words to life, and often was like relistening to the song through a different lens I noticed myself catching things I didn't in the first listen. Also this was my first listen to the album, I wanted to go in truely unbiased and be able to experience the album for the first time through a new purely objective perspective. Let's get to the album! The Album Cover Some might thing that album covers don't matter anymore, I can assure you that they mean more now than ever and Steph Simon has always been intentional with his. The photo for album cover for "The Lost Gems" is from the DreamLand fundraiser game from March 23, 2025 that was held at the Tulsa Driller's Stadium. This field is important not only to Simon, but to the community. A community that neighborhood kids would use to play games such as football or kickball in, the then empty field. But also, it is believed to be where the bodies of the Black Wall Street Massacre are buried. Now the field is built over by the minor league baseball team's stadium called, Tulsa Drillers Stadium. But on this day that same community reclaimed it for them as they competed in a kickball game with Steph Simon taking the mound as one of the teams' pitchers. 
The Interaction The interaction of the Listening Party started with of course the people, the free food, the free drinks. But also came with the music. dj noname. who set the vibe with a crazy setlist of curated music that only added to the anticipation of hearing the new album, dj noname. continues to be a name that is respected and one that is apart of the Tulsa sound from his musical family linage all the way to the music he is creating now. Another great interaction was the art installation of Simon's lyrics. This is the ultimate form of vulnerability and was basically like reading through his journal where there was the good, the great, and a few diss tracks that the world may never see. 
Let's not forget, the interaction with Merch, this was something I also appreciated. We're literally coming here to support you, the artist, so why not have merch there as a second way for people to support you. That might be exclusive merch or first looks on merch that won't drop until later. Steph Simon did this very well with an assortment of t-shirts, hats, buttons, and stickers. There's only one other artist that I've seen sell merch at their listening party with a more curated feel and that was PG Louie who had a custom candle called "Creed N' Candy" that felt a part of the marketing and vibe of the album. More artists should have merch at their listening parties. And as an independent artist, really you should always have merch on you. The last interaction that really set Steph Simon apart was the fact that he had a Google Form that asked listeners questions specific to each song on the album. such as; What's your overall thought for the specific track? What stood out most about the track?
I encourage you to fill it out the Form and let us know some of your answers:
The Lost Gems Listening Party Form The Music Please Now let's get to the music. The album started out with Keep Diggin which is motivational and a great starting point for the album. It's Steph Simon in reassurance of his position and the values he's practiced. The featured artist Dometrius, has a soulful voice that becomes sort of an internal conscious for Simon, encouraging him to continue moving like he's moving, because he's so close to hitting gold. I really like the song. The next song is of course "Built Different" (read our review here). Simon has put on a masterclass when it comes to promoting a single, and continues to push this song like it just came out. The social media impressions and user generated content from the single alone has shown the song's impact, all evidence of a well-executed on the marketing campaign, and also shows that it pays off to stick with a single you truly believe in. But I can't help but to think, it would be a total loss of momentum if this song wasn't also on the "All Roads Lead to DreamLand" anticipated album from Simon. Hopefully, Simon recognizes. It's the radio single, it's the one that gets the listener in the story and anticipating hearing a familiar sound, "Built Different". Also, the video is sooooo dope! Just watch! The 3rd track on the album is Fundamentals. The song is as good as the story behind it. Simon had been working on music with the famous West Coast producer Blaqthoven who's worked with every major West Coast hip-hop artist known such as Snoop Dogg and E-40, Kurrupt, even Talib Kweli. And uncle Charlie, yeah that's really his uncle, Charlie Wilson. So as Simon put it, he made a song with Blaqthoven that he wanted to get Das and Kurrupt on, but unfortunately this was the same time that the two were beefing, so it never happened. But God always has a funny way of laughing at your plan because he already had His plan in mind, that was put into motion when Simon did a show in OKC with Jabee and Mistah F.A.B, who is a bay era legend, the result, Fundamentals. What Steph Simon wrote down on paper as a goal had morphed into something that was better than he could've expected, also Simon told how he felt like he is the Mistah F.A.B. of Tulsa, so there were a lot of synergies in these two being on the record together. The song itself is a call back to getting back to the fundamentals of hip-hop, of which Simon has always been a student of. Simon raps about pushing back against the algorithm and getting back to making good music. Mistah F.A.B. is back to the fundamentals of bars and lyrics and regional sound. One of my favorite bars from the album is when Simon raps, "Probably catch me posted by that Mid-K, I think's that's why so many rappers out here dropping mid-tapes". It explains the fact that music back in the day had to be good, because in order to sell your music, people had to like it. Now all artists have to do is to come up with one catchy bar, or one hook, and you can get millions of streams from a TikTok. But chasing that one viral moment has come at the cost of good music and lots of horrible music. Or even worse, music that you only know that one viral part. You might as well create jingles if your goal is to go viral. Because to make real music that lasts, you need the Fundamentals! If you're familiar with Simon's music than you know that the Black dollar has always been a part of his messaging and this tape was no exception. Big Fish is a track that promotes the black dollar circulating amongst the community and showing that everyone can eat, even a Big Fish in what others may consider a small pond. The featured artist AJ Snow talks about taking risks for a bigger profit as well as investing. Steph Simon's has always been a quarterback of the DIY movement, so when he mentions Jeff Blake, it was the perfect comparison, Blake was a an Black quarterback who played for the Cincinnati Bengals, and has the record 92-yard touchdown pass in a Pro Bowl game, while Simon has been throwing hail mary passes his whole career, and scoring more often than not. The last feature on the track is Jayson Cash another California artist who had a great line about realizing that his first time he flew out of LA was actually a connecting flight in OKC, the world is truly that small, especially to a Big Fish. If you're from Tulsa, then you immediately recognize the early 2000s Tulsa sound that comes from the track T.A.N. the acronym stands for "Tulsa Ass Nigga". The song pays homage to that Tulsa era where artists had a certain draw in the way the said things, the shops that people used to shop at, such as Big T's, and the accessories that was work, such as hoop earrings or basket earrings, Jordans, and the iconic Herringbone chain. Also, the rodeo culture that people didn't run from, they ran to, many putting the rodeo culture in their music as well. Simon also chose not to have the track mixed and mastered as to stay true to that Tulsa sound, he noted the nasally Tulsa flow that he even incorporated into his verse. Not to mention the featured artist that is so Tulsa, Dolo Loco. He lets you know all that comes with being a T.A.N. "On Me". Nothing New is a track produced by long time Tulsa producer Papa. During the listening party Simon mentioned that he draws comparisons to LaRussell, but also he says he's like E-40 because at the point that he entered the rap game it was going through a pivotal shift, social media had yet to be created, so for him, his timeline gets lost with many people approaching him as a new independent artist without knowing that he's been grinding for years. He also mentions this as one of his favorite songs on the album which I can see why. It's real talk and real flexing, or as he says, "I ain't on these murals for no reason". You might remember Lil Wayne and Drake had a song called BB King, Simon's bodies the beat just as much with storytelling and metaphors that punch through each bar. "Line it up like a Keezy Kut". Simon continues to immortalize his homies in his bars and takes listeners on a journey through his lens. He just wants his blues like BB King. Also, I have to mention that you know you're important to the culture when rap juggernauts Jabee and Chris "The God Mc" Cain pull up. It was like 3 Kings, truly a moment for hip-hop! 
Time For A Hard Truth...... The track Tell Me. I'm not the fan of. It's a love song that felt forced. The vocalist's performance on the track could have been stronger. It felt more like an in the shower performance than a man singing about love. The energy was so low and mundane. It's missing the passion. I think it's Steph's own vocal presence and lyrics that literally saves the track. I would like to see the singer either redo the vocals or bring in a stronger singer using this as a reference track. Think of Some Ways is a track that signifies that Simon has figured out how to tie all of his entities into a self-sufficient machine rather than stand-alone businesses that he hustles continuously to keep going. His anchor begins with the DreamLand Festival that helps gather funds to help grow the other entities such as TMC Records and other school programming. It's also a realization that he is similar to the hip-hop pioneers like KRS One, that will open the doors for the kids to make millions even if that means he might not fully see the millions himself. He will help the kid in Monroe that will be able to see his vision through, that's legacy. And within that, like JAy-Z said, "I’m over charging niggas for what they did to the Cold Crush". This song is Rapanomics! Gotta Eat is the last track on the album. Steph Simon sounds hungry on this track, the youngins would say he's rapping like the rents due. But he has already said the rent's paid. Simon mentioned the track was written while riding the Blue Line train in Santa Monica, it would be there that he would ride bikes on the beach. It was also on this train ride that Simon saw a naked man, and that's when he had the sobering thought that life ain’t bad. Also, it was on this hour-long train ride that he actually wrote the song to 4 different beats, before choosing this one produced by Blaqthoven. My interpretation of the production is that it's really busy, it's hard at times to track where to anchor your ear to because of the competing vocals, instruments, and tempos. As crazy as Kanye is, he's good at stripping beats down and finding places for emotion over drum patterns. I wanted more of that emotion to come through on this track. The lyrics are there; the emotions aren't. To throw a listening party means that you have to have a few different elements. The right people, the right interactions, and the right equipment. I think Silhouette is a great place, but I did find that even sitting close to the speakers that it was at times hard to make out the lyrics. Bass is important, but it's more important during a listening party to be able to hear the lyrics. I think that could've been executed better. There was lots of great activations. But also I would've liked to see a few more djs and radio personnel there. But this may just be a practice run before the real album drops. I think the Google form was genius, not only are you collecting feedback but you're also collecting another contact point that is outside of the social media machines. Direct to customer. That's the answer. The final goal is to get people to listen to the album, and from everyone I polled they did. The last goal is to get those people to create content to get people to listen to the album. That's what this is. So, mission accomplished. That's what makes a good listening party. 
I do suggest that you listen to The Lost Gems. It's a great album. And it's streaming everywhere!
I also encourage you to fill out the form. The Lost Gems Listening Party Form  T.I. just came off a crazy side mission. He was a comedian. You read that right. Not just one show, he did numerous shows all around the country, not as a rapper, but as a comedian. But ultimately, for the moment this side mission had its final stage with the release of his own comedy special called “Cheaper Than Therapy”. It was shocking because he dropped this special with less than a year of comedy experience. Impressive? Or premature? You can read our review here (TIP Really Aint Funny). So now that he’s done with this side mission, what’s next? Well, The King, returns to the trap with the release of his latest single, “Let Em Know”. Let’s see what T.I. has to say. T.I. never really stopped releasing music. When you look at his YouTube channel you realize that he’s been dropping music videos as recently as last year. But that’s what happens when you’re no longer the priority of the machine. Albums get shelved and the machine no longer puts you on the front page of all the media outlets. I think what's interesting of the page is that he has also put his kid's music videos on the page as well, it's truly a Family Hu$tle. But what's interesting about this comedy side mission when you really dissect it is that it did get him back in front of all the media outlets. He got eyes back on the brand through the side mission making whatever he did next have even more eyes on it. Genius! Like I said T.I. is back. Back to the bald fade. Back to the cap tilted to the side. Back to the Trap. First, we gotta recognize that Pharell does what he does on this beat. It’s crazy. It’s nostalgic and feels like a reintroduction, setting the stage for T.I. to do just that. Another element to the song that stands out is that the ad-libs are like this reassurance that that’s T.I. and he’s back to rapping. The bass hits hard like and grounds the synth horns giving a futuristic mashup with a familiar footing. Pharell is still giving a masterclass in how to create “the” sound of a generation. What a way to announce the king. Big shit poppin', ain't no lil' shit T.I. is back. The first bar is that bravado and swagger that T.I. fans are so accustomed to, it just reminds you of "24's" or "Top Back". Many fans know of the multi-ego artist and can hear the T.I.P., the persona that got him here, which is more brash and street savvy then blends with T.I., the more demure version refined persona better depicted in Family Hu$tle and songs like "Let's Get Away" or "Live Your Life". Whichever one you choose, it’s apparent that both are needed to make the artist, and T.I. continues both story lines in his origin story. If we're doing a bar breakdown, I think this song was more swagger than pure bars, but one line that did catch my attention was, “From Center Hill to hittin' hoes in centerfold, better know”. This line further continues that dichotomy of his life T.I.P. mixed with a little T.I.. I also like how he gives us three verses, all though they are 8 bar verses, I still appreciate the song's structure and call back to the old way of song structure, adapted to the new way that consumers listen, because let's face it, at this time we've been conditioned to listen to shorter songs. In the end I’m proud to say that the King is back! Is T.I. done with comedy? I’m not sure, but I would like to think that we helped nudge him in the direction of going back to what he does best. Music. And maybe comedy was a hobby, just a side mission for that moment in time. One thing I know for sure is that when T.I. wants to talk to the people, they're mostly receptive to his raps. My honest review of "Let Em Know" is that, it is a reintroduction track that isn't supposed to impress you with double entendre's or crazy metaphors. It's a track that is supposed to ground you in familiarity with an artist that knows who he is, The King! Go listen to the track and let us know what you think!  Over this past weekend I decided that I would finally give in and give TI's new comedy special "Cheaper Than Therapy" a try. You may be thinking why? Like you, I questioned my decision in thinking the same. Why now? Why Comedy? But my curiosity had gotten the best of me. For one, because I am an avid T.I. fan, we're talking about I'm Serious, Trap Muzik, and of course, King. Since T.I. came on the scene in the early 2000s, I've always admired T.I's songwriting ability, his swag, his vocabulary (which has become a social media inside joke), and that he always stood on morals. His album King was practically the soundtrack to my 2006. But as I grew, I noticed that there was a clear disconnect between his new music and the music he I had grew up listening to. I met him as dope boy TIP, and he had become T.I. the reality star and social activist. Now even further from his 2006 album King, T.I. has switched gears to comedy. Before I press play on the review here are a few thoughts about it. What qualifies me to critique comedy? I have watched every Dave Chappelle special and every Kevin Hart special, which shows a complete spectrum of comedy, Dave’s dark humor and Kevin Hart’s comedic timing when it comes to his mannerisms, plus I watch Chocolate Sundaes on YouTube, but my most proud qualification of all, I was a Comic View baby. There were so many nights I would stay up watching Comic View on BET. Also, I used to watch Def Comedy Jam, we only had HBO for a bit, but when we did, best believe I was tuned in. Stand Up Comedy is a genre I regularly look for on NetFlix, so with well over 100 watch hours of comedic routines and from a wide range of comedians, this qualifies me to answer the question for T.I.'s comedy special. For T.I. is comedy really cheaper than therapy? We start with his appearance, which was undoubtedly inspired by Eddie Murphy's outfit in his special "Raw". But it also seemed inspired by Martin Lawrence's loose look in his special "You So Crazy". With a swagger and an outfit that paid homage to Eddie Murphy’s Raw red leather suit I can say, at least he's done some studying of the greats. But did he really put in his 10,000 hours? He’s only 3 years in and has a comedy special in his hometown of Atlanta, which from the start of the show he made sure to let the crowd know that this wasn't a concert. A clever jab to start off the job, but this is heavyweight fight and it's gonna take more than a snicker to get a good laugh from me.  Let's talk about some of the science of comedy. Comedy is an artform that has so many measurable metrics, one of the most important ones being, timing. I've gotta admit his timing seemed off. His jokes ran together. He didn't know how to let some jokes breathe and when to breathe at times. They just didn’t land the way he had in his head. A lot of the laughs seemed to be forced from the crowd more like a studio audience on queue than a real audience that connected with the jokes. It was a room of friends and it seemed like his friends were being nice. But there were a few bright spots. T.I. has always been a great storyteller and this did translate to his show. He came out to his song “About The Money” which he used to set up his jokes about Young Thug. He talked about the government using his lyrics against him in his RICO charge, which he told a great joke about nobody knowing what Young Thug says in the verse of the song, "He obviously rappin in cursive." Then he proved that know one knows what Young Thug is really saying as he had the crowd hilariously try to recite his "Live My Lifestyle" verse, the first 4 bars nobody could repeat. Then went into a story about repeating back Thug what he thought he said in the verse, which Young Thug hilariously replied, "OG you right!" Atlanta has a lot of competition when it comes to dating and T.I. let the crowd know that love in Atlanta is circumstantial, she with you until she sees someone like Usher. He then went into a story about walking home because Usher called shotgun with the person he rode to the club with, which then led into a horrible imitation of Usher. It's his transitions from joke to joke that were really rough and often were awkward and off kilter. He then gets a little personal as he goes into his relationship with Tiny, starting with his jokes about her beating him, the way his voice inflections came off it sounded more like boy who cries wolf than funny joke. It’s like his jokes that were building from a story at times weren’t fully flushed out and just went to a dead end. But I've gotta say one of the most disappointing parts of the special was the part he used in the trailer. In real-time the joke wasn't funny. It was the edit of the trailer that made it funny. Mostly because the timing was off so bad. Back to relationship jokes. He also had this joke about he and his wife going on a double date with friends and that comparison is the thief of joy. Great life advice. But bad joke. The joke didn’t land when he was comparing his reaction to his wife being late to his wife’s friend being late. But the story never really took a funny turn. It was funny when he said take me on a double date with couple that’s been tested like Kirk and Rasheda. Cardi B and Offset. Yea that's a real test.  A shining moment. I gotta give it to him on the part where he talked about his kids, it was one of the funnier parts of the special, especially when he talked about his son King. He literally talked for the last 15 minutes of the show just about his son. But his timing was still off at times, and he hasn’t perfected mannerisms the way Kevin Hart has. He talked about being shocked his son graduated, I was thinking, us too. He talked about his son Messiah slash Buddy Red being the one who had the ultimate confidence and a free spirit. Which he says his kids all got a piece of him, "But King, he got the skip fade, cap to the side T.I. How does he act like me at a time he didn’t even know me." He also did an impression of King standing up on the table and yelling, “Hell, naw where were y'all niggas at when the Feds hit?" The End! Well, that's what it felt like, the ending was so awkward, he just said, "Thank you Atlanta" and walked off stage with his single "I'm Serious“ playing in the background. It seemed like he was on a time crunch, like he would have to penalty to the building if they didn't get everyone out before the hour was up. There weren't any end credits, no pictures, or audience reactions. Just The End! The verdict. T.I. is on a side mission. Not all side missions earn money. Not all side missions make you popular, for the right reasons. Truthfully, I say don’t watch this after watching a Chappelle special. This is like watching a new comedian that is still finding his own style and delivery. He put this special out too soon. But he has the money to do it, and he tried, which I can't knock him for trying. This is a new medium that will take time. He's still a rap legend. He still can get audiences to buy tickets. But would I recommend you paying to see this comedy special. Maybe not sober because a by shot 5, who cares how bad the joke is. And as always, drink responsibly. So to answer the question. Therapy might not have been cheaper than comedy. But At least with therapy, the therapist isn't laughing at you, or at least in your face. Let us know what you think of the comedy special and if you see T.I. having a real future in comedy. Watch the comedy special here: TIP AINT FUNNY  Master P said it best, "Ain't no money in the music business." He was speaking about the fact that streaming has become the preferred form of consumption when it comes how people access music. This has caused record labels to scramble to adapt, with many missing the ball on creating their own platforms and eventually just conceding to the major streaming platforms. The industry has never been the same. Everything's digital. But when everyone's going digital, this is the opportunity for artists to pivot and go back to physical media. But who's really making the money? The tech companies, the Spotify's, the Apple Music's, the YouTube's. Not only are they getting money from the fans by charging monthly fees, but artists also pay to rent digital space on their platforms, sometimes indirectly by going through a distributor or getting on a playlist, and other times directly by paying for advertising on the streaming platforms. Artists pay for advertising to run ad campaigns on these platforms in hopes of getting new listeners, but they don't have the analytics to see the listeners' emails or phone numbers in order to directly talk and cultivate an audience. Not to mention, these streaming companies get free advertising every time an artist or a fan posts a link to their platform. When you own the house, you can control the rent. Get it out the trunk like P. How do artists go physical? To go physical means to sell your music on CDs, Vinyl, USBs, cassette tapes, etc. I know what you're thinking. Who owns a CD player? Who owns a vinyl player? As far as vinyl, there's actually a community of vinyl collectors who are already expecting to pay for the premium product that vinyl offers. Also, a selling point is that these physical products offer a sound quality that streaming sites can't match. It also offers an opportunity to get into the physical product space. Why not buy some CD Players off Amazon or Alibaba in bulk and create a packaged experience? In this example, you get to control how your music is consumed. You're not competing with other artists; you’re not competing with algorithms or even annoying ads. It’s your music that is a curated experience that your audience would love to have. Also, there is a generational shift occurring where people are choosing to unplug, meaning no smartphones or even just dedicated time away from a screen, and this is where music shines brightest. The example has been proven. Kanye West’s Stem Player is an example of how controlling the listeners' experience can make millions. Going physical also means that you can gather information from your customers like their emails or phone numbers, or even birthdays, in order to keep the relationship open to a second transaction, or third, and so on.  Lastly, don't forget merch. Master P also said, “Get you some products”. Do you have a song that resonates, or a quote that everyone likes? Put it on a shirt, make an item that is unique to what you like, and share it with your audience. One example of this is Larry June. He’s seen the benefits of creating products that coincide with his healthy lifestyle brand that he raps about in his music. Some of the items he sells include a branded bike light, branded water bottles, and tote bags made from recycled material, all products are true to his lifestyle brand. Even Dame Dash saw the importance of merch and he literally used music videos and movies as hidden advertising for Roc-A-Wear and all the products under the Roc-A-Fella umbrella. This caused fans around the world to buy the merch that their favorite rapper wears in videos. The thing about merch is that it sells when you’re sleeping. Companies like Printful can even do all the printing and drop shipping for you with you ever having to touch the product. Now that’s distribution, without a Def Jam!
The Tides are slowly turning. When you look at Spotify and all the major streaming companies, people are getting upset. The prices of these platforms continue to rise as the economy gets worse and worse. Soon people may have to decide between music and going out to eat. But this is where Physical media is starting to make a comeback because also people are seeing that some of their favorite music is being taken off streaming sites or even altered, which may ultimately lead everyone back to the Napster days of pirating. Also streaming services that aren’t morally aligned with their customers are seeing mass cancellations. We saw this with Spotify after it was discovered that their CEO had been investing through his private equity firm into a software company that uses AI to operate weapons used in war. Just this past year major artists like 2 Chainz who is releasing his short film Red Clay on a digital VHS which streams to your phone, and Chance The Rapper released his new album Star Line on CD that has a tap feature that allows users also to stream the album from his website. These are not only physical releases, but it also gives fans something unique and collectible. Believe me, if the major artists are doing it, then Indie artists should be doubling down on it.  One artist that took this idea and ran with it is Oklahoma City artist Chris "The God MC" Cain, who at his recent show in OKC, dropped a merch pack that included a CD player along with a burnt disc of his 2 albums "A EASTSIDE STORY" and "Bird's Fly East" that he sold for $40. This same album (that is on Spotify) would take 28,500 streams of his music to make $100, but with this concept of selling this packaged album experience, all he has to do is to sell 3 and he's already passed the $100 target. Like Jay said, "I can divide".
Is the solution only physical? Is the solution only digital? No. The answer is somewhere in between. Spotify, Apple, and YouTube still have a huge audience that you can’t deny. This is where the market is. And you always want to go where the market is. But you also want to give the market another option. That means releasing 2 to 3 songs off a project but only releasing the full project independently through physical media. Another option would also be sites like BandCamp and EvenApp that give the artists a way bigger payout and allows people to talk directly to their customers including giving them their customer's emails. Customers can stream on the app, or they can just simply download the project. This is how you can exist in both worlds and participate in the business of making music. Art is meant to be shared with the world. In the end you have to decide how you want to share it. Do you want to be an artist who follows the trends? Or do you want to be one who can create their own rules? That’s what going physical means. It’s owning the house and being able to set the rent. It’s being able to control the listener’s experience without having to compete for attention. It’s being in front of the trend and never having to worry about being behind it. Lastly, it’s how you show that you’re in the music business and not the music hobby. Physical media gives you back control in a world fighting against digital monsters. The artist can still win and reap the rewards bigger than any dream they could’ve imagined. Because like Master P’s vision, there’s NO LIMIT! 
We dropped a new mixtape. The Purple Tape Volume 3: Thunder in 5. I would like to thank all the artists who continue to trust us with their music, this series has become a labor of love and one we continue to do. Our goal with this tape was to celebrate the amazing artists from Oklahoma as well as to celebrate the Oklahoma City Thunder's championship win. We also wanted to destroy the argument from anyone who still says that Oklahoma artists all sound the same, because if you listen to this tape there is so much range that if you still say it after listening to this tape, then you're just hating. This tape truly is a collection of talented Oklahoma artists who are showing why Oklahoma has such an amazing music scene. But don't take my word for it. Listen to the album exclusively on BandCamp! 
We also have 5 limited-edition MP3 players that include: - 1 MP3 Player - 1 wired white earbuds - 32 GB Micro SD Card - The Purple Tape Volume 3: Thunder in 5 (preloaded on MP3 player Hit us up if you want a copy! Go jam the album and let us know what you think! Also, here's the track list. Again, thank you to all the amazing artist who contributed to the album: The Purple Tape 3 - Thunder in 5 (Tracklist)
 It's the end of the year. a great time to reflect on goals and accomplishments, but then I start to remember, there hasn't been a World Culture Music Festival this year. I look through Instagram posts and Facebook posts and even Eventbrite posts and there's not one mention of a World Culture Music Festival or a DreamLand Festival this year. We're in November, there isn't much time for promotion, let alone time to have a full-blown production like year's pasts. That's when the feeling sets in. That feeling of disappointment, that feeling that this is one more score for the argument that there's nothing to do in Tulsa. That feeling of 2020 when there wasn't a World Culture Music Festival. But does it matter? My answer is yes. For one, this was a huge stage for Oklahoma artists. For some, the World Culture Music Festival will be the biggest stage they perform on all-year, possibly their whole career. This was also a bridge for artists from other cities to see the hip-hop scene in Tulsa and how much the artists and concertgoers enjoy the music and support the scene. Also, that meant that when people did come to town they would go back to their city and tell how dope the town is, which would create more buzz for the town and the artists here. There have been collaborations that may never have happened if they didn't come to the festival. The festival was a form of appreciation in letting artists know that their hard work hadn't gone unnoticed. The revenue. The festival was a place where the dollar circulated. From vendor to vendor, artists to artists, person to vendor and artist, the dollar circulated. Also, when people came to town they stayed in hotels, they paid Ubers, they tried local restaurants. The festival brought in not only attention, but it also brought in dollars that the town benefited from. For bars this was a week where sales skyrocketed. When people came to town, they wanted to try local, and the festival championed that. But they don't know! This is one of the most frustrating parts of throwing any event. They don't know. Which is a hard to argument to challenge. Social media has become the first place for information but with the algorithm how can you confirm that everyone knows about what you've posted? There are 3 levels that I want to talk about here. 1st a simple post. If you post something and you have followers, you believe that they will see what you post right? That's iffy with the ever-changing algorithm. Which brings us to level 2, Instagram Ads. Now an Instagram ad should be the end all be all argument, right? If I use an Ad, then all my followers should see it, on top of new followers in your area or with similar interests, right? Maybe! It still depends on how good you are at setting up Instagram Ads and how well the algorithm interacts with this ad. Level 3, the last one should shut down any argument. The DM. If I DM you then you should have no excuses, with the caveat that we have to be friends. Then again Instagram can also ban your account, saying that it's a spam account. So, as you can see, there's no straightforward answer. But that doesn't mean that all three should be proof that people didn't know, but it's really close. And the promotion for the World Culture Music Festival did them all, plus fliers, plus radio ads, plus being highlighted on the news, plus whatever form of social media marketing you want to throw in there. This kind of promotion in a small town should've reached the masses. 2025 won't have a World Culture Music Festival or DreamLand Festival, we didn't even have a Hip-Hop 918 Festival (it was cancelled because of the rain), but maybe that's a good thing. Maybe the city will show up if there's ever a next one. I would love for people to not have the excuse that they didn't know about it next year, because If we do want dope events to continue to be created here, then we have to show up to the events we already have. You have to ask yourself, why would a big named act want to come somewhere where no one is going to show up? You wouldn't, you would just move on to the next big city like Dallas or Kansas City. So, I challenge everyone to show up to the next World Culture Music Festival / DreamLand Festival, even if you're tired, even if you can only come for an hour. Lastly. even if there isn't another World Culture Music Festival or DreamLand Festival, I'm appreciate for the memories they have let me be a part of. Make sure follow the @dreamlandtulsa page for all updates about the festival Also let us know how you would like to be contacted about the festival. Here's a little playlist of some of the festival's performances: |
About Author
|
RSS Feed