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!

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 Snowy Freeman on social media:

Instagram: @itssnowman2u
Facebook: Snowy Freeman
YouTube: Snowy Freeman
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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. 

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​

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. ​

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. ​

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)

1. Keezy Kuts - Purple Tape 3 Intro
2. SGA scoring 1st quarter
3. Barry Bonds - by Jimmy Season
4. Ballionaires - by Neva Beena Rookie
5. Doodie Thunder in 5 Skit
6. Bang Dat - by Bambi
7. Test Drive - by Donny Vinn
8. Like A Villain - by Kahmencents
9. Meat Hooks - by Bafol One ft. Theologic
10. F.M.B. - by Cortney Lachelle 
11. SGA Before The Half
12. Who Harder - by Lily Auset
13. Tableside Origami - by Jay The Icon ft. Joey Organic x HoodieLando [Prod By dj noname.]
14. In Stereo - by GPSxy
15. MENTAL HEALTH DREAM - by SP@D3Z
16. No Team - by CriZzley
17. Stay Riding High - by GOLDIELXCS ft. Themes
18. Know My Name - by YLL Willie G ft. Flexionar Joven
19. 1 OF O.D. Slowed Dine Intro
20. Sphere - by DialTone (Slowed Dine x 1 OF O.D.)
21. Ballin' Like This (Interlude) - by Keeng Cut ( Slowed Dine x 1 OF O.D.)
22. Built Different - by Steph Simon (Slowed Dine x 1 OF O.D.)
23. SGA Championship Speech
24. Doodie OKC Thunder Parade Skit
25. Keezy Kuts - Purple Tape 3 Outro

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: