RANT (Oooo, and this may sound mean- sorry : ) 4 Things that non-song-writers seem to misunderstand and completely frustrate me to no end. First, let me explain what I do. Im a musician sure... but Im mostly a writer. Oh how I wish I could pen an average Pop song, you know... write two lines, repeat it 4X, than go into a 4bar verse, into a 4bar bridge, then a 2bar hook repeated 4x- double that then go into the hook 12xs. Essentially, most pop songs carry about 16-20 non-repeating lines of written lyrics- and with a ton of space between counts (more on that below). Im jealous of most other genres for this fact- you have more of an opportunity to say more with less, to stress the strongest line, and leave a ton of room for mystery I guess youd say- or at least room for the listener to meditate. Hip Hop is different, especially my style- its percussive, at times syncopated, and always relying on word and syllable play- which is loosely what all song writers do sure, but not nearly as strict- one, and two- you have to fill each bar with something new. I am currently writing 48-64 bar verses each time. Whats a bar? Well at 4/4 its a 4 count... count to 4 on beat. Example 2 bars of a Pop song: Chorus: Im all about that bass Bout that bass, no treble Verse: Yeah, its pretty clear, I aint no size two But I can shake it, shake it Like Im supposed to do Example of 2 of my bars: Dealing with demons got them feeling secluded And muted without a clue how to heal them We call them in our confusion The difference is I have to carry on with that format for another 36 bars and Meghan gets to repeat that 2 bar chorus for half the song. THAT BEING SAID... this is why I consider myself a writer- even more than a rapper, simply because Pop-Rap has given way to this format as well. So thats that- Im not a rapper, Im a writer who raps ha. So far for my solo album, AllttA, and Knives- Ive written (and thrown away) over 700 bars- let that sink in you hobby rappers. LETS GET TO THIS LIST! 1) Everyone is an artist: I get it, you love music- you always wanted to be an artist and you cant wait to belittle my work through our comparisons. There is nothing wrong with rapping as a hobby, or on the side, or simply because you love it- however, there is something very wrong in thinking you understand the struggle to do it as a living. Unless your entire living is reliant upon what you say, how you perform, and your sacrifice to being successful with your art- you dont understand. We dont have anything in common on a grand scale and to think so is disrespectful. SIDE NOTE: 43 million plays earned Pharrell 3k dollars on Pandora, who knows- at this rate we may all be hobbyists. 2) Making music is a real job- if you truly dont understand that let me know and I can explain the hours and sacrifice required. NO, music in general does not pay well. For every chart topping rapper fans just blow their mind over- their are thousands just like them (or better) hustling everyday to get by. Its not my fault people find more value in a 3$ coffee than in a .99cent song- maybe someday all music will die and well all be left to the haunting sound of planes passing, freeway drivers, and blah blahs- till then, I still believe music matters and be honest... you know damn well with all your bones what music has done for you. Lets stop pretending music isnt worth more- please. 3) Im working- leave me alone. This is THEE WORST annoyance of all. I dont know what it is in human beings that seem to require some hierarchy or at least the aesthetic of one in order to respect the authority WORK has. I mean, hey- it only takes a collar to call someone father, nah mean? ha I know, bad sentence- I meant to say, if I had an office, a boss, and a time to be at work everyone would respect my hours of operation. BUT- no, because I am in sweatpants and in bed at 2PM staring at my computer its ok to call, expect an answer, to run errands, cook, clean, you name it... basically its ok to be 100% available since I dont have a uniform on. Where do I begin with this! Do you know how difficult it is to motivate yourself into an 8 hour writing session amidst a career that yields very little fruit! I used to clock into my job, zone out till lunch, come back and work at about 50% brain capacity and wait to clock out- and somehow Id come home feeling accomplished. I think its the idea that I stood doing something I hated for 8 hours without quitting, which was the REAL WORK. BUT NO, every tour, every album, every release Ive worked- has been REAL, REAL, WORK! I cant even think after a writing session, sometimes I feel I could go crazy with the amount of stress I put on myself. I have to decompress- if I can, just to get to sleep before 4AM. I sit for 4-6 hours straight- writing, creating, learning, reading, opening myself up...nope...not deep enough...go deeper- crawl deep into your own fears and contemplate them for a few hours, now tell strangers about it and make it rhyme, take a break- than spend the rest of the day figuring out how to get people to hear it... Than after its all said it done... I put my head up and see Ive barely moved in an inch in this industry. Crazy. Feeling accomplished? Not quite- no, on a large scale no... but each rap scheme locked in feels like a tiny win for sure. I thought Id be a rapper to avoid work haha, to avoid getting up early...whoa, what do you think tour is? Average schedule of last year: 12hr flight- hotel 6hr sleep- 6hr train- 4hr load in set up- 4hr gig- 5hr sleep- 6hr train... repeat, but be sure to change sleeping and travel hours by + 2 and - 2 sporadically. Make sense? OH... and the disturbances! Raps to me, at times- are math problems... long, in your head math problems... just when I think I have it solved.... The door swings open, the phone rings, the lawn mowers start, someones home and wants to talk, its time to cook (since my office is in the kitchen), its time to talk about bills, the future, or its a question of any sort thats just strong enough to pull me out of my zone entirely. Quick question...um... NO!!!!! There is NO quick question!!!!! By the time I pull myself out of my own deep dark wonderment just to acknowledge you I will have lost all strength to go back.... thanks. Hey, even my own stomach is a disturbance. How I HATE being hungry. 4) Why do I owe you a free verse? After everything I just said, can you imagine how easy it is for other artists to ask for a free verse? Well, thats it... thats my list of four. Very sorry if it offends you, its a heat of the moment rant. PLEASE feel free to comment if you agree or disagree. Maybe there are a lot of things writers dont understand about non-writers intentions.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 20:08:39 +0000
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