Rule #1

Do What You Gotta Do

I can’t do that… is something you’ll find yourself no longer saying as your walk closer to success. Many times we’re forced to do things that we don’t plan doing. I’ve done all types things on my journey to success. As a label head, I orchestrated the biggest cash buy out that Fat Beats ever paid. As a lawyer acting on my own behalf, I successfully sued a record company regarding a $250,000 civil lawsuit. As a graphic designer, I colored the hand drawn sketches of a children’s book illustrated by the artist who did Snoop’s ‘Doggystyle’ album cover (seriously). None of these tasks were apart of the plan, I never went to school for any of it, I simply had to do what I had to do. Life is a 50,000,000 minute improvisational jazz song, play along.

Rule #2

Stay Inspired

Inspiration feels like being excited. The difference between excitement and inspiration is that inspiration feels like being excited without having a specific reason. When you’re excited for something, you know that feeling of excitement will eventually end. When you’re inspired, you feel it in your dreams and when you wake up, you embody it. Success is sustained inspiration. A great way to be inspired is by getting good at something. When you’re good at something, and want to pursue it as a career, you’ll begin to discover all of life’s virtues through trial & error. People, money, and doubt will relentlessly challenge everything you believe. Many of your challenges will be manifestations of your fears projected onto others which are then projected back onto yourself. By understanding the importance of doing what you do, you become important to the world unbeknownst. Your challenges are for you and by you, no matter how external they might seem. How you react to these challenges will be the difference between success and failure.

Rule #3

Create Things

Money has no real value, it’s an ideology. Money has never appreciated with time, it only depreciates with inflation. Wanting money for the sake of having it isn’t enough to get it. Your job as an artist is to create something from nothing, that’s what we do. When we create things, we become resourceful. When we use money to create things, we tend to outsource our due diligence. When we create things, we tend to figure out how to achieve the desired result by using a combination of time, tools, and skills. The virtue in the creation process is rarely the end product, but in what was learned when we made it. The product created will live in the world, while the knowledge you learned will remain with you. When you focus on creating things, people will give you money without you having to ask for it. When you receive money, spend it quickly to get things that appreciate in time.

Rule #4

Reinvent Yourself

One of the biggest advantages an artist has is the ability to change their name and rebrand their abilities. If used properly, rebranding can have a profound effect on your creativity and your perceived brand. Food manufacturers use this concept effectively. Grocery stores seem to carry thousands of brands, but many of these products are only produced by a handful of companies. They create a parent company, then create subsidiaries to introduce new products to the market without damaging their established brands that serve different demographics. By slightly changing their formula, they can use the same bulk goods and generate exponential profits. Add a little lemon lime flavor and you get Sprite, add a little orange flavor and you get Fanta, but both are owned and operated by Coca Cola. Those who are remembered for particular trends, live and die for them. If you want to remain timeless, always reinvent yourself.

Rule #5

Relationships Over Money

If you have no money, a good relationship can change that. Relationships are everything, but sometimes a bridge can lead you straight to your demise. In those cases, burning a bridge is your best option. Everything in life usually has multiple routes to reach a destination, so don’t get caught up in the dogma of being “cool” with everybody. People tend to respect you more when you tell the world what you do and don’t support. You can trust someone willing to express their beliefs in public more than someone who is “cool” with everybody and never takes a stand on anything. Strong relationships are built on commonalities, and it’s practically impossible to build lasting relationships with people who live in the neutral zone. Know when to build a bridge, and know when to strike a match.

Rule #6

Be The Movement

The best way to break into the music industry is by gaining the respect of established artists you admire, and ultimately working with them. How you do this is imperative. Sending your songs to A&R’s is a waste of time, don’t play yourself. Music should always be shared informally and preferably through a friend you trust. Music should be a labor of love, something you’d do wether you’re making money from it or not. Never solicit yourself. If you’re about something, you should know where it’s happening. Frequent the places where things are happening, and become the movement. Where there’s a movement, there’s a connector, someone that everybody generally trusts in the scene. A true connector always keeps their ear to the street, and is usually approachable. If they don’t feel approachable, be weary. Real connectors understand their importance to any movement, and will serve as the proxy between established artists and new talent ready for an introduction.

Rule #7

Progress Everyday

It can take years for 1 song to be heard, but when people hear it, miraculous things can happen. Between the time you create your song, and the time the world hears it, you should have tons of songs in the pipeline. Each of these songs should be unique. You should be making more progress every time you power up your studio. Wether that’s in the form of learning new polyrhythmic drum patterns, tightening up your mixes, changing the direction of your arrangements, or using different sounds, you should be aiming to take giant steps. Nobody wants to hear 200 beats with the same formula. Lose the game plan and make something weird, because by the time everybody hears it, what you thought was weird might be the new pop or the new anti pop. The industry moves slowly, and you need to be at least 2 years ahead of your last official release. You can figure out how to release your songs later, just create something new everyday, and remember that when it’s all said and done, your catalog is what will be remembered.

Rule #8

There Are No Deadlines

Success is the dance of inspiration. Success, like a groovy beat, always deals with timing. You can copy someone’s pattern, but the swing is what sets you apart. The groove is a movement of feeling. You can’t rush the groove. It might take you a few years to reach your goal, it might take 20 years, but when you’re in the groove, you’re lost in the groove. The only time to be concerned with is the present time, not how long your song takes to make. Success is always syncopated, so catch them off beat.

Rule #9

Consistency Is Powerful

People are creatures of habit. Habit requires repetition. Everything we do has a pattern. We wake up everyday. We drink water everyday. We breathe everyday. Pain in our body only happens when we break the repetition of blood going to the place it’s used to going. Our cells and the matter that makes everything physical is an infinite pattern of repetition. We crave repetition. Nature being repetitious is what makes consistency attractive. Consistency is powerful, use it all the time.

Rule #10

They Can’t Ignore Us

Many of us have forgotten what it means to be an artist. It’s not a glamourous life. It’s about saying the things the average person wants to say but hasn’t found the words to say it. The artist is the new shaman, writing songs to translate visions unseen in a world’s future. The artist is the cup of ayahuasca to be consumed by those who want to see the world beyond a corporate landscape. If you dare to be an artist, then listen to the ones before you. Listen to artists from all walks of life to understand humanity. If you dare to be an artist, then put everything on the line and don’t look back, for looking back is doubt, and when doubt is acknowledged, it will be standing in front of you when you decide to continue your path. When you say everything you ever wanted to say, and your essence emits pure honesty, they can’t ignore us.

Rule #11

There are no rules

Jay Dee said, ‘you wanna race? don’t wait for the bang’. While you’re waiting for someone to tell you when to go, there’s already a hundred dudes 100 miles & runnin’. There are no rules, just the one’s you make. It’s nothing nice out here. Most people aren’t skilled enough to get everything on their own, so they feel compelled to take the work of others. The rules I set for myself always revolved around mastering everything that I found necessary to achieve my goals. I found out quickly that MOST people don’t play by those rules, that’s just too much effort. Most people have low standards and high overheads. You’ll rub shoulders with the gulliest characters, and they’ll have the friendliest faces. The only rule they live by is the ‘how can I take your shit’ rule. Business is all about how you can take someone’s shit, and if you think otherwise, then you’re the mark. When making your rules, make sure you set them around virtues, because virtuous rules always provide a way in or out of any situation. The less virtuous your rules are, the more you’ll find yourself in an all or none, make or break, do or die situation with the latter usually being the outcome. Even though some of the most powerful players are scummy low down bastards who’ve made careers off of stealing other people’s work, the countless others who went down that same path failed miserably. Lets also not forget that these people can no longer go to certain places and need bodyguards in some cases. Making money isn’t always a sign of success. True success garners respect from others, and if done right, your success will help others be successful.