Ever since I started making beats 15 years ago, all I ever wanted to do was get major artists to rap on them. It was actually super crazy how I ended up getting my first major artist on my beats but all it ended up taking was a little bit of luck and a whole lot of being in the right place at the right time.
It’s actually kind of funny how it ended up happening because it wasn’t the result of anything I had directly done to get a major artist on my beats. It was actually through networking and talking with people off-line that got me the placement.
I would’ve thought with as much traffic as my site gets, that I would’ve had a major artist on my beats by now, especially considering I already have placements and TV and film on various popular TV networks but that’s not what got it.
What had happened was… (always wanted to say that in a post) I became friends with a gentleman by the name of Adam Hunter a.k.a. Ad-verse of New Age X, who eventually introduced me to a rapper by the name of Andrew Adamson aka Miracle a.P.a., an Arizona rapper that Adam had recently recorded for and knew was looking for beats, so he sent him to me.
It’s actually funny because Adam and I originally met because he was looking for beats and ended up loving mine, and to go even further back, I had only learned about Adam because I had got his CD given to me from a guy I met at a counseling group I attended for a short time.
The guy at the group only gave me Adam’s CD because he heard me talking about me trying to get my beats out there and he wanted to try to help by connecting me with an artist he knew. Crazy!!
Alright, back to the main part of the story. Andrew actually ends up buying some of my non-exclusive beats. Awesome!! Then goes on to tell me that he’s planning on buying a major artist feature, like I hear most artists talking about but never do. So I listened to him but didn’t really believe him because I have seen my share of artists talking about all the big moves they’re going to make but never do.
About a year and a half goes by and Andrew buys a couple more beats from me. This time he seems much more serious about getting this feature he was previously talking to me about.
Next thing you know, he’s telling me that he’s chosen the artist that he wants to feature with and that he had already made a down payment for Afroman to feature on his song.
It was funny because I asked him if he knew for a fact that the artist he was speaking to was actually Afroman and not some scammer. I only thought to ask this because he said he was communicating with Afroman’s manager through email only.
He went on to tell me that he wasn’t exactly sure if it was Afroman’s manager or not. I immediately told him you need to make sure it’s the real Afroman and not just some scammer trying to sell you a cheap feature that’s too good to be true.
It’s crazy because Andrew was actually spending money to buy a feature before he even had a laptop to to download beats on. But that’s another story.
So I forget about it, a little bit of time goes by, and then all of a sudden I see Andrew posting on Facebook telling people that the track featuring Afroman is coming soon.
At this point, I’m starting to think “man, maybe he actually did get a hold of the real Afroman” but at this point I was still like “yeah right bro”.
So, A little more time goes by and then one day I see a another post from Andrew on Facebook that says “go get it” with a picture of what looks like, a single featuring Afroman.
Here’s Miracle a.P.a. feat Afroman “Musical High”
Search it on Itunes
So I go listen to the track knowing who the Afroman is and what his voice sounds like
(still a non-believer at this point) and I push play and what do you know, it’s Afroman and that’s my beat!!! (you know him as the “because I got high” guy!!
I’m actually writing this post minutes after this just happened.
I still can’t believe it!! This is freaking awesome!!
As most regulars to my site know that I usually only prefer positive artists or positive lyrics on my beats. And Luckily, this track is all about the high that Music gives you and I completely support that!
Thank you God for blessing me with this. Yes, they are talking about “some” marijuana use in the song but I can’t hate on that because it’s becoming legal all over the country and if using medical marijuana makes people’s lives a little bit better, I’m all for it. It’s the destructive drug use and alcohol use that lead to bad decision making that I don’t want promoted on my beats.
If you’re reading this post and hoping to get your first major artist to rap or sing on your beats, trust me, it’s totally possible and you never know where it’s going to come from so make sure you:
- Get out to your local music venues and give people either a business card or a CD with beats on it and has contact information for you
- Always share your music online on all the popular social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google etc…
- Talk to all kind of people about what you do, all the time, you never know who you’re talking to and who they might know. I met this artist that got me the placement through someone I had never met in my life, who introduced me to someone else I had never met in my life, who ended up introducing me to a guy who ended up getting a feature with Afroman. If this doesn’t prove that The possibilities are endless, I don’t know what does
I definitely did not expect to get my first major artist on my beats this way, but I am totally appreciative of the fact that good things take time. If you’re a producer and you’re trying to get yourself out there, get your beats on TV and film. or get your beats place with major artists, just know that it is totally possible you don’t have to be a superstar to do it.
I’m just a big tall white kid from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Most of you probably don’t even know where that is and that just goes to prove my point that you don’t have to be anyone special to make a name for yourself these days.
It just as simple as making beats and telling people that you have them consistently. It took me 15 years to get my first one and 14 years to get my first placement on TV and Film. Not saying that it will take you that long. I have only been promoting my music hard for the past 5 years or so.
I teach producers and artists how to get their beats out there and get more plays on their songs or what steps you need to take to become a successful rap artist. Check out my blog share my site, like me on Facebook and all that great stuff to stay in touch and be the first one to know when I drop a new tip.
Any accomplishment I ever made or make, I will create a post about to tell people how I did it and how they can do the exact same thing them selves. It’s about spreading the love yo, that’s what we need these days more than ever.
Much Love, Your Boy,
Efreezee