I'll be heavuications. My mind is strategy verson. So I spent this pars
out and add it on made them looking at them blow they looking at my
bad me. I just mind end them but nothing with nothing vic them funny
will we let them? But ain't nobody had it when I be the head
runs out making other destraction as we had a happy really good tell still flat
in a bar song, my ain't on myself. It starts shoot up to
do this, but to move fewers booful like the keys of computerist. Cann't
tell which one is shoot up. Group worked, school worked. They can't
even see the group worked. But the part's gonna lead and I cook come
to and it says sickness you cause fament. Try to get my starts in
the lamage this and when I just said this on timing order the team that's
body they save My floaty signed it. I was out here, like Simon
said, I'm like head, got put around top of my red. If
you need it, I can spread. I'm gonna get to the top of
the world, but I only got my legs. You'll push it to the
limit. No, we don't just try our best. If you gotta tell
them something better, tell them that you're next, Miss Patrae order to create
them. Don't wait, come up, Puss the lead us. Sooner's time
to take my shot. I'll be feeling the parena's swoops south till my choice.
It's up tent it bends. A Papa might put the king to sleep.
Because I always spend a dream up. I've been having visions. My
mind is stracted, princess, So I spent these barts out and add it
on a read them looking at the police, say, looking at my bed
man, I just might end up for another freedom of victim funny will be
living. But ain't nobody in mathing When I read the headlines out thinking of
the other'spection, ask me how it happened, say all myself. We don't
play a round because I'm too old and I'm walking around with his injury from
a good boss for the new league god foundation in the industry, I feel
the rams at the top. Then we're gonna act welding on the enemies.
You got hope with me. That's the new way. With a little bit
of hood energy. Most rapports the slow level. I upgraded for the cars.
You ain't never seen that pop friends in the cutting clutching, they yall
seeing an ice cube of that swamp water every day. I used to shop
borders, long visits within no limits. Now cheat the chong at the border
twenty ears and that stick boy, I ain't playing a rounder that static.
It's a lot of clear. Those snowing mirs got y'all thinking this is mad.
I'm with Hope boy in a maketrit so I'm sucking gonna hey, this
is gonna fake issh on the make shift, yop me. This seems like
a shady sister, like every every float for the car, for the culture
from the prison yard mother bloat boats no hear bolls went four years without costs.
Gee, y'all cuss a little whit, I said, crazy. Got
to thank God for these plays. Ain't coming to fast late with no lights,
nothing, never pumping mind, Please go stew the head visions. My
mind distracted dresses. So I spent these foss out and that in on a
random looking at the prodies day, looking at my payment, I just mind
end up but nothing nothing victim funny where we live in But ain't nobody Matthew.
When I read the headlines out the this next shi he hask me how
a happy really can tell? Still trying to give a boss of like at
on my sound and our first guest, and we just heard one of his
tracks. We have hoped the wrapper here in studio weathers. How are you
sir, I'm doing good. I'm doing good. How are you guys?
Good? Welcome Ken and uh having me we uh and you originally reached out
to us. So we have a track that we're going to be playing in
a little bit called Mama Yeah, which is really cool. And that's first
song though Visions that also includes mister Goodbars correct. Yeah, Yeah, we've
had He's been on the show a couple of times, and even when he's
not on the show, his name comes up a lot, you know,
because he's just very active. And it's cool too that he works with multiple
genres of music and ex Yeah, really talented guy. Yeah, I know,
it's awesome. So it's been really good working with somebody like mister Goodbars,
because not only does he have like the rapping aspect of it, but
he also like educates me in like the business aspects of it. Yeah,
he's just been around the industry enough, like Nobs absolutely Yeah, fascinating guy
to talk to. Tell us about, Well, we'll play it. Uh,
we'll play that in a couple of moments on Mama. But tell us
about that track because that's the one that you that's the one you reached out
to us about specifically, So obviously that's a special one to you. Absolutely.
So my whole life, my mom was like probably one of the most
important in my life. Yeah, and recently she has been going through some
things in life that has set her back, and just like seeing her not
as strong, seeing her trying to like fight through these moments, it kind
of reminds me of where I get that fight from because a lot of times
people look at me in situations like why haven't you given up? And that
comes from my mom. That's strength. So I made this track so that
she knows that she she had all boys. Well we have my sister too
as well, but she's primarily boys and she doesn't have to be that strong.
Yeah. So, like when we all have a mom out there and
we all want to say something to her, so like I've always wanted to
write a song for my mom, but just like hearing like the news of
my mom not being as strong, as like I know that she is.
Yeah, just the words flew on the paper. I wrote that song probably
in less than twenty minutes. Oh no kidding, Wow, Wow, Yeah,
it's a it's a great track. Uh. It kind of it reminded
me a little bit of Dear Mama by Tupac. That's kind of the inspiration
behind that. Dear Mama by Tupac was one of I remember like just driving
around as a kid, and I was like, yeah, that's exactly how
I feel about my mom. I'm not going through any of these things,
but how I feel about her. Yeah, yeah, no doubt. So
she's heard it obviously, Yeah, what kind of feedback did she give you?
So my with music, so I do make primarily like secular music,
but she's always wanted me to make a Christian song. And that's kind of
like where a lot of the inspiration of this song was, like it was
something that I wanted to make her song that she can listen to all the
time of my music. Yeah, so her reaction to it was kind of
like she was taken back because she hasn't heard me rap that way since I
was probably like eighteen. Oh, A lot of Christian music that's why I
started rap. Yeah, and then so just her hearing me back in that
element and everything like that, it felt great. Yeah, So I'm probably
gonna be making more music like for her to be able to listen to her
and like that whole genre of people, because like I do connect with it,
like that Christian religion. Yeah. Yeah, that's very cool. So
we will. Let's go ahead and play this now, okay, and then
we'll come back and oxymoron and get to know you. We also have a
song very appropriate for Father's Day which is coming up, which we'll play later.
Got a balance last year, Dad got one, Mom gets one this
year. Perfect. But let's give this a listen. So the track is,
by the way, this has this been played on the radio anywhere?
No, So this is a world radio premiere. That's the World radio.
We like the world radio premieres around here, so very cool. We appreciate
it, all right, So let's check this out. This is Mama,
and this is Hope the rapper. Well and something else is playing and I
don't know why that's a second week in a row. I think that's happened
to me. These things happened I worked for at and T so dealing with
technology. There you go, all right, here we go. I think
we've got it. Here it is, This is mama, and this is
hope. The rapper octopod sent it's open sense. So this is gonna be
okay. Mama. Let's not rain. Mama. See you when you smile,
you ain't got out out of pain. Mama. Don't know what the
same mama, looking for some change, Mama. Sorry for those I was
hiding in my pain. Mama, It's gonna be okay, Mama. Let's
walk through the rain. Mama. See you when you smile, you ain't
got out of your pain. Mama, don't know what the same mama,
looking for some change, Mama. Sorry for those I was hiding in my
pain. Mama. What I need some menergy. I'm praying for your strength.
Still have been the table and I've been thinking about the bench, telling
them miss your turn. I tried myself and broke the wrench. It's gonna
hurt my back if I keep sitting on the fence only being a human when
it comes to my defense, showed me what is real because they just playing
this pretending I just hold my Mama meets my family in the end, came
a long way from when they call us aliens. It's gonna be okay,
Mama. Let's walk through the rain. Mama, see you when you smile,
you ain't got out out of pain. Mama, don't know what the
same Mama looking for some change. Mama, Sorry for those hiss I was
hiding in my pain. Mama. It's gonna be okay, Mama. Let's
walk through the rain. Mama, see you when you smile, you ain't
got out out of your pain. Mama don't know what the same, Mama,
looking for some change, Mama, Sorry for those hiss I was hiding
in my pain. Mama's hell him. If I could I take your pain
in making mine, I don't want to be your son. If Mama could
have shined, she told me, in this world, all they giving you
is time. The rest of it is sentergy, consistency and grind the way
life playing. And I just want to hit Rwan, but only if I'm
taking all the knowledge in my mind. So maybe all the travesties are actually
a lesson. Don't ask me your for I love her, because that never
been the question. It's gonna be okay, mama. Let's walk through the
rain. Mama, see you when you smile. You ain't got out out
of pain. Mama. Don't know what to say, Mama, looking for
some change, Mama, Sorry for those hiss I was hiding in my pain.
Mama. It's gonna be okay, Mama. Let's walk through the rain.
Mama, see you when you smile. You we got out your paying
Mama. Don't know what the same Mama looked there for some change, Mama.
Sorryfulus. I was hiding in my paying Mama. That's nice, that
is, mama, and that is Hope the rapper here with us live in
studio. That's the world radio premiere of that track. So really really good.
And for that too as well. I appreciate you giving me that chance.
We love getting to do that. Oh yeah, absolutely no, we're
glad you. We're glad you reached out to us. We'll play the we'll
play the Dad song a little bit later. But yeah, really really good.
Where do you record, by the way, because the production is excellent,
So two different studios. I do record with mister Goodbar's, but I
also work in Lowell at Stupid Genius Studios and my French has Okay, he
was part of a music group that went on to California, but he actually
came back here and is producing music, has his own studio. Oh,
it's been awesome because I connected with a bunch of individuals in Lowell, Massachusetts
who have been helping lift me up in the game. So I have like
the super genius studios. I have One Eye Visuals that I record with.
Just I keep a close knit community that I work with. Yeah, and
it's been great because we reach out to each other when each other has projects,
and we help lift each other to the next step. That's excellent.
How long have you been recording hip hop? So this go around, it's
been three years. Prior to this, I used to make music whenever I
was like fourteen. I remember, Oh, I think I found something of
yours online from like twenty eleven or something. Yeah. Yeah, I made
music when I was like fourteen. It's funny because all the old music that
you'll hear of mine, I didn't record in like a professional studio at all.
I had my Windows computer. I couldn't afford a MIC, so I
used my rock band mic. Yeah. So I literally plugged my rock band
mic and like would just make it sound as good as it could, and
then I would release music that way. But it came to a point where
I got lost in life where I stopped making music. But then I stopped
drinking. And then once I stopped drinking, I was like, you know
what, I was really good at making music? Yeah, something of mine.
And then since then I picked up the pen put down the bottle.
Yeah. Yeah, So what is it about not drinking that helped you with
that? Did it just kind of clear your mind and more of a focus,
because rather nights where I'd want to like go out and drink and let
go, I'm at home like writing or reading and like trying to figure out
different rhyme patterns and different schemes and stuff like that, because it, to
me, it's more than just like the rhyme and the punchlines. I think
it has to be a lot of deeper, like the double entendres, the
triple on tendres, like really getting into it, but not like on a
lyrical miracle level, and it still has to respect the art and still sound
like music. Yeah, yeah, we have a The drinking thing is interesting.
It sounds like that was getting in the way because we know somebody who
we have that conversation with occasionally, yeah, where drinking can kind of get
in the way. So now do you not drink at all? Good for
you? Good for you. So it's just been music for me. It's
it's awesome to because like I'll go out to like these events and shows that
I'll have and the luster for it isn't there. Yeah. I like the
environment that I can create, and then like I go back into my own
little shell where I'm like, all right, what what can I do next?
Yeah? Yeah, no, that's really cool. Now are you?
Because there's a couple of references in the songs are are You? From Kenya?
Originally? Okay, So I moved to America nineteen ninety eight, nineteen
ninety seven. Yeah, so it was definitely an interesting trip moving to America.
There was like eleven of us and I'm wow, no kidding, yeah
wow, eleven of us two bedroom apartment and my dad is probably one of
the hardest working people that I've ever met in my life. I've never understood
it till I was older, Yeah, because I always took it as like
punishment, because like I didn't understand like where we came from. Now as
an adult, I look back or where we came from. And I see
all the things that he's done, I'm like, you couldn't have done that
if you didn't focus right, right, So like being able to do that
has just been able to help. Is that where where your drive and focus
comes from? Do you think from the example set by your dad? Yeah?
Absolutely, absolutely. For a while, I was just very resistant to
it, Yeah, because like I had my own ideas of like what I
wanted life to be. I was like just like really in love like with
the idea of America and everything like that, Like, no, leave me
alone, I'm American. But he just like remember your roots. Like in
the end of the day, you can like do whatever you want here,
but no, and the day if you don't like behave right, if you
don't act right, you'll get sent right back to Kenya, right, And
like if you don't, if you don't understand them, then it's just gonna
happen to you. So then ever since like I finally like sat back and
just like talk to my dad, like had these conversations with my dad that
I refused to have when I was younger, and that he wasn't wanting to
have the conversations I refuse to have them, and since then I've been very
focused. Yeah. Yeah, that's awesome. Eleven of you so big family?
Yeah yeah, my dad has like eleven brothers and sisters. My mom
had probably eight, No kidding, that's a huge family. Wow. Wow
was that? I mean it's hard for me. I grew up in a
very small family, so it's hard for me to even imagine. I mean,
was that difficult growing up having because it sounds like you're very crowded,
especially when you first came to America. But then again, I mean,
if you grew up in a big family, I guess that's all you knew,
right, So I don't know, was that it's stressful? Did you
ever have moments where it was like, geez, I wish I wish I
had some I don't know pace, Yeah, space exactly. Honestly, it
comes to a point where you do you do want that space, And that's
where you see as an adult, where people like grow apart. If we
were in the position to have our own space and grow in our own element,
who knows what could have happened. But that's not the cards that life
handed us. So we had to look at the cards that life handed us
and figure out how to still stay around each other. And there's points in
time where we'll still like break apart, but in the end of the day,
the core is still there. Yeah, the important part. And I
think it's those struggles, remembering how much we struggled with each other. It's
like, now let's just talk this out like this, this is solvable.
We've we've been through worse, we could have imagined worse, and we got
out of that. So this situation we can't make a monster out of,
right, right, Yeah, it's a good way of looking at it.
Now, when did you How old were you when he started making music?
And writing music has always been in my blood before I moved to America.
My dad called me when I was like in Africa and he asked me,
like what I wanted for like gifts. When I got to America, I
asked for a drum, a piano, and guitar. Now I don't play
all those instruments fluently to this dame, but like just that idea of making
music was in my head. Me and my sister, we'd sit there,
we just like he had a little karaoke machine. It didn't have like it
wasn't the one with the words or anything like that. It's just like a
mic and a speaker. So we just like performed these little shows. He'd
always have his camera too as well. So there's a bunch of videos of
me when I was younger. I started because they were very Christian and like
Captain Varians, so like it only had me listen to like raps like Aaron
Carter. Okay, like bow wow Aaron Carter. It wasn't until my dad
found Nas and he respected what NAS did and he's like, this is guy
Nas. There's a video I know I can't. He had me watch that
with all the kids, like I know, I can't remember, like him
like introducing me into like the whole rap world. But he didn't want me
to get too into it because they don't want my mind to get lost.
That's really interesting to me. So so it sounds like so so he heard
Nas and was like this guy's so good and Nas, I mean, let's
to be honestly, some would say the best ever. So he he was
so enamored with Nas. He was like, okay, I can't. I
can't keep this from him. Yeah, he even had a like a DVD
because like back then they used to make DVDs for music videos. Yeah,
he even had NAS DVD music videos. And I don't think like he knows
like the impact of just not something that small did to me as a kid.
But I was like, this is life for me. I don't know
what else is going on, video games all that. No, this is
what I want to get into. And then once he like, did he
bring bring other artists to your attention to or was it kind of like,
Okay, no, I'm gonna show him NAS and then he's kind of on
his own. Yeah, it was more of NAS than I'm on my own.
He always like would we'd watch like music videos together. Back in the
apartment that we lived in, he always had music playing, but more than
rap. It was like an R and B home. Yeah, so we
listened to a lot of old R and b's, so like the soul and
all that, like melodies and all that is in me because of that.
Yeah, my sister is a much better singer. So I was discouraged when
I was younger, like I'm not gonna get like good at this. She's
really good at this. Yeah, I'm gonna get good at the wrap part.
Yeah, And she could say and I had this whole idea in my
head We're going to be this group. But she she's doing big things with
Amazon right now, so like I'm happy for her. Oh okay, so
she doesn't she doesn't still sing or no, no, no, I think
she's like the Northeast operational manager for all of Amazon's Oh so she's got a
big job. Did you ever have an opportunity to record anything with her?
Issue? No, that's that is a dream of mine. Yeah, there's
gonna be one day where I write a hook and I'm gonna be like,
hey, what are you doing? I just like this one song that we
could have. Yeah, and that would be amazing for me. Yeah,
no doubt, no doubt. I did whenever I was younger. My little
brothers, I don't I'm not sure if they wanted to, but like i'd
make them like rap with me, and I recorded them. Oh no kidding.
Have any of your family have they also done anything in terms of music?
No? I'm pretty much the one who's like this is it like,
because like they're all hard workers. I'm a hard worker too, but music
is just something that I had an extra passion for. Yeah. Yeah,
and you you're from Lowell you live in Lowell. No, I live in
Hudson. Oh Hudson. Oh okay, all right. The studio that you
the studio recording, Like mostly everything I do music wise is Lowell. Gotcha.
I do it with either like One Eye Visuals or Talk of the Town.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, One Eye Visuals. I noticed at the
beginning of some of your videos. Yeah, they're there, now where are
they are they? He it's it's actually one man director, which is amazing.
His names Xavier, and he's been recording music videos for up and coming
artists in Massachusetts and giving them a platform for a while. He actually we
do shows over at the Smokehouse Andmole Okay yeah, yeah, yeah, So
we've been doing shows over there, like bringing like legendary artists out and just
giving like everybody a chance to like shine. What you do with this is
up to you. But he'll put you at the table. Oh that's cool,
make you eat? Yeah? Yeah. Did he do the video?
I like the video for chin Up, which which we're also gonna play today.
He did that one. Yeah. Yeah, we went to New York
for It's funny because the Dad video and the chin Up video were shot within
the same like twenty four hour forty eight hour span. Oh okay, And
I was so amazed because if you watched chin Up and if you Dad,
the themes are completely different. Yeah, so in his head he was in
like two different worlds, while I was just like, in my head,
I was like, how is he gonna do all this? But no,
like ones like a lighter us theme for like the Dad one, and then
you have like the city theme for the chin Up. And I was like,
this is amazing. Yeah, when you shoot have a video like chin
Up. I've always been curious about this because I've I've played in a lot
of bands and stuff, but we never actually made a video for like none
of the projects ever did Did we ever make a video when you're in When
you're in the city and you're making a video like that, what's going on
around you? Like are people? Are people walking by and they're curious or
maybe that's something they see every Like in New York you probably see that every
day, right, people filming all kinds of things. But like, I'm
just curious, like, what's going on around you while you're doing that?
Kind of why I picked New York because like I knew that was like a
common thing over there now as far as what people are doing, they are
watching, which was something that I actually took advantage of because while we're shooting
the chin Up video, I like would walk up to like groups of like
kids, I'm like, hey, I have this one song. Do you
want to listen to it? Real QUI because I've seen a bunch of videos
on Facebook like that, Yeah, what's stopping me from doing that? Yeah?
So then I there's a couple of scenes in the music video where you'll
see me like wrap into groups of people. Right, I'm like, this
is a little bit awkward, but this is actually a powerful song of like
I could like play in front of people and know what I'm doing with it.
So then after a while, like people see like people watching you,
and then you just become a part of the city. Yeah. Yeah.
I was curious because it's like I would think it would be distracting in a
way, like you're trying to do what you're doing and you got all these
people around you. But then if you can involve them in it in some
way that makes sense. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, it it's
like at first I was like, it's just gonna be me and like in
my I got in my head a little bit. I'm like, no,
let me, let me just involve them, right, Yeah, No,
that's cool. You know what I think we should do. Let's play that
one next, but we will play the dad song too. My dad listens
to the show, so we'll play that. Well, maybe we'll save that
one for the end of the segment. But let's play chin Up because I
love this track, and I do encourage people to go on YouTube and watch
the video too. The video is really really cool. All right, check
this out. This is really cool, very very positive. I love the
vibe. This is chin Up, and we have hope the rapper here with
us live in studio. But let's get U suspend. Let's go elle he
see okay? And my daddy was black and his daddy was black, So
miss the officer. No, I can't help that, won't you look at
the facts. Tell me who's in charge by the look on your face?
The roof difer with loss rather to see a sick cosse past the money of
bass for the lives of course, the paw what distracts the lights make me.
I feel like a star. If I spend it today, then no
hope for them all. It's the system we live. Got me gin it
still taking my shot? Wouldn't if I don't miss. Can't live life like
this. Man, There's gonna be more. Yesterday I was shrouding. Now
I'm climbing the shore with this. I got a grip so the beats them
more, got the world of my chest for them only, and George that
will telling me stress. So I pray to the Lord. They think guy
was a game? Want them play on my board? No, no,
hand four. Shouldn't pull your head high. We aut did dirnt just a
yet? Ye we all did dirt just a yet. Ye we all did
dirt, just a yet. Ye shouldn't puld your head high? We all
did just a yet. Ye we all did dirt just a yet. Bie,
we all did. And my mama was black and their mama was black.
She gotta call me in fact, that's my family, my pack.
We spread over the mess. But Lord knows where we at. Let the
trick of the cat. I be calling these words. I know that they
feeling me and be pulling these nerves. They call them while I'm shopping.
Man, this kin't got me cursed, you would. That's the worst when
it follows this person. I've been stuck up a person. I just want
to be first, open everything lest running from the feet. Put my feet
on the path again, the swarm feet so we meet on the path.
Got me on a tas it's been weeks on the path. I just keep
walking with the world on my back. For the Panda marriage. Just to
Mavie relast, I don't roll the fast life. It's more than just crabs.
He said that. Hey, because I'm hunging them black, don't know
where I'm headed. I'm designing the map. Shouldn't pulch your head high?
We all did. Aren't just a yet? Bye? We all the dirt
just a yet? Ye we all did dirt just a yet? Bye?
Should not puld your head high? We all did. Aren't just a yet?
Ye we all there aren't just a yet? Ye we all did.
That is shin up that has hope the rapper he is here with us.
Such a great track line. I appreciate that one. Love that love that
one. And again I encourage people to go on YouTube check out the video.
The video is really cool, but it's catchy as hell, and that
we all did dirt get get stuck in my head that that's a great hook
reminded me when I was writing it. It has nothing to do with like
the lyrics, but reminded me of like an Acon type of hook, like
yeah, So I was like, let me just keep it going like y'all
did, just to get And then there was this old nineties song just to
get By. Yeah, So that was in my head too when I was
writing it. So I was like, Acon, just to get by?
How can I do this? And yeah came out? Is there a sample
in there too that I should recognize? I'm not sure if I don't recognize
the samp Okay, there was there was something familiar in there, but it
might just be you know, it might just remind me of something. So
do you in terms of writing obviously the lyrics? You also do you do
the beats? Do you do everything? Or no? The beats I buy
the least force, so I own all the rights for them. Okay,
So with writing, that's something that I take like very seriously. Like when
I'm writing, like the first song that we played, the Jordan Cradle Dunk,
I didn't know what that was before I was writing. Yeah, in
my head, I like had a picture of like a basketball move. So
then I like would research different types of basketball moves and then I would figure
out which one would work, were the better cadence inside that Oh wow,
that's how I fit that in. So like when I'm writing, I'm researching
oh wow, cool, It's like a whole thing for me, which I
love because it makes it more than just the song, because I could think
of where I was at mentally. Mm hmmm. Yeah, it's interesting.
I've never heard anyone explain it that way before, but that makes sense because,
yeah, if you're coming up with some pretty sophisticated references, but not
everyone's even gonna know. It's which a school too. Now can you tell
us about because some people probably don't know what you mean and about you know,
leasing the beats and stuff. And we talk a lot of music business
on the show too, so I'm sure people are interested in how that process
works. Absolutely, So you want to make sure that you're very careful because
whenever like a couple, like when I first started in the game, like
it in my head it was like get to beat from YouTube, record over
the beat and it's yours. That's not how somebody owns the rights to those
like I get it, Like there's twelve notes, and it depends on how
you arrange it. But at the end of the day, you want to
make sure you're covering your basis so you have the ability to make money off
of this stuff. Because if you, let's say you accidentally because it's happened
to people where they take a beat off YouTube and that song accidentally is the
one that blows them up. Oh yeah, but then that song is accidentally
the reason why they're in legal issues for the rest of their life, right,
And that's what you want to avoid. You want to make sure you
have the rights, the contracts, you say, those all in a file
computers, so like if anybody ever asks you, it's actually this, I
have it right for this because with the leases too, you want to watch
because some of them they'll only give you a certain amount of like radio plays
that you can do, a certain amount of online plays that you can do.
I didn't know that interesting. Oh I didn't realize that until like a
lot recently. So then you have to buy I get the exclusives now,
yeah, because I don't want the chance. Where I when I first started,
like three years ago, there was a beat that I got and after
I got the lease, for it. Somebody bought the exclusive for it,
So I'm not sure how that legally, if it's even right, but they'll
they'll play that game. Though. In the industry, you have to make
sure if you have the exclusive rights. At the end of the day,
you're the one who has the right for it. But the leases is something
you want to be careful because there's a lot of terms and conditions with them,
right, right, I'm old enough to remember when back in the days
when you know, somebody would put something out and it would it would use
a single a sample that wasn't cleared, you know, and then there's there'd
be all kinds of litigation. And this is kind of another version of that,
right exactly Exactly. People get in trouble using stuff that they don't have
the rights to exactly. Yeah, and with the Internet it's still kind of
I'm sure there's a lot of I mean, obviously there's ways that you can
do it right, like you're yeah, absolutely, And it's also trustable sources
too, because you want to make sure like even if like for the artists
getting your beats off YouTube, you want to be careful because sometimes that person
on YouTube doesn't even have the rights to the beat. Yeah yeah, so
exactly, you paid this person on YouTube and you think you covered your base,
but you didn't. You didn't because they didn't have rights to it.
So like I go to directly to sources like like a beat Stars kind of
thing or like a sound Click kind of thing where they can provide me with
the contract that I can reference to later on. Okay, because if that
person doesn't own the beat, and like I make a really good song on
it, I'm almost like discouraged to even write on like YouTube beats because I
don't want it to make a good song and then it's not mine, right
right, gets paid off of it. Have you ever found yourself in a
situation where you had to go through and prove no, look, I have
this legally I paid for and has that happened to you or have you been
able to only with YouTube when I after I uploaded a song, but they
were referencing to the beat maker. Okay, yeah, so the like the
beat maker on and I'm like no, no, no, no, I
bought it from this person, and then I sent like the email over and
then then I was cleared. What was the process like in terms of showing
that to YouTube because I know, I know from a lot of content creators.
Know, you know, it's not like you can just call them up
and say and explain it to no. No, no. You have to
upload documentation, so you have to have the original documentation and original receipts and
everything like that. They send you an email, You click on the email.
The email brings you to a page where you upload the documents. Then
you wait for litigation or whatever they go through, and then they decided it's
yours or not. And how long did it take? Two weeks? Oh,
that's not bad. Okay, at least it didn't drag on for a
long time. Two weeks. Yeah, now, LUCKI lethile it wasn't too
long, but like still two weeks of like, man, I don't know
about this song, Like should I just take it down? Like because this
might there's also the chance where like to upload that song and you're on your
way up and that song. This actually happened to me when I was younger,
and this was one of the main reasons I stopped is I had a
love the Way You Lie remix. I uploaded yea. It had two hundred
and fifty thousand views within like a week and I like a organic promotion.
Yeah, they took down my channel, no warning, no nothing strikes You
just took Eminem's beat. It wasn't you're right, And like as a kid,
you're like, that's not fair, but like as an adult, you're
like, yeah, you should have covered your base because that was Eminem's bat
and no matter how good you did on it, right, you didn't get
permission. And there's there's ways to do. I haven't looked into like the
remix, like clauseways, but I do have something that a cover that I'm
working on right now that I'm working on getting cleared for a Black Puma song
that I did, yeah with my friend. It's actually they played it.
They're playing it on NHPR the end of this month. Oh no kidding.
Oh congratulations. Oh that's very cool. I'm excited about that. Very cool.
On what show? You know? So we did a like a tiny
desk concert and all conquered. Yeah. Yeah, So I'm not sure which
one of their channels that they're going to be putting it up on, but
that's gonna be awesome to see up there too. Oh, very cool.
Yeah, congratulations, that's a big deal. That'll get you. Yeah,
that'll get you a lot of exposure. Yeah, very excited for that one.
Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, it's tricky too with the YouTube stuff
because the rules change, you know, like I put this show after we're
you know, we're going out live on Facebook in addition to obviously on FM.
But then afterward I also I download the video from Facebook and I put
it on YouTube, and sometimes I'll get I'll get different notification, like I
don't get in any trouble, but I get these notifications like your video is
blocked in some countries. Yeah, never the United States fortunately, but it'll
it'll be blocked in certain countries or territories. And that's I figured that one
out actually with the help of mister good Bars and partially to the faults of
artists. And I stop doing this with my songs because as artists, we
have the ability to independently upload our music to multiple platforms. When you use
the websites such as distro kid like I use, it gives you all these
different websites. What you want to make sure is that you're picking like your
your titles, your iTunes, your Spotify's oh's. But there's a lot of
random a lot of different random business like well, I don't even know what
they are, like companies that you're uploading your music to. Yeah, and
they have the rights to it. So if they flag your music, like
if they like pick up your music on a different platform and you upload it
on THEIRS to make money off of now they're just like, no, we
have the rights to that. Oh okay, yeah, I've seen that happen
to me. So that's why now I when I upload my music to distro
Kid instead of it, it felt good to have my name checked on every
single one of those platforms. But unfortunately, some of these companies that are
based in other countries and everything like that, they're just going to claim the
rights to my music. Okay, oh wow, that's diurdy. I didn't
even know. I didn't even know about that part of it, so good
Bars explained it. So distro Kid doesn't even they don't warn you about that.
No, No, they just say upload your music everywhere, which founds
good. But when it comes to music, you're talking about legalities. When
you're talking about legalities, people can do whatever they want if you playing with
their money, right right? Oh wow? Yeah? Yeah it's funny too
because Uh, now like Facebook does a thing. Now, did you ever
put your music on Facebook? Yeah, because they do a thing now.
Like I said, we you know, we streamed the show to Facebook,
and they used to They used to knock us off sometimes and I would always
appeal and I would write just an appeal I had to memorized at one point
where I would say, you know, we're a federally licenseduf AND radio station,
we do a radio show, blah blah blah blah. And I would
always win the appeal, or almost always. But now what they do is
they send me a notification saying we're gonna leave your video up, but you're
you can't monetize it. Yeah, this person's monetizing off of it, exactly.
I just got that notification. Uh the other week. I don't even
know what it was that I uploaded, and like I think it was they
said that I'm making money off of it. Yeah, like this was picked
up. It's hope the rappers music it hope the rappers gonna be me.
I'm like, okay, yeah, whatever. Interesting, I'm like that is
me, but I guess. And I did share his Facebook link in the
chat room. Oh good god, Yes, I saw that yeah. Oh.
H Our friend Isaac Banks was asking about influences. Influences, so I
would say, now it's one hundred percent as far as j Cole is unpopular
as that, that opinion is right now jay Z and then the win.
Yeah, yeah, I love NAS and I haven't. I don't really know
much Jake Cole. I just the hits, you know, I've never really
listened to him. I love jay Z ninety nine Problems. I mean it
changes, but that's probably my favorite hip hop song of all. Yeah,
that song. No matter what mood I'm in, Yeah, It'll just bring
me up. And the video is amazing too. Oh. Our friend Axel
Bagley is in the chat room from the band Dad Harrison and various other projects.
He says, keep up the amazing work man, Oh, thank you,
thank you. I actually I think I reached out to Axel when we
were doing the tiny Desk things. I wanted him to play guitar. Oh,
the right axle that I'm thinking of. Okay, yeah, yeah,
he's amazing. I know him mainly for his drumming, but but everybody plays
multiple instruments these days except me. I'm a bass player. That's all I
can really do. I can play a little bit of guitar, but not
much. Let's let's because we were talking about it earlier. Let's go ahead
and play. I was gonna save it for the end, but let's let's
play it now because we've got We've got something else we can play at the
end too. But we were talking about the Dad song. I think we
should play any anything else we should know about this. Uh, Dad is
didn't always deserve it's It's definitely an intense song. So this song is interesting
because I started it as I hate song towards like one of my ex girlfriends,
really, and then I was writing and I was thinking about like who
I was in that relationship, and I was like, you didn't do things
right either, Like you have issues too, Like if you're gonna sit there
and you're gonna write this song about this woman, you have to call yourself
off first. So then it became that and then and I was like,
what are my issues? And then I realized a lot of my issues come
from the same reasons why I'm mad at people sometimes, Like, yeah,
you have dad issue? What about your dad issues? Have you figured out
your dad issues? Because you can't accuse people without pointing a finger yourself first,
you explaining that makes me understand the song even better. Yeah, because
I I listening to it last night. I understand the lyrics even more now
now that you say that that that totally makes sense. And I like that
you know that personal response, but you know, it's it's funny. It
just as a side note, I was thinking about this a couple of years
ago. I remember thinking about conflicts I had had in my life along the
way, like not not anything professional, but just personal issues with people,
and thinking about kind of reflecting on how most of the time it was actually
my own fault, you know, but I but I didn't have the emotional
maturity at the time to recognize it, you know. And and uh uh,
there's there's such a thin line between ruminating and reflecting. And I try
to sometimes I reflecting on on things as healthy because that's how you learn.
Unfortunately, sometimes I cross that line into ruminating, which is not so healthy.
But but I remember reflecting on on on that, and you know,
and then you and then of course, you know, you start to think
about things you learned growing up and and what you saw like in your family
and your dad, your mom and whatnot, and how sometimes some of those
behaviors they get passed down to you exactly exactly. So that's how I wrote
the song too. So like the first verse is like you'll hear it too
with like the background, it's like it has a deeper tone because it's like
what my dad would say to me, okay. The second verse is what
younger me would say to my dad okay. And then I break it off
with the hook again and then it's Dad, I finally get it okay,
yeah, yeah, yeah, cool, All right, let's give this a
listen. So this is Dad didn't always deserve and happy fathers. Everybody check
this out. This is a great track, Hope the rapper God's missions.
Did I really need to tend to abandon? It's always on the menus.
Sometimes I looked to God and question your mind, really saying you learn my
lesson to result my issues if I keep on tripping on these girls, and
while I make it, I got that of issues too. I used to
be his favorite till he found that money I had hidden in the basement.
Told me, hustle backwards and you'll never be the greatest and you don't even
need the crowded story on your own or maybe by some pride, and then
show me that's grown and sudden. You got to wonder white wore in the
respect they took again the pop bubble, seeing it up the mess. I
know you've got some issues and you probably read me next. But I was
in the country that I didn't know what's stressed. I didn't have a mom
and dad who caught a roll to check Amyria a Merrica. I felt it
oh my neck, and with every civil pressent, I felt the world would
take my son, and the end I felt they did, because so would
you become. I never once imagined that the soul would be on earth,
but just imagine it if I never put the family first. I used to
be distraughted when you always kept me guarded the time you told me no till
me felt like they the hardest and kind. You told me all this,
So I'm walking with the smug and toop. I got me wondering if heavens
fallard dog, I wanna learn to catch you all that. Why you gotta
work? The younger kids are laughing and the pressure turned their hurt. This
isn't gonna work. Why you bring me in this country if I keep wanting
family and you keep wanting money. Why you're not gonna tell me? Younger?
Mean you what is playing? I'm canning to work run away the fastest
thing I can. Regretting your decision because I learned to being a man.
And if I never falls and I never learned, the land got some issues
that I really need to tend to. Entanglement abandonment is always on the menu.
Sometimes I look to God and whats your why really? Saying? You
had to learn my lesson. You were members of my issues. And if
I keep on tripping on these girls, and when I make it, I
got daddy issues too. I used to be his favorite until he found that
money I had hit and in the basement told me, hustle backwards and you'll
never be the greatest. And your daddy and your white get it all the
late nights, heavy starving and I ain't even have a key to get in
the apartment. What makes it the hardest? Since I finally see the light.
You was fighting for what's right and I was for my rights, and
every single night we spend away it made me bitter. I couldn't understand how
you rush. We'll paint the picture but now I'm just this game, and
then it looks like a couple castle. All that misadvice, I just seed
it twice tomorrow, browning in my sorrow, I don't know what about my
choices, sitting in my room walk consumed by the voices or maybe just the
noises in the ad also regretted. I kept on lying fire, So what
did I expect? Maw got me smiling us and kill and tell my circle,
and every day I'm going in like when you set the curfew, I
didn't mean to make you scream until you turn purple. And Dad just gave
four. We did always deserve you. Basically, I'm saying that I finally
see a vision I was teaching that like all the towns, I didn't listen.
I'm sorry for your kicheons and the hounds. I made a mess,
but I was in the country that I didn't know one's pressed. Instead I
call collect and you would know it's pressed. The five. So when it
comes to family that you never testify, I want to pay you because I
wouldn't pay my father's apologies for any time that his dad didn't always deserve Hope
the rapper here with us live in studio. Thank you, thank you,
thank you. I appreciate that one. I appreciate that one. Great track,
great track. That video is cool too. And you were saying that
that was done the same the same time as chin Up chin Up. Yeah,
yeah, so different because chin Up, you know, you're outside and
of course then there's a lot going on. Yeah, and Dad you're just
on the roof. But it's it's cool. He like it's weird because like
we shot the chin Up video and then I was like, because we still
had to shoot the Dad video. That's why we went out there. Yeah,
because I did that and then I recorded a video with Mickey FATX.
So he like took the Airbnb we were in and just made it a scene
with no plans, nothing. He didn't like sit there and like write like
a scene by scene. Yeah, he just like in his head he had
like this whole idea from like when we walked into the Airbn, which was
amazing to see him do. Yeah. So like if anybody visual works,
one Eye Visuals is the guy. Okay, okay, yeah cool. How
many videos have you done with him? Pretty much all my videos, So
at this point we're looking at like six seven videos. Melanie La Liberty in
the Facebook live chat one of our friends from Vermont. She says that was
nice, thank you, thank you, I appreciate that, and Isaac Banks
says, awesome, really awesome all the way, thank you. I appreciate
that. Do you do you play out a lot? Do you do a
lot of live shows? Yes, yes, I did. I just actually
did a little tour I did In the last month and a half, I've
done probably eight shows. Oh cool. Yeah. Good. Though it's like
two a week or something like that. Yeah, it's hard because I have
to, like I work like forty to fifty hours outside of that. Yeah,
so it's like one second I'm in Portsmouth, the next second I'm in
like Massachusetts for something, Connecticut for something else. And yeah, you just
got to balance yourself out. Yeah. How long have a set do you
do typically? Or does a very fifteen to twenty minutes? Yeah, and
that's like a standard set. Some nights I'll go thirty minutes, or some
nights it'll be a shorter set because there'll be a lot of people on the
list. Yeah, but you gotta make do and make an impact while you're
there. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I used to do. I used
to promote a lot of live shows, and you know, a lot a
lot of rock shows, but some hip hop shows too, and some of
the other people I would work with on the hip hop shows, it was
like they wanted to cram as many performers in into the night as possible,
and it's like at a certain point, it's like, geez, are you
sure we're doing this right, because everybody's gonna get like ten minutes. Yeah,
that's kind of like So I love doing shows and everything like that,
and I have my platforms that I will stick with, Yeah, but I
can't do shows with artists who aren't serious about themselves. Yeah, Because it
came to a point where like you'll look at You'll look around at your environment
and everybody that you're surrounded by your and you're like, look at their social
media for the last week, and you're like, I've been sharing every day,
I've been trying to age with my fans. You haven't done anything right,
So you're gonna get my work if I do this show with you,
And you don't want to give your work to people, right, because it's
it's we It takes a lot to go out there. It takes a lot
to like put yourself out there and like be that figure, the public figure
that we are as musicians. Yeah, and you can't give that people just
because they have fun making music and that that's it's great to have passion for
making music. Don't get me wrong, I'm not discouraging a single soul out
there, but there is a point where you have to separate yourself or you
become a part of the pact, right, Yeah, and uh, and
there's no excuse for not putting in that effort, right because it's easier than
ever with social media. It's it's not hard buttons. The same buttons that
you used to scroll is the same buttons you could use to share or like
even like recording your own stuff isn't even that hard anymore. Yeah, and
then they sell like the little stands and everything. They make it just so
easy to do for yourself that if you're not, then that just says that
you just want the like the name for it, right, and that just
doesn't work out in my book. Yeah, you see that a lot.
You run into that a lot, absolutely absolutely, and it it actually took
my video director to tell me, hey, separate yourself. Yeah, separate
yourself, because I see I see the passion you have for this, but
you can't be everywhere because you've become everywhere, you become part of everything,
and if you're part of everything, you don't stand out. Interesting. Yeah,
yeah, that's an interesting way to put it, and I agree,
Yeah, I have an axiom. You know. When I first started getting
involved in music, it was like I said, everyone wants to be a
star, but only as long as it's easy, you know, exactly,
Like so many people once, once they realize is actual effort involved, they're
like, oh, I didn't get shares? Right? Right? What do
I never mind? For the example I like to use is you know the
rock band that thinks if they go and they play the same club every weekend,
that you know the too, the mythical record company I like to talk
about the mythical record company Scout. It's just kinda happen to wander into the
bar one night and see them and be so impressed that, oh, here's
your million dollar ten album contract, Like look at the track history, has
this happened here yet? Right? Because if it hasn't happened here yet,
you might need to relocate. And you want to not be scared to do
things like that. But like at the end of this month, I know
that I'm for no good reason at all other than to promote myself. I
just bought myself a plane ticket to California for five days. Just wow,
go out there, network with people. Yeah, yeah, get myself because
like, here's cool, but let me just get myself out there. Yeah
yeah. And and because of the era that we live in with the Internet,
with social media and everything, you'll be able to not only make those
contacts, but it's easier than ever to keep up with contacts that you've made.
You know exactly, I'm not writing letters right, exactly exactly. It's
it's not like you know, you're going out there and you get somebody's business
card and then you you maybe you'll try to call them someday and hope that
you can reach them. You know. It's it's all. It's it's easier
than it's ever been to maintain all of that. So so that's great,
that's great. Good for you. And then as far as now the songs
that you have do you have are they part of an album or do you
do you only released singles. I have one album that came out with Hollyweired
ever since then, I don't so I call it more of a mixtape.
I don't want to call anything I put out an album. As an artist,
you could set yourself back by doing that, because if you're coming out
with albums, you're giving labels reference points. If an album doesn't do like
you're probably like, it's not to discourage anybody, like you might, but
you're probably not gonna do like crazy numbers for your first couple of albums.
Yea. But let's say you get a buzz and you have those albums out.
The label is going to look at your numbers for the albums and value
on that. They're not going to value you on like your potential. Yeah,
they already have something they're base it on. So you could potentially cut
yourself short of hundreds of thousand dollars of dollars. I put out singles,
and that's how I'm gonna do it till I get the attention of a label
and then they're gonna put out my album for me. Yeah that makes sense.
Yeah, you know, I grew up in a time where it was,
like, you know, the formula was you put out a you have
an album coming out, you put out a single, a little bit ahead
of the album, and then the second single comes out after the album's already
out. And of course now we live in a time where you have so
many different ways you can do it. You have so many options. The
attention span is so short too. Yeah, So like if you're for something
like an album, it's again not to discourage artists, but we also have
to be realistic with ourselves. There's not the attention span for that anymore.
If you focus yourself on a bunch of good singles, once you get signed,
then the album will come. You'll have your time to do that,
but until then you're working on grabbing attention. And in a society where we
have reels and shorts, it's not going to work with an EP or an
LP, right, It's just the humble fact of it. Yeah, exactly
exactly do you have? Have you gotten into the merchandising aspect of everything?
Do you have merch that you sell it, shows and everything? Or I
started a merch design but I haven't put it out yet. I'm thinking so
starting June, I'm gonna go on a ten week run where I'm dropping a
single every week. Oh cool, something that I picked up from an artist
Nipsey Hustle rest in Peace, and I want to try to do that too,
and like after they release the ten singles, focus on like the social
media and like boosting it up that way. Yeah, but that's when I'm
gonna come out with merchandise once I have those signals coming out. But I
have the designs and everything ready. The time goes so quick. We are
already approaching the top of the hour, and we will play we will play
one more of your What was the other one I wanted to play? I
think it was uh, fourth and goal, oh, which I made a
radio edit to that, and I think, is this You've got a really
cool video for that? Yeah? Yeah, So that video is amazing because
the same people that shot Joiner Lucas and like were a part of his come
up or oh shot that video for me. Oh cool, So I think
it's our projects to studios, Okay, so shout out to them. They
shot that video for me, and I got to work with the model in
that Erica and we were able to create something great, which is awesome.
Yeah. Yeah, no, it's a great track. And before we do
that, though, before we let you go, what should people know about
where to find you online, how to keep up with everything that you're doing
far as Instagram and TikTok. It's Hope the Rap on Facebook is gonna be
Hope the Rapper on all platforms as far as music goes, like major platforms.
You won't find me on the smaller ones. But if you're talking about
iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, anything like that title, you could find me
under Hope the Rapper And yep, that's where you can find me. Hey,
where does the name come from? By the way, Hope the Rapper.
So I wanted it to be originally Hope And I don't know, it's
just something that suck to me when I thought of myself and like what I
wanted to like portray as a message. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no,
I dig it and you know, and it fits you. You know,
your music is very positive. Thank you? Yeah cool I Hope the
Rapper. Thank you so much. This has been This has been absolutely wonderful.
I'm really glad you got in touch when you When you do the ten
singles there, you know, we'll we'll play those here if you if you
want, Yeah, please do by all means, all right, so we
will we'll finish the segment with this. This is our fourth and goal and
this is hope. The rapper checked this out. I put Tom, it's
up getting out this home. You're getting money every day. I've been the
option. I dont fly every way like a mucked and my kid and I'm
a face that I'm not tim. We the ones in the back, get
it up and getting money every day. I've been the option. I get
five every way like a mucked and get I'm a face that I'm not tim.
We the ones in the back, get it up. And I was
so hustling trying to turn the pain into enough. That's some money talking.
We don't entity discussion boging, not my brain and not laying on percussion.
Now ignite even talks auction of tell me how inhost a function must get down
the business. They no need for introductions, any instrumental. I can give
you the instructions. Long time coming, y'all, don't really push my butt.
Witness and volcanoes in eruption. If you want to smoke, we could
crack them like some ductions said. The world was called so she never knew
what love is for every reference, man, I really swear to glove.
Is this question, what's an interest for everybody? Everybody when it season getting
money every day been the option. I get fly every way like a mucked
and brackets and time a face that I'm not me. The ones in the
back get it up and getting money every day been the option. I get
fly every way like a mucked and my keet and i'm a face that I'm
not me. The ones in the back get it pup and I rope this
while thinking about the oljay and how money could turn us into a cold pay
whatever, to make the broke pay me never forever, she's stay in no
name for it, and they just kind of smooth and different. Usually they
had the reason how they're using payments. Unfortunately, that's the never that they
never tell us. I'm supposeke of being flat. I'm not by propel us
how I'm getting green, But they fell with it. I think they tell
us over sell us. Here the change, and I know it's nature.
See the man flip his ways like he was the paper. Hold this money
in my face is a motivator. Mo hatus with successfuls talk about it.
Hit a beef next with a traw chalk around it, red socks in your
nose but I'm never clowning. Told him could have find the floor with a
water fountain,