We’re gonna discuss 10 Strategies that can be applied to stay ahead in the rap game.
Master Your Craft Relentlessly
Mastering your craft relentlessly involves continuous improvement.
It separates long-term artistry from short-lived trends because one’s constantly working towards improving.
To fully appreciate that, you have to understand what the difference is between something that appears to be a short term, or here for the moment agenda, versus another that is made to be durable and last for an extended period of time.
If I’m looking to continuously improve, that means I’m willing and open to constantly practice and create a schedule that involves my entire life towards achieving a specific goal.
Short-lived trends are something that doesn’t seem to have much longevity. It’s very clear where the endpoint is.
Develop a unique artistic identity
Artistic identity is what makes you unique as the artist that is expected to create.
You can count it as something closer to your ID (or tag) with the same way that we mention how producers in music are known for what the intro would be for a song, or the outro.
It matters in today’s music industry because it provides variety.
It might seem simple on a surface level, but having your own original style for what you create as an artist is highly valuable because it’s also rare.
There’s a lot of rappers that do what they can to simply follow the trends and do what was already proven.
That typically works with Businesses that don’t allow for much creativity, but when we’re talking about musical artistry, that becomes counterintuitive to what the average consumer would appreciate from an artist that is supposed to create great music.
Stay Consistent with Releases and Content
Staying consistent with releases and content keeps audiences engaged, and the algorithms active.
This is the case because it continually feeds a service that will be served to an audience that’s looking for a variety of different things.
The way most social platforms and Service-based programs that look to serve a specific audience are designed, they’re looking for material that’ll keep watch time or reading time high.
If these platforms are aware that what you have to offer is of high value to the members of their platform, They will tend to favor you.
And that will show in the likes of providing you with plenty of engagement.
That could also be personally valuable to you is getting the opportunity to earn feedback for the work that you produce too.
Build Genuine Relationships Within the Industry
Building genuine relationships within the industry is networking beyond just simply asking for an opportunity.
The difference is Asking for an opportunity is sadly as simple as that.
You’re better off just asking somebody else to have a job and hoping that they hire you.
You go through the traditional motions of getting interviewed and having to display and showcase yourself as a person in a process that is continually repeated.
In this route, you are easily replaceable because of that structure.
However, with networking, this is more of an aggressive approach in where you can choose and select the people that you would care to work with.
It becomes more of a dual benefit in a sense that you want to work with another person as much as they want to work with you.
It becomes very empowering too, because you suddenly have the feeling that you are totally in control of the amount of success that you can potentially receive with your work.
Study Trends Without Becoming Dependent on Them
Studying trends without becoming dependent on them helps artists remain competitive.
It’s true because when you think of what artists are expected to do, it’s becoming trend setters in their own way.
There’s not many trends that they are expected to follow and keep up with.
This is where keeping up with the news or what’s the latest and greatest in terms of discussions and topics of interest that the general public would care about could end up being one of the biggest hindrances for an artist.
They’re not expected to be trying to “keep up with the Joneses”.
They’re essentially supposed to be letting them know where they’re supposed to go.
That’s not to say that trends don’t provide any value (or use) to an artist though.
I personally would say that it’s okay to occasionally check on what they are, just in reference.
That’s if where you’re starting at is a point you’re completely unfamiliar with and you don’t know where you were at.
Having it as a reference tool is much different than being dependent in where every time you have to go check on what is new. Especially in discussion.
But understanding them becomes helpful because at that point you are able to play the game of informing, really, and do it well.
Turn Your Personal Brand Into a Recognizable Business
Turning your personal brand into a recognizable business is as simple as making a few improvements into your marketing approaches.
Most people aren’t sure what the difference is between a rapper, and a fully functioning business.
Rappers are typically individuals that are seeking to make the transition from an average individual into a celebrity that can acquire monetary value off who they are internally.
The functioning businesses are usually just structures that’s typically composed of teams of people that serve different purposes to get an entire agenda complete completed.
The marketing typically is more favorable towards the rapper because there’s typically a face behind the brand itself and they’re more recognizable in that capacity.
There’s a voice that you can recognize.
They might have a certain design to their face that is memorable about them, and because of that people tend to like things that they are familiar with.
That’s not to say that businesses don’t do things that are recognizable. It’s just done in a different way.
This is where a color scheme might be a lot more noticeable with a business, or the font that they always use when they’re creating material.
But keeping those points in mind ends up, making the choice of whether you would rather go the route of rapping or joining a business much easier.
Create Multiple Income Streams Beyond Music
If you want to be a step ahead, it’s going to be madly important that you eventually have a goal of making money also outside of only streaming revenue.
This is playing the game as a rapper at a much higher level.
What it’s doing is preparing you as well for the transition to actually becoming a business that can also operate through a storefront potentially.
That’s not to say that you need one to be be successful, but the deeper meaning is that you are creating options for yourself and extending the longevity of your creative ability with making an income.
When you think past only streaming as a way to earn money, you’re gonna find that it opens doors to more lucrative opportunities.
This includes things such as sponsorships, brand deals, merchandising, licensing, and plenty of other things that just expand your ability to monetize.
What’s cool is that you as a person still keep that integrity of who you are as a rapper, and you also expand your brand through getting a hand in other industries.
We see it so many different cases one example that we could go with is the late and great Nipsey Hussle.
He even has the Marathon Burger and that obviously is a tapping into the food industry, which was only an extension of his brand as a rapper and that’s a marathon just to give you an idea of how well that works is also in other industries as well clothing that he has apparel that sells because of just what the marathon is known to be.
Use Data and Audience Feedback to Make Smarter Decisions
Do you know why data and audience feedback actually makes choosing smarter decisions as a rapper possible?
It’s the case because of what feedback has a whole does for any type of entity that counts on consumers to exist.
That’s having ability to increase the rate of improvement.
An example would be if I were to create a dish that I would like to launch and have it be served to a section of the city. My goal is to have it be something that’s relevant and actually valued by the people that lived there, so what I would do is have a taste test available for the people who live there and give them a chance to try the product.
From there I’ll get an idea on if it’s done well. If I get the specific areas on where I can improve on, that’s going to make my actual launch even better.
More accurate too!
Outwork the Competition Through Disciplined Execution
Most people fall short of the work needed to pass up their competition because they lack discipline and the habit of execution.
Being disciplined is the quality that separates the good from the great.
There’s gonna be people that are naturally good at something.
They get results that have them appear to have had experience in whatever it is they’re trying to do.
Thing is though, it has a ceiling because they’re only doing what they have a natural predisposition of doing.
But when we apply it to competition, that’s when turning it into a process becomes critical.
That’s when you’re able to dissect what you’re doing to analyze specifics and hone in on what could be doubled down on.
When you figure out what things you’re particularly good at, you can tweak settings and approaches to really set yourself apart from others that are trying to do the same thing.
Keep Evolving While Protecting Your Core Sound
You have to learn the way to keep evolving while protecting your core sound because we are involved in an ever-changing industry.
With that being music, there’s constantly new sounds being developed and producers that help hone these new talents that emerge to create another pocket for music to thrive.
Because that’s the case, you have to be able to adapt. At its core, that’s what evolving is.
It’s constantly being able to shift and mold your form into what ends up working.
This is separate from following the trend in the fact that you become aware of something that is buzzing and create an approach to make it more unique in your own.
Having this quality will constantly keep you relevant and ultimately an influential figure in the industry that you choose because you are aware of what is actually working.
Final Thoughts
Here’s my 10 steps that you can take to stay ahead in the rap game:
- Master Your Craft Relentlessly
- Develop a unique artistic identity
- Stay Consistent with Releases and Content
- Build Genuine Relationships Within the Industry
- Study Trends Without Becoming Dependent on Them
- Turn Your Personal Brand Into a Recognizable Business
- Create Multiple Income Streams Beyond Music
- Use Data and Audience Feedback to Make Smarter Decisions
- Outwork the Competition Through Disciplined Execution
- Keep Evolving While Protecting Your Core Sound
Combining these tactics will be sure to work. Ultimately it creates a more independent entity. You’re not gonna be as reliant on what someone else is doing because you’re going to be more focused on pushing the bar on what’s actually desired, in this case with the music industry.
