WagooMusic

The Beatles have the most number one songs on the Billboard Charts (20), followed by Mariah Carey (18), and then Elvis Presley (17). This is a fact.

LeAnn Rimes’ “How do I Live” stayed on the Billboard charts sixty nine weeks. This is a fact.

The song “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men stayed on the top of the Billboard charts for sixteen weeks. This is the longest time a song has spent on the top spot. This is a fact.

James Brown had ninety nine songs on the hot 100 Billboard Charts but never had one to reach the top spot. This is also a fact.

Another fact? Record labels hire people who have real world experience. How is this related with anything we said before? Not much. The previous facts just seem to surprise people, and that is the same exact reaction an applicant gets when he discovers that despite studying music in school, a record label would not hire him. How come? because, again, record labels hire people who have real world experience– that is, genuine hip hop music internship.

What does that mean? It means, you have to buff up your resume with things that you have actually done. The fact that you have gone to school says you have learned something in theory. Record labels need to know that you are able to translate those theories into real work, real output, real effort, real outcome. This is especially true for people in the hip hop industry. Everybody knows of those stories about hip hop artists who struggled just to get to where they are. these guys are not impressed with school; they have obviously done well without it. what they are impressed with is real life experience. If they know you have got what it takes to work for them, and you know the ins and outs of the music industry, then you are most likely to be hired.

So how do you get “real life” experience? Simple. you rely on good, old school, hip hop music internship. If you have no idea what this means, it simply means, you get to work on a real project with real people. Some internship programs pay you for your services, some do not. The best thing about this is that you get to have real life learning; you learn how the industry operates, even on just the internship scene.

You get assigned to do tasks that ultimately affect the result or outcome of the project. you may start working on a CD, you may be assigned to start negotiating with clients or suppliers, you may be assigned to get into the marketing and promotions aspect of the business. The possibilities are endless, and it seems like hip hop music internship is the one and only way to get a head start in the current music industry.

So if you want to land a job in the hip hop music scene, go online and search for companies that are willing to offer you hip hop music internship. This will be your ticket to land your dream job.

March 04, 2011 08:50 AM

The cream always rises to the top, so they say. In the music marketplace, where marketing and airplay dictate how artistry is exposed and consumed, the cream’s ascent is a bit more complicated. the popularity of Fela Kuti, the Nigerian artist who created the Afrobeat genre and invigorated the world music scene with his blend of jazz, funk and Yoruba music, exemplifies how a great thing can go relatively unnoticed by a wide audience.

From the late 1960s until his death in 1997, Kuti was slowly building a name for himself not only as a musical innovator but as a political activist. His critically-praised music often integrated his anti-colonial and anti-corruption ideals. There was a lot to admire about Fela. But unfortunately, unlike his peer Bob Marley, Kuti’s message and music never really caught on in the United States, until recently that is.  In 2009, the musical Fela! hit Broadway and ignited major interest in the life and music of the man who was known as the  “James Brown of Africa.”

“The Broadway show is such a watershed,” said Maurice Bernstein, co-founder and CEO of Giant Step, a marketing and promotion company which has worked on marketing efforts for Kuti’s music for over a decade. He describes his popularity in terms of BC and AD (before the play and after the play).  According to Bernstein, before the play, those who were familiar with Fela’s music were world music fans and deep house fans who were part of the underground dance clubs.  “You had select celebs like Flea who really knew who Fela Kuti was. Outside of that, you said his name, and it would just be a blank,” he said. “You’re talking about one of the greatest musicians and one of the greatest body of works and you’d literally draw a blank from people.”

Kuti’s 8-minute-plus long songs certainly did not help him get airplay. the length of the songs rendered him unfriendly to radio deejays so his popularity essentially flourished amongst niches of music enthusiasts. “His music and message have been passed on through word of mouth from friend to friend, brother to sister, teacher to student,” said Manuel Pila, a co-host of world music radio show Global Gumbo. “Fela has become part of the Essentials. As such, he has been prominent in that culturally aware crowd for at least a couple of decades. Folks in the know will always know. the world’s musicians, dancers, artists, activists, writers, and students will always seek out the great Ones, the Ellas and Billies and, yes, the Felas.”

Alongside the debut of the Broadway play, Knitting Factory Records also announced in 2009 that it would be re-releasing Kuti’s complete catalogue of 45 albums over 12 years. Bernstein’s company Giant Step organized “Felabrations” across the country to promote the relaunch of his musical catalogue.  although these re-issues will probably constitute Kuti’s best selling albums in the United States to date, this is not the first time that there was a large reproduction of the prolific artist’s music. Over 10 years ago, MCA (now Universal) re-issued his catalogue.

“The reissue of a lot of his vinyls back in 1999 helped get some of the younger deejay generation into Fela’s music because before that, his records were very hard to come by,” said Bernstein. “That original reissue didn’t set the billboard charts on fire with sales but it got the stuff to more of the next generation of [the] underground.”

1: what is Brian Eno considered the father of?
dance music
trance music
ambient music
none of the above

2: The name of the deck of cards that offers musicians, engineers and producers suggestions on how to write or play a piece of music is:
obtuse angles
oblique strategies
obtuse stragegies
angular ideas

3: which famous piano player is also associated with the origin of ambient music?
Art Tatum
Thelonious Monk
Horrace Silver
Erik Satie

4: which style of ambient music is more closely associated with nature?
organic
isolationist
spiritual
none of the above

5: The genre of music that draws freely from religious traditions around the world with very little deference to the clarity of the traditions' histories is:
flamenco
new age
hymnal
rock

6: what was the famous John Lennon quote from 1966 that caused many people to burn their Beatles albums?
"The Beatles are more popular than Jesus"
"all you need is Love"
"I am the Walrus"
None of the above

7: which genre of music had a heavy influence on the Rolling Stones?
blues
gypsy rock
Indian Classical
funk

8: which of the following is the most common name given to James Brown?
Soul Brother Number one
Mr. Dynamite
The Godfather of Soul
Universal James

9: which of the following genres is characterized by its syncopated rhythms and razor-sharp rhythm guitars?
soul
blues
funk
rock

10: which of the following musicans/bands originated in New Orleans?
James Brown
Funkadelic
The Meters
Parlimant

11: what stye of music is the combination of rhythm & blues and gospel music?
funk
hip-hop
jazz
soul

12: which of the following sub-genres is associated with White artists performing "Black" music?
Motown
Philadelphia Soul
Blue-eyed Soul
Neo Soul

13: which of the following statements are TRUE?
Ray Charles was never blind.
Ray Charles began going blind at age five and was totally blind by age seven.
Ray Charles went totally blind when he turned 60.
Ray Charles was born blind.

14: The soul singer who is known as "The Queen of Soul" and "Lady Soul" is:
Ray Charles
Diana Ross
Beyonce
Aretha Franklin

15: The Soul singer who later became a Reverend after a near-death experience is:
Miles Davis
Al Green
Luther Vandross
none of the above

16: what styles of music merged together to form The Nashville Sound?
pop and country
jazz and country
pop and jazz
none of the above

17: Patsy Cline began her singing career in:
a traveling carnival
a Baptist Church choir
a house band in a small town bar
none of the above

18: which of the following singers was known as a "smooth crooner"?
Patsy Cline
Chet Atkins
Eddy Arnold
all of the above

19: The punk band that incorporated reggae and rockabilly into their sound was:
The Ramones
The Talking Heads
The Clash
Green Day

20: The roots of Christian Punk music can be found in:
Church talent shows during the late 1970's.
The Jesus Movement
Marketing ploy by CCM magazine
none of the above