"
Your Favorite Rapper is Poor", the best RefinedHype series that doesn't involve booty just keeps getting better. Fresh off recruiting Kandid McFly to
help explain the financial world of an indie rapper, per RefinedHype nations' request we linked up with up-and-coming producer
Curtiss King, he of "
Jet Pack on E" fame, to talk about life, and bank accounts, for those who put in work behind the boards,
RefinedHype: Your song "
Freebie" is a great place to start. Is the expectation when you're first starting out that all your beats are free?
Curtiss King: In the beginning, yes, that's the expectation. A lot of people start off within their own circle, with their friends, their rap group, whatever, but everyone starts pretty humbly. Actually, a lot of people will befriend you just hoping that they get that free production.
RefinedHype: How do you handle that?
Curtiss King:: For me I always saw production as a top priority. A rapper just has their lyrics, but production is what will make or break a record. You could have the best lyrics in the world, but if the production doesn't correlate with the mood or the tone of the lyrics, you've got nothing. I've always felt like production should be paid for, but a lot of artists nowadays, because everything's so accessible, because a friend of a friend has a copy of Fruity Loops, they feel like they don't need to pay for anything because they can get it themselves.
RefinedHype: So has that increased access to production tools hurt you?
Curtiss King:: It's a give or take. Everyone has access, but production's not for everybody. Within a year of starting to rap I started to produce because I couldn't afford beats, so I've been producing almost as long as I've been rapping.
True, the markets flooded with producers, but on the other hand, that just makes professionals stand out. Not everyone knows about mixing a beat, about how to distribute a beat. It's more than just putting kicks and snares together, so if you can do those things, you look so much better in comparison.
RefinedHype: So you feel like quality ultimately wins out?
Curtiss King:: Artists will settle for mediocre production until they find someone whose interested in investing in them, and then the first thing they'll hear is, "Your production won't suffice." Eventually, somewhere along the line, someone's going to have the sense to pay for quality production.
RefinedHype: No one would ever go into a store and say yo, let me get that jacket for free, but they seem to have no problem expecting beats to be free. How do you battle the perception that creative work is valuable and a commodity that should be paid for?
Curtiss King:: On the come up I would always have that problem. In this business a lot of people don't give you that respect. For instance, I have my first placement on an album that's going in stores, on the Glasses Malone and Mack 10 project coming up. That was one thing that started making people say, when I approach him, I'm going to approach him from a business aspect.
More importantly, I really started my own style and branded myself as a business. Like what separates one toothpaste company from another? They might say, this many doctors say our toothpaste is better, whatever the case is, so I try to make sure I have a unique style. People should know my drops, know my percussion. A lot of my beats go from super energetic to super soulful, so that's something people will always recognize.
So one, put yourself out there and earn professional respect, and two, do something so unique that an artist hears it and says, "Damn, I need that sound, and I'll pay for it."
RefinedHype: How did you get that placement on the Glasses Malone album? I'm sure a lot of aspiring producers are reading this and asking how they can follow in your footsteps.
Curtiss King: To say the truth, it happened by chance almost. I saw a couple of reps for Glasses Malone looking for beats on Twitter. Usually I'm pretty skeptical cause you never know - sometimes you'll send a beat in and the next thing you know it gets used with no production credit, or gets lost - but one of his A&Rs asked for producers to send in beats. I sent some in, they contacted me and wanted to use a couple beats, but they never ended up using them and we lost contact. I ended up coming across that A&R again on Twitter and now he asked me to send beats to his personal email.
So establishing relationships is money, because the industry is so small your name will not be forgotten, especially if your music is quality. Find the people who can make decisions and follow up with them, get that relationship.
RefinedHype: So when your beat gets picked up, what's usually the payment process? Is it a flat fee? Do you get points on the album?
Curtiss King: It really depends on your status. For placements you can expect a flat fee more than likely, especially if you're going in without any representation, without any management, for a good amount of money, and that's what happened with this project. But I consider this an investment, even though I don't get points, because you'll build a relationship with that camp, or people from the outside will address you in a different way and offer your points the next time.
RefinedHype: On the flip side, I've seen a lot of situations where labels tried to buy an artist off with points, which is like buying a lottery ticket...we won't pay you now, but if this record really takes off you'll be rich! Of course, only one in a thousand records take off, so most people in those situations never see a dime.
Curtiss King: Plus you don't know how hard they're really going to push that project, so oftentimes, depending on your situation, it's better to take that flat fee. For my current financial situation, that flat fee was beautiful.
RefinedHype: What are some other ways you piece together work to pay the bills?
Curtiss King: I heard a quote when I first started making music, and it didn't have anything to do with music. It was actually at church, and a guest pastor came in and said, "The fastest way to get to your goals is to help somebody to reach theirs." I took that quote and really applied it. I learned Photoshop, I learned video editing, as many things as I could that would make me someone that you had to come into contact with. If you came into my studio and didn't like any of the production, I could still make you an album cover. In terms of my hustle, I try to make it so I have so many ways I could help you I can get some income somewhere.
RefinedHype: You can't just do one thing anymore, and that applies to rappers, producers, journalists, everyone.
Curtiss King: You're expected to be a modern day Renaissance man in a lot of way creatively.
Thanks to Curtiss for taking the time to break down an up-and-coming producer's grind, go get that "Jet Pack on E" and keep it locked for an upcoming interview with Buckshot, co-founder of indie label
Duck Down Records.
