Be Original | Wendy Day

Hi guys, how are you today? I wanted to talk about originality. Um, it's so important in the music industry and it just seems to be kind of lacking these days. Um, I spent the past couple of days looking on SoundCloud and YouTube at some of the newer artists to see like what people were working on and what kind of sound, you know, is the tempo speeding up, is it slowing down? And I noticed that there are a lot of artists right now posting music that sound like other artists. And I realize that this is not necessarily a um, popular topic because Desiigner just came out and made a huge impact by usurping the sound of Future. So he was able to sort of clone that sound and do well with a single. And the downside of doing that is that originality is what attracts fans first and foremost. Yes, you could have a one-time single that does pretty well, but wouldn't you rather have a career as a recording artist than just one hot single? I know that I would. Um, but in going through this, this dearth of music on the internet, I realized how many people, like, have taken Chance the Rapper's sound and run with it. It's kind of amazing to me how many clones there are out here who are doing things a little bit differently than he is, but it's obvious that he is the inspiration. And in order to build a successful career, you don't really want to sound like something that already exists You want to have your own sound and your own lane, as it were. You know, you can sound similar to somebody, but not so similar that it looks like you've completely jacked their style or their sound. And I know a lot of times, for those of you that speak to people at labels, I know a lot of times they will ask for the next Jay-Z or the next Beyoncé or the next Rihanna or the next Future or the next Chance the Rapper or the next whatever. And I think by that they don't necessarily mean the sound of the artist, but the impact of the artist. And I wish that they would say that because I've noticed that a artists that don't quite have their own sound yet will kind of gravitate towards somebody else's sound who's successful, thinking that that's what fans want. And I believe that what fans want is for your music to sound different and special, and you can't do that if you're completely jacking somebody else's style. This also is true for producers because I noticed a lot of beats that I've heard lately will have the signature sound of, say, another producer who's a little more successful. And I don't know whether the newer producer is doing that because he's trying to fake people out into thinking that he's like the mini successful producer, or if he just thinks that that sound is cool so he's put it into his own music. Um, but it's kind of— but, you know, as a producer, you want your own sound. You don't want to sound like Dr. Dre or Metro Boomin or Drumma Boy or Mustard on the track or Mike Will Made It. You want to have your own sound, and you want to build your own sound. And that's what makes a producer successful. If you look at all of the guys and gals who have produced that are successful, they didn't become successful by biting somebody else's sound before them. They became successful by finding a new sound and sharing it to the world, and the world embraced it. And if you don't know what your sound is yet, there's nothing wrong with making a whole bunch of different music and seeing what your followers like and what your fan base likes and what they react to, right? Um, try that, see how— see how that works for you. Um, in terms of getting better at your craft, you're going to have to spend some time around other people who do what you do for a living. So if you're a rapper, you're going to want to rap with other rappers, especially ones that are better than you, so that you can up your game. Um, if you're somebody who doesn't make great hooks, you might want to spend time with someone who does so that you can learn how to write better hooks for your songs. 'Cause hooks are important. Hooks are very often what makes or breaks a hit record, right? If you're a producer, you might want to spend time with other producers that have been doing this longer, that have a skill set that you might not have yet. I know when I was working with David Banner, I introduced him to KLC from Beats by the Pound, and they were able to spend time together. And Banner was able to become a better producer for having spent time with, um, with KLC. And I just think that all artists, to get better at what you do, you've got to come out of your comfort zone, which is working alone, and start working with other people so that you can learn from them and so that they can learn from you. Sometimes you know, we get in our own world when we work alone and we work within our own four walls and we start hitting that glass ceiling because we can't get better at what we do on our own. We really need to have other people around us to help us, um, grow, you know. And I think that with the internet, we can interact with artists from all over the world. It doesn't have to be— if you're in Boise Idaho, it doesn't mean you have to interact with other artists in Boise, Idaho. You can interact with people from all over the place. You know, you can meet people on Reddit, you can meet people on your social media, you can meet people on Facebook. You can really get to know people that are great at what they do just by starting a conversation with them, you know. And that's the joy of the internet, is it makes meeting people very easy. You just have to again come out of your comfort zone. Um, I know for me I'm a little bit introverted, so doing these videos, for example, is not easy for me. I'm sitting here in the crib talking to a screen, and it's not easy. It's much easier for me to answer questions, like when I do the, the Wednesday night, um, Live with Wendy Day. It's so much easier because you guys feed me questions and then I can just answer. I don't have to pick a topic and then sit in front of my laptop and just, you know, yammer about it. I get feedback. The question usually leads to another question, and that answer leads to another question, and then that answer leads to something else, and it creates a whole conversation. So I guess what I'm telling you guys is to come out of your comfort zone and get to know other people that are doing what you're doing, especially ones that are better at it than you are, because the only way you're gonna get better at your craft is to be challenged and, um, tested, you know, by other people. So don't be shy. This is your career, this is your life, this is your love, your passion, you know. Show it the same respect that you would for anything else that you want to succeed at. And be original, you know, make music that's inside of you and that you feel is your best shot at pleasing your fan base, and then test it. See how people react to it. If they're not reacting to it, then you're going to have to change it a little bit. Um, there's an artist that I know in New Orleans who is an amazing rapper, and he's really good at rhyming over a beat, and a lot of his music just sounds like he's some dude rhyming over a beat. He's not really making songs. And for the past 2 years, he's really pushed himself to come out of his comfort zone, and now he's making music that's a little bit more melodic and a little bit more soulful. And he still is able to show his skill as a rapper, but he's not locked into just straight rapping over a beat that's not as interesting for a fan to listen to. You know, we all know if you're skilled or not, and it's wonderful if you're skilled and you're showing your skill, but you also have to be great at making songs too, because at the end of the day, you know, that's how you make money in this industry. You don't make money from impressing people with your ability to rhyme or your skill as a battle rapper or your freestyling skills. You make money based on people wanting to own what you create, meaning your songs. If people want to go to the club and dance to your song, they're going to pay to come see you live so they can dance to your music, right? So it's important to reach people with the type of music they want to hear. And by blatantly jacking another artist's style or jacking a track that belongs to somebody else you're not doing yourself justice. You're kind of becoming a little mini them, and there's just no— there's no market in that, you know. I, I hope Desiigner has a long career. I hope I watch this video a year from now and laugh at myself because I said that, you know, he's only really had one song. And I hope that he has a very long and glorious career. You know, but I just— there's already a future. I just don't see a future for a Mini Future. My opinion. We'll see what happens. Okay guys, thanks for tuning in and stay creative and stay original. Talk to you soon. Bye.