In this solo talk, the speaker addresses two core challenges faced by emerging artists: dealing with online negativity and breaking into local music markets. He argues that social‑media trolls thrive on anonymity and lack of consequence, so responding to them can damage an artist’s public image. He recommends a simple rule of thumb: block, delete, or ignore hostile comments, reserving engagement only for constructive criticism. He also warns against adopting a confrontational tone that could label the artist as “angry” or “disgruntled.” The second part of the talk shifts to geographic strategy. The speaker contends that every city can feel like a “crab‑in‑a‑barrel” market, and if an artist stalls after a couple of years, they should test surrounding cities to determine whether the problem lies with the music or the local scene. He outlines a “perimeter touring” approach—working in nearby towns (e.g., Macon, Columbus, Albany, Augusta, Orangeburg, Columbia, Greenville) before returning to the primary city (e.g., Atlanta) to leverage the momentum gained elsewhere. This method, combined with building a digital following, helps artists diagnose market resistance and grow their fan base more strategically. The overall message is to stay positive, avoid feeding trolls, and use geographic diversification to accelerate career growth.
Chapters
Hi guys, today I want to talk about, um, negativity and haters. And I know that you, just like I, have had to deal with our fair share of this. And the thing that I want to talk about today is trying to stay as positive as you can. There's something about social media, probably because there's no consequence, like somebody is not going to walk up to your face and say you're whack or I hate you or you're full of shit or whatever, you know. They're not gonna— they're not gonna want to risk getting punched in the face. But on social media, people will say shit to you that they would never say to your face because they know that there's no consequence. So how we handle this is what sets the tone. Because remember, when you come back at somebody who has come at you on social media, your fans may not have seen them come at you, but they're going to see your response. You could have hundreds of thousands of followers, and if you're focusing on one or two people that are saying fucked up shit about you your fans are going to see that, and it's going to set a certain tone that you may not be trying to set. And you might become the angry rapper or the disgruntled rapper, or, you know, you could set a tone that's not necessarily representative of who you really are. So my best suggestion is if somebody comes at you sideways, just block them or delete them. There's so many people on social media that troll because they're damaged human beings and they just really want attention. And when you feed into the negativity, it kind of makes them smile because they got the reaction out of you that they were looking for. And if you ignore them and they don't get a reaction, then they're going to go and troll somebody else because they didn't get the reaction they were looking for. And I think that your fans don't necessarily need to see you in a negative light. I'm not saying don't stand up for yourself if somebody attacks you in person. What I'm saying is if somebody's trolling you online, there's just better ways for you to handle it than to get negative and roll around in the mud with them. And I think that, um, we have a president right now who is the king of trolls, and he also does it for attention. And I think that if you become that person, that yes, it'll bring attention to you, but it's negative attention. It's not positive attention. You're trying to build a fan base, and you're trying to show people who you really are, unless of course you're a troll. Um, you're trying to show people who you really are, and you don't necessarily need for them to see you coming back at somebody that was coming at you not with some truth but with some shit because they wanted attention, or they have a mental instability and said something to you that they couldn't control within their own personality. Most of the people that troll don't know you, and they're not making a statement on who you are as a person. They're making a statement based on something you posted that they took out of context, or your lyrics, or something they saw in a video. It's not based in reality. And the best example that I can give you is if I posted under one of your posts, you know, um, hahaha, fuck you, you have you have 3 heads, you're gonna laugh at it because you know you've only got this one head, right? And don't go there. So basically, because it's not true, you're finding it funny. But if I come at you and say you're whack or you're not intelligent or you're stupid or you did something that was crazy, it's your own insecurity that's driving the fuel to anger you because somebody said that, especially if it's somebody you respect. If it's somebody you don't know, you might be able to laugh it off. So what I'm saying is the same rule of thumb that I've been trying to follow. If somebody comes at you sideways and they're being negative, don't engage them. Just block them or delete them or just ignore them because they're not— their opinion is not at the end of the day putting money in your pocket or food on your table. So why even go there and allow your fans to see a side of you that they don't necessarily need to see? So all I'm saying is try to be as positive as possible. Try not to respond to trolls. We've all got haters. And try to differentiate between constructive criticism and hate. Sometimes when somebody offers you an opinion If they're, if they're basing it on fact and they're able to make their point, it may just be constructive criticism. They may not be hating on you. But then there's just a ton of people that just hate for no reason. They want the attention or they're miserable human beings and that's how they get it out, you know, and they're not even worth responding to. So don't. And then the last thing that I want to talk about today is every city is hard to break in when you're a brand new artist or an up-and-coming artist. Every city is hard, and I know that every person that I've ever heard talk about trying to break in their city always says that their city is crabs in a barrel, their city's impossible to break in, it's really hard. Okay, if you really truly believe that your city is that hard and you've tried to do all of the right things to build your career in that city, try another city. Don't keep focusing— if you've put like 2 years into your city and you're not growing, either it's your music or it really is your city. So I'm gonna tell you to go outside of your city, even though everybody tells you you gotta break in your own city. I'm telling you to go outside of your city and try another area and see if that makes it easier. And if you're starting to break in that area, then it is your city. But if you're not breaking in that new area and you're finding it just as difficult, it might be you. I'm just saying. So for my clients, we almost always go outside of their city. Like, if they're based in Houston or Detroit or St. Louis or Chicago or New York, there are just certain areas that are a little bit harder to break than others. Even Atlanta, you know, Atlanta is not easy. I know so many people move here because they think it's easy to get on as a rapper out of Atlanta, but it's not. You know, even with my clients based here, we go outside of Atlanta to break artists and then we come back into the city. Um, Trouble's a great example. Like, we were working Macon and Columbus, Georgia, Albany, Georgia, Augusta, um Orangeburg, uh, Columbia, South Carolina, Greenville, South Carolina. We went all around Atlanta, even into Alabama, and then came back into the city because it was just always easier to break outside of the city. And then when you come back into the city and you're breaking in other places, it helps you to break in that city. And then people in that city say, oh, I've always supported you, when in reality they haven't. But we let them have it because we don't want to start an unnecessary beef with anybody. So we break artists all around the perimeter of Atlanta, and we go, you know, a few hours driving out in every direction. We break the artist, and then we come back into the city of Atlanta. And if you're having difficulty in your area, I suggest you try that as well. So if you're in Raleigh, North Carolina, and you're finding it difficult difficult to get on in Raleigh, then start working in Fayetteville, start working in Charlotte, start— go up into Richmond, Virginia, go into Newport News. Like, start going in areas that surround your city, work those, become bigger and build your fan base accordingly, and then come back into Raleigh. And that's true for any city. So if you do that, you're going to be able to find out, is it you or is it your city? And of course you're working digitally at the same time, so you're building up a digital following as well as a following in real life. You're going to be able to ascertain pretty quickly whether they're rejecting your music or whether your city really is just hard to break. So those are my two advices— advices, is that plural?— for negativity and things when they're not going your way. Try to remain as positive as possible and just shift your vantage point so that it works more in your favor, and don't entertain the negativity on any level. Okay guys, take care.
