An artist’s work is never done, especially when that artist works a full-time job in order to be able to afford the tedious ingredients required to make it in this industry. Everyone wants to succeed as an artist, but do you really know what it takes to make it? I would tell you, but I haven’t made it yet. I can tell you this, though: IT TAKES MONEY TO MAKE MONEY.
There’s no way around it. Money controls the world, and if you can’t make money, you’re better off dead. Artists should be among the first to understand this. Historically speaking, artists have always been screwed out of pay. Why? Because they didn’t understand the business, and the business is designed so that the artist is the first person to pay and the last to get paid. Artists must pay for recording, production, promotion, rhyme books, pens and pencils, weed, liquor, court costs and anything else that allows an artist to even try to prevail. So yeah, money is a pretty big deal.
How can we get this money? Not out of our asses, and if you don’t have rich parents or a lot of generous friends, you gotta get it from somewhere. Selling drugs is worse than minimum wage unless you’re a kingpin, so a 9-5 is necessary. Unfortunately, when you get a job, you’re faced with one of the two main issues regarding a job and a career. Either you’re not making enough to support your career and survive, or your job will not give you enough time (work/life balance, as they call it) for you to make the necessary moves to advance your career. And I bet your job won’t let you listen to instrumentals and freestyle or write rhymes on the job. If your job lets you do that, that’s not a job. That’s a career.
I remember working a third-shift job and having a show to play the same night. My job wouldn’t give me the night off so I wound up doing the show, but having to immediately leave afterward, forcing myself to miss the important opportunity to interact with my new fans and ultimately establish my presence with a lasting effect. That night did damage to my ego, because I was treated with so much acclaim that I was featured in a local paper, but that same night, I was treated like shit at the night job. That’s how it is, though. When you spend more time at your job than at the studio, or on a stage, your pride takes a dive. The worst thing is that it is too easy to get complacent and never see the light at the end of the tunnel, or you do see that light only to find out that it’s an oncoming train.
If you’re truly dedicated to your career, you should not have to work a regular job just to be able to get yourself out there. That’s not how it is, though, and you don’t want to be a leech, so this is seen as the only way unless you have some really good friends, family and/or connections. The time you lose at your job can never be given back, so if you see yourself with a 9-5 trying to build yourself a career, it’s best that you have a plan. Your time is valuable, and you know your worth. Most likely, your job is not giving you what you’re worth, but you have no choice. So what do you do?
Have a plan, take some time to breathe and observe the game, and treat every move like it could be your last.
