flyerpromonow magazine - columbus

ALSO INSIDE:

Q Starks Q Starks Q Starks 365 365 365 Tookie Time Tookie Time Tookie Time V.I.S.AV.I.S.AV.I.S.A

ALLNEW

Ashley Rucker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Tee Muscogee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

All Graphics & Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Big Kane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Devan on the Beat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Lil D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

DKeezy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Beauty of the Month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Tookie Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Zo Da D.O.S.E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

365 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

CD Duplications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Digital Mindz Printing & Graphics. . . . . . . . . . 21

Gr8 Trakz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

V.I.S.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Q Starks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

CD Duplications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Digital Mindz Printing & Graphics. . . . . . . . . . 21

PG 14

Q Starks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Q Starks

PG 13PG 13

Ashley Rucker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

CONTENTSNOW COLUMBUS - 5th Edition | April | 2011

PG 26

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CREDITSEDITOR-IN-CHIEF / MERT

EDITORS / ASHLEY RUCKER

OPERATIONS MANAGERS / ASHLEY RUCKER

SALES/MARKETING MANAGER / ASHLEY RUCKER

PHOTOGRAPHER / PATRICK ALBRIGHT

COVER PHOTO / PATRICK ALBRIGHT

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BEAUTY OF THE MONTH PHOTO / AMANDA SERDA

PROMOTION TEAM / EBE ENTERTAINMENT

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, so I done got a lot of questions about like, why I haven’t put something in the magazine about myself in the past, like an article about myself in any of the magazines before to tell my story about what the magazine means to me and all.

So, I have decided to sit down, type, and let the people of Columbus and the Tri-City Area know a little bit about me and what this magazine means to me.

I guess to do this, I would have to let the city know that, I have always wanted to put artists on… especially from my city…and in the past I tried to fi nd ways to do that…at fi rst I got a little taste of what it was like to manage artists in Atlanta and found it more challenging fi nancially because you want to give your all to them but you can only work with so many artists before you spread yourself too far. I was only working with two, shot out to Yung Face and Joe Green out of Atlanta, and found it hard work cause it’s just so diffi cult there, with all the competition Atlanta has to offer…but when I got this opportunity from June and Doc of the Atlanta Edition I was pumped! But again, at the time I was living in Atlanta and having to travel several times back and forth during the week to get it together and it just was not going how I had envisioned it…I kinda wanted more people of the city in it since it was a magazine about the city, you know, like more articles and such but I couldn’t do it how I wanted to because of where I was living.

And then at the time I was doing Open Mics at 1244 and had never done it, I was never a promoter, but I had regulars that I need to give a shot out to…like First Ladies, C- Hodge, AKT, Beezy, Truth, and several others… But um, and I was in school trying to get another degree in business. I have a Finance degree from Columbus State, and was pursuing an Accounting degree at Georgia State in Atlanta, and managing artists and so…I was just doing too much.

But this past September my Dad really needed my help in his offi ce, cause he’s a physician here and works very hard, so I decided to leave Atlanta and help my folks out. I had initially left the magazine in August when school started back up at Georgia State because I just couldn’t do as much as I felt I needed to do for my partner Big Bizniz and so we agreed to let him takeover.

But when I came back I noticed it was not circulating anymore, and I felt like that was a sign of failure for us. But then June called me in like the beginning of February 11’ to ask me to pick it up again and at fi rst I thought about it and I remembered the hard work it took, but I also realized that I was not in Atlanta anymore, so I could concentrate on it better. And I debated with myself because I only had the offi ce to take care of, and this. But I also wondered if the city would give me a second chance too….

Many folks here want to see you fail and I hate that because it is just not the case in Atlanta. I will say that. People are more supportive of everybody in the industry since it is technically the “home” of the south and I like that energy. But honestly, I think this city and the surrounding area has the potential to really take off and I hope we do but we do gotta come together and stop being so…cliquish. Even if you done made mistakes I still feel like amending them between each other is a must. Like, I know Melinda was unpleased about when her magazine came out and I remember even with

our fi rst magazine, VA took a gamble and didn’t know when the fi rst one was gonna drop but really there was nothing I could do but cross my fi ngers and pray.

Now, personally, I like how this one is taking off. I’m excited at the overwhelming response from ALL the people in the magazine and those interested in it for the next issues to come and it made me feel good, great actually. As an owner of any business, you know you worry about its success, and I must say that I was worried because I wanted it to be perfect. I’m just somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes down to something that has your name on it, if you can…can feel me on that so…as the Editor in Chief of this one I just want yall to sit back and read what every person has to say. I found that many are shedding light to why Columbus as a whole…ain’t…just ain’t taking off like I know we can. And I hope people truly don’t get offended by what many have to say. I know personally, that many are not targeting others like that, they just want to be real and tell they story so…

Oh, and honestly I believe that so many artists from Columbus got that raw talent. It’s not oversaturated with the trends and people are just unique about they craft…I’m excited about working with future artists and businesses, and I’m excited about the fact that Columbus has a new…a new outlet to be seen AND heard in…..and if I left anything out I’m sorry I just wanted to make my article short and sweet…spent many hours typing up interviews, trying to get the stories out of the features and personally I just couldn’t cut the mic off….so all of these interviews are worth the read. As Editor in Chief of this one, I apologize about any mistakes made if there are some, which I hope NOT!! But, um….that’s it. So enjoy. Yalls love keeps me going so...know that if nothing more.

COLUMBUS, GA - www.flyerpromonow.COM | 1

adopted father, Sgt. Edward Moore used to tell me constantly, “Move forward young

man!” And I mean repeatedly before he passed away in 2008. I was going through the trials and tribulations of a typical young black male in the hood as he beat this advice in my head. Now we are on the brink of summer in 2011 and I am just now getting that statement. Thanks Dad!

No matter what happens in your life, you must move forward. Time is ticking. It is not going to wait on you. When my longtime friend Ashley Rucker called me out of the blue one morning inquiring about her magazine, Flyer Promo Now (Columbus Edition), her intentions were to sell me a 2 page spread in the April Issue. By the end of the day, I was her business partner in the whole operation. Move forward. Never take crumbs. Bake a whole cake. That was my take on the situation.

It’s like my entire life I was groomed for this moment. Raised solely by mother Dorothy Bynam, she instilled education in me. I had perfect attendance throughout my whole school career, K-12. Seriously! I won writer of the year several times. I graduated with Honors from Columbus High School then went on to the highly acclaimed Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.

I became a promising entrepreneur while a student. Trying several endeavors one stuck with me, the music industry. I’ve managed, produced, and song wrote for several projects. I’ve been blessed to be in meetings with many celebrities, DJs, and Record Label Execs.

My music career started with a local hit entitled “Who Da Crunkest?” back in 2004. I also won a Dead Serious TV Award for Most Featured Artist in Georgia

in 2005. In 2006, I came with “We Came to Get You Crunk” feat. Flowjack Family, “For Da Haters” feat. JR, many songs with Dirdie Berg along with dozens of other artists. I would like to thank Ole Blac Blu, CEO of SOA Entertainment for his guidance in my early stages. Also, I want to thank all of the DJs; Michael Soul, DJ 00Kee, DJ Fresh, DJ 03, and JB for spinning the sh*t out of Tee Muscogee. My upcoming singles for 2011 include “Looking For That Model,” “Ey!” and “She Getting It!.” Look out!

My involvement with Flyer Promo Now is perfect. Considering I am a part of a fl ourishing Columbus music scene where I came up with acclaimed artists such as Flowjack Family, Dirdie Berg, Big D, JR, Bo Hagon, Deep Wudz, Dkeezy aka DK (Bases Loaded), JB and the Supershop Boyz and a host of other artists from the Columbus Metropolitan area, Although different artists in our own right, we all share one common characteristic. The will to move forward.

In 2011 and beyond, Ashley and I along with the staff of Flyer Promo Now Columbus plan to bring forth the best media in the entertainment industry of our area. Providing avenues for aspiring artists and models to show case their background and vision to the fans of the movement. We will be bringing the Producers’ Corner hosted by DK, local and national song/album reviews, contests, parties, and showcases. So Columbus get ready for new Flyer Promo Now Magazine. And remember, learn from yesterday, plan for tomorrow, and live for today. Move forward! O Let’s do it!

- Travolta “ ” BynamCo-owner, Flyer Promo Now Magazine

Columbus Edition

2 | www.flyerpromonow.COM - COLUMBUS, GA

BIGBIGBIGBIGBIGBIGBIGBIGBIGBIGBIGBIGBIGBIGBIGBIGBIGBIGKANE

coming. I even did a lot of things with T.I. before he was TIP…even when he lost his deal, when the whole PSC thang jumped off, he had a lot of shows and he was throwing a lot of stuff so he was letting us really, you know, open up and I got a chance to be in his events. Not necessarily saying I know him personally, but as he was coming up, a lot events that was in Atlanta, Big Kane was a part of.

So what became some of the big challenges…The biggest challenge was coming up with an image for myself cause I was so street and then another challenge was coming from Columbus, GA. You know, tryna get on, you got a thousand people that are doing the same thing you doing so basically you gotta deal with hate and the radio stations not getting behind artists, I mean, you got radio stations wanting to be artists, so if you didn’t make the music they wanted you to make, you wasn’t gonna get no play so that was another way to cut you off from exposure. And that’s what a lot of artists in Columbus, GA deal with now.

So you’re saying a lot of artist now have that ability to become something but people at the head areas like radio would stop…

I’ma correct that...because, you know, people will take that and get it twisted. A lot of artist got the talent, a lot may have the drive, but a lot of artist don’t have the outlets and the power to really make

Ashley: King Kane where did you get your name from?

Big Kane: Well my name is really Big Kane and I got my name from my Uncle and his name is Oscar Person…they call him Uncle J…and one day I used to try to be cool and stuff and so I used to come to his house, you know, with a cane…I was pulling the Biggie off and he said, “I know what I’ma call you, I’ma call you Big Kane.” So from Big Kane comes King Kane. And King Kane is another side.

You say King Kane is another side to you, what side is that?

King Kane is really the streets. Where I come from. You put in so much work, not necessarily negative stuff, good stuff, positive stuff…that when you call yourself the King a lot of people question you so, King Kane became a great title for me because it gave me another persona.

And why do you think people didn’t question you about King Kane?

I don’t know…I guess because when I had a lot of things going on…I didn’t act like I was all that. I catered to the people…so a lot of people went from…ok he’s just tryna do something to we want to see him win. I got a lot of love.

You said you were doing a lot of things…What was you doing?

Ok back in 98’ I signed a little record deal with Houliganz Entertainment that was based out of Atlanta. I got a chance to open up for a lot of artists that’s big and some that’s not like Lyrical Giants aka Bone Crusher. I got to deal with Bohagon, I got to deal with the Young Bloods, I got to deal with Pastor Troy, I got to deal with a lot of ATL up and


themselves known. So like I said I don’t wanna get it twisted, I don’t wanna say that the radio has done this and that but the radio, I can say, don’t use their power and don’t use their outlets to get artists on. But me I been going through all types of obstacles. I joined the group Trap Brothers. And Mo Arson, that’s my brother, he always told me, ”the love will out weight the hate”…He’s been a C-Town legend and he’s been another artist that’s been going on for so long, got a good name, but really never went to the next level.

Ok, what would you suggest on how to get to the next level?

Well when I go to other areas and places, they are more together. But the first thing we have to do is get unified. Ok I can’t say that I like DK music, I can’t say that I like Big D music, and I like this guy music…. I gotta deal with everybody. And if I feel like everybody got a talent I gotta take it upon myself to get SOMEBODY on. And if I’m just having my pick and chooses, there are a lot of jams that I’ma overlook . I mean I can take you to places that you probably don’t even wanna go in but it’s where some of the hottest artists are, that’s where you need to be. And second of all, what we need to do, we gotta have, and I can’t stress this enough, we gotta have more push from the people in higher areas. For example, and if I say it wrong I’m sorry but, Michael Long. Michael Long was the reason that the Dirty Boys got signed. See Michael Long heard some music that he liked, they had an image, and he personally walked them to the labels. I can’t say that about most of the people in high spots because I haven’t heard no body that got no body on. And another thing that can take us to the next level, we got artist that got great music, great production and great skills and great appearance and got enough to do this but we gotta get the same outlets that you do for the major cities. Like I said, we got two radio stations in Columbus. But I tell you it’s not really gonna work if BOTH stations don’t support the movement…Like when you mention Big Kane, unless they bitter, I gave a lot of people a chance to open they self up when nobody really wanted to hear them. Yet nobody would let me rap in the clubs, I had to buy clubs So, I had to learn the politics of what to do. So really, my blessings came out the game. I gotta chance to help a lot of people. You know, and I enjoy helping people. Now what separates me from a lot of artists is I know my worth. I said entertainment is something I wanna do for the rest of my life. I never got the chance to get no record deal but I made an opportunity by being an executive. So I took it upon myself to learn the music ground up. There are a couple of groups I wanna work with personally.

Ok and who are those artists that you wanna work with?

I really got my eye on them 365 guys. Those guys

right there, they remind me of Big Kane. They do what they gotta do but they really just wanna rap. They love the music. Like I said, there are a lot of cats, like Zo Da Dose, the Riverside Boys, I could go on and on. But the scene, when we was coming, you know, you had to really rap. When the Trap Brothers were out the, the Flo Jack boys, and the Scoundrels Squad, Deep Woods, Sons of Maniacs, JR, DK…now everything I hear is the same thing.

I got a question, what do you think it would take to get majors down here, to come from Atlanta?

It’s gone take the whole city to get behind one person. See when you go to Atlanta and other places they have the whole city behind them. So when the majors looked at em, they are already saying, “well damn I go to these shows and I never heard of no Gorilla Zoe, “ and he’s packing out the place and the people loving him. See, the labels is quick to make a decision to sign him. But in my city, my city is the hardest market to break.

I agree with you completely.Yeah and one cannot do it on they own…now I can give it to DK. Because the city got behind DK. Now I don’t know what happened with his business aspects but I saw that one time in DK. DK was so close to the nationals…he was suppose to sign with Atlantic Records and I don’t know what happened with that deal, but, he was so close. And it got to the point where even though you was an artist you can’t hate on that. You was hoping that he could get it. He could get em to look down here and find out that it ain’t just DK. And when that didn’t happen, it went back to how it used to be….certain people get certain things going on and it’s all about money…not saying that you have to pay people or anything like that, cause I wanna keep everything clear. I’m just gone speak the truth. And the depressing part of it all is that over these years…nothing has changed.

Now what is EBE Entertainment?EBE stands for Every Body Eats Entertainment. Its licensed and copyrighted. We pay taxes, just in case the IRS is reading….see my company is not funded with drug money (it’s a respectable brand). That’s a lot of stereotypes that I get. The year 09’ was Big Kane’s year. I had the biggest Saturday nights going and it only took me about 4 or 5 months to really get it going and but the club owner, Travis Steele, I’ll say his name, and Mr. B, they came to me and said, “We want our club back.” So to all the people that were wondering what happened to Lavish Nites Saturday Nites, the club owner told me that I had made too much money. So promoters watch the owners and get a contract cause you don’t own the club and at anytime you can be booted out. And I mean, literally kicked out.

if you could fill in the blank, without music and entertainment I would be ________________.

Big Kane: I’d be in prison or dead.COLUMBUS, GA - www.flyerpromonow.COM | 5| 5

Ashley: So, Devan, where did you get your stage name from?

DOB: Well, I make beats, I rap on the beats, I dance on the beats, I do it ALL on the BEAT!

How would you describe your music and lyrics to a person that’s never seen or heard you before?

Amazing, something totally different. I can do it all. It doesn’t matter what it is. I can work with anybody. You can put me in a room with Nickel Back and I will be able to produce a great song.

Growing up, what artists did you listen to and how does their music differ from the music you listen to now?

Tupac, Biggie, Michael. Today it’s not the same. You can play their records right now and still ride. But you play some stuff now and after 6 months its obsolete…It’s like this…I won’t want to hear it a year from now so I can’t call it a hit. It’s a “seasonal” hit.

So how do you feel about certain types of hip hop music? Like swag music or futuristic music? Do you think the dirty south is cutting their music short?

It changes the music to the point where you just have, like I said, a seasonal hit. But sometimes I feel like that’s what they are looking for right now. They want to make a little bit of money off it. But then again as long as you ARE making money off of what you are doing it’s 100. I love it, so I support you.But sometimes it’s like the talented aren’t making money off of theirs. What do you have to say about that?

Well today it’s 90% business and 10% talent. If you DON’T have your business right then you will never go anywhere. For the people who got good music but are sitting in a hole and not making money off of it, I’m not NOT going to salute you, I just suggest you fi nd a person that can help you. You just can’t sit around and rap in your basement and think you are going to get on cause someone’s going to walk in your building.

So what led you to pursue a career in music? From what I understand you started the game off by dancing…

Dk really introduced me. I had never touched the booth but when I did I fell in love with it. After this one rhyme I would always spit, I learned to

Devan


start writing and from then on I always kept a pad in my hand.

If you could make up one sentence that

explains you and your music what would that

slogan be?“Everything I do I conquer.”

How do you feel about artist that write about the same thing over and over again….for example Jeezy compared to his counterpart Gucci Mane? Not trying to get you to pick sides or anything. It’s just a good example…

Well people who talk about different things spawn longevity. When you look at Gucci Mane or Lil Wayne they are featured on so many other artists tracks that you begin to see their own true swag come out. Those that tend to stick to the same topic will fi nd their audience bored. And that’s all I have to say about that.

What has been one of your major challenges?

Well I have had one guy come up to me with a guitar and he told me I want to play something. So we hooked up the guitar and he started playing and I produced a beat around it. It was shocking! It was a great moment and experience for me.

If you could change something about this industry what would it be?

I would change the way artists look at music and approach music. When you in the booth, artist think “Ok, this is what they want me to say” but really it should be all about what you do and what you want to say. Do what fi ts you. At the end of the day, they rap about stuff that they don’t do at all.

Why do you think people do that in this industry?

They think it will help them out when really it’s going to hurt them in the end. Because someone will try them and if they don’t personally know what they have written about, it shows.

Have you had any wild and crazy moments being in this industry?

Well, really with women. I have had a girl…actually want to…you know…all because I am an artist…I mean you need them but you don’t feed into them! (Both laugh)

So is there anything coming up as far as new releases, mix-tapes, etc. for you?

Well I actually manage a young rap group named Sisters at Heart. They are between 11 and 14 years old. And I’m working on their project right now. They will be dropping something before September. I will be dropping my next mix-tape myself in September. So those are my immediate plans.

If you could perform with anyone dead or alive who would it be?

Well, um I would have to say Michael Jackson.

How do you feel about that whole incident?

Well when I was a kid, for Black History Month I was Michael Jackson. His death was such a tragedy. I mean GOD gave us something that was almost too great.

Who or what is your greatest motivation?I would have to say my late cousin Dominque Tucker.

I just want to make him and my family happy.So what is the title of your next mix-tape?

Well I’m actually going to get a new tattoo on my back that will coincide with the title. It’s going to be a man holding the world and above that it’s going to say “No One Helps.”

And what exactly does that mean?The whole weight of the world on your shoulders.Where can people go to get more information about you ? And what’s your contact number?

www.devanonthebeat.com and 706-984-4441 and anybody can call me for recording, mixing, and producing tracks, I gotcha….Oh, and R&B artists, if you need dance steps contact me as well.

Ok one last question…well a fi ll in the blank. Answer this, without music I would be _______________.

Dead…And we’ll end it at that.

a pad in my hand.a pad in my hand. artist…I mean you need them but you don’t feed then on I always kept then on I always kept a pad in my hand.a pad in my hand. artist…I mean you need them but you don’t feed then on I always kept a pad in my hand.

Well, really with women. I have had a girl…actually want to…you know…all because I am an artist…I mean you need them but you don’t feed

start writing and from writing and from writing and from Well, really with women. I have had a girl…

COLUMBUS, GA - www.flyerpromonow.COM | 7| 7

SPORTSNOW

10 Things to Get a

Record Labels Attention

SPORTSNOW

10. Great Presentation. You have to like a star. You have to be a star. You

need photo shoots. You need to attack your promotional area looking like a star. I am not impressed with people that walk up to me with their cd hand written with a marker. Look the part. When you see me I look like the part of a program director so you look like the part of the artist you are striving to be. If you are R&B, prissy yourself up. You can prissy your-self up as a male R&B artist. Look at R.Kelly, look at Trey Songz style. Try and come up with your own flare.

9. Packaging. I need your cd to come to me packaged correctly. I need your press kit to

come to me packaged correctly. In a press kit is a bio, I need your demo, and some contact information. Who, what, when, where, and why? On paper. Go out your way to make it look good. Don’t write out a letter. Print it up, make it look professional. Put it in a nice clean folder. Folder can have your logo on it. You can get some stickers with your logo and slab them on the folder. Just take some time to do this.

8. Media Blitz. Face book, MySpace, Twit-ter, Reverb Nation, iTunes. Put it all in your

press kit. Promote your stuff on those sites. And make sure the stuff on those sites goes with what you are trying to do. Presentation looks good on that as we go back to number 10 even though you doing it on a shoe string budget.

7. Get out of your city. I know you love Columbus, and I know everybody thinks you the man because your song is playing on 98.3 Da Beat, but this world is bigger than Colum-bus, GA. There are a lot of other program di-rectors that might play your song, if they had it. You could say, “Hey Lil D is playing my song on 98.3 Da Beat, call Lil D and ask him what he thinks of my song…” Just get out of this city. Go out the city and promote yourself out the area.

6. Get you some quality manage-ment. Your home boy does NOT need to

be your manager. No more home boy manag-ers. There are people out there credible. It might cost you some dollars but they will know how to talk to a DJ, the PD, the MD. It’s not all the time your job. Make sure you have someone that knows how to politic with those people.

5. Finger print your music. And that is the MAIN thing. BDS or Media Base, send

your music to them so people can keep track of your music. It’s a tracking system of which

radio stations across the country are play-ing your songs. Now the stations have to be media based for BDS registered stations for you to see that. Some stations aren’t in small towns. Like good places such as Dothan, AL or Albany, GA. Get play in cities like Colum-bus or bigger.

4. Great promotional material. This is NOT your press kit. We need like flyers,

one sheets, posters, quality looking cds. Get multiple copies of your cds. Get like 5,000 and pass em out! Leave the passing out to someone else. Perfect your craft. The person that does it all is the person that fails. Jack of all trades, and master of none.

3. Make contacts and stay in contact with them. This is a business of who you

know and not what you know. But don’t pest your contacts. Don’t blow my phone up! If I’m going to play your record I’ma play your record whether you call me once or 5 million times. Take your people to lunch. Like me! Ask where I can get your record to. Socialize and Network! Don’t be afraid to network with those that have the network capabilities.

2. Spend some money. If you in this busi-ness, and you in this business to win it, then

you gone have to be like the ones before you and spend some money. Buy an ad in this magazine. Buy you several ads in this maga-zine. Buy the cover of this magazine! Be-come the featured artist. That’s the best pro-motion, that’s the best start you can do. And it’s for just a little bit of money. So don’t be afraid cause everything is going to cost you a little bit. You have to make an investment in yourself. No one is going to invest in you if you don’t do that for yourself first.

1. You need over 300 BDS spends.Go to BDSradio.com website. There is a link on the site where you can upload your music. What they do is put timed codes behind your music and they send it back to you, that way you make multiple copies off the time codes. And from off the time codes, everyone that plays that, that has BDS, it detects the song. So you keep track of it. Don’t tell me Univer-sal is looking at you if you only have 5 spins. They are NOT! Don’t make me believe that’s what is happening until you get 300 spins per week. That means that each radio station that you are on needs to play you like x amount of times.

It’s going to cost you some money to do all of these things. Take out a loan. Hell, fi nd a dope dealer to sponsor you! Whatever it takes, that’s what you need!

10 Things to Get a

Record Labels Attention10.Great Presentation. You have to radio stations across the country are play-


DKeezy

Ashley: Ok, so…DK! How did you get your stage name?

DK: I got my stage name when I was in high school. I was already rapping…but I really didn’t have a stage name. And I used to like janking on other students all the time and this one girl said I looked like Curious George and Donkey Kong…and I’m the type of person that don’t get offended by janking so…it was funny to me. So, I took Donkey Kong and ran with it. And throughout the years as I was rapping, it went from Donkey Kong, to DK to DKeezy …


Ok, who have you worked with in R&B.

Well actually it’s this artist that I been working with for like 5 years named Nard Dixon. I wrote a majority of his songs…he has an album on itunes.

Ok, and what’s the title of that?

“Dixon Drive.”

Now what has been your greatest opportunity in your music career?

My greatest opportunity was when I was with Bases Loaded Entertainment. I met artists and producers and did shows….

And who were you doing shows with?

I opened up shows for Gucci Mane like two times….Waka Flocka performed too… I opened up for T.I. down here in Columbus at the Civic Center. I did a lot of shows with artists like, before they were famous like, Yung L.A. and B.O.B…

Ok so tell me about your Bases Loaded experience…

Alright well they say there are two sides to every story…I’ma say there aren’t two sides, there are just a bunch of rumors. I have nothing bad to say about Bases Loaded. They are the ones that picked me up and got me to where I was at. But I will say there were a few disagreements…

Oh ok…and what were some of those disagreements?

Well I was a rookie when I got with them as far as performing…and this was a good gimmick….but when I dropped “Out of Space” they had me wearing space suits and I really wasn’t cool with the idea but everybody remembered that space suit and maybe it was a good idea I just wasn’t comfortable with it…so that’s just one out of many disagreements but Bases Loaded is a good label and I appreciate everything they did for me.

So would you ever want to work with them again?

Yes. I would greatly want to take the opportunity to work with them again and one regret I have back then, being young in the music industry, I was unsure about myself, but now I have the confi dence to take off.

How old were you then?

Bout 21, 22. But now I’m older, polished, more mature, and more confi dent.

So what made you want to pursue music?

My Uncles and my Cousin. They did music and I was always interested in what they do. My Uncle is well established in the music industry. His name is Walter Mucho Scott. He worked with Teddy Riley, SWV and a lot of major artists and he still does… So I look at him and I want to do what he does. My other Uncle plays the bass guitar for a live band, like he plays for Ronald Isley, Mary J. Blige, Kerri Hilson, and then my cousins looked up to them too. See we down here in Columbus and they up in Atlanta but when I was young I was using they equipment to get started and, see, they are primarily R&B music…and I was a fan of rap music…

Ok! So you have a family background in music…what makes you different from those musicians?

There really is no difference. We are all talented.

Tell me about some artists that you’ve worked with here in Columbus…

I have worked with my cousin Tee Muscogee , Flow Jack, Dirdie Berg, Focus, Devanonthebeat, Lil Nuke, um…..there are just so many. I have had my protégés here and there. My main one is Yoda. He was already like…when I heard his beats…he was amazing.

What are some songs that you are pushing?

The song I’m currently pushing is “F All Yall!” but for radio purposes it’s called “Real Talk” off the Renaissance Mix Tape.

Ok and what is that song about?

Well basically I go off emotions so like I was going through stuff with a lot of rumors going around and everything was just frustrating, fake friends…I guess you wouldn’t call them friends if they are fake but…you know, we just gone say that. A lot of unloyalty, and sometimes I just get in the mood of F everybody, and I really don’t wanna deal wit no body, and I really don’t care what you gotta say anymore cause I know who I am.

Are there any things that get to DK?

Yes there are. The main thing is rumors…like, nobody is perfect and I made some decisions in my life, but some stuff I’m hearing, like I hear one story get turned into another story like telephone. And the one thing that discourages me is the stuff that people say that’s not true. People tell me don’t stress but I don’t like people talking bout me when I don’t bother no body. I don’t mess with no body.

J. Blige, Kerri Hilson, and then my cousins looked up to them too. See we down here in Columbus and they up in Atlanta but when I was young I was using they equipment to get started and, see, they

up to them too. See we down here in Columbus and they up in Atlanta but when I was young I was up to them too. See we down here in Columbus and they up in Atlanta but when I was young I was

Ok! So you have a family background in music…Ok! So you have a family background in music…what makes you different from those musicians?


Ok! So you have a family background in music…Ok! So you have a family background in music…what makes you different from those musicians?


Ok! So you have a family background in music…Ok! So you have a family background in music…Ok! So you have a family background in music…what makes you different from those musicians?what makes you different from those musicians?what makes you different from those musicians?what makes you different from those musicians?Ok! So you have a family background in music…what makes you different from those musicians?


I’m just doing my music and if people wish to talk about me…it makes me mad because fi rst of all it’s a lie and second of all if someone is going to tell you something, don’t go tell the next person. Have the courage to ask me. I ain’t got no reason to lie to no body. If somebody said something, if you ask me about it, I’ma tell you. I ain’t never been ashamed.

I feel ya on that. Now tell me about any other deals you had on the table?

Well actually we was just talkin bout this….basically when I was saying one story got changed to another I was talking about this. When I had my meeting with Atlantic Records. We went, had the meeting, obviously I didn’t get signed. But it wasn’t for the rumor. I heard I was too drunk to perform, and I was high. I heard that I didn’t know the words to my songs so I froze up and none of that is true. Like you just can’t expect, no matter how great you are, to walk into the offi ce of a record label and expect to get signed cause everybody’s not gonna get signed the fi rst go round. Or you might get dropped like T.I. People said I was high and drunk in the meeting. First of all you can’t get drunk and high in an offi ce. You in an offi ce…not a club. So how am I gone be high and drunk. I didn’t drink on the plane, I didn’t drink on the way to the place so…it’s just not true. People gotta realize that I just didn’t get the deal. It didn’t go through. And I’m not embarrassed by it, I took it as a learning experience. Like I said I was a rookie back then….maybe I wasn’t talking right, or maybe it was something my manager did, but I just didn’t get the deal.

Ok so what are your goals for this year?

Basically for this year, this is my last hooray…because for one I have put in years of work and sometimes it takes that. And sometimes no matter how much talent you got, it just might not be for you. I have kids. I gotta take care of them. And my major goal is to get a deal. And I think it’s possible. But we all need support. We need to stop the hate. When I go to Atlanta I look at how they support each other. They embrace me! And I’m from Columbus. I go up to Atlanta, and they conversate about me, like at Grand Hustle. I go in and they like ah that’s DK and I see em in the corner whispering about me. And it makes me feel good. But here it’s like, people hate. And it’s more like the people that know me more than those that

don’t know me!

Ok. Since you on the cover, what advice do you have for those in the music industry on how to be successful?

This for the young and the old artists. I’m not gone sugar coat this like other people, like when they say stay focused and keep working, I ain’t gone say that, I’ma give it to you raw. For one, don’t expect no hand outs. Do you, but if you gotta put in them extra hours of work, do that. If you gotta spend some money, spend some money. Artists come to me and they ask like, “Hey can you do this for free?” but I gotta make ends meet. And just imagine if everyone came up to me and I did something for free for everyone, what would my value be? So if you gotta put in that extra foot work, go out in the streets and pass out your cds, if you gotta put them extra hours in the studio to scrape up some extra money then do it. You gone have to spend some money in this industry. It comes with hard work and dedication. This comes with sacrifi ces. And that goes for everybody, not just me. You can’t go to Big D and ask to get on a verse, or go to Looney T. and ask for a beat, we don’t do this for free….we working hard. This is a job.

YouTube/dkeezy1Facebookbandpage/DkeezyakaDK

MySpace/DkeezyTwitter/@dkeezy

Contact for beats and features or any other business: [email protected]

MySpace/DkeezyTwitter/@dkeezy

Contact for beats and features or any other business: [email protected]


Ashley: Ok, Tookie, how did you get your stage name?Tookie: Well basically I got it from, well, it’s been

my nickname all my life and I got it from my sister. She named me that when I was a baby. And I named myself Tookie Time because so many other rappers call themselves Tookie so I put Tookie Time, you know…

Oh ok so it’s not just Tookie, it’s Tookie Time. Ok, so how would you describe your music to someone brand new?

Real. Basically like, uh, every song is like a story of my life. Real, nothing fake, non-fi ction. Non-fi ction is the word…

Ok, I like that. Ok, so growing up what artists did you listen to and what did you like about them, and then, what’s different from the artists that you listen to now?

Ok coming up. I listened to one major artist and that’s Tupac. And basically, I damn near liked everything that he wrote. And the artist that I listened to club wise, since I was raised down south, is Raheem. He made the booty music for like, the clubs and stuff. And the artists that I listen to now, well I listen to Eminem and T.I.

Ok and what do you like about Eminem and T.I.?Eminem, he’s just different. You won’t fi nd no other

artist rap about the same stuff he rap about. And T.I. man I just love his delivery.

Alright. Now, what was the title of your fi rst song

and the topic?The fi rst song I did, I was 14 years old, it was me

and one of my partnas, he is incarcerated right now, named Red Clay….it was called, “The Mo’ Money I Get” and basically we was talking about what we were doing at the time. Which was basically selling drugs. We put it out in my neighborhood, my neighborhood is Box Wood, and basically the hood just fell in love with it.

Now if you could make up a one sentence phrase of your music what would it be?

A one sentence phrase? Wow….basically have to uh…I just call it…Non-fi ction.

Great phrase actually…don’t hear that everyday…ok so what has been your greatest opportunity thus far?

Well, I would say about two years ago, me and a partna of mine named Keevee, another rapper under the same label as I am, Mobb Boss Entertainment, uh, we had did a show and the same night Zaytovan was there and when we performed, we got off stage, and basically he came to us and we got to talking about music and stuff, and basically summing it up we did a song together called “Go Head” and we put it on the mix tape that me and Keevee did called “The King and The Boss.” And once we dropped that we started getting a lot of buzz from DJs from other cities and basically they still put songs on mix tapes and you can


Google Tookie and Keevee and that song will come up with all the mix tapes that we been on…and stuff.

Ok, and you said that the mix tape was called “The King and The Boss” now which one of you was the King and which one is the Boss?

Oh I was the boss, you know, that’s just me. I don’t work for nobody, I work for myself. I’m the boss and I’m the CEO of Mob Boss Entertainment so I just call myself the boss.

Ok that’s wassup. So what do you think distinguishes you from other local artists?

Basically, I don’t stay on the same concept. I don’t talk about the same thing. If you listen to a Tookie Time album you will never hear the same thang over and over. I might talk about the females on this song, and in this song I might talk about me coming up, you know, in the world. Like living and stuff….next I might talk about one of my partnas that’s in jail.

I like that cause uh…to much of one thing is…repetitive. Now what are you goals for the next year?

My goals are to push this Tookie Time album that I’m working on and right now I got a single called “Deon” featuring Boonie the Mack and JR that we fi xing to really push and then after that I got a following single called “I know” featuring JR again and that’s gone be the second one. I’m really starting to try and get some shows booked. I’m basically trying to take on the whole of Georgia and then, basically, I think I’ma slide down to Florida and the surrounding areas, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Mississippi and stuff….

Ok, now name me a couple of challenges you been through and tell me how you overcame those challenges whether it be in your music career or personal.

Basically, wow…the challenge is…the loss of my child. I lost him at 6 months and that was round the same time I was getting the buzz from Zaytovan and once it happened I kinda took a break, to get my mind together and stuff, you know relax, and really at one point I wanted to stop but on my MySpace page or Facebook they kept asking me, like, “when you gone drop something new?” and so, my partna Keevee kept encouraging me and so basically I said, “Hey, I’ma do it for him.”

Gotcha…ok so does anyone in particular infl uence your music?

Yeah my son. I probably pick him in thought every time I write….and I have another son, well his name is Pookie and I got another one named Mookie, yeah….

Ok so you got two sons…and how old are they?Well, Mookie will be two, and Pookie is three about

to be four….Do you have any wild stories that occurred because of you being an artist?

Uh yeah…when I fi rst starting, I was 16 maybe 17, I was still in high school…and me and Keevy did a show in Columbus at a club called 706 and basically when we did the song everybody knew it, but, I didn’t know that females liked it that much…So basically when we got of stage, we was leaving, and they basically followed us all the way until we stopped on the side of the road to see what was going on and uh…basically ya know…uh…that’s enough of that….

if you could perform with anyone dead or alive who would it be and why?

it would be Tupac and I just love his music…If you break down his music, bar by bar, he’s really saying stuff….he’s not just rapping and putting words down that rhyme, he is saying stuff….

Ok. Now I can tell you take being a father very seriously…what advice would you give to other fathers that don’t feel the same way that you feel?

Man yo ass up! Because I’m not like most of my people, I grew up with my father, but a lot of my partnas grew up with no father and I seen how that effected them….Two of my partnas is out, but the rest are either dead or in jail. And that’s just the honest to God truth and I believe that with a father it may make a difference….

Ok what the music here in Columbus? There is a lot of talent and what is it that’s holding us back?

Many people are trying to make songs dis each other. I think if everyone could come together and support each other we could take off.

I agree 100% with that. Because what I like about Columbus is that the real artists have their own style here and it’s different than what I heard in Atlanta. Ok any shot outs that you got for Columbus?

Shot out to my boi Home Boy, my main partna JR, shot out to Boonie Mack…Shot out to my lil jit, Pookie my son, shot out to my partner, co-owner CEO Keevee. What’s happenin!

Where can people fi nd your music?At utube.com/tookiemob….myspace.com/

tookiemob….facebook.com/tookiemob and you can book me for a show at [email protected] .

Ok so now I want you to fi ll in the blank. Without music where I would be _______.

Man I don’t know, I don’t wanna say drug dealer but….if I ain’t have my son, I probably would be living that life, if I ain’t have my son…. So without music….I probably would have a 9 to 5 somewhere….


Ashley: So Zo Da Dose how did you get your stage name?

Zo Da Dose: Uh, my stage name….um Zo Da Dose is an acronym for dynamics of self expression. You know, it comes from my approach to music, I approach it in the form and fashion of just, whatever I feel like doing, that’s what I do. I don’t follow the trend. I don’t follow what a lot of artist do a lot of times, I just do me. So when I say dynamic, im speaking of the dynamics of my self expression, It’s whatever I feel…

What are some of your favorite artists growing up and why?

T.I. people like him. I guess because of his background where he came from and his approach he took to music…he was very aggressive. He was arrogant but he has a reason to be arrogant…he took on that title of king, he made people believe that, when he was out and performing in public or wherever he was, his presence was soared like a king and I salute that. So I listen to people like that…those that drive with a purpose. People like Lil Wayne. I admire his creativity, his innovativeness, his drive to never quit and to never give up no matter what’s going on or what people said…Jay-Z…oh I can’t forget him…the pioneers, people I could really learn something from…because it’s a learning thing for me… He just took that stature like, stop playin, yall know yall have to respect

me…I mean I been doing it so long, yall see the credentials, yall see the album sells, yall see the arena being sold out all over the world, yall se all of this…so it’s nothing to be mad about, he just saying get on my level…he does it in a way so that he doesn’t offend people but it offends the haters if they don’t like him…but he’s just him….

Now what is one of your fi rst songs…what was the title of it…and how did people respond to it?

Well the fi rst song I wrote was a club song called “Tippy Toes” and it had a lot of potential…it was catchy and it was just a song that I knew would pop and I knew it was pop in the clubs with the DJs…and the response was amazing and people still talk about it so….it was a great club banga…

What led you to pursue a career in music?

I wrote a poem that was called “Fear of the Unknown” and it won honorable mention, it was actually published in a book and everything, a book of poems…you can Google it actually. Just type in “Fear of the Unknown.” Under the name of Alonzo Flemming…

if you could think of a one sentence slogan of your music, what would it be?

“The hit man.” Cause every time drop, it’s a hit man!…

Ok so, what would you say is your greatest opportunity that you’ve had thus far?


Ok, I’ll just touch on one of em….I had an audition for 106th & Park and I got to meet Yung Jock and a couple of other people, but really I can’t defi ne a single opportunity as being my greatest opportunity because you never know what’s gonna come out of an opportunity so my greatest opportunity is every opportunity I have been presented with and for the opportunities I’m so grateful for.

Now, tell me what kind of challenges did you overcome?

I would have to say losing my father on April 12th of last year…to colon cancer…that was my best friend in the whole world, my only friend I ever had, cause I don’t associate with too many people…I lost my mom when I was 9, so when she passed I was forced to build my relationship with my father because he was all I know… and being so close to him, not only that, just the respect we had between each other, he treated me as a man, and when I came around, his posture was different, the way he acted the way he talked, everything was different, and that was out of respect so I made sure that I made my proper adjustment to respect his presence…that’s how powerful he was…so that’s my greatest loss ever.

My condolences….

Thank you….So do you have any children?

I have a son. He’s 5. That’s the center of my motivation. Trying to be an example, trying to show him, life is all about what you make of it.

If you had the opportunity to change something about the music industry what would it be?

Corruption…I think they play with artist’s dreams absolutely too much…when it comes to the contracts, not being fair with an artist, they almost take everything you got, they’ll take your soul if you give it so…the corruption is so deep…that’s what I would change…yield to the artist more, respect them more, I know they gotta get theirs but how could you take everything a person has worked for and just completely demoralize them and feel good about it at the end of the day…give the artist more freedom of expression, being able to input more of what they want too….and just pay the artist what they are worth.

Do you have any other interests beside being an artist?

A barber. ok…where can they catch you?

At Play Boy Barber Shop at 2500 Buena Vista Rd.Ok I wanna do this…I just wanna see what you gone do. I want you to spit, one of your hardest lines...throw us something real quick….

Ok…”I’ma shine bright, like the brightest day, they say it’s my turn, I got the right away, I don’t waste time, I’ma get em right away, I’m touchin bases wit my dreams, the umpire callin safe, I got my eyes on the prize, I can see the future, but the present’s in disguise, life is a lesson, the objective is progression, and my memory digresses, that’s the object of refl ection…see I don’t know about the rest of yall, opportunity never sleep, I get no rest at all…and Lord knows, I just hope I’m on the right track, when it’s a battle every day, you learn to fi ght back…so I’m just tryna take my place amongst the galaxy, and I’ma shine till I’m a casualty. You see, success is all I can see, and I’m just being all I can be, that’s all I can be….that’s it.

Ok say what song are you pushing right now?

Red and black…that’s all I know right now. Its monumental man. It’s gonna make a statement. Its gonna shed light on Georgia. I’m just an artist representing where I’m from.

So if you weren’t doing music what would you be doing?

Probably what I’m doing now…barbering…I love interacting with people and building a relationship with people…on my way to getting my own shop, of course…more like on an entrepreneurial level with business.

So tell me what other things make up Zo Da Dose?

Well I like to read….and right now I’m reading this book called the 48 Laws of Power by Robert Green. And it basically shows you how to obtain power….it goes back to like B.C. structure of power, things that happened back in history with Kings and Queens.. how they used to interact….all that stuff is so relevant because it’s the same thing but the format has just changed a little bit… power is power…

Wow…ok. Sounds interesting. So do you have any mixtapes out now?

Yes, “The Take Over.” It’s on tune core, iTunes, Amazon.com…I released it last year so its out there go get it!!!….

Do you have any thank yous for Columbus?

My sisters…OMG I can’t put into words all the support they have given me….we have gotten close since my father passed I guess we were destined to build the relationships we have cause it’s just us now. and people like you, I feel like you have a drive to really help people get exposure and help their dreams become a reality and I have to thank all my fans and supporters and most importantly my lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Thank you. I appreciate that. I got one question left, without music you would be ________.

Nothing.COLUMBUS, GA - www.flyerpromonow.COM | 17

Ashley: So where did 365 from?365sk: Oh well, we was basically chillin at the house one day,

about 2 years ago, and basically we swag year round, and so we might as well call ourselves 365 Swag Kids, cause nobody else had that name…

Ok. And how would yall describe yalls music?Well we try and do everything positive…futuristic and off set…we

put futuristic and Midwest all in one….Ok so how did yall group together?

Well we was all in middle school, and we was the most popular there but we really never hung out like that, but we

just became cool one day…we used to rap and dance, and we used to mess with DK back in the hood, and

he told us we should go head and get this vibe in the city going. And then another group called

Focus wanted us to rap, so we just came together and this is what we got…

And so how do yall piece songs together

being a group? Well since we’ve known each other

so long, and we kinda formed this

brotherly/sister


bond, our swags just kinda flows together…Ok so who influences yalls music?

Rich Kids, Rocko, Wayne, Alley Boy, Future, Yung Chris. They lyrical to us.

So have yall been in any contests or talent shows? And if yall have, tell me how yall did and what you learned?

We been in a talent shows in Atlanta at Club Crucial and Black Lion and Velvet Room…we been in a talent show in Macon…all within a matter of six months. We was kinda shy cause we were at grown clubs and we just walked in there like we was some superstars cause we were doing it. We like to perform in other places cause they show us love and we get positive vibes…

So here in Columbus, is there a decrease in that?

If Columbus would stop hating so much and put the city on our back, then that would be great cause we love Columbus so much but we need more fan support like any other artist would get out of say Atlanta. And there are a lot of artists here tryna rap so it’s like they just don’t show as much love. So that’s where hating starts to come in.

Who are yall looking for to kinda help yall through this journey?

I would say shot out to Phat Fool from Focus, C Hodge he helps us too, shot out to Big Kane as well…

Are there any artists that yall have worked with here?

Yeah, Lil Nuke, So So da Kid, DK, YMCK, Buddie Pachino, 100 Mile South.

Ok so how old are yall?Well we the twins are 16, Chelsea, I’m 19,

Kool, I’m 20.So where do yall see yall self in a year?

365sk: We gone be on tour! We wanna hit Toronto, we wanna got to Cali where the pretty girls at!

So what songs are yall pushing right now?

365sk: “Money” and “Want More.” If yall could make up one slogan about yalls music, what would it be?

365sk: “You got to know that…already!”So what makes yall different from other

young groups in Columbus?We just got that swag….we work hard and

no body’s got that drive like we do. We dropped three hits in one week! And you know, we got the finest set of twins! And don’t nobody got that!

So what challenges have yall faced since being a group?

Well we got turned down by a lot of talent shows but now we making everything…People weren’t feeling us at first so we went back to the drawing board, cooked up a new lil recipe, and seasoned it up correctly….

So can yall do more than rap?Yep, we gotta an actor in the building, we

got a male cook in the building, and a dancer, drawer, a young dude that cuts hair….

Now if you guys could perform with anyone, who would it be?

Bootsie, Tiger, School Boy…So how do yall define success? What’s success to yall?

When we can get our on hotel room and a female be in there when we get done doing a show! Na, but when we get enough money to feed our mama and to also give enough money back to the city…and get recognized by the whole world, you know, when the president knows us!

So what’s yalls mix tape title?“The Come-Up”

So what’s the most difficult part of being a young group?

School man, right now. Multi-tasking. And being home at a certain time.

Fill in this blank. Without music I’d be ________.

Straight…Lonely….Lost.Any crazy stories yall got?

We were at a gas station, bout to perform at Hookameup, and we were in the parking lot wilding, and we made a video entitle “Sauvé’s Revenge.”

Well I will say that yall have a lot of spirit and I want yall to continue to feed into that. Yall really have a great vibe. Any shot outs?

Tight Budget, DJ 00kee, Lil D, JB, DK, Lil Nuke, Big Kane, Fame and Fortune, Baby Krunk…and anyone we may have forgot right now….


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Ashley: Ok so Trakz, where are you from and what brought you here to Columbus?

Gr8 Trakz: I’m from Jersey… I moved to Atlanta but Atlanta is a little too congested and saturated, so we decided on Columbus.

Ok. So, where did you get your name from?Gr8 Tracks! I used to work at Warner Brothers as an engineer. I was showing someone some tracks, but the guy didn’t remember what my name was. By me always saying “Great”, as a response when somebody said something, the guy looked over and said, “Oh, that’s Great‘s Track” and it just stuck. It went from “That’s Great’s track” to “That’s Gr8 Trakz”.

So how would you describe your production style to persons that have not heard your beats?

I try to make visual music. I like a lot of big band music. I love the music in the movies of the 60s and 70s. I watch a lot of cartoons like Tom and Jerry. I think there were only 22 episodes where Tom and Jerry actually talked, but you can go throughout the entire cartoon without words and know what’s going on through the music. I want you to be able to listen to the music and visually know what’s going on.

Got you. Ok, so tell me how you got started

in the industry?I started as a drummer. I was drumming for a lot of people like Glen Lewis, Macy Gray, and the list goes on. I’m known as a drummer. I’m currently playing for Asher Roth. So I was an MD (music director) for this one lady in Philly, and she got signed and cut me out of being an MD but Warner Brothers saw the way that I produced and they were like, “Hey, would you like a job?” They hired me a couple months later and that’s how I got in the industry. My brother is in the industry and a lot of my family members are touring musicians so….

So you said your brother is also in the industry…what does he do?

My brother is a producer, his name is Donnell Alexander and you can probably check him out at V1T2.com (Verse 1 Track 2) is the name of his production company. My cousin Rashid Williams was a drummer for John Legend but now plays for Jill Scott. My cousin Rashon is bass player for numerous people. My cousins Keith and Bryan were actually the one’s that produced tracks for Zhane.

Ok, God I remember…”Hey Mr. DJ…we can get it started…” Man…Ok, so tell me some artists that you work with…

I work with a variety of artists from Neo Gospel to

Country to Hip Hop and R&B, mainly Hip Hop and R&B, a little bit of pop…. like, B.O.B….I’m actually, working on some tracks for him now…

Well who then has been the most interesting to work with?

Jali shout out to my friend, my fam. He’s has a production deal with Po’ Boy Records. He is a good brother that I met here in Columbus. Actually, I think he’s from Phenix City. He proved himself to be a valuable friend. Things like that to his ideas of R&B and what he’s bringing back…like that real sound of Dru Hill, Black Street, Guy, you know, music like that. Music you can feel.

Ok. I understand. So, who are some of your favorite producers and why?

My all time, top favorite is J. Dilla. The late great J. Dilla. He’s one of those ones that if people don’t know about him, look him up. He did stuff for Busta, Common, it goes down the list of a lot of people you may know…like Slum Village. Then there’s Teddy Riley, Timbaland, Nottz, Black milk, Q-tip, and so many others.

And how do you feel about that?…you know, about producers not getting more recognition for their work….

It’s one of those give and take type situations. Take Michael Jackson. Endless music. Mike is a great singer, great performer, but it’s like, name 5 people who actually produced Michael Jackson’s tracks. You can dance to it, you know, you love it, and of course Barry Gordy was over it but who actually produced the music? Getting back to recognition, again it’s a give and take. A lot of the producers intentionally seclude themselves like Nottz so they can remain original.

Ok so where do you see yourself in about a year?

Hopefully having a new house in London. I have always wanted an extended house in London. It’s just beautiful. I love the freedom in London. You can just go out and feel free. They care about music. They don’t care about just the mainstream crowd. It’s one of those things where you can turn on the radio and hear anything…they will play tracks from all over the world. It’s not like it is here where most of the music is just American…you can hear something from America, Germany, Australia and everywhere else….

Ok. So, why do you think they block off a lot of music from other countries here?

Because we live in a capitalistic society. We’re trying to capitalize on ourselves. That’s the reason why…we have songs that sound like 20 other songs… so, it’s not that they care so much for great music now but for how much money can we get…

Ok now I know you said you play the drums…are there any other talents that you have?

Well I play like 5 different instruments. Bass, piano, trumpet, drums, guitar.

So..you play…Yes, I play…

Wow…Ok, where can people get a test drive of some of your work? And how can local artists contact you?

My website Gr8Tracks.com is under construction…you can see me on there, on youtube, all my friends and people that are dealing with me are youtubing so you will see a lot of clips soon…and my web site will be up and running by the time this comes out so….but if you want to see the drumming aspect Google Kevin Lamar…you’ll be able to see me…Gr8 Trakz on Twitter, I think I’m Gr8 Trakz on Facebook…you know…you can look at everything from the website. I do deal with local artists…but I deal with local artists that are on a serious note….a lot of times I’m out, you know, looking at artists at Open Mics. DJ Fresh, shout out to him because he’s doing an event like every other week, an open mic, with a live band at Mario’s which is beautiful because you can see the talent…it’s a great event.

Ok so you say you have worked with a lot of local artists…can you name some?

Mia, Jali, a new rapper named Open…a phenomenal rapper with relevance. K Cooth a.k.a. Jon Doe another one that’s relevant…he’s not just talking about money and cars, he’s talking about real issues….not so much on a socialistic level but rapping relevance. Amber Bri Oliver …she was one of the finalists for the Georgia Lottery All Access Music Search. I’m working with her. She’s another phenomenal R&B singer. The artists of Columbus just need to be real with themselves. If you come to me real, you know, like Trakz this is what I’m doing or trying to do then we can possibly work together. Also, invest in your craft. It’s sad when people come in saying they don’t have money to spend on quality music when they have on the latest Jordon’s or are riding on 26’s so, invest in yourself if this is something you want to pursue as a career.

Ok, and I’ma leave it at this….if you could fill in this blank. Without music I would be ________.

I would be dead…actually, out of the majority of my childhood best friends, I am the only one living. I grew up in Newark, NJ later relocating to South Jersey and it was hard. You were either in a gang, or you were doing music…and I was in the church. There were times when my friends would be outside but me; I was listening to music. That was my escape from everything else.


V.I.S.A.Ashley: So V.I.S.A, how did you get your stage name?

V.I.S.A: It came from me being with my friends, you know, V.I.S.A stands Villain in South Alabama cause I’m from Mobile, AL.

So what brought you here to Columbus?

Relatives…and I been here about 5 years. Now growing up what artists did you listen to and how does it differ from today’s music?

Heavy infl uences, since I’m from Alabama, are dirty, the Dirdie Boyz, Pimpin the Gangsta, Camillionare, um…T.I., Tupac of course, No Limit, big fan of No Limit….and pretty much I still listen to the same type of music so ain’t no change for me really…

Ok. And why did you choose some of those artists? Why do you like them?

Well, Camillionare, he got so many lyrics. He can just get on the beat and ride the beat. Dirty Boyz, they just relate to me

cause I’m from Alabama, Tupac is just real, basically anything you going through

everyday…you can always put in some Tupac.

I agree…ok. And what was the title of your fi rst song

and the topic and how did people respond to it?

First song, I think it was called, “What Should I Do?” And basically I was going through a lot at the time…with my mom and dad, just parental issues and eve r ybody responded to it real well. Like if you ever been in a si tuat ion you could f e e l e xa c t l y how I felt, you k n o w , t h e

emotions within the song. And I got a question and this is just in generalities but why do you think the black community as a whole loves music so much? I think it’s just different emotions of the music. It can get you through your day whether it’s good or bad…you know, when you going through something. You can always fi nd some kind of music to relate to…

Ok. Now if you could make up a one sentence phrase of your music what would it be?

Versatile…What has been your greatest opportunity so far?

Well, I had the opportunity when I was young to perform at different clubs in Mobile, like Chemistry, I used to go there in high school to perform a lot. So a lot of people used to see my face and hear who I was when I was younger and then my buddy VA the Mobster….

Aw…VA, he was in our fi rst issue…real cool cat…but anyway…

But anyway, so he put me, you know, in a good position.

So what are you trying to accomplish within this next year?

Defi nitely more shows, more exposure…and have people, you know, know who I am. And those people will be able to hear my voice and put my face with my voice.

Well hopefully this magazine will do that. It will defi nitely get more people to recognize your face and your mind…and all that….So name me some challenges that you have had to deal with and how you overcame them.

Basically, I had to deal with a lot of circumstances with people passing away in my family that were very close to me, so I had to overcome that in my own way, you know, by myself because I was hard headed and didn’t listen to nobody. And it defi nitely made me grow up to be a better person…

Who passed away in your family?

Well my mom’s dad and mom and her mom, and on his side, my cousin and his mom and it was like real traumatic for me and made it hard for me to deal with and I made a song “Reminiscent Of My Grandma” for, for that…

If you don’t mind me asking, when did all this happen?

Well it was all between 2001 and 2004. That’s 24 | www.flyerpromonow.COM - COLUMBUS, GA24 | www.flyerpromonow.COM - COLUMBUS, GA

V.I.S.A.when I lost a lot of relatives…

But you said you have a son, so what does your son, then, mean to you?

Well he defi nitely made me mature, in a broader perspective, from when I was young and wild. He defi nitely got my head straightened out. And he’s three. His name is Vincent…named after his daddy.

Ok. Now, if you had a chance to change something about the music industry, what would it be?

I don’t know..really just how main stream music is. Like, a broader perspective of the music. Instead of having whatever is hot at the time it should have more diversity between music, lyrical and stuff. But, I understand what sells is what sells but…just be more different. Have that diversity.

Um…so does anyone in particular infl uence your music? Family? Friends? Situations?

The world infl uences my music. I mean, wit these high ass gas prices, of course, that’s going to infl uence the music..uh just my day in day out, you know, 365. It’s always something that’s going to infl uence me. It can be the birds, it can be how the wind blows, how I felt when I woke up…you know….

And let’s see…do you have any stories, any wild stories, of being an artist? Any embarrassing moments that you might wanna share with the readers?

About the craziest thing that ever happened would be like back in 05’ or 06.’ Like we were beginning to perform at this gym/auditorium and we was in this one neighborhood in Mobile and they just rowdy in there. Throwing chairs and all types of craziness…it was bought to go down…it was intense, and intense moment…that was bout the craziest thing so far…hopefully it don’t get that crazy again…lol.

Lol…I hope not. Some people are trying to live tomorrow! Lol…Ok so if you were able to perform with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Would defi nitely wanna rock the stage with Pac just cause, that would be crazy, I mean, just being in the presence of Pac would be great but…as for performances? I would rock the stage wit Diddy cause Diddy always has pretty live performances…that would be pretty big dere…

Yeah he defi nitely would go like all white, champagne, everything…ok…and back to Pac, like, what was one of your favorite albums of his?

All Eyez On Me…that holds some of my favorite songs…I still got the Cd.

What did you think about the Makeveli album..cause I think, like, that’s my favorite just because of the whole title Killuminati…He got down on that, I think he was tryna tell us something back then…but um…probably one of the reasons he may have been killed…I know I’m one of the ones that still wants him to be alive but…

Yeah it was pretty straight, but the All Eyez On Me?

That double disc? He knocked a whole bunch of endless classics on that….

Now if something were to happen to you suddenly, knock on wood, how would you want to be remembered?

Just that they can relate to me and my music. And understand that it’s real. I want to be remembered as somebody that meant something…not someone that just took up space…

Now what is success to you as an artist?

Success to me is fi nancial stability…for my next generation, and my next generation, and my next generation….

Now have you released any mix tapes, new releases…?

Yeah I just fi nished up with my single, “I Do That.” That’s just basically saying, “Shine, I do that, Grind, I do that…”

Yeah…spit a verse from there….

Alright, “Headed to the top, cause that’s my destiny, music is my ecstasy, they used to think less of me, now the world’s impressed wit me. Convert these none believers to the truth. I’m the realest in the building, so don’t you dare say it’s you. I’m the proof in the puddin, the food that you cookin, the most unexpected that they always overlookin, got em shookin. I’m bout to dismantle the ground you walk on. Futuristic, simplistic niggas ain’t even caught on….”

Ha….I like dat. You brought some of yo music cause uh…I gotta listen….

Oh yea…and I do have a mix tape called “Swag Check.”

Oh ok, I like that title….what does that mean?

Well it’s everything, from when I get up in the morning, to when I lay my head. It’s what’s hot now so…I defi nitely have that so…check….

Ok…so you from Mobile…do you have any shot outs for any people there?

Yeah T Blunt and No Sur Foster…Season and my whole T&T camp…

How can people get in contact with you?

Well I am on twitter…@Visa251, facebook.com\VISA251.And the last question….fi ll in the blank. Without music, I would be _______.

Empty.

COLUMBUS, GA - www.flyerpromonow.COM | 25COLUMBUS, GA - www.flyerpromonow.COM | 25

Ashley: Ok, Q, I know that you are an artist, you are a member of AKT. Tell me how you got started in the entertainment industry being an artist….

Q’ Starks: I got in the industry when I was young, around the age of 13 or 14, when I was spitting with my older cousin and just decided to write some music…as I got older and I understood the metaphors and I understood how to rhyme and I just tried to keep up with the basics of what I was listening to coming up…

I’m sorry, and what were you listening to then?

Back then I was listening to Outkast, Jadakiss, DMX, Jodi Breeze….those that inspired young people to rap.

What was your fi rst song?

Well it wasn’t really my fi rst song it was more like a freestyle. I was chilling at my grandparents house and I just wanted to write a few bars…I didn’t know

what bars was at that time…so we was just spitting raps and the one that we came up with was like, “I always had your back when we always fell down”, which was speaking bout my cousin.

Ok. And tell me how AKT formed…

AKT formed when I came down here to Columbus, GA.

Wait stop there, where are you from?

I’m from Atlanta. And I came to Columbus for a new change and I met my home boy T Clark and as time went on, our relationship grew closer because of our passion for music. So, one day we had decided to sign with our fi rst company called First Family Entertainment. And when we introduced ourselves to them it was AKT, which stands for All Kinda Trouble.

Have you been in any talent shows, any open mics and were they successful?


Million Dollar Minds

Yes. I can’t even begin to talk about how successful we performed at shows. We done did shows in Atlanta, GA. We did shows all across Columbus, S. Lumpkin Rd., Albany, AL. and we haven’t looked back since we started.

Ok so what got you into promoting?

I was listening to the talent around me, all the artists and I wrote music on my own basis but I was also looking at the talented around me. So I decided to set my career to the side and focus on those around me because I felt they had a bigger delivery. So that is what got me into promotion.

Do you wanna name any of those artists that you kinda have your eye on?

These are people that I have done been wit, Jawga Boi, Cuz with Gwop Game, Sasso, J Lady, Kato Omega, Buddie Pachino, Hershey, I mean…the list can go on and on. Skeezy, he from Valdosta. I have Toni Loke…they been doing they thang for real…

What new thing do you expect to bring as a promoter?

I just really want people to realize the talent we have around…you could walk up to a stranger, and know nothing about this stranger, and once you get to know that stranger, and if this stranger has the best S heard…that’s my thang.

Now I agree with that. Is there a one phrase sentence you can come up with as a promoter to Columbus, which also describes what you gone bring to the city as a promoter, like a “We do this…” or “Expect the Nu Nu…” Anything like that?

My slogan? I would come up with “The music library, the number one source of being heard.”

Ok, what challenges have you faced as being an owner?

Loyalty….you don’t want to have people around you that don’t have the same goal or intentions on what you have and what you’re trying to push on…so my number one thing is loyalty.

What kinda advice would you give to people that have maybe fallen out with each other?

I would say a second chance is always given. Because you can run into a situation and know nothing about the consequences. But once you be who you are and you go through the consequences and build yourself up to the par, next time around? You know your consequences if you were to run into that situation ever again. So I would say second chances are always best, because as rappers and CEOs of companies, we all have been given a second chance so I think second chances are always best.

If you didn’t have music and promotion, what would you be?

I be another number in the system. It’s not hard to get into the system, it’s too easy. Part of the situation is that it’s hard to get up out of it. Your freedom is given to you, but your freedom is not promised. Because no matter what you do or how you do it, the most thing you should think about is making the best out of it. What motivates me to continue is my nephews, Maurice and Jaden, and my lil brother T Clark, R.I.P, he died October 13, 2009. I wanna dedicate everything to what I’m doing to how I’m doing it to him, because we started as the group. We are the originals of AKT. So this is for my nephews and this is for my brother…Shot’s out to Clear Vision, Beat Down, Gwop Game, Pure Cain, Get Money Ent., and shot’s out to Capri Enterprise….My thanks to my whole surroundings…the haters, the lovers, the envious, the F N*GGAS, yall will be blessed one day…it’s my time now!

Wow….ok. And Capri? Brought me back to my Management Company, huh?…But you know I have taking a break from that….Ok well I just want to say something to you. And this is on the record. I appreciate you giving me another chance because I know we fell out after doing a pretty successful Open Mic at Fame and Fortune. But just like you said earlier, I know what I need and that’s a great energetic promotions team. So, I’m glad your company, Million Dollar Minds, is a part of the Flyer Promo Now Magazine’s Promotions and Street Team along with EBE Entertainment. So thanks on that.


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