When Memphis rapper Young Dolf was killed this week, it reminded us of the huge violence problem that exists in certain segments of hip-hop.  In short, too many rappers are losing their lives too soon.  This week, Blueprint and Illogic break down ten reasons why this is happening and their ideas on how to fix it.  Hit the link to listen/watch episode 271 of Super Duty Tough Work, “Why Do Rappers Keep Getting Shot?”:

Every month or two a story circulates that reveals a bad deal that a hip-hop artist signed in hopes of getting an opportunity in the industry. As bad as these deals are, most people have no idea how to prevent these types of things from happening. In this episode, Blueprint and Illogic discuss the idea of what a hip-hop union would look like and what the benefits would be if it came to fruition.  Hit…

This week, the Wall Street Journal shared an article about the struggle that the vast majority of content creators have in making money.  While sobering, the article offers many great lessons to any creative.  In this episode, Blueprint and Illogic break down six things you must understand before you go all in to pursue your craft. Hit the link to watch/listen to episode 268 BEFORE YOU GO ALL-IN:

It’s been almost a year since we’ve done an album reviews episode, so we decided to bring it back. This week Blueprint and Illogic review new albums from Kanye West, Curly Castro, Common, Nas, and Cesar Comanche & Poe Mack.  Hit the link to listen/watch Episode 268: Album Reviews Four:

One of the biggest things technology has done to the music industry is making software for recording, mixing, and mastering more affordable and accessible.  Once upon a time, the only people mixing and mastering were trained engineers, but now everyone can dabble in it.  In this episode, Blueprint and Illogic speak about the pros and cons of mixing and mastering your own music and whether it’s a good idea to take on.

Last week, we did our second installment of our youtube live stream show, The Artist Advice Hour, where we invite our listeners to ask Blueprint questions via email, youtube, or call in. Since we didn’t record a new episode of the show this week, we decided to upload the audio from this so our listeners would have something to listen to this week. Enjoy!

The Low End Theory weekly event in Los Angeles shed light into one of the most important and influential movements that hip-hop production has ever seen. Their podcast rose to the top of iTunes and their sold out weekly event sparked a worldwide movement. Los Angeles producer Dibiase’s forward-thinking sampling and unmistakable drum swing made him an integral part of the movement along with names like Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer, Ras G, and Samiyam. In…

Making beats is one of the most rewarding musical endeavors, but also one of the most challenging, especially at the beginning stages. In this episode, Blueprint and Illogic break down ten tips for music producers they wished somebody told them when they first started out.  Hit the link to watch/listen to episode 262 of Super Duty Tough Work, “How to Become a Better Music Producer”:

As more and more artists realize that putting all of their eggs in the music streaming basket isn’t as lucrative as they would like it to be due to the low pay out rates, many are searching for alternative ways to survive in the music industry.  One of the ways that is growing more popular every year is one that never actually went anywhere–selling direct to fans.  In this episode, Blueprint and Illogic discuss the…