Everyone makes music for their own reason. Whether it be for self-gratification, money, fame and recognition or all of the above. Depending on how seriously you take your music career, it can be extensively more work than just a full-time job. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter why you make music as long as you’re happy with what you’re doing. For me, it’s a hobby. I never once counted on the fact that it could potentially pay bills. I’m not stupid. Hip hop in particular is a cut-throat industry with just as many (if not more) politics than any other music scene. With that being said, I think it’s important to be complacent and confident in whatever role you choose to play in music. Regardless which role, the music itself is the most important part and quality should certainly not be sacrificed. Quality is the first step, and without it, you’ve gotten off on the wrong foot.

On the other end of the spectrum, it’s also important for critics to recognize this about artists and to also understand their own role in music. I know too many people that study the music industry and don’t know the first thing about making music. These people make themselves out to be experts by Tweeting recycled blog content and useless artist advice. For the record, no one ever got famous from what they read on the internet. And anything you read today that holds any validity will more than likely be obsolete tomorrow. Any artist who has ever found fame, found it by making their own path. Critics can say what artists should and should not do, but why should an artist listen to someone who isn’t capable of doing it themselves? The music industry is slowly becoming about everything except the music itself and this is the part that puzzles me. I want so bad to be a part of this music. And I want so bad to NOT be a part of the music industry. But with one, comes the other.

In this day and age, music is so far removed from what it used to be, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Something that has changed for the better is the fact that the tools required to create music are so easily accessible by anyone. In terms of lyricism, you’d don’t even need tools. Along with this evolution came the development of countless sub-genres and nowadays, there is so much music out there for everyone. It’s truly hard to keep up. Today, I don’t know one person who has the exact same tastes as me and there is nothing wrong with this. But it’s testimony to why I take everyone’s musical opinion with a grain of salt.

This concludes my rant. Bottom line: Fuck everyone and their opinion. Whether you’re an artist or a critic, do you and let everyone else do them.