Breaking Down T.I. & Rhianna's Hit Song "Live Your Life"

When you learn the structure of a song, you can write better songs because you are using proven formulas. The song "Live Your Life" by T.I. & Rhianna is dope for many reasons. It really shows T.I.'s maturity as a songwriter and everything in the song just blends together. The music, the lyrics, melody, the structure...I mean everything.

The song structure for "Live Your Life" basically goes like this:

Chorus
Verse
Chorus
Verse
Chorus
Bridge
Chorus

When you listen to the song, you can hear this formula and this formula is a HIT!

To make it even simpler we can use the songwriting standard of using letters to identify the parts of a song. Here it is below where A=Verse, B=Chorus/Hook, C=Bridge.

BABABCB

In my next blog I will break down the bars of "Live Your Life" and why it is also important to song structure.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.LearnHow2Rap.com
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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How To Develop Your Songwriting Creativity

Are all songwriters naturally creative? Can creativity be learned?

Anyone can learn how to rap. Some people learn by taking classes. Others like myself learned by trial and error in the school of hard knocks. The quickest way to learn is to take a classes. The best way to learn is through trial and error. It's good to have a bit of both.

How do you spark your creativity so that you can write a hit song?

You can use different methods. The best way to access your creativity is to draw on inspiration. Sometimes inspiration will hit you like a flash. You'll have ideas pouring out of your mind and you won't be able to keep up with your brain's output. Take advantage of moments like these.

Most of the time you won't get a complete song out of these flashes but you will get the foundation for a great song.

There are other times when you may not have a flash of inspiration but you know you need to create. What works for me most of times is when I keep listening to the music over and over until I get something I can write down on paper. Once I have one line written, the next one is easier to write because I have a set the foundation. The song almost writes itself from this point.

I am now what I like to call in the "flow" or "groove".

It's at this point where I usually don't want to be disturbed and I want to finish what I've started. Sometimes this isn't always the case. There are plenty of songs that I have to comeback to finish. As long as the foundation is there I am usually able to reconnect to the energy and feeling (the inspiration ) that I had originally.

We are all different but we all have access to creativity. To be creative means "to create" which is a gift all of us have. Some of us are better as creating in certain ways than others.

All songwriting coaches advise to always keep a pen and paper or voice recorder handy just in case you get one of these flashes of inspiration.

How do you know what will work for you?

Some ways you can stimulate creativity include:

• listening to other genres of music like jazz or classical music
• keeping a pen and paper or voice recorder as suggested previously
• taking a walk in the park or going to the mall
• reading a book
• brainstorm - just start writing whatever comes to mind
• start a random conversation with someone else creative
• collaborate with another writer

These tips should get your creative juices flowing. You'll never know which idea will be your million dollar baby.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.LearnHow2Rap.net

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New Year's Resolutions...Make Better Beats That Pay More Money!!!

Whaddup!!!

This year's almost over. Have you been thinking about how you want to spend 2009?

I know I have!

I would like to encourage you to spend some time reflecting on 2008. Was it everything you expected? Did you want to get more things done? Do less of something else?

Why not make 2009 your best year yet? Let's make it a year where we don't make any excuses. We take responsibility for our actions. We can even take more responsibility and control of our lives by planning our actions.

We might not get everything done that's on our list of plans BUT at least we know we're headed in the right direction.

So take some time out before the end of the year is out and just reflect on 2008. Then look ahead to 2009 with high expectations.

Remember, you don't get what you want. You get what you expect.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Be On The Lookout For The Rap Beat Creator Podcast

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls,

The Rap Beat Creator Podcast is coming soon. It'll have mostly current events in music and some music business tips but it will be entertaining!

I'll send out the first podcast by the end of this week.

Also, coming early 2009, I'll be revamping my best selling audiobook "How To Get Thousands of Dollars Worth of Free Hiphop Advertising" as well as releasing my new book, "Teach Me How To Rap."

You'll be the first to know...

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

The Importance of Having a Team

Have you ever played any organized team sports like football or basketball? I played both in school and what you learn in practice is way more valuable that just how to play a sport.

You learn things like "there's no "I" in Team", "together we stand, divided we fall" and all sorts of lessons to help you build a "team spirit".

How does this relate to the music business?

Well for starters, if you look at the music industry and the biggest power players, you'll notice there are teams. Even a solo artist like Jay-Z has a team. The Wu Tang Clan is a team that can be a football team all by itself! More currently you have crews like The Diplomats, T.I.'s Pimp Squad Clique, and Ludacris' Disturbing Tha Peace.

When I was touring with KRS-ONE in California, he had a team. There was his personal manager, Simone, his road manager, and several other people who were there to make sure everything went on schedule as much as possible. Everybody knew what they had to do and sometimes they even did another persons job if it was necessary.


A good book to read about building your music business team is Donald Passman's 'All You Need To Know About The Music Business.' In it, he outlines the basic team members for people wanting to be in the music industry.

Here's a loose sketch of your team members:

1. You (The Artist/Producer)
2. Personal Manager
   
3. Entertainment Lawyer
   
4. Booking Agent
   
5. Business Manager

Let's look at each of these in more detail:

You is self explanatory. Without You, none of this is possible and there is no need for the rest of the team. You are the center of the team.

Your Personal Manager is what Passman calls the CEO/General Manager of your team. This person is responsible for helping you direct your career and basically going to bat for you in whatever way to boost your career. They can also be responsible for helping you pick your other team members.

The Entertainment Attorney is, according to Passman, the most important member of the team. They take care of the legal details for the artist, help negotiate contracts and make sure the artist can get what they want with the least amount of legal hassle. They also help shop your music to get a record deal. Their job is generally to protect the artist.

The Booking Agent is the person who is responsible for getting you gigs. They help you get concert dates and public appearances.

Last but not least is the Business Manager. This person handles all of your finances and they are responsible for making sure all of your money dealings are in order. They help you budget, pay bills, make investments, check your royalty statements, etc. In a nutshell they are the ones responsible for helping you make your net worth grow.

Do you now understand the importance of having a team? You can try to do it all alone but you'll make much more money if you have a team of players to help you succeed.

One more thing on the quality of the members of your team. This has more to do with your team members' mindset. Make sure your Personal Manager, who is the CEO/General Manager of your team, is a go-getter. That is worth repeating.

Make sure your Personal Manager is a go-getter.

Your Personal Manager can make or break your career so choose wisely. And don't be afraid to replace your team members if you need to. If you have a weak link, then you need to get rid of the dead weight. In the end, it will be a blessing to your career especially if you plan to be in the music business on a long term basis.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

Teach Me How 2 Rap: Work Comes Before Success

This post is in regards to the mindset you MUST have in the music business. Let me start by saying this:

The only place SUCCESS comes before WORK is in the dictionary.

With that being said, let's get to the point of this article. I recently got an email from someone who saw me in the picture with KRS-ONE on my website. While I do know KRS-ONE, it doesn't mean that my association with him is an automatic "hook up" for me or anyone else.

Knowing someone in the business is not enough. The real key is who knows you!

What do I mean by who knows you? Well, I KNOW alot of people. What they can do for me is a different question. Just because a person is popular doesn't qualify them to give you a first class ticket to New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta or anywhere else for that matter so that you can sign a major record deal.

Get your head out of the clouds!!!

Let's bring you back to Earth...

Who knows you? I mean really...Who knows YOU? I learned this the hard way. How do you get people to "know you"? It all begins with your marketing plan.

Your marketing plan is your way to let people know who you are. If you fail in this area, you can pretty much guarantee your career is going to have problems.

Even if you get the hook up, somebody is still going to have to come up with a marketing plan for you....

..so why not you?

Why not take the lead and find out as much as you can 1st about the business and 2nd about marketing yourself and your business?

Once you do this and become good at it, then people will come and find YOU. People with money (labels) in today's market look for artists and independent labels who've already established a following or track record. Look at Souljah Boy as proof!

This means you've got to get out and grind. You've got to market yourself. You've got to hustle.

Believe me if you sell 10,000 units without major label help, the majors will come to you.

Now if you want to keep waiting for the perfect opportunity, the perfect hook up, or the perfect celebrity to just walk by, then by all means go ahead. Just don't hold your breath!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.LearnHow2Rap.com
www.RapBeatCreator.com

Attention Rappers: How To Avoid Writer's Block

Here is a reprint of a blog post I wrote for The Hot Instrumentalist:

Attention Rappers: How To Avoid Writer's Block

Lately, I've been dealing with the challenge of just finishing ONE song. Yep, you heard it right: One song. I mean this is not just a one day thing or a one week thing. This has been going on for a little while.

A friend of mine asked me to write a song for a group that he's working with because they needed material. I accepted the challenge not having written a whole song for anybody before because I figured it would be a good way to branch out further into songwriting. I mean I've written verses for people to spit but never a whole song and being that its for a younger audience makes it more challenging.

The real challenge that I'm having involves simply staying focused on getting it done. I've come up with several song topics but actually writing about them has been difficult. This year has been a very strange year for me. I can't say it’s a bad one but it’s definitely not one of my most favorable years.

I not a big fan of excuses but it seems as if I've been cheering them on lately with this latest project.

So here is what I am proposing to do and if you think it will help you then by all means join me.

First, I need to seriously look at my "Why" for doing this project. Why am I doing this? Is it for fame and glory? Is it because I like to write? Or maybe its because I see dollar signs and a pot of gold at the end of the writing rainbow. What ever my "Why" is I need to clearly have that in the forefront of my mind if that is my goal and then the second step is to...

WRITE IT DOWN!!!

I heard some stats a while ago that said that people who have clear, specific goals with a deadline are usually more inclined to achieve them. I believe that figure was about a 97% achievement ratio. What's absolutely krazy is that I usually write my goals down but with this project, I slipped. I'm only human.

Once I've got my goal for this project written down and my "Why" for doing it firmly etched in my brain. The next step is to break that main goal into smaller goals or milestones. How else do you eat an elephant but one bite at a time?

Okay, so now I got a reason and some written goals and milestones to look forward to. Here is the next and one of the most critical ingredients:

ACTION!!!

All this planning is cool but nothing happens without action. And while action is great, it helps to have a map of where you're going. That's what all the planning and goal setting was about in the first place. So you begin to take steps toward the first milestone.

For me that involves having at least 2 songs completed before the end of next week that I can submit to the group's manager for review. To do that I must schedule some time out of my busy life to sit with the pen, the pad and some fire beats to write to...let's say about 30 to 45 minutes a day. I can afford to do that even if it means getting up a bit earlier in the morning...without hitting the snooze button.

Today is Friday evening going into Saturday morning so by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest, I should be reviewing my progress to see how far I am from completing the 2 songs. This is a good half-way point to access where I am and if something is truly holding me back, what is it?

Okay so here are the steps again:

Figure out your "Why" for writing the song. Why are you writing the song?

1. Write down realistic goals for completing the song?
2. Set milestones to help measure your progress
3. Action, Action, & more Action!!! Nothing beats action.
4. Track you progress to make sure you're on schedule to complete your song.
5. Finish the song.

With these 6 simple steps, anyone who chooses to use them should be able to knock out plenty of songs in a short period of time.

I'll let you know how this works out for me and please keep me posted how it works out for you.

Holla...

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.RapBeatCreator.com