The Higher Learning Of Tre Capital
Yesterday I was talking to a prominent UK rapper about the difficulty and struggle of the rap game. About how hard it is for artists to establish themselves, and their ever increasing workload.
Artists have to be the artist, the A&R, marketeer, social media manager, and manager in order for people to click on a stream, maybe add them to a playlist, or buy tickets for a show. It is the best time ever for artists, social media has changed the rules, its a level playing field for all artists, but not everyone is Stormzy. Not everyone is Chance The Rapper, it is actually harder than ever for artists because the quality threshold needed to make fans engage and react is at an all time high. It is a level playing field with an infinite no. of players all fighting for relevance and the possibility that they might cut through.
Myself and the UK rapper question deduced that if rappers could foresee the incoming struggle before they started out, that they may want to consider spending their time and energy getting a more stable tangible profession that pays off such as engineering, or construction, etc.
The rap game is exhausting and unforgiving, but if an artist can endure the constant struggle, and maintain the hope that one day it might all make sense, the end result is worth the sacrifice.
Tre Capital knows this. He is currently on his own journey to put himself on, he’s making his own mistakes, and his own wins. He isn’t following the path well travelled, or relying on the rap privilege of his family Tre Capital is on a quest of higher learning and self artist development. He ‘s making his own army of allies, building his own council of support, and negotiating his way through the matrix of illogical existence that is the rap game.
My interview with Tre Capital literally on the streets of LA was incredibly surreal and inspiring. He’s a good kid in a mad city, a mad world, but it feels like his quest for higher learning and fight to present his artistry will prevail. Check out Tre Capital on the Hip-Hop Raised me Podcast.
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‘Hip Hop Raised Me’ the book will be out on October 6th via Thames & Hudson, and is available to pre-order right now, right here.
To coincide with the book, the official ‘Hip Hop Raised Me’ 3 x CD compilation album is out on October 7th and available to pre-order. Tickets to the ‘Hip Hop Raised Me’ show are available to purchase now via www.gigsandtours.com.
