| TALENTDISPLAY from L.A, USA |
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| Written by tricksta |
| Monday, 21 June 2010 14:29 |
 TalentDisplay and was born in Brooklyn, New York and now resides in Los Angeles. He generated a buzz out in California and has now performed all over the West Coast and overseas. He released a few mixtapes and but his new release street album "Between Scenarios" Hosted by DJ Ames is the release that could get him the attention he deserves. Tricksta hooked up with him to get the lowdown... When did you start making music and realise that you wanted to be a rapper? Always listened to many different types of music. My best friend whom I consider my brother taught me how to freestyle off the top, the whole thought process, etc. What I did next was improve my arsenal by writing and expanding my range with words. I started writing every day everytime I could. I started using lyrics as a therapeutic tool around 17 years of age I would say. Now when I knew I was going to pursue this seriously? There's a funny story to that... I was at a party a while back and I was listening to a song titled "Breathin'" by the late great Tupac Shakur. I rewrote bars to the beat ending with the same words and I started spitting at the very same party, I was kinda messing around, had some liquor in me at the time (laughs), but THEY LOVED it. The very next day I started pursuing it seriously. Was there a person or record that inspired you to pick up the pen and start writing songs and hit the studio? See, the whole art of words inspires me, I was always into words and artisitic expressions. My close family, my ex, my girl today, and my very few close friends definitely took part in inspiring me as well as the many crowds' reaction to my music. I got addicted to their feedback. Since my first show at B.B King's in Universal Citywalk I was hooked by them and I want to say "I'M THANKFUL!". So how did you get your name? What’s the story behind it? I didn’t have a name when I first went in the booth. I titled the first song I ever recorded "Talent Display" since I was spitting in two different languages. Shortly after I decided that would be my name and stuck with it since. Where exactly are you from and what’s the Hip-Hop scene like there? I reside in the westside, Los Angeles to be exact. The hip-hop scene is far from dead out here. There are a lot of people pushing out their music and are finally getting heard after the west was slept on for a little bit. From Nipsey to Jay Rock to Snoop still pushing out his music, it's a beautiful thing to see them doing the damn thang. I listen to Hip-Hop from all over the world, I do not care where you're from, if I like your music I like it, period. What projects have you released so far and what feedback from the media have you had? I released a mixtape called "The Snyper Mixtape" which got some good feedback and of course some bloggers will always try and "E-Thug" (Laughs) but overall I was overwhelmed by the love. It was a collection of unreleased and promo songs. Let’s talk about your latest project. Where can people get it, who features on it and who dealt with the production? This upcoming project with Ames, I'm really looking forward to it. It's titled "Between Scenarios". Production ranges from many different producers from around the world, from Buffalo, NY to Texas to The Netherlands to Spain. It features my fam J.V, Tal Mir from Letters Burning, DW, and Karlina C. People will be able to download it for free on DATPIFF.com and there will be many more media outlets it will be available on, OR they can get at me @TalentDisplay on TWITTER and I will also have the link attached to YOUTUBE.com/TalentDisplay. I hope people will like this project man, I worked SO HARD on it... blood, sweat, tears, and much more were put into it. I really hope it's received in the way I expect it to be. it has 18 tracks on it and is pretty much filled with that fuego! (laughs). I'm also working on other projects and features as "Between Scenarios" is being prepped for release, staying a few steps ahead, always. How are you getting your project out there? Do you have a distributor involved? Well, it's pretty much me and Ames right now pushing “Between Scenarios” online. I will be pushing physical copies as promo items as well while performing and doing shows, etc. If anyone else would like to take part by posting it on blogs, and forums then feel free I would love it!! I'm doing this one free and the indie way, as I found it to be the best method at the moment. Is there a shop or website stocking and supporting your music? www.DATPIFF.com, various blogs, Youtube, Myspace, Twitter, etc. Getting radio play is real gripe for a lot of Hip-Hop artists, but have you had any radio play? If so what DJ’s and stations are supporting you? The biggest supporter as far as DJ's are DJ Spinz (U.S) and DJ Ames (U.K). Radio play is hard to get at the moment, but if you can get a buzz that's strong enough and create noise loud enough to be heard and make the ones you need on your side turn their head, they will press play in those radio booths no doubt about it. Patience and persistence are two important keys. Do you think that radio is still as important as it was in the digital age? Yes, I do. Radio is another form of exposure, always will be a big one. Every form of marketing is important NO MATTER WHAT! Dance/Electro/Club styled Hip-Hop seems to be the only Hip-Hop getting airplay on radio and TV. Do you think that to survive you have to change your music to fit in or do you think its more a case of moving with the times? I am a very diverse artist. I always try to cater to many different demographics. Hip-Hop and music in general are composed of numerous different categories. I try and cater to all of them. Moving with the times is important, but you also have to be able to take it back, fit in with today’s music, and take part in its future. Do you think the Internet helps or hinders independent artists? I think it does both; there are pros and cons to the Internet. I feel like it allows many to over saturate the market giving the listeners a harder time to filter the music that's bad and sometimes miss music that's so good it's mind boggling and I'm not talking just about my own project, I'm talking in general. When it comes to making music what would you credit as your main motivation? Life's emotions and events, as well as dreams, feedback and aspiration. I can get inspired by waiting as my car gets an oil change, or by a floating plastic bag (LAUGHS!). Let’s talk image and branding for a minute. Some artists spend lots of money on artwork and other acts aren’t that interested. How important is image, artwork and branding to you? I think artwork is very important, I think it's a piece of your project. The guy who did the artwork for mine did an incredible job; I think the people who download the project will like it. I sometimes download certain mixtapes or buy certain albums because of the front/back covers that it has, it's a major piece. Look at Drake's upcoming cover for his album, people might hate it but they will talk about it and there's always that kid who will buy based on the 3D behind it. His personal brand is his self, even with clothing... Look at EM, Fabolous, Joell, Royce, they're just doing them man. Look at the buzz they've been able to generate. I am a big supporter of that. I believe great marketing plays a major role in the success of the project. As far as artwork, I would be lying if I said it didn't matter. You will see how much was put into mine and understand. As far as self image, like I said, do YOU man, DO YOU. I think that any artist coming into the game these days needs a music video. I mean You Tube is one the most visited website in the world and its still a great way of promoting a track. Have you got any videos on there and have any of them actually got played on any TV Stations? I plan on shooting real official videos in the near future. I will place "Between Scenarios" on YOUTUBE.COM/TalentDisplay track by track with the official cover. I noticed many major artist doing the same thing and getting plays. I think that at the end of the day, everything you do as a musician or as an artist falls into the music fam. What was the last album you bought and where do you buy your music? Is there a good record shop in your area or do you buy on-line? I had about a 100 cd's stolen from my car, I was mad about it, but decided to get my collection all over again I'm still a fan of cd's man (laughs). Sometimes, I will buy online, but usually I like to go to a store out here in Cali called AMEOBA MUSIC located on Sunset. There's a serious amount of music there that's very hard to find from digital all the way down to Vinyl. Last albums I bought recently were BATTLE OF THE SEXES by Luda and Gang Starr's FULL CLIP, Rest In Peace GURU you will forever have a stamp on the hip-hop game and you will always be missed. Interview by Tricksta www.myspace.com/trickstawolftown |
| Last Updated on Monday, 21 June 2010 14:41 |
