#my first social media was myspace and i used the name of the mc of the book i was reading at the time

[smoking-old-toby]

scavenging abandoned tolkien blogs for fanart and shit posts that only got 200 notes back in 2014 when they should have another zero on there At Least

[thefreshfinds]

KID PRO:

One who takes into consideration that the world is his oyster, Kid Pro effortlessly plummets your favorite rapper's career.

As an active member of society, Kid Pro has tapped into a higher knowledge that most don't possess. In the midst of flipping the pages of philosophical books that speak on self-absorption & swimming against the current — he also impliments it into his own work. If he isn't speaking on racial issues or our very corrupted government, then the all-around prophet is slapping around those with "murder on their mind" with a word of advice, e.g Classified ft. Mickey Jaggs which speaks on how we're still slaves in todays society, police brutality & how we sell our own stories to tabloids. Mickey Jaggs: "Taking attention of off the sh*t where the focus should be at/Gave us freedom to choose but don’t give a f*ck about the choice/We all pawns & the bosses are anonymous/So distracted by idols that they idolize never even notice that they feed them lies.. goodbye” Yet his deep appreciation for golden hip-hop gives him the ability to mesh all of these subjects together with hard-hitting rhymes like "“Last name 'fuck', first name 'don’t', middle name 'give a so-nigga what you want." or “My true knowledge only came from true suffering now a nigga 4G so I ain’t never buffering.” (Technical Difficulties), boom bap & east coast vibes.

To simply put it, Kid Pro keeps in mind that there's always room for improvement. If he isn't venturing into his own Cons & Pros "The protagonist been laying low/Charging up like a proton." then he's encouraging others to "think global" & to "never get stuck on the locals." (ProZilla)

Bleeding yellow, red & blue — Kid Pro basks into his Columbian heritage with pride.

Even though he's from Parsippany, NJ where the music scene isn't booming, Kid Pro has found a way to make it work. "It’s a big enough town to hold two high schools, but small enough to where everyone pretty much knows or knows of each other."

Asides from being an MC, Kid Pro is an influx of other things.

On the whole he's an producer, engineer & even a father of two who teaches them about life. Yet he also learns more about himself in the process. In a word, KID PRO says it's an enjoyable journey that continues to levitate with time. " My constant pursuit is to be the best version of myself that I can be. I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I can no longer stand by & just do nothing. Any day spent just lounging around is a wasted opportunity to learn a new skill, improve on an old one, read a book, write a new song, etc. I hate that it takes death to appreciate life, but Nipsey’s passing hit me harder than I thought it would because of all the good he was doing outside of music. We were practically the same age & he was able to change & affect so many lives for the better. That continues to speak volumes to me and it’s been one of my sources of inspiration."

The moniker he chose stands for three important elements needed in order to live a prosperous life, "K stands for “Knowledge”, I stands for “Intensity”, & D stands for “Determination." According to the artist, if one wants to become a Pro at anything, these things will get them far. Hence "KID PRO."

If it wasn't for “Midnight Marauders” by A Tribe Called Quest, Kid Pro's love for hip-hop wouldn't be so massive. Still, them along with 9th Wonder & Little Brother have paved the way for his conscious sound.

His music journey started off with poetry in a middle school English class, which then transitioned into rapping in a basement on a $10 USB microphone & posting songs on Soundclick & MySpace.

According to the MC it was just something he thought was cool because he always watched music videos & listened to rap. But over time, it became his passion & therapy. For Kid Pro, making music allows him to express himself in ways that he isn't able to with just speaking. In fact, he can perform those same songs on a stage in front of people & have them relate to what he's saying. "My life was all about music." Kid Pro adds.

Thus far, Kid Pro has been blessed with many opportunities. He's traveled to different open mics/showcases/competitions & always meet new acts that are bringing new energy & rocking new flows that keep him on my toes. To Pro, the new generation of MC’s in that 20-25 year range look the absolute hungriest & impress him with how they’re able to command a huge presence not just on stage, but with social media in order to help push their brand. 

Ultimately, Kid Pro is moved by those that go beyond their boundaries & don’t accept any limitations because the idea of making something out of nothing & presenting it to an audience to help them feel something comes with great joy & a never ending addiction. But his main source of inspiration comes from those he holds dear to his heart: His family.

As he asserts into lyricism, Kid Pro takes into account that music is forever changing. "I would say my strength comes in not being afraid to explore new concepts, flows & beat selection.” Kid Pro adds "You never want to get caught up in recreating what’s hot currently, but being a trendsetter for the next wave. I enjoy every aspect of the writing process. Being able to tell a story over a beat, rhyme & have consistent imagery & metaphors throughout, all while keeping the listener engaged with a melody is not the easiest thing to do. If it’s done right(& marketed right), you can change the world, & that’s what I aim for each time I pick up the pen."

Likewise, Kid Pro's main message to the crowd is to always strive to be the best version of yourself at all times. After all, tomorrow is never promised for anyone & we all have to live life as if we won’t get to see another day. "Before I get off stage at a show, I always recite a small “poem” I wrote randomly a few years back: “Keep Your Eyes Open/Open Your Mind/ Mind Your Business/ Business Before Pleasure/ Pleasure Your Life/ Life Is Good/ Good Night”.... It means a lot to me." he adds.

With this in mind, Kid Pro overcomes all in order to achieve true greatness. He gives those listening a crash-course on how to perceive, act & think about obstacles. He's learned how to deal with the source & never the middle man. And so, he aims to test his limits. Wait until mid-June, Kid Pro will be releasing an upcoming collab EP with @obbeatzz titled “KICKvSNARE” on all streaming platforms along with a solo project which will release in the Fall.

In the meantime, check out his freestyle series called #VersesAboutNothing. In this series he films & edits his own music videos. Kid Pro also showcases his lyrics over classic beats & original beats from producers he's met throughout the years.

"I’ve also put in the groundwork to jumpstart a YouTube channel & make it a full media experience where I’ll be doing everything from music videos, interviewing other artists, comedy skits, Vlogs, Podcasts & much more." he says "I want to take full control of the content I put out & not have to wait on anyone else to get it done. My creativity & motivation is at an all-time high so please be on the lookout for more coming your way!"

P.S: His favorite song to create was Cons & Pros which has two versions! (He even performs it frequently via acapella.) It consists of a rhyme scheme using words that start with “Pro.”

"It’s one of the most challenging songs ever, but that’s what makes it fun. It’s like starting this huge 10,000 piece puzzle: at first it seems impossible, then you start connecting more and more pieces, and before you know it, it’s all coming together flawlessly. The song also has a great message behind it and not just me rhyming a bunch of “Pro” words. I believe in the power of lyrics and always make sure I’m bringing some sort of positivity and knowledge to the listener."

By: Natalee Gilbert

LINK(S):

1. SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/kidpromusic

2. YouTube / Apple Music: Search “Kid Pro”

3. Instagram: @iamkidpro

[hanbinrst-blog]

screen, social media! au [pcy] | how it all started. (#1)

masterlist.

2016

yoonhee was known as the mysterious singer with the soothing voice that lulled you to sleep. she sometimes even pondered on why she had so many fans if she had barely been on tv, that’s why she decided to go on happy together. the infamous variety show where yoo jaesuk earned his name, big celebrities were made famous on here.

that’s what her manager had said, she sat in the van scrolling through her instagram feed. her eyes scanning her other celebrity-like friends posting for their fans. she switched to her private account, the first thing seeing a tagged photo of her close rapper friend andy, she was kneeling on a wall. it looked like it was a party, the lights red creating a mysterious aura around the three.

on the left was zico, but yoonhee liked to refer him by his real name: jiho. the rapper had freshly dyed hair, it may have looked soft but knowing jiho. he would complain on how dead his hair has been lately, she chuckled. looking to the left of the photo was a taller boy, his pointy ears attracting yoonhee‘s brown eyes. his hair was red, a deeper colour than the lights. yoonhee knew who he was, park chanyeol. the main rapper of exo, the public may have seen him as a kind nice person, which is partly true, but he loved parties. she had met him a few times in jiho’s party, his excitable and bright eyes always shone with curiosity.

the first thing he had said to her was that he liked her music, especially her first album. yoonhee had smiled then and thanked him, she received many compliments like those before, which made her happy.

her manager had finally entered the van and sat in the driver’s seat, “who’s invited today?” yoonhee’s voice broke the silence. “the young stars of today, 3 young female actors between the age of 15 to 17 and 3 exo members.”

she straightened her back at the mention of exo, “exo? which 3 out of 9 are coming today?” she smiled kindly at her manager, “suho, chen and chanyeol.” he looked up at the rearview mirror, making eye contact.

“don’t associate yourself with idols, especially the ‘it’ boy group. you know how bad scandals can get.” her manager reversed out of the parking spot and yoonhee fell back on the comfy beige car seat. “don’t worry byungchan-ah. i dislike idols.” the sentence fell from her lips with a smirk falling afterward.

“yoonhee-ssi, you don’t know what haduri is?” yoo jaesuk asked in mock disbelief and the younger artist laughed awkwardly, “jaesuk-ssi, i grew up in london. we had different stuff to communicate.” the line-up laughed out loud, it was a small comment but she knew that the others had misheard and made it seem like a roast.

“what did you have to communicate?” kyungsoo’s asked and she replied back, “we used myspace, i was young back then and my parents didn’t allow me to have an account so i’d watch my older brother text and design his page.” she informed with a serious face, “didn’t you guys use it?” she asked, her eyes widened in confusion making her look like a confused puppy. “we had better platforms.” the crew laughed and yoonhee threw her head back at myungsoo’s comment.

soon the topics quickly changed and now the mc’s were discussing chanyeol’s movie and a question left the female mc’s lips. “was that your first kiss?” the people there had grown flustered and jaesuk asked another question. “i mean, it was the first kiss i did on-screen.” chanyeol replied and the mc’s hummed in understanding. soon myungsoo was asking the other members about their first kiss and the girls along with yoonhee laughed.

“how about you yoonhee?” myungsoo, “myungsoo-ssi, i’m trying to keep my good girl act.” she smiled and the room was filled with laughter.

- 

yoonhee yawned, today was a long day. she lay on her bed looking up at the mirror ceiling and stared at herself. she liked her job, she did. but she enjoyed sleep to, and relaxing. she hated tense situations and not being relaxed. her phone buzzed and she turned to her side and flipped her phone onto the screen.

a new message from real__pcy

[A/N: i hope this is not too cringey, but hey :D. this story idea has been stuck in my mind for ages and i finally said “fuck it” i hope u enjoyed and i’d really appreciate feedback and if u have any questions ask away! - safa ]

[damnthatnoise]

Darko The Super | Of Dogs & Devils | An Interview

Hip Hop has long been about bravado, skill, and how your personality can capture and pull the listener in even further than just your skillset. There have been many an MC who’s personality sometimes outshined the lyrical prowess for better or worse, but when I sit back and think of some of my favorite MC’s growing up (Redman, Slick Rick, Kool Keith, E-40, and Del to name a few) the personality often was near cartoonish with no real effort from the MC to make it appear that way. Enter MC Darko The Super who since first coming across his music via Already Dead Tapes has oozed oddball personality, and ever evolving skills as an MC. Darko is no joke rapper though, instead he is adept at delivering some stark reality raps littered with glints of humor we often use to cope with the pain of existence. 

Fresh off delivering one of my personal favorites last year in the form of Card Tricks For Dogs, he returns with his friend Steel Tipped Dove to give us The Devil Defeated, and makes a claim as one of the indie hiphop scenes freshest, most colorful, and promising voices making music. 

You can order the digital, cassette and SUPER vinyl copies of The Devil Defeated here, as well as all Darko The Super Items. 

The Devil Defeated by Darko The Super & steel tipped dove

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Damn That Noise: Darko The Super. What’s the origin of that name and what’s it come to mean to you now? 

Darko: I think Darko The Super was my gamertag on Xbox Live before it was my official artist alias. I did two albums as Evan Darko after I seen Donnie Darko in high school. It had a big impact on adolescent me. The Super comes from another big influence on me at the time, MF Doom. My favorite song my senior year was "Dead Bent". I thought the ending of Operation Doomsday was really cool. The way it let you decide between hero or villain. I was big into vigilante justice at the time. I wanted to be like my favorite superheroes. So that's where the name came from. Nowadays it's just a name. More people know me as Darko than my real name these days, so it'd be silly to change it. Name's don't define you. It doesn't matter much to me. Though I like it. 

DTN: You’ve had a pretty prolific young career given that you’ve dropped 10+ projects since 2011, but when we were taking recently you said you’ve just now started to feel like you now know your voice. What’s changed in the last couple of years to get you to that place? 

Darko: Since 2011 I may have done nearly 100 albums. Most haven't lasted. I've deleted and erased most of my material pre 2014 from the face of the internet. (If anyone has a Loser CD, please destroy it.) I put out 10 albums in 2018 alone. All better than the previous. "Watered Down Demon Fuzz" from 2017 is the album I truly found my voice on. I listened back to "Oh, No! It's Darko" for nostalgic purposes and it seems more like a comedy album than anything, and not that good of a comedy album either. I was 18 when I made the first album I put on cd and gave to everyone at shows when I was starting to go out and perform. It was called Loser, inspired by Beck. Next cd I made was a compilation, also terrible, but somehow it's going for $75 on Discogs. I personally don't like anything prior to 2016. "Carve a Happy Face  on my Tombstone" had a few good songs. Those were transformative years. My perspective on life has changed severely. It's hard to be happy with things you create when you're not even happy with who you are. I think in finding myself, I found my voice too. Life will always be a mystery. But at least I'm more comfortable in my own skin at the moment. Therefore more comfortable in my art. 

DTN: Why erase the evidence of growth though? If anything that could show folks the rapid progression of Darko? 

Darko: I'd prefer to leave a better first impression. Maybe I'm too insecure to show people my progression. It's also just a matter of that not being the way I feel anymore as far as the way I wrote back then. 

DTN: Your style is a bit unorthodox in that you kind of dance all over the pocket of the beats, and your inflections seem to change at the drop of a hat. I know E-40 and DOOM are a couple favorites of yours but who else’s impressed a young Darko and helped give us the man we have now? Who made you say “I think this is something I want to do!!”?

Darko: Murdoc and MyGrane McNastee from Orlando, Florida were a couple of the first independent rappers I got into from watching the Wake Up Show freestyles on Youtube. They were big influences on me. From there I got into MF Doom, Madlib, and J Dilla. During the datpiff era, I got really into Charles Hamilton's mixtapes. I was a big fan of a web series around that time called Internet Celebrities. Through them I found out about Das Racist. I remember listening to them for the first time on MySpace. I saw Big Baby Gandhi in a video with them. Later on his Debut would become one of my favorite albums. I was really into going on hip hop blogs. I remember watching Open Mike Eagle rap "Qualifiers" in a laundromat and having my mind blown. He told me Serengeti was his favorite rapper which had me watching every Kenny Dennis video I could find. Dennehy became my favorite album. I got into Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire from seeing the Last Huzzah video with Das Racist, El-P, Despot, and Danny Brown. That's still my favorite posse cut. From checking out rap battles I got into Soul Khan who I remember posting about Homeboy Sandman's album The Good Sun. Blogs also got me listening to every Blu song. Her Favorite Color was something special to me. All those artists were huge in developing my approach. Nowadays my favorite rappers of all time are E-40, Serengeti, and Kool Keith

DTN: Card Tricks for Dogs feels like your most fully formed artistic statement yet and The Devil Defeated feels like the exclamation point showing folks you’re a real force. What helped bring those two records to life?

Darko: Both albums took a long time to come together, which usually isn't the case for me. I remember writing some of those Card Tricks for Dogs tracks while on vacation with my girlfriend and her family. I had tons of beats from my good friend and longtime collaborator Phil Ford aka BLKrKRT (Blacker Karat) loaded on my phone for those trips. I started it shortly after meeting Steel Tipped Dove for the first time. I released an album of his on my label and he offered to mix and master some tracks for me. So this was the first solo album of mine I let someone else do all the mixing for. I took my time with it and let it come together naturally. I believe everything happens at it's own time. As for The Devil Defeated, that album started out as a project called Contemplating Lonely Stuff, inspired by a Serengeti lyric. It was for the most part produced by Height Keech and Steel Tipped Dove. Eventually I decided to do albums with each of them separately. The album with Dove was pretty far along in the process and originally I wanted to call it "Playing Skee-Ball With Zev Love X" but we both agreed that was kinda corny and not many people would get what we were referencing. Then I heard the news of Daniel Johnston passing away, who is a hero of mine. I listened to nothing but Daniel for a few days straight and a few lyrics in particular stuck out to me. The one that landed was "The Devil Defeated" another possibility was My Yolk is Heavy. Me and Dove made over 20 songs for this album and eventually narrowed it down to the most cohesive project we could. We'll be doing a follow up of course. That's in the works now. I'm very proud of this album. My favorite track is a story I wrote based on a song called "Suzy's Face" by my favorite punk band, The Spits. I had to convince Dove on that one. There's another track I tried to convince him about too, but that will never see the light of day since I ended up agreeing with him. 

DTN: You’ve has a chance to work with a lot of interesting and well loved folks. How the hell did the tracks with Lil’B, Charles Hamilton, Denmark Vessey and others come about? 

Darko: I did an album called “Thank You BasedGod” dedicated to Lil B. I produced a track for him way back in 2014. He reached out to me after TYBG and offered to do a track together. So I sent him a couple  Steel Tipped Dove beats and he chose the one that ended up on the album. Later I saw Charles Hamilton posting about doing features. I sent him the Lil B track since that’s a dream collaboration of mine. Lil B is a big Charles Hamilton fan, and they’re both internet gurus of their eras. Charles conquered the blog era by releasing tons of free albums on his own blog, landing on all the mixtape sites. Lil B mastered social media and became a marketing genius, even transpiring music. I’m proud to say the first time they worked together was with me. As for getting Denmark Vessey on the album, he had already worked with Dove and toured with my good friends, The Difference Machine. I was the one who showed them his album Buy Muy Drugs while I was out in Atlanta for a week. That album’s my favorite of the decade. He had posted about doing features so I sent him an email and made it happen. 

DTN: You’ve released a lot of projects via Already Dead Tapes as well as starting UDDTBA. What is the connection with ADT and why start your own label? What have you learned from ADT and how has the played into how you run your label?

Darko: Already Dead Tapes taught me everything I need to know about running a record label. I met them in 2014 when I sent over my latest at the time “Oh, No! It’s Darko.” They were nice enough to release that on cassette. Soon after they invited me to play their weekend long festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I brought along ialive and we booked our first tour. Staying in Kalamazoo at the Knights Inn we recorded an album together and formed the now infamous duo The Hell Hole Store. From there we’ve played the Already Dead fest every year and I’ve released quite a few albums on Already Dead Tapes. U Don’t Deserve This Beautiful Art was grown out of wanting to support my friends and artists I admire. I brought on my best buds Steel Tipped Dove and Harvey Cliff to help me run things. Now the sky’s the limit. 

DTN: “Suzy” is life a very interesting record as is “lo-fi princess” off of The Devil Defeated. You mentioned the influence for “Suzy” came from another artists song...how’d this end up on your record and why? Also what’s the idea behind “Lo-Fi..”? 

Darko: During my commute one day I listened to The Spits first self titled album. I hadn’t played it in a while and instantly remembered why they’re the best. One song in particular stuck with me throughout that ride, “Suzy’s Face”. I decided to write a song building off of their track. Almost like taking a short story and creating a movie. I tried to describe in detail about why someone would shoot Suzy in the face at a high school dance. So that’s what I came up with. Lo-fi princess 2 is a sequel to the original from “Watered Down Demon Fuzz” both love songs to my girlfriend, Alora. I liked the phrase cos it reminded me of “Bow-tie Daddy” by Frank Zappa. Now that I think of it, an actual Lo-fi princess would be an anime babe trapped in the track art of a SoundCloud beat. We’d have to defeat the chill hop brigade to save her. 

DTN: You and iAlive have a really dope chemistry and have two very different styles but similar energies that work so well off of each other. What makes that partnership work and why’d you guys want to keep it going after the one hotel infused brainstorming session?

Card Tricks For Dogs by Darko The Super & BLKrKRT

Darko: We kept it going cos there were more hotel sessions to be had. On tour you’re on the highway with a lot of time on your hands. That’s where most of our songs and ideas come from. We set up shop where ever we’re staying and start to bring these ideas to life. The people seem to like us and we enjoy performing together. That’s what keeps the hell hole going. We survive off friendship and fun times. 

DTN: Okay sir Darko. You can only eat at two fast food places for the next year because you lost a bet. Where you going??

Darko: Obviously Taco Bell is numero uno, I’m a big Taco Bell enthusiast. Next would be Wendy’s, best fast food burgers by me, and they got those spicy nuggets. Plus I heard their salads are good too, which I would need a salad every now and then. I don’t think this is too far off from my normal diet. Worst thing that could happen is I have a heart attack. But I’m on that path anyway. Maybe I’ll start exercising. Maybe. 

DTN: What are you picking if you only have Thor and Spider-Man as costumes for Halloween?!

Darko: Spider-Man of course. I could pull off a husky Spider-Man. Family Guy made it look good. I’d need the fake muscles for Thor. Fake muscles never look good. I don’t have the luxurious hair either. 

DTN: What’s the writing process like for you?! Do you let the beat decide the direction? Do you have an idea or some lyrics written and you locate a beat that fits?

Darko: Either or. Writing always comes to me. It’s second nature. If it doesn’t come to me, I don’t write. That’s all there is to it. I only write when I’m inspired. That’s an easy way to go about it. My number one thing is creativity, I don’t wanna be complex or even an intellectual. I want my lyrics to be universally understood. 

DTN: So what’s next on the horizon for Darko The Super?

Darko: Next up I’m working on an album with skits from a comedian friend of mine. He does tons of great characters and videos as Hot Talent Buffet. I think he’s a comedic genius. I’m also working on an album sampling nothing but my favorite band 10cc, titled “Strawberry Studios Jam ‘72” and another album sampling one of my favorite songwriters, Dean Friedman. The Dean and I have a 7” record on the way with my remix of his classic “McDonald’s Girl” on the B side with the original on the A side. I have a couple other collaborative albums coming along. The artist they’re with wants me to hold off announcing it until they’re ready, but I will say it’s a dream collaboration and I’m very excited for it. 

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[pacomatteolicalzi-blog]

The power of social media

Every day pretty much everybody logs in their Social Media to keep themselves updated of simply to kill a boring moment waiting for public transport or for food to get ready. This everyday action for most of the people becomes just a useless routine that allows them to keep in touch with friends or being aware of the newest trends but for a creative Social Media have a totally different power. Nowadays if you wanna know something about somebody the first thing you will do would be looking for him or her on Instagram or Facebook. That sounds pretty cool because pretty much everybody can reach you anytime and ask you more details about your job, style, and availability, the cons are that if you are not prepared enough to show yourself to the public that could be an obstacle between you and your possible job. First of all, you have to think you are? Are you gonna use your full name or just a nickname, and if you are gonna change your name which ones are the reasons? If you made up a name make sure it works and represents what you are selling and it’s important you have already some work to show under that name. All my Socials are linked to my website www.pacomatteolicalzi.com and I chose to use always my real name because I already have several publications and exhibitions under that name and mostly because there’s nobody on earth with that name! My parents were pretty creative when they named me and that made it a lot easier for me to be found online even just googling my name. In the past, I ‘ve been part of some creative crews and it worked pretty well with Chicken Mc Frame because we won several contests under that name and the style we showed on Social within the name represented who we were and what we were able to produce.

https://www.facebook.com/ChickenMcFrame/

What becomes a problem though when you have a page or a profile is the number of likes or followers you have on there, because unfortunately if they are not many people would mostly think you haven’t quite reached that level they want for their project even though the style looks valid.

Right now what I’m trying to show through my Socials is a professional image of me as both Photographer and Videographer because often in the past I was able to mix both skills at the same time especially in Fashion or Music.What is fundamental is inform your followers on what you are doing, which new projects are you working on, you can also post images o backstage or items you are gonna use in your videos or movies to engage the audience. Another idea could be making discounts or your Social Media followers so they would get a perk following you. You could also use your Socials to promote Events or to get help through crowdfunding, I used in past for both reasons and ended up being pretty successful the engagement especially on Facebook, probably because usually people on this platform know you personally and try to help you out as much as they can! a few years ago my crew and I we won a consistent  cash Award with this video winning the First Prize Sponsored by Yomo https://www.behance.net/gallery/12379189/Video-YOMO-GO and we don’t exclude that the engagement in Social Media made his part, including several models targetting lots of different people and letting them share it made the video pretty popular on the Zooppa Contest Website letting us win.

What people also like is to see a more personal side of you so sometimes is a good an idea to post pictures or thoughts that are not specifically connected to your job. Make sure that those posts don’t expose you too much because some clients might not have the same lifestyle as yours. What is really important is to lead your followers to see your website and your work so having the right content is fundamental.

As I mentioned before having a good amount of followers and/or likes on your posts is pretty important to the eye of the crowd so if you don’t have enough a good way to start getting them is to start following  other artists or creatives you like and commenting on their posts and getting them or their followers to reach your profile, it’s a good idea to start with those that are in theory just a step up to your carreer level, they would be more keen to follow you back and cruise in your profile than a really well known Director for Hollywood.

It’s really important as well to understand which socials are better or which content not to waste time or even worse lose engagement. As we all know Facebook is losing its reliability when it comes to the professional aspect o your lie but I you have an Event related to a project or a Movie just realized it’s a good idea to create a page for it and invite your “Friends” or people that might be interested about it.

Instagram is becoming really important for the visual aspect of it, everybody likes to see pictures without a lot of descriptions below and scroll until they find something really appealing and interesting. There is where you have to step up your game and make sure your images are better than the average and make sure the links to direct to your work are easy to find. Other thing you could do on your Instagram is run some contests to grab people’s attention. I personally use it to find model, stylist and make-up artists and often clients.

The most professional out of the social media is probably Linkedin because it allows you to create pretty much a Resume online and get other people you worked with to confirm your skills. There as well is really important to show exactly what your profession is, include the link to your website and add all the experiences you made and the awards you won in the past.

If you are a young Filmmaker you could think to use Youtube and Vimeo as well to share your work. Writers and Comedians Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson stated their super successful series “Broad City” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_City on Youtube and shared it in their socials until they reached the attention of Actress and producer Amy Poehler who made possible for the show to get produced by Comedy Central. This is where they started https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDXmMI6u2lU and in the last seasons, they had cameos like Whoopy Goldberg, RuPaul, Seth Rogen, Cynthia Nixon, Vanessa Williams and even Hilary Clinton so if you have a good content Social media might be a good platform to get your work known out there. The two creators still nowadays use Socials like Facebook and Instagram to lead their public to see the show and not miss any episode.

It’s really important that when you use your socials you use your analytics because it’s gonna make you understand better which one your audience is and which post they like more which ones weren’t as successful as you hoped. In this way, you can use this as a strategy and keep posting content similar to those that people liked more in past and discard some bad choices you made before. You also need to have a clear style and voice on your socials so people who follow you will keep doing it in the future and being authentic is really important as well because people tend to unfollow if they realize that what you are posting is not genuine. Another thing that is important is to Follow the trends because they change really quickly!! A few years ago were Facebook and Twitter the most relevant socials and before that MySpace and now Instagram and even Snapchat seem to be more popular trends, so make sure in the future you will keep up with the new platforms that will invade the web.

Something else you should consider is the amount o engagement you can offer to the commitment o having several socials, it’s really important that if you have one you use it constantly!!

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It’s that time of year again, aren’t you excited? Team oMG is!

You can find team oMG on Twitter at @C_B_Catalano and @shaunaholyoak

Before we dive into our wishlist *rubs hands together* we’d like to tell you a little about ourselves, and why we can’t wait to pay it forward, and help a fellow writer out.

So, I’m Cass *wave* and this is, oh, possibly my 4th time revising this bio post. Revisions are crucial in all aspects of life, and most definitely in this contest, keeping this in mind, if you’re willing to get down and dirty with us, like kill your darlings –even the one you swore you never would– read on!

This is my first year as a Pitch Wars mentor. I am thrilled to be entering this new world with the most amazing, absolutely awesome, co-mentor Shauna Holyoak! We met a few years ago during another Twitter pitch event, and joined a group of similar contest hopefuls. And thank the stars I did because they are some of the most supportive, caring writers and CPs I’ve ever met in this journey!

PCC for life!

Let me say, (and I cannot stress how important this is), the friends you find in the writing community, especially from events like Pitch Wars, are worth their weight in gold.

If you manage to make even one friend during Pitch Wars, trust me when I say you are the ultimate winner already. Now, back to business 😉

Meet Shauna:

My name is Shauna Holyoak, and I expend roughly 25% of my energy writing and 50% of my energy resisting the urge to hunt down and consume all the frosted sugar cookies. I made a chart.

Writing MG is my favorite. My debut novel MY PAPER ROUTE AND OTHER DEADLY THINGS will be published in spring 2019 by Disney-Hyperion. Half of my writing time is currently spent pinching myself about that last part (please don’t turn that into a story problem for me to solve—it will break my brain).

I live in Idaho Falls, Idaho with my game-board designing husband, six of our children and two naughty dogs. Amy Poehler makes me happy, and Leslie Knope makes me happier.

I grew up on Ramona and Fudge books, which instilled a love for spunky, strong characters (also, see above).

And then Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry taught me just how powerful middle-grade fiction could be. So I tend toward contemporary, but MG fiction with strong characters and all the feels is ultimately what gets me.

I am so excited to be co-mentoring with Cass (she is AWESOME!) for this year’s Pitch Wars. It was my entry last year to Brooks Benjamin and Caroline Thompson’s team (spoiler alert: I didn’t make it) that got me the feedback I needed to shine up my manuscript and win a slot in #PitchSlam. That led me to the best agent (shout out to CARRIE PESTRITTO!) and then a pinch-worthy two-book deal!

Pitch Wars is a tremendous opportunity, and I’m so grateful and excited to be a part of it. Also, I can’t wait to fight over entries!

Hi y’all! I’m Cassandra Newbould aka C.B. Catalano, and I cannot wait to read all your words. And fight over entries with Shauna. We will duel to the death for a book we love!

Back in the day I was that girl who enjoyed being sent to their room, because hey! extra reading time! Anything from Little Women, to the Black Stallion. If I could hold it, I was reading it. My lust for all the words continued on through teenage-hood. That’s when I fell in love with all things fantasy, and would dive head-first into the lands of The Tortall Universe, Shannara, and Darkover to name a few. *Sometimes* when my sis and bff would sneak out to go party I’d stay home to read instead. They’d laugh, but there was nothing better than curling up with a good book, a good blanket, and a good dog in my opinion.

*curling up with Jake Gyllenhaal wouldn’t be too shabby either 😉 *

When I had my kiddos, I would spend the evenings telling them the most outrageous stories I could make up in the hopes it would send them to sleep. Eventually, as they grew, they encouraged me to write them down and so my journey as a writer began.

Last year I entered another amazing Twitter pitch event called #DVpit and that is where I met my magnificent and stellar agent, Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media inc.

She fell in love with my MG retelling of Treasure Island: THE MISADVENTURES OF JEM HAWKINS: staring Kick-butt hacker girls, and lady pirates, and all the adventure a girl could want.

Before that, I interned for a NY literary agency for 8 months. Also, I know the ways of middle graders well. My middle son is in the 8th grade this year and my daughter made it through without too many battle wounds a few years ago 🙂

Did I mention I love to write and critique queries? Yeah, I know. But I do, I swear, and I’m happy to say my #NoQS mentee went on to get an agent 🙂 GOOO VALARIE!! so, if you have any questions about how I work as a mentor ask @ValBodden on Twitter.

My husband, a computer engineer who has run the gamut: from MySpace and creating its Open Social platform to autonomous cars for Ford, and I met as teenagers, and had our daughter when I was 22. We have been married 17 years, moved over 21 times together in over 7 states, and have 3 lovely children, 2 awesome cats, and 2 Muppet puppies, otherwise known as Newfypoos.

Seriously, Muppets.

When I’m not writing, I’m probably playing with my children, playing poker (I want to be a professional poker player when I grow up) cooking with the hubs, painting, drawing, and/or drinking wine. I love everything Baz Luhrmann (he can seriously do no wrong) and am a die-hard *end of world genre* movie buff. For TV, I adore Outlander, Black Sails, Shameless and any and every cooking/baking show known to man. Also, I cannot stop watching the tiny houses shows. I’d love to, but I can’t bring myself to.

Now to the exciting part. DUN  DUN DUNNNN

What we’re looking for in a nutshell.

Middle Grade.

Give us all the feels, all of them! While Shauna leans more towards contemporary and I, fantasy we both agree we’re down for either, and welcome them with open arms –with a few minor exceptions–

If your manuscript contains any of the following we’re probably not the best mentors for you:

Younger MG, sorry but upper MG is our jam

Sports

Horror

Hard Sci-fi

Novels in verse

Now, while we aren’t the best for these stories, as we wouldn’t be able to do them the justice they deserve, we are certain you and your amazing manuscript will be able to find another mentor who will help you achieve that next level of fantastic, and we wish you the best of luck!

So what else are we looking for? Well, if any of your books have the feel of these below send them our way. Please. Pretty please with a query on top?

A Snicker of Magic

The Girl Who Drank The Moon

A Wrinkle In Time

Monstrous

Counting By Sevens

The Thing About Jellyfish

When You Reach Me

Mockingbird

Holes

Percy Jackson

Wonder

Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events

The Gauntlet

Rules For Thieves

We joyously welcome diverse and own voices stories with open arms. *grabby hands*

Give us your girl mcs that aren’t afraid of what the world thinks of them. Both likable and unlikable. Give us Hermione Grangers stuck at sea, or Katniss with an obsession for oil painting. Give us your MG Inej Gahfas, Nina Zeniks, (and we can’t forget your Kaz Brekkers), all tied up in the ultimate group heist, if you please. Give us your STEM stories (please, pretty please?) Sibling stories or complex girl friendship stories are a quick way to our hearts! 🙂

We’re down for quiet stories that tug at your heart, or action packed fantasies where the world-building blows your mind. Re-tellings set in a modern world or contemporary dramas thrown back in time. Make us laugh. Or cry. Just make us feel like we never want to put your story down!

However, having said all that, if you have a story that doesn’t fit anything we’ve said above and you feel like you want us anyway, send your ms our way. We both love surprises and can’t wait to find out what we end up falling in love with!

What we can bring to the table for you:

Helping you find a killer voice, pointing out areas that could use work without taking over your story, tackling pacing issues, building complex and believable characters, DIALOGUE! and attention to detail, or lack thereof.

*warning* If you aren’t able to attack your ms with an open mind and willingness to rip it apart and build it back even stronger, perhaps we aren’t the right mentors for you. We will never demand that something be changed, it’s your story after all and you know it best, but you entered Pitch Wars for a reason and hopefully we can help you polish your shiny jewel even farther than it is now.

Good luck fellow writers, may the odds be ever in your favor!

Have you been sitting here wondering where you can find out more about Shauna? Well, here is the link to Shauna’s blog

Shauna’s amazingly awesome blog

Shout out to Brenda Drake for this opportunity for all of us, may your reign be long and fruitful!

Main Blog Link

Links to the other spectacular mentors below:

1.

Shari Schwarz

2.

Shari Green

3.

Gail Villanueva and Isabelle Adrid

4.

Niki Lenz

5.

Melyssa Mercado

6.

Erin Latimer

7.

Hannah Karena Jones

8.

Mae Respicio

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.

Pitch Wars Mentor Wishlist 2017 It's that time of year again, aren't you excited? Team oMG is! You can find team oMG on Twitter at @C_B_Catalano and @shaunaholyoak…

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Q&A With Rising Hip Hop Duo Glass Bottom Boat

Hip Hop duo Glass Bottom Boat! Much love on that group name!!! Definitely one of a kind for the underground scene!!! Tell us a bit about the group, how/when/where was if formed? Who is the better Rapper amongst the two? Where are you guys from?

Cal-S-thetics Haha, yeah the name was kind of an accident. It was a name I used for the SP-808ex sampler I created our first two albums on. So I always labeled the projects asThe Glass Bottom Boat Presents: and since we didn't really have a group name, when we started performing it was kind of the thing people identified with so it stuck and we were cool with it as it has kind of come to symbolize what we do together for sure; the Glass Bottom Boat aka the Window to the World, aka the Pens-Men Ship.

As for the group, we formed it while we attended high school together in Irvine, CA (Orange County). Tone and I (along with Rico, who was an on and off third member) would work with beats I pieced together on the 808 and before on my computer. Tone moved away after our freshman year to North Carolina and really polished his rhyme style while at the same time I would get more and more into producing the beats and when he moved back to SD when we were both seniors, we had already dreamed up several tracks that became the first album that utilized the 808 after my computer crashed where I was originally using Fruity Loops.

I'm originally from the Irvine growing up amongst the cow pastures and track homes. In contrast, Tone grew up all over the US since his Dad was in the Marines. So we bring different flavors to the mix for sure.

Tone Dogg Raw I'm originally from Roswell NM, and like Cal said my dad was a Marine, so I grew up moving around from base to base. The most significant time of my adolescence was spent on El Toro Marine Base, (during that time I met Cal, being bussed to school in Irvine), and Jacksonville NC, where the name Tone Dogg Raw was coined.

Haha, who is the better rapper? I'd say we each have our own style and talents when it comes to song writing. I think we push each other to be better composers and think of lyrics, cadence and syllable counts. I'd say we make each other better MCs.

Cal-S-thetics Haha, Tone's being modest! He's the more natural writer out of the two of us. He writes albums as fast as I write songs! Haha. I'm only semi-joking, but no, honestly, I tended to gravitate toward the production and composition side the more we worked together when I was primarily making all the beats we were spitting on whereas Tone usually brings the flow and verses to life. Captain Hooks and shit.

It's extremely difficult to rap with someone else, let alone form a duo or a group.. That being said, what's the spark,or motivation to make Hip Hop as a duo? Any pro's or con's in being a duo?

Cal-S-thetics Tone and I began to write rhymes together even back when we first started. Like he'd take 4 bars and then I'd take 4 and back and forth it'd go on the same page in the notebooks. So we've just kind of continued that when we've worked on tracks as a group. Building together we always found that while there might be compromises on individual ideas at times, the collaborative effort usually resulted in something with much more depth and perspective given our individual tastes and perspectives coloring our rhymes differently.

Maybe the only con I can think of is that scheduling and strategy can be a little more of a challenge with more people to consider, especially since we got families, day jobs, schooling, etc. that we must work around.

Tone Dogg Raw I agree. I think there is compromise, but that lends itself to making something truly unique. Especially when both of us want to feed-off of the energy of the other or inspire one another with an idea or melody. And we been doing this for more than a decade, when we start making something, it just flows and is natural.

Cal-S-thetics Yeah, I guess we do talk about it how there's not many groups any more that we are hearing and really seeing making moves. I mean I was watching Dilated, Living Legends, Project Blowed, Stonesthrow and all that kind of during my formative years and I don't see that as much nowadays. We definitely take it as a source of pride that we are determined to build something bigger collectively than we could individually.

Tell us about your Hip Hop and/or music influences? Any Hip Hop duo's who you guys get inspiration from?

Cal-S-thetics For me, the original influences were like Snoop Dogg, Dre, Dogg Pound, Nate Dogg, all that West Coast. DJ Quik, Julio G, the Beat Junkies yeah know. But as I got into more and more underground and new school, Tribe rose to the top as one of my favorites. So did Slum Village and Pete Rock & CL Smooth. Blackstar, Common. All that. Of course, as I'd consider myself a producer before a rapper Pete Rock, Premo, Dilla, Daz Dillinger, Quik, Madlib were all huge influences on how I listened to hip hop. Also, got a huge soft spot for anything Dungeon family, which I know Tone shares with me. But also as a kind of casual record collector I do find a lot of inspiration from discovering older artists in Soul, R&B, Rock, Jazz and other stuff. Last, as you know I could go on forever about music, I've been blessed to meet many talented artists being that I lived in LA and LBC for about 5 years so some people I've been able to call friends have had a big influence on me as well, DJ Orator, Rebels to the Grain, Dellue, Cloud 9 Articulate are all people who have been big supporters and inspirations for me musically.

Tone Dogg Raw Growing up primarily on the west coast and in the south I have an affinity for a lot of the names Cal mentioned, Dre, Snoop, Warren G, Ice Cube, Outkastand Goodie Mob. I always liked the independent southern hip hop, the trunk music, stuff to ride to that has that heavy kick. Some Eightball and MJG, Scarface and UGK. In North Carolina we would listen to a lot of Wu-Tang also which had me geeking on old kung fu movies and stuff and freestyling all the time. Some Killa Army would have me wanting to write some flows. I identify heavily with the Chicano rap scene as well just because that's what we listened to in our culture, like some Slow Pain or Frost or Mr Shadow, those guys are all legends to me. But honestly I listen to all kinds of music. Put on some Groove Theory, Slum Village, or Rolling Stones I'm good. I also get inspired by the music of peers in OC, LA, SD, NM or anywhere, when something notable drops, I like to listen.

Please breakdown the creative process of your latest project Definitive A Year In The Nebula Spring. Sweet album cover BTW!!..LOL I love the tits.LOL

Cal-S-thetics Yeah, the project was kind of wild because as worked together to launch Tone's Doggma Uno label and release his first official project, OPTIMO last October, Tone started planting the seed of working on a new project. First sending me beats, then rhymes. And I still had trouble writing to them after the long lay-off (7-8 years!). But after we got a few tracks under our belts, it kind of just snowballed. A lot of it was just having the beats. Dope beats from these talented producers, I think that got me going again whereas Tone writes prolifically. Then the idea was we got a lot of tracks what should we do? And we kind of started leaning toward the idea of just releasing everything. However, with the way people consume music these days, we decided to release it in batches. When that cemented, I got the idea to do it kind of with the seasons following the year we spent recording all the music and picked the songs I felt reflected each season and some themes we agreed on. So really this album is part of a larger whole.

As for the album cover, haha, yeah, I used to bootleg the artist's, Genzoman, art for our myspace page with the 808 photoshopped so when we decided to work again on a group project I reached out to him with our idea so as to make it official and he was game and brought his own vision to it. Yeah, the endowment that he bestowed was kind of his own stylization of our original idea, which turned out lovely as you pointed out, haha.

Do you guys ever plan on possibly signing a deal, or are you guys strictly unerground??

Tone Dogg Raw For now, our focus is on building the Doggma Uno brand and repertoire, so that the creation of art is self-sustainable and so that we can provide opportunities to others who are struggling to get exposure for their art. We believe in community and unity, I suppose if that's underground than I want to stay that way. In the end, it's about more than me and Cal, and our music, it's about what we can leave this world, legacy.

Rappers nowadays think by throwing up a few videos up on social media and pushing quick projects, they can blow up overnight! Give us your view on how over saturated the market is right now with so many MC's/Producers but not to many quality music.

Cal-S-thetics Yeah, it does seem much easier to broadcast your music now than ever, but in many ways the market is still very similar to how it was when myspace was cracking. A lot of music, and a lot of it good, and its so accessible. The big thing is high quality video and audio recording has continued to become even more inexpensive allowing more and more people to make high quality music. What I sometimes think is missing is people pushing the boundaries of what is hip hop. I mean the song writing and melody can lack sometimes and the video themes and content can be very one-dimensional, which is a shame since we both feel that the music is ripe for more fusion and blending of genres than it has ever been, which bodes well for artist that can bring that to the scene.

Tone Dogg Raw There is so much music out and its heavy competition out there right now. Just like anything else in the world, it's about putting in work. I think the more effort that's put forth will be apparent and has more value and the quickly thrown-together stuff will be naturally weeded out. It's something that we hold of the utmost Importance, making sure whatever we do,that it is well thought out and is high quality. Most people don't want to put in work to get what they want. There is an entitlement that permeates society. It's why we play the lottery. But those of us who don't win gotta get up and go to work the next day. Haha.

Doggmauno / Tone Dogg Raw

Here it is! Our most popular question! What is your definition of underground hip hop?

Cal-S-Thetics Underground hip hop is kind of cultural attitude that's adopted by many within the industry for hip hop that either isn't good enough to attract mainstream appeal or has been relegated to be a fringe or niche market. But I don't think the underground idea is really anything other than a label as hip hop is worldwide and many mainstream artists have ties or connections to the artists and labels that many hip hop purists hold in high esteem. So while the grass-root, community-based approach is something I've always loved about the underground scene, I am not always a fan of how we sometimes shun more successful artists while not appreciating the art of their projects because of these labels. It's something I've been guilty of myself, honestly, but nowadays I tend to appreciate the way hip hop has continued to grow more diverse and continues to be so connected to young people throughout the world especially the classic stuff be it commercial or not.

Where can people find you on the web? Drop all the vital links.

Doggmauno.com All social media @cal_s_thetics or @doggma1 and @doggmauno Soundcloud.com/doggmauno Itunes, Spotify, bandcamp all that.

Lastly, and shout out?

Cal-S-thetics Our families for sacrificing their time and our time with them for us to pursue these dreams. the Break beats and Rhymes family who have always been supportive of our work. Of course, EQ Out the Ashtray of LA who has been a key collaborator mastering, mixing and producing our projects and also is about to release some of his own projects on Doggma Uno very soon. Enkrypt Los Angeles, Victor Hernandez and Joe Matamales who have been expertly holding down the visuals for us and help us push the boundaries there. Big Rob and Showcase 626 who has supported us a lot too, Endz and Dave Allen of the Locally Grown Collective, just way too many to mention, but that was my attempt!