Thank You to My Core Supporters: Manifest Hustle COMING SOON!

With inspiration from Music Success in 9 Weeks I came up with a plan for releasing my new music and the first piece of that plan was to drop the artwork. Since practically the first page, this book has focused on engagement. Engagement with fans, with other musicians, with bloggers and with partners. Eager to put this knowledge into play, I made a list of about 150 people of my Facebook Friends that I thought would be most likely to help me out and drafted an explanation of my vision for unveiling the album art for my new mixtape through their social media networks.

Reaching out to these people definitely took me out of my comfort zone. A lot of them are people that I hadn't spoken to in while, but it's been so long since I have released new music that I was curious to see who was interested and willing to be a part of my journey. Other than my Mom, Brother and Sisters, and immediate family, I had no idea who would actually respond and agree to help, but I was inspired and grateful for the number of people that replied and genuinely appreciated the idea.

For those that agreed, I sent them the album art along with instructions for how to post with my hashtags. The plan was people that I know, or am friends with on Facebook, but that I didn't reach out to, would see the artwork from other people in our shared network and create a little bit of buzz, and I believe it's working.

So thank you to every single person that participated in the release of my album art. I am so thankful to have done it this way because it was the first step in making that genuine connection with the people that are my true supporters. As per Week 8 of Music Success, I want to continue to get feedback from this core group of people. In my mind, if you shared this on your profile you have the right to help me mold and shape this music, so please reach out, leave comments, criticism, be active in this process so I can continue to keep you involved.

Manifest Hustle is the first of many new releases to come, but this release represents the making of the switch from music as a hobby to music as a profession. It's coming with a brand new website, and music video to kick everything off. In my mind, it is truly the tip of the iceberg and this is where the hard work actually starts. I'm not claiming to be the best rapper alive but I am claiming to be the best me. I built this vision through faith, positive energy, and pure hustle, and that is what I want people to sense when they see this artwork. I want to inspire people to manifest their hustle. Whatever that is, that dream, goal, life aspiration, I hope my music motivates something in you.

So thank you to:

Pat tepe
Ivey hedges
GTP Steele
Arron Campero
Amanda oWodrow
Xavier Sanchez
Jessica Campero
Joanne Salt
Jeff Holland
Youngace Fiveonethree
Scott LaKid
Josh mvi
Matt Heimbold
Mary Thomas
Issac Kabengele
Jimi Skwlkr
London Christopher Dicks
Mofab Bbr DoinHer
Christina Stegeman
Longway Longway
Aimee Collins
Oxlo Esastus
Kingsley Issac
Jason Opplinger
Candice Ross
James Frazier
Angie Campero
Nina Gibson
Brittney Miller
Carla Barwick
Mike Sexton
Shannon Loadholt
Savajedavis
Julia Ward
Kristen Allen
Ashton Belle
Nadja Glassel
Lisa Carnes

People are still tagging and posting as I type, if you're reading this and haven't got around to posting, please do! If you're someone who I forgot to reach out to, please message me, I'm still sending the artwork out for people to post.

How Rap Drew - Unveiling Culture

Shout out to the big homie Drew, I definitely appreciate his work. I'm gearing up for my Manifest Hustle vol. 1 release and don't really know what to expect, just trying to leave no stone unturned.

Weed and Weight Loss?

I found this article recently and since I have been thinking along the lines of investing in the marijuana industry it was interesting to read about this new potential intersection between industries.

Essentially the articles explains that a variant of TCH called TCHV could have incredible applications for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes because of it's appetite suppression side effects. There is not much science on it yet but since the weight loss and marijuana industries are both worth about $60 billion a year, it's definitely something to keep in mind.

It's clear that the medicinal qualities of marijuana are still being discovered. It's becoming more and more accepted as it becomes legal for medical use in more states across the country and across the world and I'm extremely excited by the Marijuana "Green Rush" in general. Obviously I love smoking weed, and making money so those two plus the possibility of it helping a lot of people with serious health issues makes it a God sent in my opinion.

Check out the full article here: Can CBDs Found in Marijuana Be an Alternative Treatment to Diabetes

How to Build Buzz by How to Rap Drew

How To Visualize Your Dreams Into Reality

Music Success in 9 Weeks: Week 8

Definitely trying to knock out this Music Success in 9 Weeks book before the release of my newest music. It's been a few years since I have put anything out, so I am really excited to have a real well-rounded product and I am using the content of this book to put my best foot forward when it comes to learning how to be successful right away. Now that we are in the final chapters, the information is all pretty new to me.

This chapter is all about creating a continuum program for your core fan base. In other words, getting them to buy from you consistently and repeatedly. And the first thing to note is that the following info will not be effective unless you have previously built relationships with your fans and they trust you. Most importantly is your email list.

Now it's time to create a Funnel that starts with your freebie (e.g. MP3 for email address) and gradually trickles down to more and more expensive offerings. What comes to mind first for me is merchandise. T-shirts, sweat pants, sox...I definitely see myself getting into the street wear game soon and I imagine my fans will be in tune with that vibe as well. As a higher tier continuum program for fans, I can see myself doing some kind of sneaker of the month club in which I design a T-shirt to match whatever Jordans are coming out and make it available only to those that pay the $2-$3/ month to be in the club.

The next subject Hyatt touches on is fan funding or crowd sourcing which you can create through websites like Indie GoGo, Kickstarter, Pledge Music and Rockethub. The key to being successful with fan funding is to set a reasonable dollar amount goal, know your fans, have a rapport with them, and recognize that it's just as much about their experience of being part of your community and the shared journey as it is about you reaching your goal. I did actually attempt a Kickstarter a while back and failed because at that time I didn't really understand that I needed to have a relationship with my fans and a foundation set in place prior to asking them for money.

Overall, I appreciate how this chapter clearly shows you how your music translates into financial success. It's teaching you how to convert your buzz into actual profit. I'm not quite ready to implement all of this but I know I will be ready when the time is right.

How to Buy and Sell Gold?

I definitely see myself becoming a millionaire inside of the next 5 years. I'm not 100% sure exactly how that's going to happen but I know internally that there will be some sort of investing involved; which brings me to today's post. 

As part of my positive affirmation and prosperous thinking exercises, I have been working to train my mind to think wealthy thoughts. Check out my recent blog on the youtube channel VYBO which is really helpful for creating these types of patterns. In my mind, a wealthy person would be thinking about investments, and to me, the current most valuable investments would be gold, the legal marijuana business and real estate. 

I've always been fascinated by gold, I really like wearing gold in the form jewelry. Since I was little I always said I wanted to wear a lot of gold and is something that I've alway associated with being rich and successful, but I want to be smart about how I buy it. My knowledge at this point consists of what I have learned from Youtube videos and my hope is that by writing this first blog about it as a novice I will be inspired to learn more and share the info with you guys. 

Coins are the quickest, fastest way for a beginner to start buying gold. It's easy to buy and sell and to keep. Some of the best ones are the American Gold Eagle, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf and American Gold Buffalo. It's important to note that not all coins are fine gold meaning they aren't 100% gold. Bars and ingots are the next level up and are more concentrated forms of the metal and are of course much more expensive.

First, you are always going to want to be aware of the prices and stay on top of it. I have an app on my phone called "Gold and Silver Price Now" that indicates the price of gold and silver in real time with charts and graphs. So now that you've researched bids and you're ready to buy you need to decide if you're going to buy online or go to a dealer. Be aware that the seller is going to have to make a profit so you'll pay a premium over the market price. 

That's about all I've got so far but I did buy this dope book from amazon called "GOLD: Everything You Need to Know to Buy and Sell Today" It's sort of like a children's picture book with a lot of pockets and pull outs, so it's easy to digest and is definitely a collectors item for a Gold enthusiasts. It's a good overview on how to buy and sell gold and includes a history of gold plus how to avoid counterfeit coins. More to come on the Gold topic, thanks again for reading.

Back On the Book! Music Success in 9 Weeks. Chapt. 7

My new music is coming very soon and I want to release this project in the smartest way possible so I decided to dive back into my Music Success in 9 Weeks book. If you've followed my blog you know that I have been keeping this book as a resource and sharing the information with you as I study and apply it.

Chapter 7 is all about creating a monthly email Newsletter. Apparently, email is still the best way to maintain fans and create revenue from them. However, you have to go about it in the right way. The author recommends building rapport with your email list by offering a free MP3 when then sign up, sharing personal (non-music related) experiences with them, inviting them to meet up with you, and asking them to participate in surveys so you can learn exactly what they want to hear from you.

When sending your Newsletter, keep your subject line short and include the person's first name. In the body of your newsletter tell a story and don't be afraid to be raw. Plan your topics ahead of time. Just like you do with your Blog in Chapter 6. Once you have built rapport, consistent communication and trust with your email list you can include a call to action like buy show tickets, merch items, or to buy your music online.

Building your email list will take time, but start by going through your inbox/outbox and inviting friends/ family/ people that you have previously connected with and email them to ask if you can add them to your list. Otherwise doing a list trade/ promo with another artist that may have a similar fan base to you is another strategy. For me, this part is exciting because I meet all kinds of people on the boulevard every day selling my CD and at least twice a day I meet someone who gives me their email address.

With my new project, Manifest Hustle vol. 1 I want to gain attention and also weed out who is not really a part of my true core fan base. I want to see how many actual fans I have. According to this book, 500 true fans is enough to get things really moving. This chapter is also really interesting because I have only had one fellow rapper ask to put me on his email list but I see how it is a real step towards being professional, building/keeping fans and creating revenue.

I see a lot of people going about it backwards, they finish the music, then post it on social media and try to get random people interested without having made any prior relationships. The key is, don't even try to sell anything to people until you have a list of targeted people who have some sense of who you are and trust you.

This chapter has a lot of great resources as far as where to go and how to make it happen like FanBridge, Nimbit and ReverbNation. Creating a monthly newsletter can be intimidating. For me I have so many different emails I'm a bit overwhelmed with the idea of going through them all for contacts, then deciding which address to have the Newsletter sent from, or do I create a new one entirely? These are my challenges but I'm confident I will figure it out. The advice the author gives is the block off about an hour each week to dedicate to building your email list. It's all about consistency. As always stay tuned! Music coming soon I promise!

How Did The Pink Dolphin Brand Get Started?

Shit I've been rockin Pink Dolphin for a few years, I never really knew too much about it, I just liked it. I've always been into bright colors and matching my shit up. It matches really well with my signature HUF weed socks. Now that I think about it's about time for me to go out and get a bunch of new Pink Dolphin shit.



I've always been into cool street wear brands, some others I like are Diamond Supply and Stussy and I also see myself having my own merchandise and street wear brand in the future. I like this guy's demeanor as he's telling you how it came about. He's being really nonchalant and casual but he's dropping jewels. He's saying straight up, if you're doing shows you better have a merch table because it will sell whether people know what they are buying or not. I came across this video a few days ago and was inspired so I wanted to share it with you guys.