Please don't write on the spot by FredNukes

When international hiphop heads (mostly Americans) come to Denmark to play gigs, alot of musicians are interested in doing tracks with them or getting them to lay down a verse on their beats. Sometimes this is possible - sometimes you have to pay for it, sometimes you don’t. The price range is typically around 500 $ - 5000 $ depending on how big the artist is. Now when you finally get the rapper/singer in the studio and it is time to do work, the problem occurs. After the money has passed hands, the artist usually has to conjure up some lyrics for the track.
Usually (but not typically), some of them have to get high before writing. That means they have to force something out of them that isn’t there - I bet the weedsmoking is a desperate attempt to create inspiration or inspire creativity - either way, they have to write 16 bars about nothing. That’s why, in most cases, we are left with a half-assed verse about who they are, how tough they are, who they rep, where they are - what country, a quick shoutout to the dudes who did the beat and/or the other rappers on the track (who they really don’t know shit about). That’s great - but not really that fun in the long run. But I mean, how creative can you be when you just performed for an hour on stage and go to a studio in the middle of the night - probably either drunk or high as hell. I wouldn’t wanna waste my money on that. Not even to get a big name on my track.

I remember, some weeks ago. I was in the studio with Big Shug (from the Gangstaar foundation - funny ass guy btw), Jaysaun (Special Teamz) and Singapore Kane, recording some shit with one of my good friends. They had just performed at a nightclub and it was around 2-3 o clock in the morning. Now - they had to write a verse on the spot, and they did. Some better than others, but clearly the verses had been written in a hurry, without too much perfectionism (which is ok, considering the fact that you need to finish something in 20-30 minutes).

After that, they had to record it. And they did - in fact very swiftly. All in all a very professional way of handling things. Only problem was, the work they did was professional, but the result was half-hearted. How could it be anything but? They had no real knowledge about the guys they were doing a track with - this was work - to get that doe (that’s money for all you non-slang talking people). This is in no way a diss, but I say this because, you can’ write something deep and heartfelt or even relevant in a matter of 20-30 minutes considering the circumstances (or at least only a select few people can do this). You don’t have the time to piece the puzzle together, throw in some metaphores or a dope wordplay. Therefore - people I urge you to please don’t write on the spot.

If you wanna do a track with international artists - send them the beat in advance. So they have time to figure out what they wanna say, and spit some relevant shit. While not a guarantee for a better result, the odds should have been greatly increased.

More stories from the hip hop music industry can be found here!