NOMINATED FOR BEST RADIO DJ
Greg Street
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Keys to Longevity in the Game As told to Randy Roper // Photo by Julia Beverly
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Stay Grounded Be on time, focus on the music and respect the people you work with. Television Know how to conduct yourself during a TV interview. Make sure your video is cool. [It doesn’t have to be] over the top, just creative. Publicity Have a good publicity team, people that know how to put your story and music out there. Street Team Depending on what type of record it is, getting your record in the streets, to the audience that’s your fan base. Street teams really [need] to hit the foundation of what your music is about and the audience that’s you’re catering to.
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Promoters [They are] the people that book the shows. Don’t try to charge [them] too much money, and they’ll stay in business. If they stay in business, they’ll keep you in business.
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Concerts Know how to perform. We got so many rappers who got record deals and got records out that don’t even know how to hold the mic. They’re screaming to the soundman to turn their mic up and they have their fucking hand over the mic.
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Retail A lot of people are blaming the slump in retail on downloads and bootlegging. But the real factor is artists. When they get so big they feel like they’re too good to go to retail stores. Like Beyonce
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and Jay-Z, those types of artists, they ain’t going to a retail store to do an in-store, sign autographs and sign CDs, so people don’t really have a reason to go to the stores. If there’s nothing special about going, why should I go and I can sit at home and download the shit on a computer? You should have a good relationship with the retailers, the distributors and the buyers. If you have a good relationship with the retailers and distributors, they’ll push your record more. Streets Make sure that you give back to the streets, the real people in the streets that support your music. If you’re neo-soul, go to the neosoul clubs. If you’re rap and street, go to the street clubs or the hood clubs. Be out in the community, doing different things in the community. Scholarships, giving back, order food for career day. Radio Have a good relationship with the DJs and the radio stations. When you come to a market, don’t be too lazy to go by the radio station and do interviews. If you’re a big artist you want to remain big. When you’re outta sight, you’re outta mind, so people don’t think about you. And there’s always somebody trying to take your place. So the radio stations that made you what you are, you need to continue to do what you do when you first got in the game.
Fans Make sure you stay connected with the fans, through the internet, through Myspace. Don’t be an asshole when people see you in public. Keep a personal relationship with the fans.
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