TJ CHAPMAN For people who don’t know, what exactly do you do? That’s a question that I hate answering more than anything. I guess the best way to classify me is to say that I make things happen. I have the record pool TJ’s DJ’s which services about 140+ DJs. We do special events like T-Pain’s album release party, Clinton Portis’ white party, and my quarterly conference called TJ’s DJ’s Tastemakers. I do a lot of consulting for upstart companies; marketing and promotions for labels. My website TJsDJs.com is its own entity. We have 14,000 registered members, and average about 20 million hits a month. What role did you play in T-Pain’s career? His dad gave me a CD and told me to listen to track #1 and 3. Track 1 was okay, but when I heard track #2, it was the shit. #2 was “Sprung.” I never made it to track 3. I took the single and ran with it, and had a lot of good support here locally from both radio stations. I gave it to MeMpHiTz, an A&R at Jive, who did the deal. Who’s the next to blow out of Tallahassee? T-Pain’s group, the Nappy Headz. There’s also a young kid named Calico from the County Boyz. He has a real hot record. There’s a group called The Free Agents they got a song called “Boom” that’s heat. On the R&B side my man Randy B is on the come up. It’s a lot of talent here; other labels like So Phatt Records. What are the top three things you see that most indie artists are lacking? One is work ethic. Everybody thinks they’re “grinding” because they’re in the studio. That’s just a small part of the overall success of a project or an artist. It’s all about getting into other markets and spreading your hustle. Most people I know get caught up in their city and get stuck. Home is usually the hardest, because to them you’re just 14
OZONE
a regular dude that they see every day. The second thing is technology. Most of these folks don’t have a website or email or even understand how to use MP3s. The internet levels the playing field between indies and majors. When you watch the news, they’re always talking about how downloading is killing the music game, but I think that’s just what they want you to believe. The internet allows indie artists access to the same resources. You can get your music all over the world with limited funds. The third thing is, indie artists spend their money in the wrong places. They get full page ads in OZONE but they don’t have quality music. I’m not saying that’s wrong, but you’ve gotta spend your money on beats first. At the end of the day you’re competing with T.I., Trick Daddy, T-Pain, Pretty Ricky, and Young Jeezy. There’s a limited amount of slots and everybody’s trying to get in the same game. If your music is not equally as good or better than the other stuff that’s out there, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. On the flip side, what have you seen indie artists doing right? Mike Jones promoting himself in his songs. That was ingenious, in addition to his work ethic and his hustle. It really depends on the artist’s relationships, and what they’re willing to do to make it happen. T-Pain’s record was a hit, so that made everything easier. I didn’t have to beg people to play it. Any comment on Demp Week? This is the 9th year. I’m looking forward to it. Thursday night is always off the chain. I’m real proud of Demp for what he’s done for himself and the city. Come party with us and see how we get down in Tallahassee. Do you want to give out any contact info? 850-877-6090 or www.tjsdjs.com. - Photo and words by Julia Beverly