Finally caught up with my boy Murda for a conversation about his come up. This is the first BLAPCHAT episode since the "quarantine". Raw, 1 on 1 chat about Murda's up bringing, grinding on type beats, believing in yourself, getting your brand out there, being consistent and so many more PURE GEMS. Load this episode up and take notes!

What happens when you get your first major label placement as a music producer with a big artist? How do you handle the contract? Where can you find a lawyer? Do you need a manager? If a big artist asks for STEMS on a beat, do you send them and give up your only leverage? Or do you prioritize the opportunity and hope for the best? Is it ok for labels to take advantage of artists/producers by presenting unfair contracts? Or is business just business? We brought in special guest Karl Fowlkes, an entertainment lawyer who has experience playing both sides. Let's clear the air on this once and for all!

RIP KOBE. RIP NIPSEY. There is so much we can learn from these 2 legendary human beings. Their legacies left a mark that will be remembered forever. So what are some of the practices we can apply to our own lives? Spread love. Be thankful. Reflect. Prioritize ownership. This is a very in-depth conversation about the hustle and bustle.

The music industry is the wild wild west. If you're a music producer or an artist, it's easy to fall victim to industry scams. Not all of them are bad, but a lot of them are. How do you recognize what opportunities to take and which ones to ignore? Do they even work? Are there true shortcuts and "pay to play" services that are legit? Let's dive in!

Most aspiring music creators have a 9 to 5 job, or some sort of "side gig" to generate income to live. The age old million dollar question is always "when and how should I quit my job to pursue my passion full time?". There is no right or wrong answer because every human being is dealt a different set of circumstances at any point in his/her life. I do think there are some important things to think about, so Perfection and Myself did a deep dive. Lots of "end of year" gems here. What a perfect way to go into 2020!

As an up-coming music producer in 2019 (going into 2020) there are an overwhelming amount of resources, options and routes to choose from. Do I go the beat leasing route? Maybe I should try click funnels. Should I only sell exclusively? Should I just focus on developing artists? I can try to sell drum kits and sample packs but how do I go about doing that? Maybe I should try to become a Youtube influencer? Or maybe I should try all of the above? The possibilities are endless, but also very overwhelming. This is something I've been thinking about for a while and I wanted to dive into an effective way to approach this. My good friend and Grammy Award Winning producer Symbolyc One joined me for a call-in conversation. So many gems in this one.

Meet Gabe. He generated over $1,258,367 in online beat selling without a ton of subscribers or followers. You're probably wondering how he did it (yes that's over a Million dollars lol). Well, we spoke to the man himself about how you can too. This episode was exciting because it really put into perspective how powerful his methods are to start making some REAL $ online as a music producer. The method we're talking about is called a "sales funnel". You've probably been hearing about it here and there recently in the music production community. We dove into the pros (and cons) and what it takes to work up to that level selling beats online using "sales funnels". Really powerful stuff! If you want to get started on creating your own sales funnel, just click this link after you listen to the episode: http://www.legionbeats.com/blap

In this episode we continue the conversation about how to overcome the EARLY struggles of being an up-coming music producer. The #1 issue most people deal with in the beginning could be summed up in one word: MONEY. So the question is, how do we generate some in the beginning while pursuing a career? What are some ways to generate income quickly to eventually quit that 9-5 job? Is beat leasing, kit selling, youtube hustle a good idea? Does that make it harder to become an "industry producer"? Lot's of questions answered in a nice stream of consciousness. This is a must listen.

The title "sample maker" has become more and more popular these past few years in the music production world. So we spoke to one of my personal FAVORITES and in my opinion one of the BEST Mario Luciano. I personally have some placements with him coming up, but recently he just earned a production credit with Cardo Got Wings, HER and YG. We talk about the process of "creating original sample loops", the advantages of using analog gear, doing a ton of research, trial and error and being authentic. We also discussed the controversy of being a "producer influencer" teaching people how to be "successful" without actually being successful yourself. You might have a nice following, but what type of baggage does that come with and does that stereotype you into a "box"? To a certain extent, it does. If you take offense by what I'm saying, maybe you're one of them. Either way, this was insightful asf!

This is by far one of my favorite episodes. We went a little left field on this one and spoke about some real stuff: where did humans come from? Do aliens exist? Are we reptiles? I know. Interesting lol! This all in some weird way ties in to the realities of being human and how our roles coincide with living on earth as musicians and aspiring artists. We also spoke to amazing producer "My Best Friend Jacob" who recently produced & scored Travis Scott's Netflix documentary. Lots of insight on sound design, TV/Film licensing and how you can get into the business, what to look out for and how to get your foot in the door. Also, Jacob was nice enough to share his personal custom ANALOG BANK PRESET LIBRARY for free download. Here it is: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pdft6xw3rrhvl0n/Analog%20Lab%203_Bank_Look%20Mom%20I%20Can%20Fly_20190904_22h01.labx?dl=0

Ok guys. This is one of my favorite and most crucial episodes we've done, to date. Our guest is my brother (my actual brother) Les-Paul (yeah, my dad named him after the inventor of the electric guitar!). He plays piano (better than me), but above else, he's got 15+ years experience as an accountant and is a director at a huge accounting firm. We spoke on one of the most important subjects that people don't really talk about: financial literacy. How do I grow my money? How much should I be saving? When and where should I invest my money? What happens if I sell $20,000 worth of beats online? How much taxes do I have to pay? Man, we've all made financial mistakes in the past. This episode contains useful information to get you going in the right direction. Also, we spoke on my early days (mom's basement, making beats on Playstation (yup that was real!) and so much more). Enjoy!