Artist Networking Quotes

I met Mos Def around that time but I didn't hook up with him until I was about 17 or 18.

I played at Room 5 a lot, which is probably the smallest capacity venue in Los Angeles. I begged my friends to come see me.

A lot of artists that I've met let me know they're huge fans of mine.

I used to do a lot of one-off collabs, features, stuff like that.

I'm constantly exchanging ideas with new artists. Honestly, with Jay-Z, our only interaction was a brief hello after I signed.

I asked my friend Greg Andersson to introduce me to people that can distribute my album.

From Jay-Z to Nas to Kanye to whoever, I'm just not the type to say, 'Hey, let me get on your album.' If they want me, they're going to reach out and say, 'I need a joint from you.'

I've done a song with almost everybody in the game.

What's good about many people liking the work is that when I want to collaborate or am interested in the synergy of artists working together, nobody ever says no to me when I ask to work with them.

Ask any rapper or singer what artist they are an expert on. What artist are they looking to emulate, and really, what artist is the one person they are an expert on? You see, if you want any kind of longevity, if you want any kind of legacy, you need to know what ancestral line you are from.

I met will.i.am in the studio and played him a couple of songs and he liked them. We're similar but there's nobody in my lane doing what I'm doing.

There are definitely a lot of creative people I want to work with. I wanna work with Drake!

Nobody from my label called any of their labels to get this done. Most of it happened very naturally. Mary and I have been friends for a long time. Then Jay-Z offered.

The podcasting world has changed the way I book my shows. I knew that I could announce a gig on a podcast and that people would hear it. People that like what I do would hear, 'Oh, he's in my city.' And that makes it so much easier.

I did a couple songs with this hip-hop guy named Tim Dark. He was working in the same studio I've been working in, he heard my music and he said, aw man, I've got to do something with you.

Well there is a lot of work here for younger and older musicians now. Our Ministry of Culture has now really embarked on changing things for artists, and it is getting much better. We just have to organize ourselves as artists, and then things will be better.

I got to meet Kanye West because we were shopping my artist deal, and I was interested in his label. When I met him, I played him all the records I had. He introduced me to Rihanna, and she recorded and cut some of those records.

I just like artist-driven projects, but for artists themselves: artist spaces, artist mentor programs, and artists buying buildings and making lofts. Doing whatever we can do. Because at the end of the day, I really think that we as a community only have each other.

I first heard Trouble in 2008. At that time I was on my grind, trying to work with all the next-up artists. I had sent him a couple beats; he had done a couple songs. We was always around the same age.

I can't deny that label-support gave me a leg up - though not every successful artist needs it.

We saw a need to develop a community for artists to get their music out to the masses. With MySpace, when they went out on tour, they could actually tour nationally. The band might have 20,000 friends on their list and send out a bulletin saying, 'I'm going to be in Austin on Tuesday night. Come see our show.'

On the artist side, we made a significant investment in very young artists from the very beginning of their careers and helped them become global superstars.

I have a band called M&O. We were working on our first album in 2011 or 2012. We were looking for people to collaborate with, and I met Chance through a Young Chicago Authors poetry slam.

Mentoring artists is something I love.

Common would come to my house and give me a freestyle verse. I'd make a new beat for it and put it with something else. That's how I met Eminem - he came to my house back when he first started. He gave me a bunch of freestyles, and that's how we built a relationship. Everyone came to my house.