Monthly Archives: August 2014
#RiseOfThePhoenix by @queentheprophet (drops 9/3/14) #New #Promo #Video #Music
Greetings Family!
I am beside myself right now that Rise of the Phoenix will drop in full on this coming Wednesday September 3, 2014 the same day the Siri iPhone predicted the “gates of Hades close”. For a better understanding of how we incorporated the Siri predictions into our (Hell Razah Music, Inc) releases over the course of 2014, most def check out the Rise of the Phoenix promo video below and it explains it all!
People keep asking why I chose the name “Rise of the Phoenix”, and for those of you who have followed this blog since 2013 you know it was a concept I adapted to myself as an artist back then. It started with the X-Men actually (hence the Jean Gray references in my music). I speak very freely about what I’ve lived through because if I don’t it would kill me and if I do, you run the risk of people calling you nuts but nobody likes everyone anyway so who cares? But the more important part is, if what you say helps one person? It’s worth it. About 15 years ago a huge shift happened in my life personally, up until then I didn’t know the Lord and didn’t even think He existed. I was actually a practicing witch. Tarot cards, crystal balls, spell casting, astral projection, demons the whole nine yards. You name it? I prolly did it. Then one day…. the rest is history in the making because I’m still a work in progress. The part that stands out to me most was a very dear friend sat me down one day and said “You are so gifted and talented, you’re going to be awesome… no matter what side you serve.” From that moment on I could no longer live the life I was living and I made a decision in the wee hours of the night to at least TRY Christ because quite honestly, I had nothing left to lose. This in no way, shape or form means I’m perfect, flawless, or that you will see a blinking halo over my head. It does though make me an expert on death and rebirth. Every single person has ways or things about themselves that need to die. When you die to these you can be reborn in these things. Rise of the Phoenix is symbolic of my personal death and rebirth.
I’d like to say thank you to everyone that has helped work on this project and those that have supported it, especially my GGO family! Rise of the Phoenix will be available for free download via datpiff.com 9/3.
Here is the 2nd single released today; “Mrs. Maccabee Rider (uh-oh)
WATCH “Rise of the Phoenix” promo video!
SLOTS OPEN FOR THE NEXT HELL RAZAH @heavenrazah #GGO MXTP hosted by @djyello !!
SUBMISSION FOR THE NEXT #GGO MXTP USA (Under Seraphim Authority) Volume 3 is OPEN! Tracks should be submitted to ggomxtps@gmail.com (Include: track name, artist(s), producer, & GGO Chapter information). Non-GGO Slots for this MXTP are $150 (USD).
THIS MXTP WILL DROP 11/5/14 ALONG SIDE THE #Anonymous #MillionMaskMarch (just like we did 11/5/13!) All submissions due no later then 10/10/14. #WingzUp
#NEW from @queentheprophet #RiseOfThePhoenix Operation Dream Catcher ft @_thebookofdaniel
The first single from Queen the Prophet (Hell Razah Music, Inc. / GGO 1st Lady) EP “Rise of the Phoenix” (produced by Sneak Vandel/ GGO, HRMI, BKZU) which will be released in full 9/3/14 is “OPERATION DREAM CATCHER” Introducing the GGO Tribal Nation Chief, The Book of Daniel (HRMI/GGO AZ). Operation Dream Catcher is The Book of Daniel’s first formal GGO/HRMI appearence as GGO Tribal Nation. GGO Tribal Nation will be releasing it’s first project very soon featuring various Native American Hip-Hop Artists & Producers. Rise of the Phoenix will be available for free download via Dat Piff & Sound Cloud. Keep close tabs on The Book of Daniel for more projects and updates about GGO Tribal Nation music & events!
@_thebookofdaniel @queentheprophet
DOWNLOAD “Operation Dream Catcher” FREE!
#WakeUp A message to the people by @queentheprophet
I have been debating about writing this blog particularly for a few days because let’s be honest, most reasonable people do not wake up in the morning and try to tick people off. So in advance, if you become offended by this post? That’s not the intention. There is a very serious question that God has been nudging me to ask in a general arena (i.e. this blog) for the last few days and pretty much I need to let it out and even if one person wakes up, it’ll be worth the nine million crazy comments I’ll get.
Have you as an American ever in your life looked at a tragedy or a way of life in another country and thought “I’m glad I live here”, and then carried on about your life?
I’m sure most of us have. I remember being taught in grade school that we were lucky to live in America because of all the freedoms we have here. I remember growing up and always knowing in the back of my mind that there were parts of the world that children were starving. My Grandmother Rose used to always say, “Don’t waste food. There are people in this world who have nothing to eat.” I remember seeing things about China and Russia and how the kids had to behave in school and at the time I really didn’t have the full understanding of what a communist country was. As a teenager, a friend of mine was stationed in Saudi Arabia and I remember him telling me that it was perfectly legal there for a man to throw his wife off of a tower if he thought she was cheating on him. Now as an adult as I would hear and learn more things, it actually started to disturb me. I started really speaking up about causes and injustices within our own system in my early twenties and haven’t stopped yet and don’t plan to. The reason I’m asking you to ask yourself if that has ever happened to you is because I want us to be able to touch down on a point that we can all relate to. No matter what your culture or ethnicity is, we can all agree as American’s we have much more freedoms then the rest of the world.
Have you ever heard the word or term “conditioning”? When someone is “conditioned” to behave a certain way? This is when environmental factors play a direct impact on a person’s whole being. Generally most American’s have absolutely no idea what is really going on in the world. They have not a clue that other countries hate us because all they see is the foolishness the media filters them like all of these ridiculous Face Book challenges, our music, what people post on the internet/ Instagram/ You Tube, and of course whatever tragedy comes on CNN. From the other side? We look like godless animals and that is mostly because that is what they are shown… the same way all you as an American are shown is images of other people and how much they hate us. This my dears is called conditioning. We are conditioned to think things of each other mostly by media. Who owns media? Who’s in charge of that? Six large global corporations who are attached to the banks that run this world through government.
Most Americans are working multiple jobs to survive, they hardly have time for their families because they are working so hard to maintain a roof over their head and keep food on the table and pay off some fictitious debt that is actually a form of control. If you are lent fictitious money (electronic) you then spend the rest of your life paying back fictitious money with real earnings which in turn keeps the world turning at your expense. Then we have folks that can’t find jobs and they resort to other means to feed their families at any cost which nine times out of ten doesn’t end well but instead ruins their life, secures jobs and incomes for prisons, and it’s a double win for the conditioners because it negatively effects that person’s off spring.
I know people have mixed emotions about politics and “conspiracy theories” but honestly if you research what I’m saying you will find it’s all 100P% true and it is available all over the internet. Why don’t more people know about it? The answer is so simple it’s stupid… they don’t read it. Seriously, why would you? You go to work, you have kids, you have more bills then money most of the time, and while you’re on your way to work all you hear on the radio is pretty much music that brainwashes you into believing that money and partying is the thing to do and you are “less than” if you don’t do or have these things, you barely have time for yourself and there is always something to pay for. Did you know that when American unemployment was at the highest, the government played a part in developing games such as Farmville? This game pacified over 85 million people around the world. For the last ten years or so, slowly but surely the pacifying has increased. Most people spend most of the day in their phone. If you don’t have a phone the government will give you a phone. Most people spend at least an hour a day on social media, most of the ones that don’t are watching hours of television. American’s have become lazy, passive, and most of us are overweight. But watch this… increasingly over the years children have learned to stay inside, play inside. They are not exercising, they are not using their imagination and most parents are so over worked and exhausted as long as their kids aren’t in trouble? They could care less as long as they’re quiet. How does this relate? Over the last ten years you have been conditioned to stay inside, small places, and occupy yourself with mindless tasks like video games and Face Book. If you google it, the government has FEMA camps set up everywhere in the US. Martial Law Executive Orders have already been put into play and most Americans are fat, lazy, exhausted, and won’t be any trouble at all if their door is kicked in in the middle of the night. They’ll get used to the camps, after all you’ve been being trained to entertain yourself in a small space for years.
The problem lies in the fact that because actual reality is everyone’s having a hard time surviving so when we hear about things like our brothers and sisters in Detroit living with no water you may care briefly but as long as it’s not you or someone you know? It does not change you or move you… How can it? The bills keep coming, there’s still no money and you have your own family to worry about … right? The part that most people are ignoring is the reality of they are not exempt. Fam.. I seriously urge you to research some of the things I’ve mentioned and draw your own conclusions. These things are not going to happen, they already are. I know that it’s scary because nobody wants to be out of their “comfort zone” but what you fail to realize is that your comfort zone you think you feel is a mirage. It’s time to wake up.
I challenge you not to dump ice on yourself or light yourself on fire, I challenge you to turn off all of your social media, television, and radio for one week. Unplug yourself from the Matrix (It’s a lot harder than it sounds, I did it a few weeks ago). Spend the time researching what’s going on in the world. Research Agenda 21, research Martial Law in the US, Population Control, look up who the government labels as a “domestic terrorist” (I guarantee you more than half of you will find something on that list that means YOU) and research the Anonymous movement. These topics will lead you to more. Spend time with actual people you love. Play with your kids, go for a walk, and above all things? Pray and figure out which side of the revolution you’re going to put yourself because it’s far better to pick a side then not and unfortunately, all of what’s happening in the world is happening even if you choose to ignore it or pacify it.
The bible says “My people perish for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6 NKJV) but the bible also says in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV) “14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Do not conform, be restored, then transformed.
#Relationships101 When love is toxic by @queentheprophet
#Relationships101 When Love is Toxic
Can “love” be poisonous? ….. This is a question asked by many and I will do my very best to explain.
Love is a word often tossed around too loosely and not everybody actually understands it. I remember the first time I thought I was “in love” and when people told me I was too young to know what that meant I immediately rebelled against it, as most young people do. The truth is, most people confuse lust, sexual attraction, and emotions as love and that has nothing to do with love actually is. The best definition of love that you’re ever going to find is:
1 Corinthians 13:4-8New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never fails.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a bible fan or not. Really read that. It is the description of what love actually is. It does not mean that relationships are perfect, but love is and it never fails. Committed love is NOT a feeling, it is NOT an emotion. It is a decision. Staying in a relationship with a person who cheats or beats on you is not love or “long suffering” as mentioned above, it’s actually a lack of self-love. I am going to speak on this because I not only have enough personal experience to make your head spin and do a few back flips, but for those who that won’t be good enough for, I also have the formal educational background (which of course was obtained AFTER the personal mishaps).
If a pot has a hole in it, can it fully hold water or will it leak out? It will leak of course. Does it mean that the pot can’t be fixed? Nope. But until it is, you’re never going to be able to boil water in it and cook dinner. Too often we have broken people jumping from relationship to relationship and they honestly don’t have a clue what they’re looking for, what they’re doing, or what a healthy relationship is even supposed to look like frankly because most of us didn’t get to see to many as role models growing up. Most people find themselves in “situation-ships”. Just because you are sleeping with someone does not mean its love. How many relationships have we all seen or been in ourselves that were just wrong? Wrong are those relationships FILLED with drama. Who’s hitting who, who’s cheating, who’s lying, make up, break up, tearing each other apart to other people, etc. These relationships not only slowly poison the two people in it, but it spreads like a cancer and starts to negatively impact the people around you. For those in these kind of relationships with children it’s even worse. These innocent babies see your dysfunction and they will grow up doomed to repeat it unless you as a parent give them a better example.
Believe it or not, God is not going to bless your mess. People can’t and do not “change” for other people. If the change is real they will change for themselves and it will have nothing to do with their partner. Change is most effective when an individual gets sick and tired of themselves and or their situation; it’s a very personal matter. Unfortunately, most people hop from one bad situation to another and sadly many people experience that for their whole life because they never take the time to fix the pot before they start cooking. People accept the love they think they deserve, and that is the saddest yet most honest thing I can say to you and if you are honest with yourself (you don’t have to be honest with me because I’m nobody that important) but be honest with YOURSELF.
Anytime you step outside God’s plan for your life, you are putting yourself at-risk to get whatever the world starts dishing out. People often times are actually subconsciously attracted to their equal opposite on a negative scale until they have that pivotal change within themselves when they recognize their worth. If you are a man with low self-esteem nine times out of ten you’re going to subconsciously attract a woman who is going to be a control freak maniac who uses this self-esteem issue of yours to run you and the relationship and vice versa. Self-esteem is a whole other issue because healthy self-esteem has nothing to do with taking nine thousand selfies and posting “cute” pictures of yourself. Women that grew up with parental issues nine times out of ten automatically are drawn to men that will reject them, men that grow up with a mother who is always drunk or on drugs often have severe anger management issues, hit girls, and most of the time have a healthy criminal background. Girls that grow up without Father’s can often times be attracted to older men, or they get so desperate to find love and affection that they will take it from anywhere that even offers a glimpse of it.
It’s not easy. I know… believe me, I KNOW. Here’s the truth, you deserve to be loved. Will everyone experience it? Sadly, the answer is no but you don’t have to let it be you. Sometimes people hold off on ever finding healing because they are waiting for an apology that they may not ever get. It doesn’t matter what your situation is, God is still in the miracle working business and you can really experience love in the fullness that you were meant to but you have got to make a personal decision and commit to that decision. Even if you have never seen a “healthy” relationship, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have one. Love? Love is not poisonous, it’s not toxic. Lust, soul ties, habit, and situationships can be destructive, draining, and toxic, but never love.
TONIGHT! 7:30pm EST @qsjradiolive special guests @heavenrazah @iamjudahpriest @queentheprophet
Tonight 7:30pm (EST) tune in to OSJRADIO.COM where host Dave Hernandez will be talking with Judah Priest (GGO/BKZU/HRMI), Hell Razah (Wu-Tang Clan/Sunz of Man/HRMI/GGO), and yours truly QTP (GGO/HRMI).
#HipHop101 How much of my own money will I spend on making music?
I’m so sick of folks out here acting absolutely crazy. I want to explain a very simple principle to you. First ask yourself this,
If you played little league…. Are you now a professional baseball player?
If you drew pictures in Art class….. Are you now a professional artist?
Should everyone that can carve a turkey be a surgeon?
Fam… just because the world has made it easy for you to make music, doesn’t make it your profession. It’s actually VERY disrespectful to those in the game that have suffered and clawed their way through being broke and all kinds of other things you have NO IDEA that await you in the music industry. Making music is a beautiful thing. I think everyone should experience its joy. It is OKAY for it to be a hobby. Too many people aren’t honest with themselves. Honestly Fam, let’s keep it real. There is music links circulated all over the net of some music that’s terrible. It’s not even recorded properly and it just wastes space in cyber space.
I don’t know who has been lying to you, but I’m going to tell you the TRUTH about what kind of money goes into funding your own music career. Incase you didn’t know, you will spend THOUSANDS of dollars on it and possibly NEVER make any back. You will give away music for the first few projects. Those projects will cost you money. Promoting those projects properly (which means you hire someone to promote you) cost money. The more you want it exposed, the more money it costs. If you don’t promote your project, you will not build a fan base. If you don’t have a fan base, who’s going to buy your music? If you buy downloads and followers… what happens when you put a song on iTunes? If you have 100k fake followers and can’t sell 2 Singles for $1… why on earth are you wasting time & money? There are THOUSANDS of other emcees JUST AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER then you. I’m not trying to be mean, this is REALITY. You should know exactly how big the mountain is.
SOME OF THE WORST THINGS PEOPLE DO EVERYDAY:
Tweet strangers (people you don’t even follow) your links directly. They don’t click on it. You’re wasting time.
Tweet your music to famous people hoping they click it and love it. Let me know who get signed that way when you find out.
You are the only person promoting yourself. If you don’t invest in you, why would a label?
If you are still doing illegal things and your MXTP cover is your product, who is going to sign a law suit waiting to happen?
DISRESPECT THE DJ If you don’t know how important the DJ is? You are banned from making anymore music. It shows you researched NOTHING.
Get on social media and DISRESPECT the people that created the music of the game you’re trying to get into. NOBODY invests an artist who is disrespectful, immature, & unprofessional. You know why? THERE’S A MILLION MORE OUT THERE.
Not have help. There are a few (not many) folks in the music industry (myself included) that will not take your for a ride and rob you and actually give you what you pay for. What I’m telling you FOR FREE would cost you THOUSANDS of dollars to HOPEFULLY one day learn it from a Management or Development person.
Get mad when people don’t like your music. If this is you? You are banned from hip-hop. NOBODY likes everything. How dare you ask people to listen and when they tell you the truth, you get mad? You need to pay attention. Why? Because this is your BASELINE OF FEEDBACK. If 100 people listen to your song and anything over 80 say they didn’t like it? You need to seriously re-consider doing music or the kind of music you’re doing or accept that your fan base is going to be smaller then you anticipated.
Waste your money.
Not know what kind of rapper you are.
Hobby Rapper
Freestyle Rapper
Battle Rapper
MXTP KING
Feature Rapper
Indie Artist
Label Artist
Let me expound here a little bit… When asked “who is your fan base?” EVERYBODY is not an acceptable answer. Everybody would include kindergarten, middle school, high school, and senior citizens all in the same group.. In the words of Sneak Vandel, “FALSE”. We’re going to get into this in depth in another article but it’s something you need to think about. I also want to give you a reality check about “getting signed”. In the words of Gryndhousz, “You have a better chance winning the lottery.” and that is 100% true. The days of getting signed to a major record label for a 50k advance and all that are long gone unless you are an artist ALREADY making money and numbers on your own that warrant such a deal. These days labels sign known artists or very young artists, they get a 100 page contract and lose all sense of ownership and identity to themselves as an artist. Make no mistake, anyone raking in the dough on the level you aspire for? Most of what you see come across in costume, dress, sound, etc is entirely dictated by the label that own’s the artist. We’ll visit that in depth in a future post.
Fam, this information would normally be contained in a development or management session. I am spilling FOR FREE what I use to eat & pay my bills with because in all honesty, I don’t want you stupid. If I know the way, it’s my job to share it. I don’t depend on any of you to buy services here, hit my blog, or buy our music. I depend on God. What most people don’t understand is that giving things away can get you credit at a bank you’ll never owe it back to. #ProphetTweet LOL Okay, back to business. Let’s start with something basic… Your first MixTape.
You want to drop your 1st MXTP
Studio Time: $35-$250 p/h depending upon where you go. You get what you pay for in most cases unless you happen to personally know somebody. If you don’t know the studio ask to hear some of their work!
15 Song MXTP: You should record a minimum of 25 songs to choose from. You should never just throw something together.
25 songs x $40 per hr for each song to record
25 songs x $40 per hr for each song mixed (bare minimum it’s more when it’s done 100% professionally)
If you want your tracks Mastered, it’s going to cost an additional $25 -$100 per song
Features: Well this depends on what kind of splash you’re trying to make on the scene. Let’s say the fan base you’re aiming for is Little Wayne’s fan base because for whatever reason he is your hip-hop hero. You should be aiming for those kind of sound features. Get Wayne out of your mind though unless you have a million dollar budget for this project because a 16-bar verse from him is going to cost you well over 50K. Your feature cost depends on the caliber of the artist. There are some you can get for $500-$1000 but nine times out of ten you have to know somebody that knows them to get that price, so plan on $1000 at least for each feature. If you’re having a well known underground artist feature, they may not charge you for the verse if they like the project but they will definitely charge you for their studio time which would roughly be $100.
Production: On a MXTP if you are using other people’s beats (aka “industry beats” beat from a song on the radio) this won’t cost you anything. If you have a friend or team member that makes them you’re still fine, but if want original music and don’t have anyone around that makes beats? You can tack on anywhere from $100 (for something decent)- 5k per beat depending on what kind you want & the caliber of the producer. So multiply 15 songs x $100 per beat and that’s another $1,500 on the bill.
Artwork: Decent underground artwork $30 -$100
Duplication: If you want hard CD’s, you’re looking at $250 off the rip (CD & Case) depending on how many you want and they are expensive. Sometimes 50 CD’s are $200.
Promotion: Typically, folks who make hard CD’s skip this step and just pass out CD’s which of course only reaches where YOU DO. Artists that are hip to social media should hire people to promote there.
If your MXTP is hosted by a DJ, add $100-$5, 000 depending on the status of the DJ
If you do an indie video, add $300-$500
Also add what you afforded for the song’s promotion again because the video also needs promotion.
Add in promotion costs for however long you plan to promote this project.
You will do all this for FREE music. This music you are GIVING away. You have to build a fan base. Nobody is going to buy your music unless they know you or they just rock with you like that. Honestly, if you put out a song on iTunes today, how many people do you know for a fact would buy your single for $1? Count them times .70 (iTunes sells your track for $1 but you only make .70 off each single). That’s how much you’d make with no fans. It costs $10 to load it to iTunes so subtract that from that number. It costs roughly $100 to copywrite & publish the track so subtract another $100. Whatever you’re left with is what you’d make right now selling a piece of music with no fan base. Is your number positive or negative? You will more then likely do this kind of project at LEAST 2-3 times before you should even try to sell anything. Fam, if you are not willing to commit to that? You won’t make it. Some of us have lost EVERYTHING over our music. My team? In the words of @kinggeorge427 “We starved together, we’re going to eat together.” Anyone of the greats in hip-hop, went through most if not all of everything I mentioned. If you’re not prepared for battle, don’t try to be a soldier. We’re only hiring warriors in hip-hop for the next 5-10 years. But if you’re ready? Welcome to #OPERATIONREVOLUTION
If you are in need of organizing, help with your project, or are interested in pricing for this kind of service, click the Queen the Prophet BIO at the top of this page and submit the inquiry form. Please allow up to 72-hours for response due to the high amount of inquiries received.
This has been a @queentheprophet public service announcement.
#HIPHOP101
QueenTheProphet.com 