Dr. Dre Plugs Into Dallas' Sounds

Dallas, Texas hails as one of the top five markets in radio, but all to often I hear, “Can’t NOBODY break into the (music) industry outta Dallas!” Sounds cliché right?!?!  Well,

contrary to popular belief, Dallas has had some notable acts make quite an impact in music history.  Not to long ago, Garland native, Justin Mohrle, PKA Justus made the headlines as Dr. Dre’s newest protege. Now, we can add Dallas native and producer, Da Dreak to that list.

  

I came across an article that I just have to share with my audience.  There are times where accolades are given, however, they are not directed to the mass hip-hop audience.  This is where I excel…I have the ability to reach the masses: black, white, brown, or yellow….urban, hip-hop, music industry, males or females.  Being able to cross promote the “race” barriers, is an art.  One I am most proud of!  

Dallas Observer’s (D.O.) own Jeremy Hallock “snuck” this great news in, which I think should have been front page news on all media outlets including TMZ, The Breakfast Club, and Entertainment Tonight! Especially when “Straight Outta Compton” officially opens tomorrow!

@DaDreak (Twitter & IG) story begins A few months ago, when Da Dreak found himself in Dre’s studio, during a visit to California for his birthday. During this trip he found himself face to face with Dr. Dre inside Aftermath Studios. 

Born and raised in Dallas, Dreak, started rapping in high school. The beat making didn’t start until the late 1990s. Last March, Dreak met Denaun Porter at South by Southwest. Porter is well known for his work with D12. Porter’s no stranger to working with Dr. Dre and has produced songs for 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg. He also produced songs for Eminem and tours with the Shady/Aftermath artist as his hype man. 

According to the D.O., Dreak and Porter quickly started working together, meeting up in different cities to work on a beat kit and Royce Da 5’9’s next album, among other projects. In May, Dreak went to Los Angeles to celebrate his birthday and work with Porter. Porter took Dreak to Aftermath Studios, where he works as a producer for Aftermath Entertainment, Dre’s label.

When asked about his production style, Da Dreak says, “Either you were the hip-hop purist backpacker or you were the street.” From what I’ve heard of his tracks on Soundcloud, Da Dreak can touch all styles. Porter was immediately struck with Dreak’s production sound. “He has a little swing to his music,” Porter says. “He uses different chord progressions. With most people, you can tell what the next step is going to be. With him...I couldn’t tell what his next step was going to be. It’s not a traditional way of thinking.” Porter immediately wanted Dre to hear Dreak. He liked Dreak’s sound and noticed an attention to precision and detail that he thought Dre might appreciate. Porter isn’t in the habit of bringing people over to Aftermath. “But Dre’s like a brother to me and Dreak seemed really cool,” Porter says. Looking back, he was simply happy to bring new talent to Dre.

“I wasn’t expecting Dre to be there,” says Dreak. But Porter led him into the first control room and Dre was standing at the board. Da Dreak goes on to say of working with Dre, “You don’t want to say too much.” Even tho he doesn’t make it to the ‘Compton ‘ album, Dreak thinks of the possibilities, that the beats he worked on at Aftermath may be used on another project in the next couple years.” 

Read The Complete article on Dallasobserver.com

#LeslieMac

Knowledge is POWER!

Buyers beware! I love music and I love the creative ways to take the music to a new level. There are way too many entities that want to exploit the hard work put into artist projects. Have you ever seen this in your inbox or DM?  "Hope all is well! Great to connect with you on twitter/FaceBook/IG! We're currently offering great, affordable, and unlimited song promo & hosting packages.” I see these messages day in and out. People please read the BIO! Some of the most successful brands don't hit your inbox up or  give you “subscribe to them” message. They have already made its database a proven track record. This is why the independent artists have no major traction. They all too often buy into the BS and never see any ROI (Return on Investment).

Knowledge is POWER! Before you go and pump your money into a bunch of likes and  followers...do some research, ask a DJ! Speaking on asking a DJ...There's plenty of DJ tastemakers and mixers out there, but there's 1 that I highly recommend, the VirDiKO quarterly mixer in Dallas, Texas. If you're in the area around the time of these mixers, as a artist, producer, or entertainment industry professionals it would be in your best interest to make your way to one. 

That was a side bar… sorta. But as there's a need for a regulatory commission on BS for music, there's a need for one to stop the music "promoters" and "marketers" who have PROVEN that there's no ROI for artist. Ok, the BBB is not going to be who you talk to about your wasted money, but as a artist you should find out who has gotten shows based on their fictitious friends, followers and bogus likes. My aim is to encourage entertainers to spend their hard earned money with people or companies that truly connect you with the individuals who care about the direction your music career goes. 

This leads me back to "big daddie THE DJ" and VirDiKO. VirDiKO is the abbreviation for Virtual Distribution KOmpany. This is some gangsta shit! According to @Virdiko's  Twitter,

"VirDiKO Specializing in Global Music Promotion Services To Thousands of Professional

DJs & Music Stakeholders In More Than 150 Countries..." I can say Amen to that! Artists that I've worked with have not only gotten their music distributed across the globe, I see these artist post pics from the shows that came from the result of using VirDiKO. This is not a paid advertisement for this company but a testimony and a fact. ‘Google it’ and see for yourself that this is a great example of putting your money to work. If you're looking for that DJ to hear your music and possibly give you the feedback you desire...VirDiKO is the way. 

Before I power down my laptop and head to SXSW, I want all my DJ friends to get ready for their closeups...because 

#LeslieMac

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Record Industry

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Record Industry,

As we get closer to the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music and Media Conference, there's a question that has been addressed to me on several occasions, "Why don't the labels do a meet and greet for the DJs?" There are DJs playing during the music week and plenty of after parties, but no "Meet Ups" scheduled by the labels for DJs.

The SXSW Music Festival is scheduled to have over 2,200 musical performances from 

regional, national and international acts. That's a lot of music Mr. and Mrs. Record Industry. According to the SXSW website, The music event has grown from 700 registrants in 1987 to almost 28,000 conference participants. That's just the registered participants, you can imagine how many visitors are there just to listen to good music. The DJs provide the beat to all those music lovers and rarely get as much as a pat on the back. I said rarely, because the labels do give out promotional pieces here and there; however, the smaller market DJs, Club DJs, and Mixtape DJs aren't getting these perks. 

There's one fact I think the labels seem to forget…DJs like music and there's no better

promoter of music than the DJ. SXSW is ultimately the largest international mixer/meet up/tastemaker, and thru the many years I've attended I have never experienced a label supported meet and greet. According the SXSW site, the Music Meet Up sessions have been expanded. These Meet Up sessions group together people of similar industries, as well as pairing relevant groups with each other. This is a great opportunity to let your labels biggest supporters, the DJs to meet the Artist/Producers/Creators of the music that they spin and listen to. 

Dear Mr. And Mrs. ATLANTIC, SONY, UNIVERSAL & WARNER BROTHERS, I hope that in

years to come that the DJ community be afforded an Artist/DJ "Meet Up". These connections could bridge a gap between the smaller market DJs who travel to SXSW to see some of their favorite artists perform. DJs are the messengers and from the sounds of it they love the message that they deliver. Thanks for your time and always #SaluteTheDJ!

#LeslieMac