Music is a multi-cultural entity, bringing people together all over the world. The excitement when you hear a song that you can relate to is comparable to nothing else. Except if maybe that musician is, quite literally, just the guy next door. I was fortunate enough to be able to interview one of these local musicians. $B-nasty$, a rap artist, agreed to sit down with me to discuss this very subject.
$B-nasty$, a mere 24 years old, has done multiple successful shows around the Dayton, OH area. The interview that follows shows the hidden brilliance of a local musician and the struggle to survive on the local scene.
$B-nasty$ began talking about what made him want to get into music and how much enjoyment he got out of watching his dad perform. He discussed how his dad would play drums and he would just make up the melodies to the beats his dad created.
He then moved on to discuss his first show. At the age of 14, he played a show at a popular local venue. Grounded at the time, he got permission from his father, who then finally conceded and let his son perform. Having seen $B-nasty$'s talent firsthand, this was a solid move by dad. I mean, how many 14-year-old's can say they were on the same lineup as The Devil Wears Prada?
I'm sure you're wondering why a successful drummer morphed into a rapper. I was wondering the same thing. After high school, he found that his friends just didn't have time for a rock band. He also harbored a jealousy of the vocabulary used by rappers, so he decided to give it a shot. So in early February of this year, he took the jump into the rap world.
One of my biggest questions in regards to local music was the logistics of it. How does one promote himself? $B-nasty$ said it relied very heavily on social media, texting and messaging contacts, but it is completely up to him to promote his shows. But all this promoting work must bring out tons of social media connections, right? Wrong. He averages 20 people a show, most of them being family or friends. But why? Why is it that the support for local musicians is almost nonexistent?
$B-nasty$ said it was all about the beef. Every one has beef with some other local artist. The inability for artists to work together hurts the growth of the scene. He also attributes the lack of camaraderie to big egos. $B-nasty$ is of the belief that if the hip hop scene works together, then the attendance at these local shows will grow. But this isn't happening. Instead, they are pitting themselves against each other, which only hurts the rap community.
Music is something to be celebrated, yet we turn our noses up at our friends who pour out their souls into their music. We turn our noses up at our friends who perform at college bars on the weekends, only having a 15 minute time slot, but knowing this is the best way to be heard. Everyone is so on board with supporting local businesses that we have a day dedicated to it, so why can't we put in that same work to support our local musicians?
