The PreApproved EP By Kronstudios, Isn’t Your Typical Release

This Release Is A Fresh New Sound That’s Unique

Hailing from the Seattle scene, Kronstudios is more than a group of artists and music enthusiasts getting together to release music.

Ron, Michael and Angela Flemming, the people behind the moniker are in fact two brothers and one sister.

They joined forces to make music influenced by their father’s record collection (Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross…) as much as more modern sounds from several sources.

The big turn came when producer Roger Fergeson introduced the band to sequencing and looping, which marked a big step in their creative process.

The group is always busy with non music related work, but when they get together you can hear the magic they produce.

Magic like what’s on their upcoming EP titled PreApproved which features artist J.C. of the Finest and Young Marquis.

The upcoming release is a fresh new sound that has the ability to cross genres. This is hip hop soul at it’s best that’s merged together with lyrical content, talented production and a great overall sound.

Not only will this release do well in the US but it has the ability to also cross borders with this sound.

The PreApproved EP is scheduled for release on May 15, 2012 to all your favorite digital outlets.

A New Show Provided By WDSR Yall Betta Recognize Radio Full Of Indie Tracks

Grab You Up Some Knowledge And Hear Some Hot Tracks During The Show

Have you ever wondered what radio station will spotlight indie tracks and assist with industry knowledge? Well guess what? You’ve just found it. We are submitted numerous tracks daily from indie artists that are eager to have their music heard by the World. But we are also finding out that although their tracks are good, they don’t know the proper way to submit their tracks to get royalty credit for them. That’s where WDSR Yall Betta Recognize Radio comes in. Not only will your tracks be heard but you’ll also be able to call in live on the air and ask any questions you have about the music industry. Hell why not request your tracks to be played too?

It’s a known fact that a lot of labels, entertainment companies, etc. want you the artist to concentrate on making the music. But in reality we feel that every indie artist should have at least a brief understanding of how things work. We’ll be taking calls about questions on obtaining a copyright for your music, signing up for a performance rights organization, formatting your tracks before sending them out to radio stations, and more. The possibilities of information you can obtain is endless. Now tell me how many radio stations do you know that are providing this much love and information to indie artist. And an added bonus is if your tracks are registered with the proper agencies, you’ll also obtain royalties from your music streaming on WDSR Yall Betta Recognize Radio. Yep that’s right, we are a licensed radio station and we do report our playlists to ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and Sound Exchange.

I don’t know about you but this sounds like a win-win for everyone. We get the honor of playing your music and you get the advantage of not only hearing your music on radio but also being able to ask questions about the music industry. Fair enough? We think so! So how do you get involved? You can start by locking us in on Wednesday nights at 7 pm est. Send us your tagged mp3s and submit your tracks to sendtrax@gmail.com.

Submit your tracks and call in live to 443-842-7030. Just click one of the radio players on our website.

Hear Tracks – Get Facts Wednesday Nights At 7 pm EST.

The Flyboyz gave us some insight on their style of music, who writes their music and what inspired them to get involved in music.

Here’s the interview from the Flyboyz discussing their music.

DSR: Who are the members of the Flyboyz?

Flyboyz: There are two main members of Flyboyz, Teflon and Tosha

DSR: What is the significance of your names?

Tosha: I make the haters say “Touché” because they said I will never make it.

Teflon:  Teflon has always been my nickname since I was a little kid, so it’s just something that I’ve always been known as.

DSR: When and how did each one of you begin your journey into the world of music?

Teflon:  I began my music career when one of my classmates at school asked me to record a song with him, and people loved it. So after that, I continued to write music.

Tosha: I couldn’t play football because of my grades, so I began writing music and people had great reaction to my songs.

DSR: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard it before?

Flyboyz: We would describe our music as positive, upbeat party music with very unique beats.

DSR: What influences shaped your musical style?

Flyboyz: Everybody likes to have a good time, so we make music that will always keep people in a fun and happy mood.

DSR: We all know that you are a group, but I’m sure the group is also songwriters. What’s the easiest kind of song for you to write?

Tosha: Songs about girls are the easiest for me to write.
Flyboyz: Love songs are the easiest for me to write

DSR: Who is in charge of writing the songs? Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Flyboyz: We both take part in writing our songs, so we each write our own verses and come up with the hooks together. We are inspired by seeing our fans reactions, other music, and trying to live our dreams of being famous.

DSR: I noticed you just released a lot of music. What was your inspiration behind this?”

Flyboyz: We had a lot of fans who kept pushing us and telling us that they wanted new material, so we gave them what they wanted.

DSR: Let’s get to know a little bit more about Flyboyz.  What area do you call your hometown and what type of following do you have?

Flyboyz: We both call our hometown Clearwater, Florida, but Tosha moved an hour away about a year ago. But Clearwater is still his hometown and always will be. We have a very strong but diverse teenage following.

DSR: What is the group’s main goal at this point? Where do you possibly see yourself 5-10 years from now?

Flyboyz: Our main goal is to make it all the way to the top. In 5 years from now, I see us being a well known name is the music industry.

DSR: Are you working on any projects at the moment?

Flyboyz: We are currently working on our mixtape N.A.B.B., which stands for not another boy band and will be released sometime in 2012.

DSR: Where can we catch the Flyboyz blessing the mic?

Flyboyz: You can catch us performing at clubs and venues all over the bay area, and even some other parts of Florida.

DSR: Where can we find your music? Online and offline?

Flyboyz: You can find our music on Youtube and Facebook, Facebook.com/realflyboyz, and just click on the band page. If you want to listen offline, you can download our songs from on our facebook page. You can also check out our performances, upcoming dates and locations are listed on of facebook page.

DSR: What do you think needs to be brought to music in this decade and how do you plan to add to that?

We think this decade needs more positive music and we plan on doing this by continuing what were doing, which is making quality music with a positive message that everyone can listen to.

DSR: We ask all the artists we interview, what’s the best piece of advice someone’s ever given to you?

Flyboyz: To always follow our dreams no matter what haters say.

We wish the Flyboyz much success in their music careers and will tell them to keep pushing.

Dubb Spot Records caught up with Rap Artist Datay for an interview.

Datay discussed where his interest came from in rap music, his outlook on the rap artist within the last 10 years and any lessons learned along the way.

DSR: How old were you when you developed an interest in music?

Datay: My family tells me I developed a dance nicknamed “The Dave” as a baby.

DSR: What was your earliest musical memory? What formed your love of music in your head?

Datay: Riding in the car as a kid listening to rap artist Snoop’s Dogg Gin and Juice in the car with my family.  I loved the rhythm and even though I didn’t know what the words meant back then I still felt the vibe.

DSR: Let’s get to know a little more about you and how you grew up. What was it like in your hometown? What kind of kid were you?

Datay: I’m a military kid to a colonel in the army. I’ve lived all around the world and in many different states. My hometowns to make a very long story short are San Francisco, California and The Tampa area of Florida.

DSR: So let’s talk about your music. How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard it before?

Datay: Originality in a form different from the rest rap artist, hard but clean, intellectual yet street.

DSR: What is the significance of your name?

Datay: A Childhood nickname that’s a combination of my first and last names.

DSR: There’s a part of the industry that irks me the most, where great music gets overlooked because it doesn’t fit a mold. How frustrating is that for you, if people seem to think that you don’t have that sound for radio?

Datay: Very upsetting. People are quick to say that hip hop is dead but they are choosing to listen to the wrong music.  Just because it is on the radio doesn’t make it good music and doesn’t mean you have to listen to it.  Most people are lazy and don’t want to have to go in search of new music from rap artist which is why most of what they hear is mainstream. I greatly respect a rap artist like J Cole, Kendrick Lamar, K.R.I.T. Wiz, Lupe Fiasco and Currensy (as well as many others) for their grind although they are not as popular as they should be in my opinion.

DSR: What do you think needs to be brought to music in this decade and how do you plan to add to that?

Datay: More music describing the world around the average person living the average life in America from their eyes of its citizens written in poetic form (rap).

DSR: What do you think of the music that came out in the last decade?

Datay: Necessary. Music goes through swings of different styles and techniques every so often.  That is what makes hip hop alive.

DSR: How would you rate the music that your music competes against in your local area?

Datay: I tend to not worry about what another rap artist is doing. I focus on my craft and how to do Datay the best way possible with my friends and family.

DSR: Have you learned any lessons so far and if so, what are they?

Datay: Practice makes perfect and that there is no success without the grind.

DSR: Do you write all of your own material? And if so, are you working on any new projects or have any projects that you are promoting right now?

Datay: Some of my lyrics are raw freestyles.  The others are 100 percent written by me. Sometimes I feel it is better to just freestyle over a beat to really get the feel for it and figure out what I want to rap about on it. Right now I am working on my first solo mixtape titled “The Nova Lounge”.  It is almost complete. The link for the preview is below.

DSR: Where can the people find you performing or attend the events you are involved in?

Datay: Holla at me on twitter @REALdavetaylor

DSR: Where can we find your music online and offline?

Datay: Soundcloud- Http://www.soundcloud.com/datay

Mixtape Preview- http://soundcloud.com/datay/sets/nova-lounge-mixtape-preview

Email me for tracks- datay7@gmail.com

Youtube Links- http://www.youtube.com/user/datay7

DSR: We ask all Artists that we interview, what’s the best piece of advice that someone has ever given to you?

Datay: Always look at the glass half full there is nothing that can’t be fixed.

DSR: Is there anything else that you would like to include in closing of this interview?

Datay: I know this has been said before but you should check me out. It will be much appreciated. Thank you.

Mad respect to Datay for putting it down for all rap artist in the World.

** Submit Your Tracks, Win Prizes, Earn Points **

** Freestyle Battles **

** Monthly Prizes For Most Song Likes **

** Artist Interviews **

** Artist Radio Promotion **

AND MORE

Click The HUGE WDSR On The Sidebar!

The Roots Bongo Band On Dubb Spot Records.

We had the chance to discuss their background in roots reggae music, who’s in charge of writing their songs and what shaped their musical style.

Check out what the reggae band the Roots Bongo Band had to say.

DSR: Who are the members of the Roots Bongo Band?

RBB: JoeHero (lead singer / guitarist)

Nina Beste ( lead singer)

Afang (singer, Bongo, Saxophone)

Omar (bass)

Jacob (guitar)

Alagie (keys)

Tony (drums)

DSR: What is the significance of your name?

RBB: The bands influence is Roots Reggae and the Bongo is played live at all our shows! It signifies that, even though the band plays mostly Reggae, most of us are from Gambia (Africa) and traditional African instruments will always be present in our songs, as will African traditional vibes.

DSR: When and how did each one of you begin your journey into the world of reggae music?

RBB: Joehero started singing and playing the guitar coming out of college at 19. Always having admired famous Reggae singers such as Mikey Spice, Peter Tosh and Morgan Family he has always dreamed of becoming a successful Reggae artist himself and so embarked on this journey by working up to financing his first guitar. He taught himself how to play and song write and a few years later formed the band.

Nina started of singing in the church choir in Germany, she later moved to New York where she had professional voice training and in 2009 she started studying at the University of Westminster. Currently being in her final year of the Commercial Music Course, she has been recording music in London for a while, and decided to officially join the band in 2010.

Afang started playing music in high school he played in the school’s band as a drummer. After graduation he played in a band for 3 years. He then worked as a nurse to finance his love for reggae music and formed the Roots Bongo Band with Joehero in 2001.

Jacob has been playing the guitar since childhood and all his life has worked as a professional musician, playing in different bands for entertainment in hotels and bars throughout The Gambia. Jacob is also a co-founder of the band.

Omar comes from a family of musicians who all play local instruments, he has been playing the bass since childhood and joined the band in 2009.

Tony being the youngest band member has been playing the drums for a few years in churches and for his school.

Alagie has been playing keys for many years, like Jacob he has played in many different bands over the years as a professional musician making a living out of his passion.

DSR: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard it before?

RBB: We mix Roots Reggae with traditional African vibes (afro-beats), and Nina brings some Pop influences into her songs.

DSR: What influences shaped your reggae musical style?

RBB: All the greatest artists from Reggae – Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Ijahman Levi – to country – John Denver, Neil Diamond – Jazz – Ella Fitzgerald – to Hip Hop – Dead Prez, Biggie… any music inspires us in some way and influences our style constantly!

DSR: We all know that you are a group, but the group is also songwriters. What’s the easiest kind of song for you to write?

RBB: Any song coming from the heart is easy to write. It gets difficult when people ask for specifics! We always put everything we got into each song that we write, and since songwriting is what we love to do, that makes it an easy task. The beauty of music is that no matter how challenging certain songs can seem to get them just right, it is a very fulfilling task.

DSR: Who is in charge of writing the songs? Where do you draw your inspiration from?

RBB: JoeHero and Nina write most of the English songs, and Afang the african ones. We draw inspiration from our surroundings, the people we love, the people we watch struggle day in day out, the misery of some lives and the joy of others. Anything going on the world really, up to the love we experience ourselves.

DSR: I noticed you just released another album. What was your inspiration behind the release of “Leaders of Tomorrow?”

RBB: Leaders of Tomorrow is our debut album. It features some tracks that have been written a few years back, but nevertheless still have important messages for today. It is definitely inspired by two completely different cultures coming together and sharing their creativity, which makes it so unique.

DSR: Let’s get to know a little bit more about the Roots Bongo Band. What area do you call your hometown and what type of following do you have?

RBB: Some of us live in The Gambia, and others live in the UK. Next we would like to go to Jamaica and explore the Reggae scene over there, and show them some of our African instruments! Hometowns are always the places where you grew up though, it feels! Our following is very versatile from German’s, to Gambian to Americans. That’s what we love, music without borders!!!

DSR: What is the group’s main goal at this point? Where do you possibly see yourself 5-10 years from now?

RBB: At the Grammys!!! Sure, we hope to be successful with what we do, and we also hope to develop our charity organization ‘House of Sermons’ so youths can have the chance to get into music too and follow their dreams.

DSR: Are you working on any projects at the moment?

RBB: Yes, we started recording the African songs that will be on our next album planned for 2013.

DSR: Where can we catch the Roots Bongo Band performing?

RBB: We have our biggest tour yet staring April 20^th in The Gambia. Hopefully by the end of the year we will take it to the UK and Germany too.

DSR: Where can we find your reggae music? Online and offline?

RBB: Online on our website www.therootsbongoband.com, from our music store on Facebook, www.facebook.com/pages/therootsbongoband and of course outlets such as ITunes, Amazon, CdBaby. Offline, just give us a ring! Seriously, we are selling physical copies only in The Gambia at the moment, but hopefully that’ll expand soon.

DSR: What do you think needs to be brought to music in this decade and how do you plan to add to that?

RBB: Music is now more available to people than ever before, and that already makes it very versatile. There is so much great music out there that just needs a chance to be heard though! Any honest music that the artists believe in is worth having. We plan to keep producing music that is important to us, and that we feel will encourage our fans to be the best they can be, and maybe make them feel good.

DSR: We ask all the artists we interview, what’s the best piece of advice someone’s ever given to you?

RBB: Always have faith in what you are doing, and never take yourself too seriously!

We appreciate having the Roots Reggae band the Roots Bongo Band stop through Dubb Spot Records!

We had the chance to catch up with hip hop artist John Sparkz for this weeks featured artist segment.

We had the opportunity to find out his take on the industry’s previously released music, where we can find him performing and what’s the best advice he’s received from anyone in becoming a hip hop artist.

DSR: How old were you when you developed an interest in music?

JS: Damn, well lets see.. I was always into hip hop music as cliché as it seems. I was in 2^nd grade and all I wanted to do was play guitar.

DSR: What was your earliest musical memory? What formed your love of hip hop music in your head?

JS: My first memory with hip hop music would have to be like pre-school era when my parents got me one of those kinda toy acoustic guitars and I just remember thinking I was so cool.

DSR: Let’s get to know a little more about you and how you grew up. What was it like in your hometown? What kind of kid were you?

JS: My town is very normal suburban town. With the mall, the boardwalk, I was into sports when I was little I was always playing baseball and basketball and skateboarding I was always outside doing something.

DSR: So let’s talk about your music. How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard it before?

JS: (Laughing) I hate this question… uhhhh I’d say I’m just normal hip hop, music you can ride around with your friends and smoke to, shit you can relate to.

DSR: What is the significance of your name?

JS: John Sparkz my government Is John, and I sparks a lot of newports.

DSR: There’s a part of the industry that irks me the most, where great hip hop music gets overlooked because it doesn’t fit a mold. How frustrating is that for you, if people seem to think that you don’t have that sound for radio?

JS: Really to be honest I don’t give a fuck. If my music isn’t “radio material” people are still gonna peep it on blogs and twitter. It’s very frustrating though when people are thirsty haters who won’t give your music any credit just because of certain standards they have.

DSR: What do you think needs to be brought to hip hop music in this decade and how do you plan to add to that?

JS: Man, the music needs some eastcoast back!!! Enough of this feel good smoke weed Mac Miller bullshit, the game needs that flavor of eastcoast that deals with everyday life not just partying.

DSR: What do you think of hip hop music that came out in the last decade?

JS: I think some of the best and some of the worst hip hop music came out. You got artists like 50, Em and that whole camp, who changed the rap scene. Then you got Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa who almost deaded good hip hop.

DSR: How would you rate the music that your music competes against in your local area?

JS: Everyone raps, everyones in a band, that’s why I love my town, But with all of that comes haters, and people who will do anything to be in a position someone else is in.  And I would say I’m just focused compared to other artists around here, I got tunnel vision I don’t pay attention to any negativity.

DSR: Have you learned any lessons so far and if so, what are they?

JS: The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to just go for it, never pass up opportunities, I’ve done that and I’ll never forgive myself.

DSR: Do you write all of your own material? And if so, are you working on any new projects or have any projects that you are promoting right now?

JS: I write all my own music. I don’t see logic into rapping lyrics that aren’t yours. My last two mixtapes I put out are Newport Music and Newport Music 2. I’m workin’ on Newport Music 3 and I’m gonna drop that before summer.

DSR: Where can the people find you performing or attend any hip hop events you are involved in?

JS: They Can check my twitter @JohnSparkz for any updates

DSR: Where can we find your music online and offline?

JS: My music is on datpiff, Hot new hip hop. But I usually just like puttn my shit on youtube so its easier for people to listen.  And if you see me, ask me I most likely got a cd with my stuff on it.

DSR: We ask all Artists that we interview, what’s the best piece of advice that someone has ever given to you?

JS: Hands down, the best advice someone has ever given me. Would have to be Harry Fraud. He produced Shot Caller, he’s like my brother from another mother. He always told me. “Forget what anyone has to say, just do you and stay focused, you know what you do and who you fuck with.” And now I live by that advice everyday

DSR: Is there anything else that you would like to include in closing of this interview?

JS: I just want to thank ya’ll for this opportunity. I also want to say you can find me on Twitter @JohnSparkz, on youtube, JohnSparkzOfficial and on Facebook JohnSparkzOfficial. I’m also on instagram , viddy, all that. And shoutout to Harry Fraud, Rico, Trust, and my number one fan Brielle.

DSR: Thanks John Sparkz. Keep inspiring people with the hip hop music that you produce!

Is our featured Artist interviewed about his music on Dubb Spot Records.

Dubb Spot Records had the chance to catch up with Rahat and discuss how he developed an interest for rap music, his upbringing and how he feels about the state of rap right now.

DSR: How old were you when you developed an interest in music?

Rahat: I first got into music around the end of eighth grade, so basically first got into it when I was 13 years old.

DSR: What was your earliest musical memory? What formed your love of music in your head?

What got me into music was listening to the band Linkin Park while I was in middle school. I just found their music really interesting and oftentimes while I would listen to them I’d imagine it was me rapping or singing the songs I was listening to. Eventually I set out to become a singer until realizing that I had a horrible singing voice. I went back and tried out rap and I found that I simply loved it.

DSR: Let’s get to know a little more about you and how you grew up. What was it like in your hometown? What kind of kid were you?

Rahat: I grew up in the Bronx and in school I was usually the outcast and was considered the nerd. I was the only Bengali kid in my class so I usually felt alone. Around my neighborhood I had friends of my own culture as well as friends who weren’t. I started hanging out with what would be considered the “wrong crowd” as I got older and I pretty much did what most other teens my age were doing, i.e. couple drugs weed etc. During high school several of my friends passed away in what to me seemed like a whole chain of deaths. My best friend Angel was shot while visiting family in L.A. and this was after he had just attended a funeral for his cousin. A year after that another friend of mine Jezzie died in a car crash along with her baby brother. Another one of my friends Jose commited suicide and as I grew up I just felt really cold and at one point during high school I was taking sleeping pills and I was really just messed up. At the same time I consider myself lucky to have made more friends in high school who I still view as my friends to this day. This was also the time my relationship with my fiancé evolved and now I’m in better state of mind and happier having moved on from all the death that filled up a large part of my childhood.

DSR: So let’s talk about your music. How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard it before?

My sound is really all over the place sometimes. When I first started I was into the whole boom bap hip hop but slowly I started straying away from that. I would still consider myself to be mainly an underground type rapper, a lot of my songs have a dark undertone to them. Instrumental wise I rap over a variety of different types including dubstep, orchestral, and somewhat pop hip hop but overall even the lighter tracks I’ve done are still pretty dark in their own ways. I rap mainly about my life and experiences as well as the experiences of some of my friends.

DSR: What is the significance of your name?

The name I go by, Rahat, is actually my given name which means calm and peace. Originally I attached MC in front of it and was MC Rahat. I changed it at other points to Mcrc. Back when myspace was the place you would promote your music on I had tried making my myspace url end in mcrc but unfortunately someone else had taken it. I settled with mcrac which just consisted of all the first initials of my name. I had put out a small ep in High school that I was giving out for free and someone actually came up to me and said something along the lines of “oh you guys think your funny naming yourself emcrak?” I personally thought that was hilarious and for a short time I went by that name as well until ultimately settling down with just Rahat, which in my opinion was unique enough in itself and really was just me.

DSR: There’s a part of the industry that irks me the most, where great music gets overlooked because it doesn’t fit a mold. How frustrating is that for you, if people seem to think that you don’t have that sound for radio?

Rahat: Yes that really irks me as well. I do have some songs that would be considered “Radio friendly” however a majority of my songs are not. I pour out a lot of my energy and passion into my music so when someone tells me it isn’t going to do well because it isn’t suitable for radio play really gets to me. There is a niche for everything and I know a niche exists for the music I make so that’s who I’ve got to target. Not everyone likes what’s on the radio, not everyone can really sound the same. That radio sound idea just really needs to die down.

DSR: What do you think needs to be brought to music in this decade and how do you plan to add to that?

I think something that is already being slowly done and needs to be done more is adding more lyrical substance into music. Don’t get me wrong I like the occasional party track but when that’s all you ever here from some artists it does get irritating. I’ve noticed however that more artists are putting more emphasis on the message of their songs which is something I am doing myself. I think the best way to spread a message through music is to attach it to some sort of action. I plan on making music based on certain charities and hope that I can sell some to raise money to help in their causes. I’ve contacted a few about doing something like this and I hope slowly I can do something positive with my music.

DSR: What do you think of the music that came out in the last decade?

Rahat: I honestly don’t like that majority of it, in terms of mainstream music. There’s a ton of great music that came out in the underground and through independent and lesser known artists. In the past decade everyone was jumping from one bandwagon to another milking it out for all it was worth until you just got sick and tired of hearing the music. I think nowadays your less likely to have someone who listens to certain songs for more than a couple months. It’s almost like music is designed now just to be cool for a couple months until its forgotten about down the road. I still listen to a lot of songs I listened to while I was growing up but a lot of the music that’s been coming out recently just haven’t stuck with me like that.

DSR: How would you rate the music that your music competes against in your local area?

Rahat: Well I rap and it seems like almost everyone thinks they can download a beat off Soundclick and record something at home and call themselves a rapper. I like to think I’m not part of that boat but there is really a huge oversaturation of rappers who I don’t feel take it very seriously. I like to think I have some substance in my music which I don’t see all too much of anymore. At the same token it seems like there is also a hell of a lot of people like me struggling to do the same things I struggle to do as well so in terms of my music relating to them I think I rate myself on the higher end of the spectrum. I’m still local and doing this on my own but I believe I’ve to the music to really take myself far.

DSR: Have you learned any lessons so far and if so, what are they?

Rahat: The biggest lesson I needed to learn, was how to take criticism. It took time getting used to people not saying completely nice things about my music but eventually I got over it and tried to learn from what it is that seemed to be turning people off. I’m still learning and improving everyday and as an artist that’s what you are constantly doing. Art is never perfect you learn all the time while you do it.

DSR: Do you write all of your own material? And if so, are you working on any new projects or have any projects that you are promoting right now?

Rahat: I write all of my own lyrics, as far as beats go I lease them. Once in a blue moon I might work out my own beat but I tend to usually stick to rapping. Right now I am working on a follow up to my E.P. from last year which was titled “The Resurrection”. The project I’m working on right now is a short album and I’m going to be calling it “A Seraph’s Gift.” I hope to release it this spring and hope to also have a music video of the first single “Hero” out sometime soon as well.

DSR: Where can the people find you performing or attend the events you are involved in?

Rahat: Best way to find out where and when I’m performing is to either follow me on twitter or my facebook fan page. Links to those can be found on my personal page of my website. www.utuneslive.com There’s a page dedicated to just my music on the site which will have updates on what I’m doing and links to follow me online.

DSR: Where can we find your music online and offline?

Rahat: Like I said before www.utuneslive.com has a page dedicated to me. There is a soundcloud music player on the page that has some of my songs on it. Some of my older stuff like the E.P. I released last year can be found at rahat.bandcamp.com I plan on updating the bandcamp with the new album once that’s done as well. You can also find some of my singles on Itunes. My song “Here We Go” was the single off my E.P. last year and is available on Itunes. My song “Hero” which is the first single off of my upcoming album is also available on Itunes. You can also fine my songs on Spotify I usually send out updates on this stuff on my Twitter and facebook pages. As far as offline I haven’t got any current physical releases other than a free E.P. I gave out in high school which is no longer available. I plan on doing a limited physical cd release of my upcoming album but just keep the look out on my site for more information on that.

DSR: We ask all Artists that we interview, what’s the best piece of advice that someone has ever given to you?

Rahat: Always keep writing. The more you write the more you stretch your creative muscles. That advice was given to me by my friend Angel. Really just keep writing and never stop. You never lose the artistic value of what you’re doing if you don’t stop.

DSR: Is there anything else that you would like to include in closing of this interview?

Rahat: Just be on the lookout for my stuff and follow me on twitter @Rahat_music one of the songs “War” off my upcoming album was featured on an Indie Top 50 mixtape from Coast to Coast mixtapes hosted by DJ Whiplash. I promise you’ll be seeing more and more of me and my music soon just keep your eyes peeled.

Yall Betta Recognize Radio

Show Online Is Coming!!!

“That’s right the online radio version of Yall Betta Recognize”

You all know it from June Productions on WESER 90.7 FM and the demand has been high to call in and interact more with our radio show.

So with that said, we chose to make that happen and it’s happening sooner than later. We’re still in the formatting stages and screening radio DJs for the shows, but it’s on it’s way. We already have a talented DJ by the name of DJ Ian Charlton of Ian Charlton Entertainment, that will be holding down his own radio show on WDSR Yall Betta Recognize station. He’s also provided some mixes for our radio show on WESER 90.7 FM. Of course he jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the radio online version of the show.

Of course we’ll still have you rocking out to some of the hottest independent artists from all over the World. It’s still nothing but indie love, all day, every day. The only change is our show will not be limited to once a week and for an hour. How does 24/7 sound? Is It possible? I guess you will have to just tune in to see right? The possibilities are endless and we’re excited. We hope you are too. There will be all kinds of goodies for you the listener like being able to earn royalty points and redeeming them in the royalty store for merchandise, live radio interviews, hip hop/rap competitions, interact with live listeners in the chatroom and more. Like it was said before, we’re still formatting things but we’re close to finalizing everything.

We are lookin for indie tracks for our station in the following genres:

Hip Hop/Rap

R&B

Neo-Soul

Reggae

Smooth Jazz

Urban Pop

More genres will be added from new DJs.

You can submit your tracks and drops to sendtrax@gmail.com. Here’s a sample of a drop we are accepting:

“This is ___________ (name) from _____________ (state/country) and I’m getting my music fix in the mix with WDSR, Yall Betta Recognize radio show. It’s A Dubb Spot Thang… Yall Betta Recognize.”

Or anything of that nature as long as it includes

“WDSR Yall Betta Recognize” and “A Dubb Spot Thang.”

You can search our website at WDSR - Yall Betta Recognize

to find out more details about the online version of Yall Betta Recognize radio show.

We appreciate you Fam! Let’s keep that Indie Love poppin’ on Indie Radio.

Dubb Spot Records got the chance to catch up with rap artist Smarts. We discussed the lessons learned along the way, his earliest memories of rap music and what needs to be brought to rap music and how he intends to add to it.

DSR: How old were you when you developed an interest in music?

Smarts: It must have been real early in life. Since I can remember, my parents would always play music all the time, and as soon as the radio would be off, I would miss the songs that were being played. But that’s different now when the radio is off I don’t miss the songs that are being played by some of the artist.

DSR: What was your earliest musical memory? What formed your love of music in your head?

Smarts: The fact that I can do it and thought I was good at it. I thought to myself, “all they are doing is rhyming…i know how to do that too.”

DSR: Let’s get to know a little more about you and how you grew up. What was it like in your hometown? What kind of kid were you?

Smarts: I grew up in the 80′s in Long Beach California. In our neighborhood, gang violence was an everyday thing. We learned how to fight with our fists those days. I’m the middle kid in the family, I’m also the black sheep.

DSR: So let’s talk about your music. How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard it before?

Smarts: I try to bring emotion to a lot of my music. First I have to feel the instrumental, then I bring those feelings to words through my lyrics.

DSR: What is the significance of your name?

Smarts: My friends would always say that I’m smart. I made it “smarts” once I started drawing graff. Knowing it meant “smarts” means so many things and I felt they described me and my lyrics as well. If you look it up in the dictionary “smarts” is often described as mostly a superficial wound… which I know my lyrics inflict.

DSR: There’s a part of the industry that irks me the most, where great music gets overlooked because it doesn’t fit a mold of the typical rap artist. How frustrating is that for you, if people seem to think that you don’t have that sound for radio?

Smarts: Radio is a dying form of entertainment nowadays, with good reason. With songs getting played on rotation every 20 minutes I too would change the damn station until I find a new sound, a new beat, a new voice and new music. I’m perfectly fine not being played on the radio. Often times, that’s where some excellent music goes to die. I don’t care what people think of myself or my music, as long as I know I’m being true to myself.

DSR: What do you think needs to be brought to music in this decade and how do you plan to add to that?

Smarts: What I feel this industry needs and has been lost is knowledge. The radio keeps pushing the typical artist songs to make us forget that the economy is bad and not to worry and party all the damn time. How can I party all the damn time when I can’t afford it? When I don’t have a job? We artist need to speak about real issues so that we can actually make a difference instead of keeping us down always talking about things I can’t relate to. I’m not a millionaire, so all the so called sell out rappers artist are not in touch with the people who are struggling. I try to educate through lyrics, but still bring my street into it because I’ve lived it and am still living it.

DSR: What do you think of the music that came out in the last decade?

Smarts: I think it is being missed. That’s why the rap artist Nas said hip hop was dead. The music being played on the radio now is intended for a different generation, and I’m fine with that. Let these youngsters have it. It sounds like they want it to just be pop, hip pop, not hip hop. When the rap artist group N.W.A did “f*** the police” that opened my eyes and I’ve seen how powerful hip hop can be. It raised awareness about police brutality. All you hear about in this decade of music is the same song sung a million different ways by a different rap artist, and that makes me sick.

DSR: How would you rate the music that your music competes against in your local area?

Smarts: I try not to rate anything. If you like it, then you like it. As long as just one person likes my song I am content with that. I try to not do what every other artist out there is doing, I just do what I want and worry about myself.

DSR: Have you learned any lessons so far and if so, what are they?

Smarts: I’ve learned many lessons along the way and I am still learning. I’ve learned that you can make money being fake as hell, that’s why I keep it real as much as I can. But at the end I give the listeners what they want, but I do it my way.

DSR: Do you write all of your own material? And if so, are you working on any new projects or have any projects that you are promoting right now?

Smarts: I write all my material, every single letter. I take my time and write all my rhymes down to make sure every bar is where it should go. Respect to those who don’t write anything down and just spit in the booth, but I think you may be limited in the content that comes out. And I think that’s why I think knowledge has slowly faded from hip hop. I’m currently performing songs from my solo album “Political Party” that’s free to download. I also have a project coming out with “the other guys” which consists of myself, rap artist Jon Doe, Slim Pickens, and Beast. Plus be on the lookout on many projects to come out from Darkstarz records.

DSR: Where can the people find you performing or attend the events you are involved in?

Smarts: People can find all that information on my facebook at facebook.com/smartsMC

DSR: Where can we find your music online and offline?

Smarts: You can find my music at the following links:

http://darkstarzrecords.com/SMARTS/

facebook.com/smartsMC

www.reverbnation.com/smartsmusick

DSR: We ask every Artist that we interview, what’s the best piece of advice that someone has ever given to you?

Smarts: There has been so many good advice given to me, but from what I gather, I have to look inside myself and know why I’m rapping.

DSR: Is there anything else that you would like to include in closing of this interview?

Smarts: Yes, music is a form of art, and an artist will always have critics. It’s up to the artist to either worry about what the critics say or to keep doing what they love doing. Although I may not respect what a few artists do, I don’t hate them getting that paper.

We appreciate having the opportunity to sit down with rap artist Smarts and discuss his journey through this hip hop game.