By Sadé Champagne

YNG-ROBB is the first artist to kick off my “Stars of the Future!” interview series! I first heard about him through the manager at R.K. Records- she insisted that I interview their new artist YNG-ROBB. She kept mentioning how talented, dedicated, and unique he was. I promised to check out his music, and get back to her. So I listened to his music on myspace, and I was speechless! YNG-ROBBS’s songs “Son of A God” and “Under Pressure” really moved me, plus he brings an inspirational and excellent energy to every song that he writes. After interviewing YNG-ROBB, I discovered that not only is he making a difference through his music, he strives to motivate others by setting a positive example for kids, his peers, and other performing artists. Check out my interview with this wonderful rapper and lyricist below!

YNG-ROBB, born Robert D. Williams on December 1, 1986 in Long Beach, California, spent most of his childhood in his grandmother’s home in Las Vegas. Even as a child, YNG-ROBB seemed destined for a successful career in the music industry. YNG-ROBB’s path to the stage has been peppered with challenges along the way, however. The death of his big brother Dion when young Robert was only 4 left a scar in the young boy’s heart that to this day has not fully healed, and difficulty adjusting to high school life found the teenager turning to the gangster culture of drugs and violence as his only way of coping. By the time he was 18, Robert knew that the wages of his life of guns and drugs would be death, so he decided to turn away from that life and use his talent for rap to tell his story and give hope to others considering the gang banger’s life. Now known by the name YNG-ROBB, he follows his heroes in the hip hop industry as his role models to lift others to achieve more with their lives. Faithful to his church and committed to his schoolwork, YNG-ROBB emulates such heroes as Grand Master Jay, Run-DMC, Snoop Dogg and others who have turned their lives around. YNG-ROBB is currently appearing at various events around Southern California and aspires to bring hope and joy to others facing hard choices in their lives.

Bio courtesy of R.K. Records

It was a pleasure interviewing YNG-ROBB via email! =)

Sadé: Please tell me a little about how and where you grew up.
YNG-ROBB: I lived a regular hood life surrounded by poverty-with more choices to do bad instead of good.

Sadé: When did you first take interest in music?
YNG-ROBB: When I realized people remembered the words of their favorite artists songs’, such as my mother singing in the kitchen while she was cooking.

Sadé: Who has inspired you the most in your career? Please name a person inside the business and someone outside of the business.
YNG-ROBB: Someone that was in the business, Tupac Amaru Shakur, because in one of his interviews he said, “If I can’t change the world, I guarantee to spark that somebody’s brain to change the world”, and I felt he sparked my brain to change the way music is projected to the hip-hop spectators. Outside the business Alton Lynum, because he taught me most people respect you when you keep a professional image.

Sadé: When did you know that you wanted to pursue music for the rest of your life?
YNG-ROBB: At the age of 15 I made a set decision that I was going to be the GREATEST rapper that ever touched a microphone, by learning from all the greats mistakes (in order to become the best)!

Sadé: What is the best advice that someone ever gave you about following your dreams?
YNG-ROBB: If you think you can you can, but if you think you can’t you’re right”, quoted by Mary Kay Ash.

Sadé: What is the best advice that you would give someone about following their dreams?
YNG-ROBB: “WHEN YOU ASK FOR SOMEONE’S HELP, YOU GIVE YOURSELF A LIMITATION ON WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE ON YOUR OWN.” quoted by me Robert D. Williams. Because if you think about it, your opinion is what counts, but when you ask for help you degrade your opinion and take in to consideration the next persons opinion, (which is not wrong) but asking for help sometimes gives you a limitation on using your own mind ability of thinking.

Sadé: Were there ever times that you felt like giving up on your dreams? Tell me about one of those times.
YNG-ROBB: Plenty of times that thought ran through my mind from people not purchasing my promo demo, or even when I was just rapping for free and not getting paid.

Sadé: What kept you from giving up?
YNG-ROBB: God, and also every time I hear a new person compliment me and let me know that I’m the best rapper they’ve heard so far!

Sadé: What do you think of the music industry today? Do you feel that it’s taking a turn for the better or worse?
YNG-ROBB: It’s a gimmick. Instead of taking time out and really critiquing the genre of music that we call hip-hop, people are just taking words, throwing it on a beat, and calling it a song. Now in 2008 I feel the music industry has taken a turn for the worst.

Sadé: What are the steps that you took to make your dreams come true?
YNG-ROBB: The steps I took to manifest my dreams are first and foremost believing in God, secondly taking my time critiquing my music before I consider it being a song, and third keeping my confidence at the highest peak and staying prepared for constructive criticism.

Sadé: What are some positive words or sayings that you live by every day?
YNG-ROBB: When you learn to appreciate, you learn the real meaning of living life, and that’s something I do daily in order to keep my mind focused.

Sadé: Do you consider yourself to be a role model? If so, do you like being one?
YNG-ROBB: Of course I consider myself a role model. If you haven’t heard, my music consists on enlightening teens to get through peer pressure, and also to think about the consequences (if they do decide to follow in the wrong direction).

Sadé: Take me through a studio session, and tell me what your recording process is like.
YNG-ROBB: Before I walk in the studio, the song would be complete within my head! I’m what you call a one take artist…I train myself to memorize my rhymes as I write them down. So in the booth I never have to recite from a piece of paper unless I just wrote it within that studio session. The reason I do that is because I dislike songs that sound like the artist was reading from a piece of paper…it takes away the emotion and feeling from the song.

Sadé: Do you write your own lyrics? Please explain to me what your writing process is like.
YNG-ROBB: Yes, I write my own lyrics, but the process is kind of out of the blue. I could just come up with a hit song while I’m sleeping!

Sadé: Do you remember the first time you recorded a song in the studio? Please take me back to that time.
YNG-ROBB: Yes I remember it like it was yesterday! I was 15 years old and I lived in Long Beach, CA. My next door neighbor invited me to his studio and offered me a beat (if I could come up with a song). It took me 1 hour to come up with a concept to the song, but it took my homeboys days to finish their verses. So I took it upon myself to complete the song as soon as possible and get in the studio to record. The song was called “I’ma Hustla’ Baby”. The feedback on the song wasn’t so great, but many people let me know I gave the most energy and originality to the song. That’s when I realized I write faster and record better then most of my peers.

Sadé: Who is the first person/people you ever performed for? Please take me back to that time.
YNG-ROBB: I was 16 years old when I performed for Hillary Duff’s manager, Andre Recke, from Disney Records. I did a private audition in the Millennium Dance Complex. It’s really not too much to talk about. I just performed 3 live songs to give him an insight on my stage performance skills.

Sadé: How can an artist stay focused and not let the audition tension psych them out?
YNG-ROBB: Prepare like it’s a test! Study your craft before you consider yourself being ready to audition.

Sadé: Almost every entertainer nowadays is not only a Rapper, but also an actor, spokes model, producer, and has many many other business ventures. Do you want to do the same things as well?
YNG-ROBB: Yes, I would love to be considered a great actor one day, own my own company, and eventually learn to produce my own music.

Sadé: That brings me to my next question. Out of all your crafts, which one is your favorite? (rapping, producing, playing instruments?)
YNG-ROBB: Eventually being a CEO of my own company, but for right now my favorite is entertaining music lovers as a hip-hop artist.

Sadé: What are your pre-performance rituals?
YNG-ROBB: First I have to make a phone call to my creator, which is my mother. Second I say a nice long prayer appreciating the things God blessed me with, and if I still have time I like to do 20 push ups before I get on stage.

Sadé: Do you get performance jitters? If so, how do you get rid of them?
YNG-ROBB: Before I get to the show I love to rehearse and visualize that its billions of people watching me! So by the time I step in front of a crowd of a thousand, I’ll already be prepared for the constructive criticism.

Sadé: A lot of rappers talk about how much they financially struggled, especially on the way to their dreams. What can an artist do to make sure that they are able to accomplish their dreams and not have to financially struggle at the same time? Or is it unavoidable?
YNG-ROBB: I believe it’s whatever you feel you could do because if you want to live a good life, you have to take yourself out of the negative to receive the positive feedback you need in order to accomplish your dreams.

Sadé: How important is the internet to an artist’s career?
YNG-ROBB: The internet is a necessity for promotion for the artist, but I feel like its not more important then writing/composing your music that everybody can listen to (even if you’re a different race or gender; not just one set culture).

Sadé: Do you think that internet sales may be more important than album sales these days?
YNG-ROBB: Yeah it’s cool for fans to purchase the album from their Apple I phone, lap top, or home desktop, without having to go to the store. The industry is different from how it used to be. You can make over a billion dollars if you’re a good artists nowadays!

Sadé: How can a artist master their skills? What are some of the tasks they can do daily to improve their flow, breath control, and fluidity?
YNG-ROBB: Take a song that you know every word to, and rap it as if you were the person that wrote the song.

Sadé: What do you think of reality TV shows like American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, and Dance War? Do you think that these shows shine a good or bad light on performing artists? Why or why not?
YNG-ROBB: Reality shows are nice for exposure, but it shines a bad light on performing artists. First off, the producers and directors are looking to get paid through ratings, and it doesn’t matter how good you are, you’re just a “crash dummy” in order to keep the show running!

Sadé: What has been the highlight of your career so far?
YNG-ROBB: The highlight of my career so far is being managed by Grand Master Jay from R.K. Records. Also having a real biography, head shots, and a demo to submit to record companies.

Sadé: What career goals are you still trying to achieve?
YNG-ROBB: I’m still trying to achieve a record deal with a big time record company.

Sadé: How can your fans stay in contact with you and up-to-date with what’s going on in your career?
YNG-ROBB: http://www.myspace.com/1yngrobb and that’s the official Yng. Robb music myspace site

Sadé: Thank you so much for your time Yng Robb!
YNG-ROBB: No thank you! I appreciate everything you’re doing for me.
“& also A 100,000.00 blessing’s to you & yours”

There is a website called Animoto that lets you upload or import a set of photos and music and then it will churn out a slick music video for you. Usually when I get back from a live performance the promoter or fans will send me some photos of the show. Why not get these into music video form onto YouTube? Great promotion no?

Of course you can take the time to create a music video from still images in Final Cut Pro, iMovie or Adobe Premier but Animoto is super easy, fast and effective. Here’s how it works: Head over to Animoto and sign up for an account. Click “create video” on the top left of the window. Next, you choose “30 Second Video - Animated Short” or “Full Length Video”. The 30 second clips are free to make. If you want to make something longer it will cost you $3.00 but you get a full 1 free every month. There is also a yearly subscription fee for $30.00 which allows you to make as many full length videos as you like. Now you either upload your photos or import them from flickr. You can also import photos from Facebook, Picasa, Smugmug, and Photobucket. You can choose a few photos to be featured by adding a “Spotlight” tag on them. Then you add your music and hit “finalize” and Animoto does its magic. A great new feature they just added is the ability to send your creation directly to YouTube.

You end up with a pretty neat music video. Fancy transitions with zooms and pans make your static photos come to life. The thing I personally like is how fast the process goes.

By Shara Rutberg

(FORTUNE Small Business) — Dear FSB: I am a raggaeton music artist. Everyone that hears my music absolutely loves it, but I’ve tried to get signed by several independent record label companies and have been used for my music and received no money in return. I would love to be able to market my own music through digital distribution. How do I get started? How can I market to the thousands, if not millions?

- Gerson Martinez, Columbus

Dear Gerson: Forget the independent labels - especially if they’ve been stealing your tunes.

Most of what they can do for you, you can do yourself, according to Michael King, who teaches Music Marketing 201 at berkleemusic.com, the online branch of the Boston’s Berklee College of Music, the world’s largest independent college focused on the study of contemporary music.

In the past, labels monopolized distribution, but today, “forward-thinking online distributors are empowering artists to do it themselves,” says King.

Two companies in particular have enabled artists to get their music on Apple’s (AAPL, Fortune 500) iTunes, RealNetworks (RNWK)’ Rhapsody, eMusic and other online retailers: CD Baby and TuneCore.

“Essentially, these online distributors do exactly the same thing: they have direct relationships with the digital retailers and provide a bridge to get your music into the stores,” says King.

The two companies operate slightly differently. CD Baby charges a small fee, (currently 7 percent) for every sale generated online. TuneCore doesn’t charge a fee on sales, but charges a one-time fee, per store, per album, for delivering the music, and a one-time charge per song you upload (both are currently $0.99), plus a $20 annual fee.

“You’ll need to run the numbers to see which one works best for your particular situation,” says King. Other online distributors are popping up constantly, but CD Baby and Tunecore have the best track records for getting your tracks into the hands of listeners.

Heavy metal makeover
“Be sure to have a MySpace page and a solid website, know how to use it, and update it regularly,” says Chris Knab, author of Music is Your Business and president of FourFront Media and Music, a Seattle-based music business consultancy.

Thousands and millions - of dollars or fans - aren’t going to appear overnight.

“Slow down!” says Knab. “There is no fast track to making money in any part of the music industry. Commit yourself to being in it for the long haul. Remember, there were over 75,000 new releases put out last year and over 56,000 of them sold less than 100 copies.”

Distribution follows marketing. “One doesn’t market their music by getting on iTunes,” says King. “The key is to generate interest outside of these retailers and drive folks to the outlet so they’ll buy your music.”

You need a fully integrated marketing campaign that takes advantage of the marketing outlets and technologies that are available today to independent musicians. “And tour, tour, tour,” says King.

To learn the internet marketing aspect of that integrated campaign, Knab recommends How to Successfully Market Your Music on the Internet by David Nevue, an industry consultant who runs the music industry resource musicbizacademy.com.

“Nevue takes you through every aspect of internet marketing - everything you need to learn about how to build your career through the Internet,” says Knab.

Nevue updates the book every six months, because changes are rippling through the digital music marketing world nearly as fast as a raggaeton beat.

Do you have killer music-marketing tips? Share them with us.