Shotty's Hip Hop Blog

 Rappers Guidebook .                                                  By: Shotty Mills.                                                            It all started for me with a blank sheet of paper. I had no intention of ever finding the words to express my feelings. But eventually I was able to find this through my music. And this is when I started writing in my rappers guidebook, I wrote down all the feedback I received in this book. Also, in this book I catalogued all my rhymes. And also I reflected on ways that I can improve myself. This is what really launched me off and kick started my overall career. Not even in the blink of an eye. I never thought, I would ever unveil the greatness. That I have within me,...

 Importance of Pronunciation                                     By: Shotty Mills.                                                           Pronouncing words can pose a challenge to numerous people. How can one improve pronouncing words correctly? Typically, if you get the just of the word, you should be able to sound out the word correctly. It’s not easy route for anyone when they are first starting out. But it’s worth working on pronunciation, because it can impact your overall delivery. Practice saying the word out loud to yourself, and see if you notice any discrepancies. Sometimes I get to caught up in rhyming, but don’t trip over rhyming. Focus on what flows naturally from within you. This is what I’ve learned from the multiple freestyles I’ve ...

 Living through the Struggles of Music .                    By:Shotty Mills.                                             Sometimes it’s through the struggles of music,  in which you find your greatest success. Success is like a progressive mechanism that comes with progressive progress day in and day out. You may struggle, but there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Looking at the bigger picture may be terrifying, and taking those small steps. But it’s those strident struggles that you stumble through. That will make you live through the struggles of your music. You weren’t born with the gift to write or do a particular skill. It’s something, you have to harness over a long period of time. Good things take time to uncover, you have to remember that. Take into account how the struggles, you encounter will sculpt y...

 Delivery in Music .                                                      By: Shotty Mills.                                                                What is delivery in music mean to you? Delivery is your ability to project your voice to an intended audience. An intended audience would be the crowd that reacts to the projection of your voice. Look at the performing artists and see how they project their voice. Often you will see them project their voice, in which that is congruent with their body language. The better that you deliver your voice to your intended audience. The more they will feel presence in that moment, and the meaning of your music will surge. This is something, I am st...

 Find your Niche in Music .                                         By: Shotty Mills.                                                            A niche within the music industry is how you stand out amongst the crowd. Think of it, in the form of how an animal is prominent within their environment. The environment that your create within your music can establish varying moods and emotions. Focus on that and building up your niche. This niche that you build will be a baseline for your music within the near future. With me at first, I struggled to develop my niche as an artist. But I’ve laid out the groundwork for my niche as an artist now. Ask yourself: what’s my niche and how can I portray it to my audience effectively. For me, I apply ...

 You are the Artist of your Life                                             By: Shotty Mills.                                                                 You are truly the artist of your life. The artist that paints your every move. For every move that you initiate is your keystroke. This is the way, I see music now. To be successful in the music industry, you have to be artist in numerous ways. Work on perfecting your skills into subset skills. That you can focus on harnessing one by one. Rather, than trying to collectively try to learn and cram everything all at once. When you are an artist of your life, you are in control of the life that unfolds around you. You may mistakes or have mistakes painting the pict...

Different Writing Styles in Music.                                 By: Shotty Mills                                                             In music writing can be an erroneous chore for some people. The question of how to structure your beats can vary. With anything in general, you can creatively come up with your own styles. But the only real advice, I would give is: find your style and stick with it. No need to follow what everyone else is doing. Stand out in your own unique way amongst all your peers. It took me a little while to harness my overall style. But now I’m style is inherent within in me. It was ultimately become a fabric of who I am today. In writing you can do the following: write a narrative, a story, or even have something in general. The ...

 Making Some Rap Beats .                                          By: Shotty Mills                                                         I’m starting to learn the just of working with different drum lines and learning varying instruments. I have never played or learned an instrument within the scope of my life. But I find it interesting how one puzzles together rap beats. In a way, it is a whole other art form that has to be mastered. The composition of using snares, hi-hats, kick drums and etc. It really fascinated me in numerous ways. As a creative artist, I find this as my forte. Although, it does take a significant amount of work. It’s not out of reach for you to learn it. That’s what I have learned with anything that I have learned ov...

What will my Upcoming Tracks Entail?                    My Top Five: Eminem, 2Pac, Biggie, Kendrick Lamar, and J.Cole Others: Locksmith, Mobb Deep, Slug from Atmosphere, Snak the Ripper, DMX, Method Man, Joyner Lucas and Royce Da 5’9.    and many more                                                           By: Shotty Mills.                                                         My upcoming tracks will have a diverse catalogue, including some storytelling raps of mine. Through the vast amount of tracks that I have on the way, I intend to shed light on a new path. A lot of my fans and followers may be wondering when my next tracks are coming up. B...

 Whose your Target Audience in Music?                                     By:Shotty Mills(A rapper, author, blogger and podcaster)                                                                       A target audience is crucial in establishing yourself, as a ground up business. The more that you know about your target audience, the more that you can target that audience. Any audience will have varying geographical and backgrounds like different languages, culture and etc. Aim towards the bullseye at your target audience. If you target your audience accordingly. They will more likely share your content with other professional leads within your industry.                   ...

 Music is more than Making Music                            By: Shotty Mills                                                         After releasing my first album “Show and Tell”, which is available on Spotify, iTunes and all music platforms. I realized something very powerful. For anyone that thinks making music is just about making music. It’s much more profound and diverse than that. Music is like having a business, and trying to deliver your best product. In other words, you are brand that you have to represent, and present to other individuals. If you treat yourself, as a brand and are professional. This in turn will lead to more professional leads. This has a direct connection to what you call a business funnel. A business funnel is a funnel, in which you have potentia...

https://open.spotify.com/album/02uYcxW62WRmdA6XqgiMoo?si=jvV_JvumS9SoCDL1xnCIHg       Lose Myself Overview .                                      By:Shotty Mills                This song is part of  Shotty Mills album “Show and Tell”, which is available on Spotify, iTunes and all music platforms. Lose Myself indicates that sometimes in life we have lose ourselves to find ourselves. We all take different journeys within the landscape of our lives. That makes us who are, but we are guided along a different terrain of life. Throughout this song Shotty Mills brings a perspective and story of how he lost himself to find himself. In the culture of his own life Shotty knows how much, a struggle life can present with all of its uncertainties. But it’s through those uncertainties that you truly are revealed to your sense of purpose. Life ...

 Household Drama Overview.                                    By: Shotty Mills                                                            My song “Household Drama” is my most heartfelt song of my album “Show and Tell”. This song reflects the pains, and horrors I encountered growing up in my hometown. In all this is definitely one of my favourite songs, I have recorded to date. To me this song stands out to serve, as example of a humble beginning. For instance, how one can come from nothing in their life to create something. This song has connections with my upcoming book “Shoot your Shot: Land Amongst the Stars”. In this book, I explain more in depth the struggles that I circled around growing up. In one of my lines in “Household Drama”, I exhibi...

Overview of my Song Show and Tell                          By: Shotty Mills                                                            As of right now “Show and Tell” stands as my hit song. This song headlines my new album “Show and Tell”. This song depicts a double entendre. As many of you already know Show and Tell is a ritual in kindergarten. When someone brings a possession or something meaningful to Show and Tell their classmates. On the contrary, I have a tag line behind Show and Tell.  And this tag line suggests that no matter what happens, I will and show and tell the word what I’m made of. Similar, to those kids in kindergarten bringing something important to them to show their class. In a sense for me, in my song Show and Tell. I am delivering what I want to Sh...

 Music and Balancing Life .                                           By: Shotty Mills                                                               Music is very diverse and sometimes you may feel clung to not balancing life. I have always been someone that embraces the struggles, as a sign of true strength. I definitely have faith in the face of my future. But you also have to face the daily struggles. As a roadway that will lead you to your desired destination. Lately, what I have been finding really helps me cope. I aim to create my future through my own lens, rather than being blinded by the past. I love connecting and interacting with people, and I feel anyone. Within any particular industry would thrive under building a...

 Networking in Music and in Life .                              By: Shotty Mills.                                                             I love connecting with people and helping people. In today’s world we are swarmed into connecting with people. It’s a fast paced world out there, and everything is advancing at an accelerating rate. How do we keep up with the technology hiatus that’s occurring around us? Well, there are benefits to technology that we can reap. When you connect with people on a daily basis, you are expanding my network. These days, I spend a few hours networking with new people within the music industry. Also, I connect with people outside the music industry as well. This way, I can expand myself in numerous areas. And another person can t...

 Where to Find Inspiration.-Music Blog                           By: Shotty Mills.                                                          To find inspiration is a powerful tool. But to me finding inspiration comes with truly understanding yourself. When I first started writing music, I struggled to find inspiration. It felt inspiration was hard to find, but that’s where it is. You find inspiration truly, where you absolutely least expect it. Nothing is more powerful than your inspiration to truly change the world. It’s all in the power of your mind to find inspiration. Sometimes you will stare blankly at a piece of paper. But don’t doze off staring at what you can’t achieve. Get up from your chair, write some lyrics and build yourself up!           ...

How Important is Writing Lyrics-Music Blog                                    By Shotty Mills                                                                     Lyrics are like the cornerstone that mould your overall message together. Words mean everything to me, and how I express just exposes from my soul. Eventually, once you write your lyrics, and flow it all together. It will founder and flourish in the deepest of waters. When I sit down writing lyrics, I wire my brain to know I’m being true to myself. I feel when I’m true to myself, I can change the world by being true to myself, and that’s where I find greatness. At the top of apex of coping with the struggles that I live through.             ...

 Different Styles in Rap .                                              By: Shotty Mills                                                         Rap is very diverse in that way and building a unique style. It really does make you prominent amongst a crowd of people. Imagine you working on different styles, and becoming a master of all those different areas. But sometimes in order to become a master I’m other areas. You will have to learn from other artists to really hone in on your style.                                           It took me at least a good ten years before, I found the style I really liked in myself. In particul...

 What Does Rap Mean to Me?                                     By: Shotty Mills                                                           Rap to me is much more than just rhythm and poetry. On a much a more profound level: rap is is my escape from the reality. We all seek to escape reality without realizing we live in our own reality. But when I rap, I am truly expressing my reality. As a young rapper growing, I wasn’t always known to be smartest. But after years of honing my craft over a prolonged period of time. My whole perspective of life changed drastically, and my life started benefiting.                                             ...

 Upcoming Show is on the Way .                                By: Shotty Mills.                                                         I’ve got an upcoming show on the way, I will opening for Mista Jones for his Canadian tour in Edmonton. This has been a moment,I have been longing for. And it hasn’t come at a more opportune time for me. I just released my first album Show and Tell and I will be showcasing and promoting my new album at this show.                                                              Performing at a show has always been a dream of mine. I have always had a vision of holding a mic on stage, a...

 Daily Struggles .                                                          By Shotty Mills                                                         What daily struggles: do you encounter within your daily life? Struggles strangle a man from achieving the greatness within his very soul. But those struggles shall leave a birthmark. A birthmark across ones forehead, as a marker of a conquerer. For I will conquer the world through my music and everything that I grow through. No success comes without any form of resistance. You have to remember that, and grasp that concept.               If you have made this far in your life. Just know that you have fended off everything ...

 Music is a Soul Speake r.                                            By: Shotty Mills                                                              If I could describe music and what it truly means to me. I would be here writing until the end of time. The end of it like the Legend of Zelda. Music is like gateway to my soul, it allows to express what my soul speaks. Sometimes you may not know how you feel, in any given moment. But music is like the driver for encrypting you to be present. That’s what music does for me. It perfectly allows to express my true feelings. To translate them into relating that music with others.     At times some people may not understand that exhilarating feeling of writing and creatin...

 Pen in my Hand .                                                        By: Shotty Mills                                                              The pen in my hand moved away from my grip. Gripping even tighter seemed to make me lose my mind. Metaphorically, my mind was tripping into other places. In this present place, I was utterly stopped for feeling for a moment. Every writer and music writer has that feeling, where you are locked into a present place. A place you can just never escape, in the blink of an eye. I never knew this until, I attempted to try to escape it. Every step, I took to escape my inner reality. The more that the reality, ravelled in my world. Now, I ask myself: wo...