Hit the stage!

Please, allow me to be blunt.  I don't consider you a real performer until you've gotten up on stage at least a couple hundred times.  Until you've been up there enough that you've completely lost count, then you really have no idea what you're doing.

You may have an awesome flow with great lyricism.  You could have a kick-ass body and smooth, sexy hair.  But can you really, genuinely move the crowd?  Can you connect with everyone's inner psyche, more than just spitting your lyrics into a mic but reaching out and holding every single person's hand at once?

When you're new to the performance game, it's easy to fall apart.  To become a case of nerves.  What will the people think of me?  Can I do this?  Am I going to throw up?  What if I trip on a cord?  You'll do stupid stuff like have terrible mic presence and not be able to connect with the audience.  You'll stare at the floor.  You'll pace around aimlessly.  Your hands will float around in front of you for absolutely no reason.

You'll do all this and more.  You'll fall apart the moment someone criticizes you on the internet.  You'll just be one of the dreaded netcees.  Now I realize that some people live in places where it's very difficult to set up live shows, and I feel for you.  It's not your fault.  We can't all get out there.  But somehow, you gotta work on building a scene and keep doing as much as you can whenever possible.

Until you perform in front of people, you'll never really know how your music will affect them.  A friend will tell you that your track is dope.  A hater will tell you that it's whack.  But a full crowd of strangers will tell it exactly how it is.  They're not going to bob their heads to your track unless you make them.  They won't start jumping up and down unless you force them to.

After you've done a few hundred shows, things just start to make sense.  They fall in line.  You figure out how to build a set list.  You figure out when to do a string of songs in a row and when to engage the audience with a moment of witty banter.  You'll realize that your very first track should contain at least 30 seconds of instrumental so that if there are sound problems, you can get them fixed on the fly without needing to start the track all over again; I personally start each set with a completely instrumental track and then skip over to my first song after 20 to 30 seconds of intro.  You'll learn how to build sets around each different audience you'll be facing.

You'll have enough energy to perform for hours on end.  You'll start writing songs that really fit your own character.  You'll know which songs work best when done live and which should just stay on the album, as well as which you should just cut out of your repetoire.  You won't be as fearful about each individual show, and as a result, you'll be far more relaxed when you're up there.  People will notice your confidence and enjoy your set even more.

I give great respect to out hip hop artists who either constantly tour or have been around for such a long time that they always kill at every single one of their shows.  They never get nervous or do a half-ass job.  They always bring their A Game every single time.

You can be one of these people.  It's going to take a long time if you're just doing one show every few months.  When you start out, you should be hitting three to four open mics a week.  At least that's what I did my first three years, until I reached a point where I felt I didn't need them any more.

It's great to be verbally proficient.  But it's even better to be able to tell a complete story when you're up on stage.  Keep getting up there as much as possible, especially at the beginning of your career.  I can't wait to see your live show after you've built up more experience!  You'll look back and see just how much you've grown.

Comments

[boneintell]

church!

[Jim Allio]

This is a great article. I have two records out but I just started performing outside of the college I attend and I've done two performances in the past three weeks. Guess I have another 98 to go until you consider me a real performer LOL...seriously, excellent blog entry with a lot of empathy and even more good tips!