My first introduction to the term “ill” in the context of Hip Hop was Run-DMC’s 1986 song “You Be Illin.” The meaning felt quite negative – the song recounts the mishaps of an individual who stumbles from one socially inappropriate event to the next. Soon after the release of that song, Beastie Boys released the album License to Ill (1986). In this case, the term “ill” still had negative connotations, but in a punk rock rebellion way, whereby kids were fighting for their right to party. Fast forward a few years, and Nas’ Illmatic (1994) uses the term “ill” to represent a triumph over adversity. And now after talking with Hip Hop artist Hopsin on the Hardcore Humanism Podcast, I’ve come to understand yet a new take on the term. Hopsin has written, performed and produced a song and video series “The Ill Mind of Hopsin” in which he seems to use the term “ill” to represent an outside-the-box and independent approach to his art and record label.
Owning and operating his own record label was not always Hopsin’s ambition. His hope was to sign a contract with a record label and follow a more conventional path to success as a musician. And Hopsin thought his wishes came true when he got signed by Ruthless Records. Yet as time went on, he felt dissatisfied with the results and became aware of artists who found more creative and commercial success working independently. “I started talking to other artists and realized that this was a thing that the industry is doing to a lot of people and you just never really know. Even if you think you have the best contract, it always sounds good upfront. And then once you sign, you start to see, you start to notice that things aren’t happening…,” Hopsin told me. “The Insane Clown Posse and Tech Nine … they did amazingly well, they created these independent followings and created millions of fans all over the world.”
The rise of the internet changed the landscape for all commerce, particularly music, because now every artist had the ability to connect directly with fans across the globe. And while Hopsin began exploring what he could accomplish on his own, he still held out hope that a major label record deal would catapult him to stardom. “I eventually just wanted to get out of the contract. And then everything just shifted over to me and my buddies marketing everything independently on MySpace, and then eventually getting on Facebook and then YouTube. And YouTube back then was so not like it was now … It was still like, ‘What is this thing? Can people really, you know, do things independently and blow up from it? Can you make money off of this independent route of making music? Is this even a possibility?’ Hopsin recalled. “We start putting out little mixtapes and little albums here and there. I didn’t plan for it – all the while I’m still kind of subconsciously hoping that Dr. Dre will find me and sign me and I’ll get the whole Interscope deal.”
Hopsin credits the song “Sag My Pants” (2010) for changing his fortunes and giving him the opportunity to pursue an independent path. “In 2010, that was the one – you know people always talk about once you find that one record that’s really going to put your name out there then it’s just smooth sailing from there. That’s kind of how it was when I put this song out…,” Hopsin recalled. “So, it started to blow up really fast … It started to blow up so much that when I walked out in the streets, people would be like, ‘Hey, what’s up, man?’ And I was like, What? This is crazy. From the internet? I’m not even on MTV or anything.”
While putting his music on the internet to create a buzz was a novel idea, perhaps more frightening was the notion of touring North America in 2011 as an independent artist. It was far from glamorous. “We figured out how to do touring independently … just posting on Facebook saying ‘Who wants to see us in your city?’ And we didn’t really know what was going to happen when people told us what city they would like to see us in … We just wanted to at least get a gauge and we’re like, okay, we got people in … Wisconsin … Michigan … Arizona … Toronto, all these different places. And then we made another post saying, if you guys know any club promoters that can bring us to your city, let us know,” he explained. “So, we got a list of all these club promoters and all these places, and we routed a tour throughout the United States and Canada … And some of these concerts had seven people that showed up … some of them had 15. Most of them were in the between 30 to 50 people mark. I think I did about 36 dates around the United States. And this is in 2011. Some promoters bailed on us, we showed up and they’re like, they were just kids who didn’t really know how to do anything and we didn’t find that out until we arrived in the city… So, it was a wild process. But we had to go through it in order to learn how the ropes are in touring.”
As time went on, Hopsin recognized the implicit bargain he made with himself. He would have to do a great deal more work than if he was simply an artist on a major label. But he would reap more of the creative benefits of the process. “Being independent, you do what you want, but it is harder. So, I have to direct my own videos, I have to edit them. I have to think of the concepts. I have to think of my beats. I have to make my beats. I have to think of everything that deals with the creative side for me 100%,” he said. “That’s how I started out doing it. That’s how I built a name doing it. And I still do it like that, to this day. I do everything. I am the entire Interscope office in one person, you know, for my career. I have to think of ways to market myself. And these things can become stressful for an artist who’s not built for that, because it can really break you. But the reward is greater in the end. Because you know how you build your own fans. You don’t have anybody who’s like, ‘Hey, well, I am the power of your fans.’ Like I made it. You know exactly how it was done. You know what secret sauce you put on your career to make your career what it was. You know exactly how you did it and no one can ever take that away.”
Looking back, Hopsin wishes he had tried to pursue an independent path earlier in his career. He recognized that the people who founded Hip Hop and the business around Hip Hop were once just like him – artists and entrepreneurs just trying to figure out how to bring their art to the people. And he encourages others who are beginning their careers to learn from other independent artists and consider carving out their own independent path. “I wish I’d have trusted myself more in the past … I always subconsciously assumed that record companies were the way to go, that it was the only way to exist as an artist … Any way outside of that, you were just doing it wrong … Even if you did make it work, the proper way is with to be with the larger company,” Hopsin explained. “It would cause me to doubt myself and doubt my creative direction that I felt in my heart and where I felt I should go. … I used to think it was impossible for an artist like myself to reach these numbers, to break these boundaries. And then I did it and I was like, there was never any rules in this to begin with. There was never any rules. And whoever made the rules, they knew there was no rules. Because there was one point in time where they were a person who was just like me. But then they made the rules in the industry — their rule — the thing that they want. They want you to gravitate towards them. So, they put off this thing that says, ‘Hey, you want to be an artist? You want to be famous? You want to make money? You want to be able to support your family? This is the way to do it. Come to us. And that’s not true.
“You can literally become the f*cking superstar in your own world.”
