The Hip Hop Artist’s Survival Kit

Don’t miss another opportunity to share your music or network with a good contact because you didn’t have your music or info on you. Way too often, I’ve checked my wallet to exchange info with a contact only to say, “Sorry, I don’t have any more business cards.” You can avoid mishaps like these by always having a few things with you. Here is a short list of them.
1. Business Cards: In this day of great technological advancements, this old school way of passing along your info is still the quickest and most effective. It’s a pain in the ass for me to write down your website and for you to tell me that your email address has an underscore in it. Save me the time and just put it all on your business card. Plus, business cards are cheap to purchase. Vistaprint will make you some for free if you’ll just pay for the shipping.
2. Flash Drives: CDs are a hassle for some. Some DJs  won’t even play them. So why not cover all bases and buy yourself a flash drive to store your music on?  You can put every song you’ve every recorded on them if you want to; videos and pics too. Some stores are almost giving them away.  Buy a flash drive and you’ll be helping the environment by cutting down on your unnecessary CD usage.  Now won’t that make you feel good?
3. MP3 Players and Mobile Phones: There may come a time when someone may want to hear your music right then and there. Having your music on your phone or mp3 player will always come in handy in these situations. I always carry a connection to speakers cable with me too. This has been great for me on a number of occasions.
4. CDs : In spite of some say, I continue to see CDs play an important role in the careers of independent hip hop artists.  Keep a physical copy of your music on you at all times. There isn’t a universal format that has replaced the CD yet.  Especially when it comes to cheapness and ease of exchange.
5. Breath Mints: You never know who you’re gonna run into. Don’t have funky ass breath!
-indiehiphop.com