There’s no secret that Nyne Milli is one of the most popular entertainers in the world. With an empire that’s growing in numbers, his SLC brand will soon enter a dimension that he’s never envisioned. Tired of false promises from so called music execs, Nyne decided to take matters into his own hands. Nyne read a lot of magazines and music industry books, which lead him to invest in himself and start his own entity. Now his Street Life City Imprint includes a record label, a website, a film company and soon-to-be fashion line. We sat down with the Streetlife President and he gave us ten laws of how to be very successful in the music industry.
Music Law Number 1- Build Your Fanbase
You have to build a fan base. There’s no excuse why you can’t have at least a 1,000 people willing to listen to your music. Back in my day when I was coming up, in order to get noticed you either had to battle rap or go to talent shows and music showcases to get some kind of notoriety. Even then, you still had to know somebody who had some kind of pull or some big name dude had to cosign you. Now with the emergence of social media, YouTube, and all these hip hop blogs, building a strong fan base is right there in front of your face with just the click of a mouse. If all these girls are making twerk videos, putting up Instagram pictures, and getting thousands of likes and views, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to capitalize on that as well. Just pay attention to your demographic and your core audience: study what they are into, see what they like the most, and see what’s getting the most views. You can start learning from the successor and sharpen your talent. Keep putting out content to see what grabs the people’s attention; whichever gets the most reaction, that’s what you pay attention to the most.
Music Law Number 2- Stop Looking For Handouts 
Time and time again I keep hearing about up and coming artists complaining about the DJ not spinning their record or the promoter not booking them for a venue. The moral of the story is this: men shouldn’t ask for anything, they go get it themselves by any means necessary. Always remember, the DJs, promoters, or the radio don’t owe you anything. There’s no state or federal law that requires DJ’s or any other entertainer for that matter to do anything. If the radio isn’t spinning your record or the DJs aren’t playing your tracks, it’s either you’re not hot enough or you’re not as big as you say you are. This goes back to what I said in Music Law Number 1, you have to build that fan base. Once the public gets interested and your record is picking up heat on a regional or national level, trust and believe, ANR’s, music executives, labels, radio stations, DJ’s, and promoters are all going to come knocking at your door. Jay-z said, “Men lie, women lie” but numbers don’t. If you’re doing those big numbers you don’t need to beg anybody to do anything, they’re just going to do it because you’re hot and they want to stand next to you to ride your wave. Look at the “bad bitch” for example, does she have to ask a baller to spend money on her? Not at all, because a rich nigga is going to do it regardless. The rich nigga wants to present her to the world as some kind of trophy wife or some medal of honor he achieved. On the other hand, if the “bad bitch” acts Hollywood and doesn’t give you any play, do grown men complain? Not at all, they go pull another bad bitch and he lets her know he doesn’t need her; there’s plenty of fish in the sea. Same thing with DJ’s and promoters, if they don’t want to play your music, fuck them. There are thousands of DJ’s and promoters across the world who are looking for fresh new talent.
Music Law Number 3- Stop Being A Dickrider, Create Your Own Blueprint To Success
The problem with the industry, or shall I say the world in general, is there are too many followers with robotic mind frames. Whatever is trending at the moment, everybody wants jump on the bandwagon. In my opinion, that shows a lot about your character. To me, that’s telling of a person who can’t think for themselves; a person like that can never be trusted and most likely they will switch up on you at any given time. If you’re the type of person who’s easily manipulated like that, then this industry isn’t for you. That means that any label or any rap team can easily influence your thinking ability and make decisions for you because you’re satisfied with being a groupie. Just because one party is successful at rap, doesn’t mean you should be a rapper. Just because she made it on America’s Got Talent doesn’t mean you’re gonna make it. God gave everybody special gifts, he handpicks and decides what every man’s destiny is and where his fate shall be placed. Don’t rap because you think you’re gonna make a million dollars today, because you don’t know what that man had to go through to get his shine on. The image looks good from the outside, but trust me on the inside, the majority of them are hurting. Just because you rich today doesn’t mean you’ll be rich tomorrow. Never live for the moment, always prepare for the future.
Music Law Number 4- It Takes Money To Make Money That’s why they call it the music business because that’s what it is, a business that sells music. Get this notion out of your head that people are going to play your record and ask you to do features because your tracks are hot. Being hot doesn’t always cut it and nobody is going to do anything for free in this world, so get that notion out of your head. Even when you sign with a label and they give you gifts such as cars, jewelry, wardrobe, etc. all that is coming out of your recording budget. Don’t be a fool, nobody in this world is that generous. Unless it’s your immediate family, don’t expect people to do anything for free; even family members have hidden agendas. You have to spend that bread to get to where you at. If you have to pay the radio programers, DJ’s, promoter or whoever to get you to the next level of fame and fortune, then so be it. Always remember this: when you pay someone to do something for you, they’re most likely going to work twice as hard to make sure you get top quality results. If you catch a case right now and get a legal aide, they’re not going to work in your best interest. Nine times out of ten they don’t care if you get convicted or not because they’re not making money off of you. Now if you get a paid lawyer, he’s going to work hard on your behalf, find loopholes around your case, and guarantee you come out with the best possible situation. Some food for thought, grab a plate.
Music Law Number 5- You Have No Freinds In This Industry, Keep It Business
Most artists never succeed because they get too freindly with these slimeball industry people. We live in a world that’s controlled by the devil. We are all sinners, the bible says there’s not one man righteous in the eyes of the Lord. Cain killed his own brother Abel out of pure jealousy and Peter denied Jesus, so that should tell you how the human mind works. All people care about is how much money you can make them and that’s it. When Bobby Smhurda was on fire with the “Hot Nigga” record, Epic was quick to sign him to a lucrative deal. Now that he’s locked up and facing serious felony charges, the label has turned their back on him by refusing to bail him out. Rappers always complain about their Anr’s or Music Execs not doing much for them or leaving them hanging when the ship goes down the titanic. Even Tupac accused Biggie of setting him up in that elevator shooting. This is a business, the better you understand that, the more successful you will become. When you punch in the clock to start work, are you their to make freinds with your boss? or are you their to do your job and make money? do you hang out with your boss after work? is he your best friend? will he go to bat for you if you get terminated from the company? Absolutely not! They will replace you with another employee, A.S.A.P. Unless you have some kind of skill or talent where a company can make a whole lot of money from you; or unless you’re a valuable employee, get this fickle friendship ideology out of your head. There’s too many snakes in the industry and you can’t trust them at all. People befriend you today and get what they can get out of you, but as soon as the money stops coming in and you’re not hot anymore, they’ll leave you dry in the dessert to rot dead.
Music Law Number 6- Don’t Spend Your Money On Foolishness The biggest mistake rappers do when they get money is spend their check on unnecessary things. Every rapper wants to stunt like Birdman, P Diddy, and 50 Cent, but don’t have that kind of money. If you have a million dollars in your account, why would you buy the same watch as Floyd Mayweather or Jay-Z? I understand image is everything and you have to look the part, but know your position. You can’t stunt like the big dogs, with puppy chow money. Those kind of rappers are filthy rich in the hundred million dollar bracket; there are levels to this, stay in your lane. Goldfishes can’t swim with the Great Whites. Who are you trying to impress anyway? The same fickle audience you’re trying to impress are the same people who will turn on you when all that money is gone. You want to be recognized for you talent, not for your possessions. Only show off when it’s necessary. That $200,000 you spent buying those jewels or that expensive whip? You could’ve tooken a quarter of that money and got a nice beat, a catchy hook, and a feature from a big name artist. The rest of the money could have went to radio, marketing, and promotion to push the record into a mega hit where you could have gotten some serious tour money. Then you could have possibly made $2 million dollars off that $200 grand flip. Or if you’re claiming you’re a trapper, you could have took some of that money and flipped it in the streets, invest in some stocks or open up a local business, which will keep the cash flow coming in. In this game you have to think like a hustler in order to survive, or the wolves are just going to eat you alive. Always remember one thing: you never see the wealthy people because they don’t want to be in the limelight. They want to be very low-key with their finances. Hammer went broke for fronting.
Music Law Number 7- Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket, Multitask Another key to surviving in entertainment is multitasking. Don’t think this rap game is going to last forever. Sure, you might be hot for a couple of years, but if you can’t stay consistent, or if the people get tired of you, then I would suggest you start getting into other avenues that’s going to keep the revenue coming. Hey, you never know, you can be talented in other areas, so don’t limit yourself to just rap. Jay-Z is a very good lyricist and he was sick on the mic. But he didn’t limit his talent there, he took his money and he invested in other things like the 40/40 Club, Roc Nation deal, sports agency, Ace Of Spade liquor, etc. You could be a very good rapper, but you might be better in acting, promoting, fashion design, or you might be a very good ANR. Never limit your resources. As I said in Music Law Number 6, be a true hustler and always knows how to get that cash.
Music Law Number 8- Read Everything Before You Sign The Dotted Line
We live in a country where greed and corruption exist. You watch television and see all these civil court shows such as Judge Judy, Joe Brown and Linda, where people love to sue and take your hard earned money. Don’t fall victim to the point where you’re stuck in a situation. Young rappers are quick to sell their soul and sign there life away for chump change, and they don’t know what they’re signing. Make sure you read and understand everything that’s documented; if the contract seems too corporate or difficult to understand, then I suggest you hire an entertainment lawyer to comb through that contract and break down everything to you piece by piece. One clause of the contract might work in your favor, but the other clause might not work to your advantage; there’s always a catch to everything. As I said earlier, these labels ain’t your friends, they’re sole purpose is too make money off of you, possibly lots of it depending how valuable you are. Make sure you have a good manager, a good attorney and the right team you can trust before you proceed with any paperwork. Look at the Lox for example, how they accused P. Diddy of raping their publishing and jerking their royalties. You don’t want to end up in that short end of the stick.
Music Law Number 9- Don’t Always Rush Into Something, Sometimes Patience Is Key Never get fustrated or overwhelmed with anxiety because the label didn’t call you back, or the Anr didn’t return your phone call in the time you wanted it. Sometimes it’s always good to wait, the Roman Empire wasn’t built in a day. You have to understand patience and learn how to develop strength and character. You might not be ready to hit the spotlight. Maybe you need to work on your stage performance, your speech communication during interviews, and how you handle the pressure from critics. It takes time to develop into a complete artist. You don’t want to enter the battlefield without basic training. This industry will chew you alive if you’re not prepared physically, mentally, and emotionally for it. Time is always of the essence. As you’re patiently waiting to get your foot in the door, practice your craft, study your strengths and weakness, educate yourself and learn as much you can; the more you know the better off you will be. If it’s your destiny to shine, God will open the door for you.
Music Law Number 10- Watch Who You Associate Yourself With As I said in Music Law Number 5, there’s too many snakes in the grass. The wrong affiliation can get you into hot water. If you’re somebody that’s very positive and you’re about progression, then you need to surround yourself with people like that. Rich guys don’t hang with broke guys, kings don’t converse with peasants, and will you ever see Michelle Obama associate here with Yandi’s ratchet ass from Love & Hip Hop. Remember, reputation is everything in this business, be careful who you let into your circle because that one bad apple can destroy your entire family tree. Don’t expect big name corporations to do endorsements with you. If you surround yourself with gang members, that’s a negative. Never expect to get a classy queen if you’re running around smoking weed, drinking alcohol and popping pills dressed like a street thug and acting like a savage. You are the company you keep, you get in what you put out, and you reap what you sow. There’s consequences and results in everything you do, choose your path wisely.
$treet Life City ($LC) 
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