Hot 107.9 Atlanta radio interviews Atlanatas' white rapper Tom P

I dropped by Atlanta's Number One commercial hip hop station; HOT 107.9 - The Durrty Boyz Show and had my song 'Red Cups' dropped during prime time! Shout out to Hot 107.9 and The Durtty Boyz! This was a dope opportunity I have been waiting for a long time. Check out behind the scenes footage, sound bites of my on-air interview and more

- See more at: http://www.tompraps.com/blog/listen-to-atlanta-rapper-tom-p-live-on-hot1079-the-durrty-boyz-show-in-atlanta#sthash.ZvkBAY6X.dpuf

Obviously, this would be MUCH cooler to hear live on the radio. It almost defeats the aesthetic to hear the VOX recordings. Most of the interview was very brief (as radio interviews are) and probably loses a bit of it's awesomeness when broken down to some mp3's. However, here they are. THANK YOU EVERYONE because without you, this would not have been possible.

I also did the countdown, introducing the songs, but I didn't get those little snippets.

I feel as though I earned this opportunity and could not have done it without being at the point that I am in my career with the knowledge I have gained over the years and the ability to back my point up with the fact that I really do have a lot of support in Atlanta, and have for a long time. I am lucky and blessed for that. I have now done over 150 shows of all sizes and many of the ones I have done in Atlanta have been successful, thanks to all of YOU; my friends, fans, family and supporters. What makes this show different? ... it is the RIGHT show. The right people will be there. And it is a chance for all of us to show them what we have been doing for the last 7 years. It is a chance to make a change in the local-music scene. Not just for me, but all the talented rappers who work hard and deserve a chance at being heard by the masses. I know it is a Monday night.... but please come out and support if you can and bring friends. Lets make a splash at this! And... it is only $5!!! I could really use your support and would love to see you. Since I am not throwing the event I will, for a rare-er opportunity, have plenty of time to mingle and catch up with everyone who comes out. I hope to see you there. You can RSVP on the facebook invite I set up here Tom P - Facebook Event Invite - HOT107.9 Birthday Bash

Tom P and Paul T after their interview and radio appearance at HOT107.9 with The Durrty Boyz

HOT 107.9 The Durrty Boyz interview Atlanta rapper Tom P

Tom P Performing LIVE at HOT 107.9 Birthday Bash. Shout out video with The Durrty Boyz and IAMGAMBINO - Promo Concert Drop

It's been a long time coming, but we finally got the opportunity to make an appearance on Atlanta's commercial-rap radio station, Hot107.9, and heard by over 3 million listeners in the city and across the World on-line streamed. Featured above is a picture I snapped with my hype-man, Paul T, and the Durrty Boyz DJ's; ET, J-Nicks, and IamGambinoATL. An opportunity like this does not come easy, but through a lot of hard work toward the end of the year in 2014 I was able to get a chance to speak to the DJ's and state my case as to why they should be playing my music and supporting local rap, in general. I came to find that these guys are down-to-earth, cool and friendly dudes, in general. We discussed many topics off-air, like; the current state of hip-hop, the southern influence of the music, the difficulties independent and local artists have getting heard (and getting on the radio.) We also discovered we have many mutual friends in the industry and have crossed paths more times than we had realized. I, honestly, think they were intrigued/impressed by my take on things. They explained to me that they do have a few opportunities for local rappers to get played on the station, but many come in the form of contests. For example, they may have a showcase where rappers pay a fee to perform their "single" and based on how many people they bring out, fan reaction and a vote by "celebrity judges" they might get the opportunity to appear on the show. I explained my view point.. I believe that there is a certain, strange, phenomena that exists in the rap-World, especially the local rap-World that promotes mediocrity and actually excludes artist's from opportunities who truly deserve them and, to a degree, punish and put them at a disadvantage for actually being professional and pursuing a rap-career the right way. For example, ever since I started doing shows in Atlanta (and I am incredibly thankful for this,) I have been able to develop a nice following of supporters. Even our first show in 2007 at the 5 Spot was sold out, and I have been able to semi-consistently do so throughout my career, depending on the event or show I'm performing at. I have even thrown my own events and shows, as many people in Atlanta are aware of. Dozens of these 'home-grown' shows were booked by me, promoted by me, funded by me and headlined by me and have sold out or brought out large crowds of supporters. Obviously, thanks to all of you! My friends, fans, etc. and your support. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to do any of this.. But that is what independent artists are supposed to do. You are supposed to rally your friends, fans, family, neighbors, co-workers, etc. and invite them to your gigs, put on the best show you can, ask for their support and help spreading the word, etc. When you are an independent artist, you pay for everything; renting the venue, the sound-man, the security guards, etc. A lot of venues will only give you a % of the door revenue on top of that. So.. If you want to make money, you need to sell CD's or shirts etc. Well, you pay for those also. 100 CD's with cases and art work, for instance, costs roughly $300. T-shirts are more expensive. That doesn't include the steep prices for recording the music professionally and paying a separate engineer to mix and master it. Promoting the show usually requires you to pay for posters, flyers, internet ads, etc. This ALL comes out of the artists pocket. It is nearly impossible to make your money back. So... why even do it? ... The word "exposure" gets thrown around a lot. However, if I'm doing all the promoting then I am essentially only "exposing myself" to the fans I already have. With that said, I have always taken care to not "over-expose" or "spam" my supporters. When I do, I try to do something big and elaborate with the chance of actually making my investment back and, maybe, hopefully, some way in hell, make some money! I also want to make sure that the people who come out and support me see a GREAT show and have a great time, so they will want to continue coming out and supporting.. With that said, if I were to do one of these 'competition shows' based off bringing out my fans, it would be in my best interest to promote the hell out of it and get everyone I can get to come. However, under this model, I would keep 0% of the door revenue, probably have less of a turn out at my next event that relies on me making my investment back because people will have already have came out to support me recently, I wouldn't even be guaranteed that I would win, and they would only see me perform ONE song.. ? This model only works when you expect rappers to bring out their homeys. You book 20 rappers and let them compete for a prize. If each one brings 10 people and it is $10 at the door, then you made $2,000. 19 rappers go home pissed off. But what about artists like myself who have, for instance, brought out over 1,000 people to his album release party, and even more on other occasions? Where do I fit into this model? A rapper who is not new, not amateur, has three albums (what is a single) and a 30-minute stage show (one song performances?) .. It promotes mediocrity and expects the least out of the musicians. It also backfires in the sense that I, or anyone with a sizable local-following, wouldn't be compelled to bring out fans for an unsure thing or waste their time and money when you would only perform one song. What about artists whose fans want to see a real show? A full performance? Maybe even have throw-back songs off the first album for the true fans? This model only fits for new artists, with one song they are pushing, and small followings. However, it stands as the sole way to get on the radio? An opportunity that should actually be for those artists who have real followings, support, fans and more than one song... They had never once heard this point of view and they got it. So.. they invited me to be on the radio and have my song played. They also invited me perform at their BIRTHDAY BASH this Monday night (Jan 19th) Not as a competitor, but for an actual performance. It would mean the WORLD to me if people came and supported me. It is going to be a fun night and a lot of industry people will be there and I WOULD LOVE IF YOU WERE THERE! Here is the flyer (which I also designed)