Published: August 15, 2010 4:44 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight August 2010 Edition
Acafool
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
Acafool
It is our utmost pleasure to introduce the musical talents of Hip-Hop artist Acafool as he expounds on his music and what are his primary goals for his music career. Here is the online conversation with the Hip-Hop entertainer in its entirety. Enjoy!
Isaac: I just listened to several songs off your new EP/CD. What was the inspiration for making your new album?
Acafool: My Inspiration for “My Crazy Summer” was simply to make a CD that people would not want to skip a track because of its format like a movie. If you skip a track it’s like missing an important part in a film because you went to the restroom. So don’t touch the dial and just listen.
Isaac: Who were your influences?
Acafool: Some very important Influences are my family, my mother and sisters (all 8 of them) all started with music in church. As far as other artists, I would say people like Keith Seat, Outkast, 2live Crew, Weird Al, Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Prince, Boys To Men, NWA, 1 Pac, Scarface, Ghetto Boyz, Ice Cube This list could go on ……..I like good music.
Isaac: What do you consider to have been the highlight(s) and lowpoint(s) of your career to date?
Acafool:
The highlight of my career was to witness people reciting the words to my first hit “Hatablockas” and then seeing those same fans knock down barricades to get to me, fans even took my straw hat…….was quite an experience. Another highlight was having my record Lets Ride (Or Ride as titled for the film) appear in the latest Fast & Furious movie. Finally, it’s a highlightevery time an ASCAP publishing check arrives in the mail!
The low point had to be missing out on the opportunity to capitalize on the Hatablockas movement when my previous Independent label messed up the major record label offers that came our way. However, I am more motivated than ever to achieve what I had originally set out to, take the Acafool movement to the masses.
Isaac: Brief history about your background plus the style of music you play.
Acafool: I’m a Haitian from Miami. I come from a rather large family (8 sisters) that was brought up on music through church. Since I was young, I was taught to use my voice as my instrument. When I started college (Yes I got my education), I dove head first into learning everything I could about making music. I’m a producer, song writer and audio engineer that can also sing/rap, even spending some time after college as a professor of Audio Engineering. I find it important to know all you can about the industry you plan to be a part of. My style of music reaches far across a wide spectrum of sounds.
Isaac: How easy is it to gets gigs for you as an artist? What is the live music scene like in your area?
Acafool: Just like with any business, the poor economy has taken its toll on the business of performing live. Today, people have a lot less money to spend on going out to the clubs or catching a live show somewhere in turn there is less money available for these starving artists out here to compete for. For me, there is two types of gigs, promo and paid. What most artists don’t understand is before you ever get a paid gig you’re going to do tens and maybe hundreds of promo (free) performances. There is a thing called supply and demand, you gotta create that demand. For me, I’m pretty well known in my area (Tampa) so I have a lot of opportunities to perform at the clubs across the bay area. The live music scene in Tampa is pretty big around here; we have a lot of artists working on their craft. Clubs around here are pretty busy everyday of the week. I love to perform, it’s an adrenaline rush.
Isaac: What do you think of the state of Indie music at the moment? Do you listen to radio much at all? Has the Internet helped music grow or hindered it in your opinion?
Acafool: The Independent music scene is getting a lot of attention due to the ease of reaching a broad audience on the Internet not to mention the opportunities provided with the creation of various social networks. If these resources are used properly, it can be very lucrative for an Independent artist. It’s up to the artist to get on his/her grind and make it happen. Record labels aren’t developing artists, it’s up to you and your team to get your buzz up and parlay that into a record deal or it may allow you to remain independent and eat at the same time. I do listen to a lot of radio, gotta study the new music that’s out and what the trends are. Plus I always like to support those artists truly on their grind.
Isaac: If you could create a fantasy band - what would be the line-up and why?
Acafool: The fantasy band would be a collection of some real powerful voices in hip-hop. Lauren Hill, Andre 300, Ice Cube and Tupac. Those are some talented individuals that I believe could create some unbelievable music, each person brings a different background, sound and talent that would be unlike any other group I have ever heard.
Isaac: What CD's do you currently have available and where can they be purchased from?
Acafool: My current project is “My Crazy Summer” released Set 1st 09’ which features my current single “Duweey” as well as the track “Lets Ride” which was featured in the latest Fast & Furious movie. I also have the mixtape Streets Got My Back” released in 08’ the mixtape “Good Time” released is 06’ and my first album release also out in 06’ which was a self titled project (Acafool). My mixtapes can be downloaded from my myspace page http://www.myspace.com/acafoolinc and most of my singles are available on I-Tunes, Rhapsody, Zune, Amazon, etc……
Isaac: Where can fans access your music, videos, blogs, and anything else about you online?
Acafool: I try to make sure my music and videos are in every outlet available but that’s an going process. Fans can be sure to follow me on MySpace http://www.myspace.com/acafoolinc, Facebook (Acafool Jamz), Twitter (Acafool), last FM, Jango, YouTube (Acafool Music). There is a good amount of blog entry’s, articles, etc on me out there…..just Google Acafool.
Isaac: Message to your fans?
Acafool: To my fans, thanks for all the support and continued support of me and my music. Keep listening I promise not to disappoint! 2011 is the year to Acafool!
