Before some of your favorite major artists became major, it’s a huge possibility that they had to work their way up in a showcase or two.

In any industry, brand building is a must and in the digital era that we’re in, the look is just as important as is the balance of style and substance.

Meet Cliff Po and DJ Tarzan.

Noticing the need for upcoming musical artists to showcase their talent, the dynamic duo created, The Next Big Showcase.

Active for about four years, The Next Big Showcase is a live performance platform that gives unsigned music artists the opportunity to perform, build a fanbase and put their music out to the people in front of people and notable judges.

Meek Mill, The Breakfast Clubs’ DJ Envy, Jadakiss and Hot 97’s DJ Drewski don the list of credible names that have swarmed by to judge and participate in The Next Big Showcases happenings. Atlantic Record executives and Source Magazine have even stopped by to show love.

2015 was a big year for The Next Big Showcase’s co-Founders, DJ Tarzan, known as “The Newest Cosigner” and Cliff Po. According to records, the two’s grunt work has managed to sell out 17 of their 20 shows. The draw seems to be that their consistency has been truly a major key. The Next Big Showcase has grown to be one of the most consistent and largest artist showcase brands in the Tri-State.

More on the co-founders who are helping turn artists into household names:

 DJ Tarzan

A Newark, NJ representer, DJ Tarzan’s background began with hoops as an accomplished high school basketball player. Seeing the bigger picture, he invested in his future and began looking at music as a realistic career. Having managed local artists, DJ Tarzan familiarized himself with the inner workings of the music industry and hasn’t looked back.

 Cliff Po

A Harlem native, Cliff Po,  delved into the music industry as an artist himself. Living true to for a Harlemite who understands the hip hop culture, Po owns an in- home studio and established his own management company.

The Next Big Showcase will take place Friday August 19 at the Blue Room Lounge in Secaucus, NJ. Be sure to also check out the duo’s Henny & Redbull Podcast available via itunes.

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Famey is a versatile artist that is signed to Grammy award ­winning producer Jerry ‘Wonda’ Duplessis’ label. He is also the front-runner of Miscellaney Music Group which consists of artists, music producers, songwriters, graphic designers, poets and talented speakers with a common goal to “open people’s eyes and ears to a greater experience of music and art.”

The Philly emcee just released a new self-produced track titled “Say Word,” which is the first of many releases from Famey to come before the end of 2015. With an aggressively high pitched cadence, Famey’s hunger is unquestionable, as he showcases his lyrical prowess and bears through spitting about his deceased father.

Famey plans to keep delivering content in hopes to build anticipation for his forthcoming Penthouse project set to release next year. Expect the official Say Word video, directed by Prodigy, to be released next week. Stream below!

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I guess our generation’s musicians are lucky that their voices can project so clearly across the world as long as people believe in them. Artists like Dylan Owen make it clear that no amount of commercial marketing can quite replicate the potential of a microphone, a laptop and a strong team of supporters.

“Today, there’s no wall between artist and audience,” he says, as he shows me around his apartment in Greenwich Village, New York. The small living space has at times doubled as his studio for demoing and recording new material.

It’s the summer of 2014 and Owen is working on his latest project, an EP he’s calling There’s More To Life. Thanks to a fan base that has supported him since high school, he‘s releasing the project independently.

“10-15 years ago my music would have to go through a major label system to really get any traction and get people to hear it,” he says, “Now music can go more directly from artist to audience.”

Owen’s independence has allowed him to write and record music on his own terms. He’s got varied influences ranging from the heavy weights of the hip-hop genre like Eminem to indie rock acts like Bright Eyes. His songs are also intensely personal. Touching on childhood friendships, hometown nostalgia and high school relationships, his songwriting comes off like a lyrical scrapbook of his life.

The creative freedom has translated musically as well. He’s worked almost exclusively with close friends and contacts he’s met over the years. His producer Nico Marchese, who goes by Skinny Atlas, in particular has been able to give Owen’s songwriting the right soundscape, with production centered mostly  around live instruments.

Despite the intimate approach Owen and his tight knit team have taken to music, they’ve pulled together more audiences than many mainstream artists can claim to have. Barely out of high school he played a set for the Bamboozle Music Festival. More recently, PepsiCo invited him to perform at their promotional event for Super Bowl XLVIII.

Bryant Park, NYC-2014

When we first met in New York City, Owen is a couple months deep into the writing process for the EP. Over a yearlong series of conversations, he gave RESPECT. a look at his creative process, and shared some stories from his life as a musician.

Owen can recall some big moments from his relatively young career. He got a high five from rapper Grieves, one of the artists he grew up on, when they played Bamboozle. “You’ve got to be chill in those situations,” he tells me, “you can’t be too star struck.”

Listening to his beginnings, Owen sounds a lot like the typecast for an Internet generation artist. He was able to use the right combination of local buzz and Internet fandom to reach a wider audience. One of his high school releases, the album Senioritis, managed to crack the iTunes charts.

“I used to use school as a way to promote the shit out of myself,” he laughs, “I was just not bashful at all.”  As social media sites gained popularity, the local fan base transitioned into an online following that was eager to connect with him and share his music with their friends.

“One of my first shows was with Asher Roth,” he relates, “It was right when he had ‘I Love College’ out. I went to school with my friends and we put a flyer of my show on every single locker in my high school!”- Shot at the Asher Roth show in Allentown, PA, 2009

What’s turned into a success story with the buzz of big stages and the bright lights of the city started out in the small town of Goshen, NY, largely forgotten by the hip-hop world. “Where I grew up there’s no real hip-hop scene,” he says. “It was just me on the internet digging for underground music.” Owen also picked up inspiration going out to indie, hardcore and pop-punk concerts.

The diversity of his influences is pretty obvious throughout his discography, but it shows particularly well in the new EP. Many of the songs could draw more comparison to indie rock than hip-hop. The track “Land of the Brave” is produced with big live drum and guitar sounds for an anthemic feel. He splits vocal duties with Alaska Sun, a singer from New York with a sentimental voice that Owen has tapped into for a lot of his songs.

“It’s going to be a much more updated version of myself in terms of my sound and style,” he says, setting the scene for There’s More to Life. “The way that I see everything that I make is one continuing autobiographical story. You can expect to hear more versatility.”

After our interview, Owen shows me around the NYC neighborhood he called home for a brief stint during college. It’s an artsy place; a lot of the local venues have seen musicians like John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix come through their doors.  As inspiring as the setting has been for generations of artists, Owen’s songs are inseparable from his hometown experiences. When I speak to him again in the fall, this time over the phone, he draws a much stronger link between the new project and his beginnings as a musician in small town New York.

“This project is going back to my roots by being as stripped down and personal as possible,” he says. He described a lot of the songs as having a more “live” feel, straying away from prerecorded sounds and plug-ins in favor of incorporating more instruments. “To me that’s really interesting,” says Owen,  “I feel like I’m digging into my past as a writer, and on a musical level.”

After all, live performance is where Owen got his start. He performed with his brother’s band and other local musicians as a kid. “We’d go around to different coffee shops, cafes and open mics,” he says, “They were more like poetry shows than anything else.”

The small scale of his beginnings allowed Owen to connect with his listeners on a personal level. He’s carried this approach forward today by responding to posts on his social media accounts and being available after shows. “Its super surreal,” he says about meeting fans at concerts. “They will have traveled so far and they’ll connect with the music so much. It’s the most moving thing.”

Owen’s First Solo Show- Noble Cafe Roasters, Goshen, NY, 2008

Owen was able to maintain the momentum when he moved for college. One of the most standout tracks of his discography, “Ghosts”, was released during this time.

“It has all the elements of my style in it,” he says. The song combines a melancholy piano line, metaphorical lyrics and some really quick-paced bars. Owen owes a lot of his fast delivery to his experience battle rapping, which he experimented with at times in both high school and college. “It’s definitely two split sides of me,” he adds, comparing his aggressive delivery during battles and the more poetic approach in many of his songs.

There’s More to Life is different from his other project, Owen tells me. This is the first release he’s been able to work on with such dedication. After all, at this point he’s a college graduate working on music full time, much further along than when he started putting out music in high school or rapping in parking lots.

The new project does sound refined. Songs like “Everything Gets Old” and “Sail Up the Sun” have enough polish to anchor the record, making it a good listen even for anyone not interested in Owen’s songwriting when he’s at his most lyrical. The EP’s opener, “The Glory Years”, a particularly nostalgic track, is a good example of one that could easily be a skip for a listener waiting for a catchy chorus after the long verses.

The release also features guitar cameos by Boston based rock artist Animal Flag and, as a real treat for nostalgic music fans, scratching by Rob Swift from the DJ group X-Executioners on the final track.

When we speak again in May, Owen is ecstatic about There’s More to Life. He was finally able to break the news to his thousands of followers on social media that the EP is slated for release on June 8^th.

Poughkeepsie, NY- 2010

It’s been a long journey of writing and recording. Along the way there’s been videos and artwork that accompany the project. He’s also got ideas for a small tour to follow up the release. Despite the fan base that has supported him and the success he’s had in the past, Owen can’t speak about the future with absolute confidence. “That uncertainty exists for everybody our age,” he says, when I ask about his plans.

Despite the months of work that have gone into There’s More to Life, the release comes off as a low key affair. There’s no major media placements or hype machine to speak of. He’s not opposed to looking for commercial avenues to promote his music but the only thing in the cards for now, he says, is “making the best music possible.”

There’s More to Life is a well-crafted record. It’s one by an artist who might not be sure where he’s going, but is sure enjoying the journey. The intrigue will be in seeing how the world receives this introverted track list of songs. Regardless of commercial success, Owen has charted a path for people looking to stay in their lane, not compromise on their art and have a deep personal connection with their work. For anyone looking to do something creative for a living, what’s more to life?

Ithaca, NY-2010

Allentown, PA-2010

NYC-2014

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Man it’s great to know that A$AP Rocky is back in the studio & releasing new music. For his latest release, the Harlem artist brings us “Indie” which carries features from Rich Homie Quan & Sway Burr. This trill record is nice preview of what we can expect from Rocky’s upcoming A.L.L.A. album.

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Introducing Atlas Greene, a 19-year-old-newcomer whose debut mixtape, Sweaters and Cigarettes, impressed us with its homemade beats and well-developed lyrical content. The project is a must-listen for anyone craving a  unique style of  “Indie-Trap-Wave” influenced by lyricists like Aesop Rock and Atmosphere. While this young blood says he’s still learning the game, Sweaters and Cigarettes proves that he’s already putting in the time to master his craft at an early age. Check out our exclusive interview where Atlas drops the details on the making of his first mixtape and his plans to put Hip Hop on his back.

RESPECT.: I see on your Soundcloud you’re from Orlando-Miami- Atlanta. What’s up with that?

Greene: My Soundcloud doesn’t just represent me; it represents all of  Tape Deck Music. Tape Deck Era co-produced most of my album. He lives in Orlando, I’m in Atlanta, and a lot of our label mates are in Orlando.

How would you describe your sound in a couple of words?

Lately we’ve been calling it Indie-Trap-Wave, ’cause it’s got trap elements but we use indie samples and different sounds to try to differentiate ourselves from a lot of other artists.

How long have you been pursuing rap as your career?

I’ve really been rapping seriously for about two years. This album was my first serious project.

When did you first learn how to mix music?

Still learning today. Like today we just studied a bunch of different techniques and stuff with my buddy Clint and my buddy John.

What kind of music production software do you use?

I use Mixcraft 5.2 –  it’s a really old version of the software.

How  long does it usually take you to make a beat?

It depends; sometimes we get things done in thirty minutes.  Other times we need multiple days.

How do you know when a song or a beat is finally done?

Well it’s never actually done until we get the final mixes, because all through the process the beat can change constantly. Even after I rap on it we may add something in there, or take something out, or change a sample, or add in different parts to the song.

What other producers have you been working with lately?

Clint Ford and John Adams from The Hit Academy. Those are my main two collaborations that I’ve been working wit, as well as Tape Deck Era and Tape Deck Music. Clint and John go to school with me, so I met John through Clint and Clint was in my music class. We were in a classical music class together last semester.

Have you made beats for anyone else?

I’ve made beats for my label mate Goose, and I’ll be producing on his new project.

How did you first get into rapping specifically?

I always just freestyled. At lunch I would freestyle with my friends, just as a joke. Then it got more serious and my friend Vonte, whose actually on the album, we did a little mix tape. We just got some beats online, went to this producers house, and in one hour we made four songs. We released it to my school.

How was your school feeling it?

It was well received. We were selling them for a dollar and we got $33 (laughs).

This was in high school?

That was 9th grade.

What are you biggest inspirations as a rapper?

Aesop Rock, most people confuse him with A$AP Rocky, but whatever. I really like his music and his production. Other influences? I listen to a lot of Grizzly Bear and old rappers like Pete Rock, CL Smooth. Just a lot of Golden Era like Big Daddy Kane.

What are your inspirations as a beat maker?

Not a lot of Hip Hop these days. Again, a lot of Grizzly Bear, but also Prince and a lot of soul music.

What there ever a song or a project you heard where you were like, “Damn I want to make music like this”?

Labor Day by Aesop Rock.

What’s the first C.D or tape you ever bought?

It was this 90’s hip hop party mix I got from Boarders when Boarders was still open. It was the 100 greatest hip hop songs for house parties.

Did you burn through it?

Yea I listened to it a lot. It had LL Cool J, Heavy D, Big Daddy Kane, and all the greats.

What’s up with your name?

I was studying mythology and Atlas is the Titan that Zeus cursed to hold the planet on his back. I took that and ran with it. I want to put my family on my back, so I took Atlas and my family name, Greene, and put it together.

So is Atlas Greene really who you are, or is that more your alter ego?

Kind of because outside of hip hop I don’t really do much. I don’t have hip hop activities, so it’s kind of a persona.

Sweaters and Cigarettes is your first serious project, but what was your first tape before S&C?

The first solo tape I ever before Sweaters and  Cigarettes was  called The Greene Room.  It didn’t do well numbers wise, but I thought of it as a personal success. It was an  actually mixtape, another instance of where I got a bunch of beats that  I was enjoying at the time and wrote raps, and rapped over it. Structurally it was just a bunch of songs and I would write two minute versus to them, and just rap those two minute versus. No chorus, straight boom-bap style rapping.

Can people still find it online?

Yeah it’s on Datpiff. That was the only place that would accept it at the time.

How does Sweaters and Cigarettes compare to The Greene Room?

Its just so much better production-wise. I’m just so much more proud of it. It’s more of a stand out project because we did everything that’s on there. We made the beats, recorded it in my dorm room, mixing out of pocket, and all of that. I’m just really proud of it as a project.

How did you get that title?

Well that was a process, too. We started out with a different name and it graduated to Sweaters and Cigarettes because the concept changed throughout the course. Initially, it was going to be called  ARTIFICIAL, but it didn’t really fit anymore by the time we were done. Then we looked at it and we were like, “this is basically a coming of age story,” so we took the two things I really enjoy. I enjoy sweaters a lot. Like, I’m all about sweaters.

In Atlanta?

Yeah people are always like, “Aren’t you hot?!”  I tell them that these sweaters are my life. But yeah, I’m all about sweaters, and I was chain smoking cigarettes throughout the course of my first semester, more than I had during the summer. So the album title is a metaphor for going from something comfortable to the real world where it’s cold and harsh. Like going form the comfort of sweaters and home and things that remind me of comfort, to going into the real world and experiencing life with cigarettes and drugs and whatever.

What kind of cigs do you smoke?

Paul Maul 100 menthols.

What do you think Sweaters and Cigarettes bring to the table?

I think it’s a good spin on several popular genres of music. The different types of sample we used and the way that we sample definitely stands out.

How long did the project take you to make?

That’s an interesting question. We started making it in September. But we didn’t really have full album until late January early February. We did most of the album from January 1st to February, yeah that’s when most of the album got done.

Its clear on the tape that you’re a heavy lyricist, a “conscious rapper” so to speak. Do you feel any type of way about being called a “conscious rapper”?

When I  say that I’m conscious, I mean that I’m more in tune with my spiritual side. Before I came to college I used to meditate frequently, read books about my culture, and when I cam here that kind f fell by the waist side in exchange for going to kickbacks and smoking and partying.

My two favorite songs on the album are “Anti-Calm” and “Rellos.” I particularly like the beats on both of those songs. Correct me if I’m wrong, but on “Anti-Calm” you’re just talking to yourself right?

That was one of the songs that I did first in January. I had received a phone call and the label was basically saying they didn’t like the direction the project was going in. So that songs was kind of a soliloquy. I was talking to myself like, “What happened? You used to be all about rap music and you swore you were going places, and that you were going to be the greatest ever and now you’ve fallen off.” It was almost like a reminder to myself, me attacking myself to kick it into gear and get ready.

What’s the sample on Rellos?

Saltkin by Purity Ring. Tape Deck Era made that beat.

Describe what kind of mindset you were in while making that song.

My mindset was exactly how the song sounds. It kind of describes my day, what we used t do here. I’d wake up after having fallen on my friends couch in her dorm room in the morning, and then we’d just go through the day. Go to class and whatever, and in the evenings we didn’t have any money to do anything, so my friend at the time had a car, and we’d just sit in it, go to the gas station, and just smoke black and milds and listen to Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Ferg. We’d just turn up, but we weren’t really celebrating anything, it was just that this is what we expected from college, so even if we don’t have any money to do anything exciting, we’re just gonna chill anyway and kick it.

What college are you at?

I’m at Gwinnet College. I’m doing good so far. Right now my major is biology, but I’m not sure if I want to keep it there.

Are you pre-med?

I was. Well, currently I am.

What kind of doctor do you want to be?

I was looking to be a psychiatrist honestly. So I was going to have to do more work after medical school. I’m thinking about changing it.

So Ian Greene is your real name. Who is Ian Joseph?

Joseph is my middle name, and so whenever my family calls me, I’ll answer, and they’ll be like, “Hey Ian Joseph.” They call me by my first and my middle name.

How is your family reacting to your music career?

They’re proud tat I’m doing it, and  that I’m following my dream. My mom just listens to the album.  She said she laughed, she got excited, and her eyes watered when I talked about not having money and stuff. She said she rode the emotional roller coaster with me the whole time.

How did the breakdown in that song end up working out?

It went over well. I got over it. It’s the same thing as Bum Loosey, an in-the-moment thing. When I wrote it I felt like I was struggling, but when I step back I realize I’m not doing so bad.

What’s the sample at the end of “Grambling”?

That’s Cornell West talking. He’s giving a lecture about life and virtue and who you’re going to be as a person. Then we end it with, “The rule of big money” which is that everything is for sale – everybody is for sale, ’cause that’s how life kind of works. I hope that doesn’t become me though.

According to Bum Loosey, you were religious for at least one part of your life, right?

Yeah that goes back to the whole conscious thing  I was telling you about earlier. Also, I was raised Christian, but I kind of strayed from that. You know sometimes you just think about it like, “Damn I should have gone to church today,” or “this isn’t right, I shouldn’t be smoking this and drinking this.” But that’s all a part of life.

Are you going to be gong to church on Easter/420 weekend?

I don’t know. I’m not gonna be home, so I don’t think I’ll be going to church since I don’t have a church out here.

Is your school really rural?

It’s kind of a ways from a metropolitan area. We’re like 40 minutes out from Atlanta.

Was that school your first choice? Did you always know you wanted to go to college?

It was one of those things where you just get in where you fit it, or where the most money is coming in from. I didn’t have any student loans at the time. My first semester here I was full ride, so it was free completely.

The Higher Learning sample on “Paradox” is great. How did you go about getting that on track?

It was relatable at the time. It was one of those things, like “I can relate to this,” so it just fit in with the vibe of the song.

What’s your favorite movie in general?

Akita, its an anime movie. The animation style, it was made a while back, but the animation still holds up today. And I like he whole concept behind it.

Are you really into anime?

I’m not quite fanboy status, but yeah I am into anime.

What’s your favorite anime?

This year I got really into Welcome to the NHK.

What’s your favorite piece on the tape?

Paradox. Everything came together in a way that just resonated with me. We were going to kick backs and things like that, and i would get really uncomfortable and start getting paranoid. My girlfriend would just be like “calm down just chill out,” so it was the most relatable at the time. I recorded it on a night when I was really feeling like that, so its just my favorite song.

So you seem to be a really in-the-moment kind of recording artist. Is that pretty much how your creative process goes?

It pretty much all about the feeling.

What’s your studio situation like?

I have a microphone and an inbox in my room. That’s it. Its just out in the open, so if you listen to the audio on the tape by itself you can hear my fan in the background and people coughing and stuff. That’s the beauty of mastering.

Are you thinking about touring?

I might do some touring this summer on a small scale.

Are you thinking about doing any videos?

Yeah, we’re thinking about doing a video for Rellos  and maybe something for Grambling.

What’s your favorite project so far in 2014?

It doesn’t count because it wasn’t in 2014, but my favorite project of the last year was the Childish Gambino album, Because the Internet.

So according to twitter your porn star name would be Flash Flood. How’s that career coming?

(Laughs) Definitely no time soon!

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