10 Rap Commandments: Tips and Secrets to make it to the top of the music business.

By Chauncey "Chino Dolla" Stevens

Chino Dolla gives you the game as simple as 1,2,3 to assist anyone interested in the music business reach their goal.

In a time when the music business is changing daily, there is still the need for the knowledge of the basic fundamentals to have a successful career. Chino Dolla lays out his formula in these 10 quick chapters:

Believe in Yourself
Learn the Business
Set Up Accounts
Perfecting Your Craft
Networking
Build Your Team
Recording, Marketing and Promoting
Signing Deals
Putting It All To Work
Staying on Top

These chapters cover developing a grassroots marketing plan, promoting your music online and offline, traditional and non-traditional places to sell your music, not getting cheated, collecting your income, and more. THE 10 RAP COMMANDMENTS does not disappoint.

Chauncey “Chino Dolla” Stevens is the C.E.O. of MasterMind Music and MasterMind Publishing. He’s also a producer, rapper and author. Along with Russell “Big Block” Spencer and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, he executive produced Yung Joc’s Platinum debut album “New Joc City”. Plus he launched the careers of Grammy winning producer “Blac” Elvis Williams and Christopher “Flame” Ussery.
Chino Dolla lives in Atlanta, GA.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chauncey "Chino Dolla" Stevens
• Release date: Apr 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9780988821040

Chauncey "Chino Dolla" Stevens

Chauncey “Chino Dolla” Stevens is a native of Atlanta/Athens, GA. He is a producer, rapper, and author along with being the C.E.O of MasterMind Music, the record label that founded the careers of Grammy nominated rap star Yung Joc, and Grammy winning producers Elvis Williams and Christopher “Flame” Ussery. Chino’s first shot in the music business he hit it big. Along with Sean “P. Diddy” Combs and Russell “Big Block” Spencer, Chino co-executive produced Yung Joc’s 2006 debut platinum selling album New Joc City, where he produced and featured on the street hit “Dope Boy Magic”. But with all the success was also a world of unforeseen problems. In 2007 Chino found himself faced with nothing but legal woes. In early 2007 Chino had to file a civil lawsuit against Block Entertainment for breach of contract and other claims in violation of their joint venture agreement. Then to make matters worse Chino made a grave mistake that caused him to receive 120 months in Federal Prison at the end of 2007.Not letting the dirt thrown on his back bury him, instead Chino let it plant him to grow into a great author and has pinned two extraordinary memoirs and a how to manual. “A Hustlers Dream 1: Grinding in Atlanta’s Hip Hop Underworld” and “A Hustlers Dream 2: The Betrayal & Deceit at the Top of the World”. Both are amazingly written life-motivating stories. His how to manual “10 Rap Commandments: Tips and Secrets to Make it to the Top of the Music Business”, is not different. They are all available at Chinodollar.com, where he also offers instrumental downloads for artists to record on for $4.99.

Book preview

10 Rap Commandments

Tips and Secrets to make it to the top of the music business

By Chauncey Stevens

Smashwords Edition

10 Rap Commandments Copyright © 2014 by Chauncey Chino Dolla Stevens.

All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America by MasterMind Publishing, Atlanta, GA. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information contact MasterMind Publishing.

Cover Design by Chino Dolla

Graphic Design by Derek Peacock

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Editing by the staff at Eagle Eye Editing

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Library of Congress Control Number 2014937226

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements and Dedications

COMMANDMENT I: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

COMMANDMENT II: Knowledge Is Power, Learn the Business

COMMANDMENT III. Set up accounts

COMMANDMENT IV. Perfect your craft

COMMANDMENT V. Network

COMMANDMENT VI. Build your team

COMMANDMENT VII. Recording, marketing and promoting

COMMANDMENT VIII. Signing deals

COMMANDMENT IX. Putting it all to work

COMMANDMENT X. Staying on top

Acknowledgements and Dedication

First I would like to give all glory and honor to God for giving me the strength and knowledge to complete this project. With much gratitude I would like to give thanks to my MasterMind family for all their hard work and support. Y’all know who you are. No need for name dropping. Also I would like to thank those who tried to hold me down and keep me from rising. Thanks for the dirt you throw on my shoulders so I could brush it off and pack it under my feet, elevating me to a higher level with a solid foundation.

This book is dedicated to everyone with a dream to succeed in the music business that has taken the time to let me help inspire them on their journey.

COMMANDMENT I

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

10 Rap Commandments

Having a dream is setting a goal that you want to achieve. Believing in that dream is not letting anything stop you from reaching your goal.

You must believe in yourself, no matter what setbacks, pitfalls, unseen misfortunes, or doubts you encounter. Dreams do come true; take it from a living witness.

When setting your goals, reach for the highest point of success you can imagine. Visualize yourself living your dreams and speak them into existence. As you are on your journey to accomplishing your goals, you will see all the things you have achieved in the process when you look back to where you started. That will motivate you to push forward.

Nothing is impossible for those with vision. We make the impossible possible. We are the only things that can truly stop us from reaching our goals. Once we realize and fully understand what this means, the sky is the limit.

You can be and do anything you choose. What's the difference between you and Michael Jackson if you are a great singer, dancer, or entertainer?

I bet you are thinking a lot of things. Wrong. There are only a few things besides the billions of dollars. I call them the five Ds:

Drive

Discernment

Determination

Dedication

Dependability

Once you have developed these traits, look out. Billion dollars, here we come.

Drive

Drive is your ambition. It shows how bad you want to propel to the next level. You have to be passionate about carrying through with what you have set your mind to. Cars go where you drive them; so does your life. Take control and guide it where you want it to go.

Find something that motivates you to reach your goals and don't stop until you're there. Like Aaliyah said, If at first you don't succeed dust yourself off and try again.

Discernment

In the music business, it is essential that you make good decisions.

One wrong move can end your career before it begins. You have to be able to look at your choices and see what their outcomes could be and make the best choice for you. Weigh the risk against the reward and see if it's worth doing. For example, you need discernment to make choices when dealing with situations like these. How do you decide whether you should sign a certain contract? You don't want to rush and sign a contract because a deal is on the table. It could turn out to be a bad deal. Nor do you want to miss the boat by not signing a great deal.

What do you do when selling a song you've written for a major artist?

Do you sell it for what seems to be a large amount up front, with no royalties or credits so you can invest in your career, only to see the song turn out to be a #1 Billboard hit that gives you nothing but your initial payment? Or do you sell the song for a small advance, with royalties and writer credits, and pray that the song is a success