After garnering a huge online buzz with more than 12 million
YouTube views, Maryland rapper Wax (now residing in Los Angeles) was on a high
horse after celebrating his signing with Def Jam Records back in early 2011. On
board a hip-hop artist’s dream label, the rapper initially had huge plans for
his major label debut, but decided to leave Def Jam after the label would not
allow his creative vision to take center stage. Wax recently shared his
experience with Def Jam, and the video below is certainly worth watching for
anyone still interested in scoring a record deal.
In the video, Wax points to creative differences with label executives,
songwriters, producers and others while working on his debut album from Def
Jam.
"After a while, everything you do is so put under a
microscope,” Wax explained. “All the songs that you make are put under a
microscope by 20 people. The point is, after a while, you second-guess yourself
to the point where you don't trust your own instinct anymore. Your instinct is
really what gets you to that place in the first place.”
This uncertainty and uneasiness caused him to become so uninspired
that he requested his release.
“Before I had
this record deal, I was happy. But after a while that kind of got taken away;
everything I liked was being questioned under this microscope, so I started
doubting myself.”
Despite his release, Wax is in high spirits and happy that he can
now be in creative control, and above all, in charge of his own career. He provides an
interesting perspective of an artist that got signed to a dream label, and not
having it be all that it was cracked up to be.
Check out the video below:
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Hisham Dahud is a Senior Analyst for Hypebot.com. Additionally, he is the head of Business Development for Fame House and an independent musician. Follow him on Twitter: @HishamDahud
