CEO Brent Siddiq On How Rhymesayers Entertainment Builds Indie Power

Rhymesayers Entertainment is one of the most respected independent labels in hip hop today. Cofounded in 1995 in Minneapolis by CEO Brent "Siddiq" Sayers, Rhymesayers went from establishing themselves while building a local scene to cutting a deal with Warner's Independent Label Group that allowed them to maintain their indie status while drawing on heavier resources.

"The Company Man" at HipHopDX recently interviewed Siddiq who shared quite a bit about the business side of Rhymesayers.

Rhymesayers Entertainment grew out of a hip hop scene struggling to have a place in Minneapolis. On those early days before Rhymesayers existed Siddiq told Blake Gillespie:

"In regards to the d.i.y. movement, we did it naturally…Here you have a core group of motherfuckers who banded together to do something out of nothing with no help, no outside funds and we created simply for the love and art of it."

In his HipHopDX interview Siddiq explained that the limited nature of the music industry in Minneapolis, especially for hip hop, meant that they had to learn to do everything themselves basically "doing the '360 deal' out of necessity." Now he sees the majors learning to do what labels like Rhymesayers have been doing all along:

"With that shift, it's created a level playing field to some degree for the indie. There really isn't that much divide between the two. When Atmosphere can land a Top 5 Billboard charting record…there's obviously been a shift in the industry…The things that have become more relevant are pretty much open to anybody…Realistically, in my opinion, we can do just as good of a job as a Def Jam [Records] can do for a release in today's market."

Siddiq says that even before Atmosphere's "When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold" hit no. 5 on the Billboard 200 the major labels came calling and lots of meetings were held. He says nothing felt right for Atmosphere at the time and they felt comfortable passing because their base was so strong.

In 2007 they then did a deal with Warner's ILG that gave them not only stronger distribution but the opportunity to "upstream" artists into a major label deal. At the time Siddiq stated, "the last ten years we've been building houses with hammer and nails, and now we have a whole woodshed and tools to do the same job."  The next year Atmosphere hit no. 5.

As Siddiq told HipHopDx:

"We did it because it was something that gave us leverage as opposed to limiting us. I think that's always been our position. Let's work and develop something so when we do sit down at that table with the majors, we're looking eye to eye and we're not in a position where we need anything and we can look at what's there that can help us continue with what we're doing and further what we want to do."

Siddiq also pointed out:

"Coming out of Minnesota, nobody fucking knew who we were. The internet and social media was not as developed today as it was at that time. When we got out on the road, that was when we really got to start connecting with fans; really start building that allegiance with people that were into what we were doing. Our foundation will always be built around touring – along with developing artists and maintaining artist visibility with their fans. "

The whole interview is well worth checking out and is yet further evidence that building independently before dealing with major labels puts you in the position of being able to turn them down if it feels right. That's not an option for someone who's simply looking to sign his or her career over to the highest bidder.

Hypebot Features Writer Clyde Smith maintains his freelance writing hub at Flux Research and music industry resources at Music Biz Blogs. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.