See I am a fan of the Palm Beach Music And Entertainment Awards. I always have been. Now that I sit down and think about it.. its the Awards that introduced me to the Palm Beach local music scene and played a big part of who I am today.
Rewind... let me give you a little personal history....
Back then I was just discovering the internet in the days of myspace, aol chatrooms.. so one day I got spammed from the very first ever Palm Beach Hip Hop Awards.. not sure if it was General or Rohan.. just know that I got a invitation in my comments on myspace... back then Myspace was still fun.. and I had a very cool myspace layout... So from that comment I clicked on the profile of Genesis Marketing found Triple J, Suave Smooth, Mr Flick, Bootlegg, T Dot, Dro and more in Rohans top 12 friends. (yeah he had a top 12) So I started listening to all of the music and the myspace players. This was before rappers figured out how to embed the codes and spam everyones comments to get the listens up to attract attention from the labels.. I think T Dot pioneered that with the you tube views... anyways from those very first Hip Hop Awards I became fascinated with the Palm Beach music scene... from there I met some of the greatest talent out there... I watched artists grow... I watched the scene evolve... and then everyone decided to rap..
As the years went on Rohan continued with the award ceremony ... I was proud of our little local industry making noise.. Raylo and Dem Damn Dogs had the world rockin to Suave Smooth, Dro and even Vandam Bodyslam... somehow the awards turned into a competition and ego war between numerous self entitled MCs, DJs, Producers etc that would turn something great into a all out jealousy binge...Yeah I know that is most likely bad grammer but fuck it... Im just trying to make a point..
How did we come from people proud to have our very own Award ceremony courtesy of Genesis Marketing and Promotions.. to a event that breeds envy, jealousy and hatred for other people that practice the same craft. If someone was going to get an award it suddenly was Rohans fault because other rappers believed it wasnt deserved....they criticized the system of voting so he got a website... then they did a facebook poll and a website... over and over Rohan tried to appease hundreds of industry people that wanted nothing more than validation in their art.. My opinion is most of yall was insecure. You didnt want to see someone else be named before you. Your ego convinced you that you or someone you approved of should be the winner... as a result Rohan retired the Awards... So how will you get your Validation now? How will you feel accomplished without your facebook votes? Will it be likes on your facebook posts about whats wrong with the industry?
I felt bad for Rohan trying year after year to please you selfish egomaniacs...
I dont have all of the answers... I just know at one time I was a huge fan of Palm Beaches Music Scene.... and today after seeing how jealous most of you are of one another. Its sad really... once upon a time I would have invested my very own hard earned money and time into helping most of you see success... now... not so much... its not because the talent isnt there... I just wish some of you would fall in love with your craft again and stop thinking you know what your doing on the business end...
this isnt directed at anyone in particular.... but if it doesnt apply let it fly.... and if your that hit dog... and this post made you feel some kind of way... shrug... evaluate how you do things.. I do have a few people in this industry that I like to call friends...so yeah Im rambling a little bit... Im just saddened that the awards got cancelled... I loved seeing the cyphers, and watching the talent grow in my city... my advice.... focus on your craft... make good music... dont worry about whats on the plate of others and simply try to make good music... if its great people will talk about it and promote it for you because they believe in it... everything else is just bullshit these days... good luck to you all
