How can I find, meet, and begin collaborating with 'talented' people from my area?

[bleachboyrecords]

I do everything in the studio by myself and the only time other people are involved is when it's done through email. I want to find people I can get in the studio with and actually make songs from scratch. The problem I'm having is that it's tough finding people that are actually good because there are so many talentless people on every corner that like to call themselves 'rappers' or 'artists'. How can I find the people that are legitimate? The people that are more than just 'rappers' and are actual artists, the people that have a fanbase other than just their friends, the people who make their own music rather than just writing simple lyrics over industry instrumentals. How can I find people like this?

 

[frankirby]

before those people get fan bases no one cared about them either. Just find someone who is talented and make good music and you will progress. Just find someone you can fux with. Everyone starts with only their friends as fans, I think. At least in the blog rap era.

 

[suptypha]

there's always craigslist..

my best advice would be to search out freestyle battles, go to small hip hop shows (they at least have em in atlanta), and post some flyers up at a local college. or make beat cds and give them out to the right people/fans/like minded people. good luck though, i am on the search myself.

 

[rayzer]

some local newspapers usually have a music section, find out if there are any gigs on in your area and go along to them. otherwise look through sites like myspace, facebook and so on.

 

[ProducerJC]

Why limit yourself locally when you have the power of the internet in front of you? If you're willing to increase the diversity of your creations then link up with bands and performing acts. Everyone else is just pissing in the wind while wasting your time #realtalk

 

[Sanford Black]

Gotta find where the community thrives in your city. It's an easy thing to say, of course, but you gotta get out there and check out all the shows you can find in the area. Be an active part of your local community once you find it, help it to thrive and expand. Even if the initial pool of "talent" that's already in the community isn't quite what you're looking for, if you help it to expand it becomes more likely that the type of artist you're looking to work with will show up as exposure grows.

Community is the key. The internet is shit without the people in your zip code putting you up first.

 

[PoBoi]

I'm going through the same thing.... Being a good evaluator of talent is a requirement for being successful in music(especially as an A&R)... You are gonna have to choose a healthy balance because everybody isn't gonna be a star but you don't wanna be labeled as the producer that only works with trash artists... Like someone mentioned already, develop your own artist.. Find the most talented people that has little to no notoriety and build from there.. Be forewarned though, you will have haters if you start to make a name for yourself and you will lose friends also.... Once you build a credit sheet with about 2 or 3 good songs that get regular rotation in your city, the talented will most likely find you... but networking is still paramount...