I just had an amazing interview with New Bay artist Balance on everything from strategies for titling albums to word of mouth marketing to what motivates him to keep going. I’m embarassed to say that some of the interview was lost when my tape ran out and the new recorder didn’t shut down like my previous one would have. I almost didn’t tell him because we talked for over an hour and he was incredibly generous with his time and with his insightful take on building one’s career.

I’m especially disappointed because he really does have a clear take on the rap game that’s informed by what he’s learned from things like talking to Bay Area artists who got signed and dropped in the 90s, working in record stores where he’s seen what works at the consumer level and, yes, even reading about the music industry. On that note, Balance recommends the classic All You Need to Know About the Music Business by Donald Passman, which I actually need to read myself.

One of the interesting bits was his take on controversial titles such as the New Bay and the Bay Area Mixtape King. In both cases, these were terms that djs came up with in response to what he and fellow artists were doing. Sway actually referred to him and an associate as the New Bay. They thought about it and decided to start referring to themselves that way, not to diss artists that preceded them, but to establish an identity that went beyond just being new artists. And people have latched on to that as a successful maneuver. It’s interesting because so many artists avoid labels and finally give in but it’s those categories that allow folks to get an initial handle on what you’re doing. Ultimately it’s your music that’s going to make the difference so taking control of that labeling process is a really smart move.

Balance also got the Bay Area Mixtape King title from a dj and decided to go ahead and use it, partly because of what he’d learned from controversies around such labels. He finds that people pay attention and talk about it whether they think it’s cool or dismiss the idea, either way it gets his name in their head. While I’m impressed by his clear marketing strategy, I’m also impressed by the fact that he doesn’t take himself too seriously. In many ways, he’s earned the title of King because of his own trailblazing activities with mixtapes in the Bay Area and the fact that he’s on some ungodly number of tapes. But, at the recent Bay Area Rap Summit where he appeared on a mixtape panel, when introduced with that grand title he kind of laughed it off and really didn’t seem to be on an ego trip at all like so many rappers who claim to be the king of this or that.

You know, it’s really nice to interview someone who’s serious about what they’re doing, smart about their business, who cares about their art and isn’t an egomaniac at the same time. I’ll have to say he’s definitely setting an example that even I could follow in that regard. Look for my interview with Balance as the next Talking Hip Hop Business feature as soon as I can transcribe what I have and possibly subject him to another round of interrogation.

Until then, you can check out recent interviews conducted with Balance by Sam Chennault at the SF Weekly and by Adisa Banjoko for AllHipHop.com.