“Me coming from the streets with no buzz, just starting
to rap and getting signed to a label – that’s unheard
of. Not to mention a label that is owned by the Program
Director of KMEL and KYLD. I just knew that it was gonna
crack,” Preach laughs.
Preach’s wishful thinking proved to be untrue. A
calculating perfectionist, Preach recorded songs and
re-recorded songs carefully mapping out his raps and
even the hooks performed by pretty young things and R&B
thugs. But while he orchestrated his master plan,
Straight Hits kept it moving, releasing projects by
Oakland phenom Mistah F.A.B. and Filipina quartet One
Vo1ce both of whom signed to the label around the same
time as Preach. Although he was receiving monthly income
from the label and was featured on both albums,
co-writing a tune for One Vo1ce, the money was never
enough. His raps reflected the life he lived and
continued to lead to help support his young son.
Although his album was almost completed, Preach felt
like he was just keeping his head above water.
Then came the bad news. Before Straight Hits could
release a project on Preach, the label shut down leaving
him uncertain of what the future might hold. The
opportunities garnered by Straight Hits had included
radio play of his single “Bad Misses”, mixtape placement
on the Bay Area Playa’s Vol. 6, write ups in Showcase
Magazine, and the promise of more to come. Now facing an
unknown path quite possibly without his already recorded
music, Preach’s focus turned back to hustling.
“You know the pimp game and the rap game are similar,
you gotta stay on top of your game and be prepared for
anything.,” warns Preach. “If you don’t pay attention,
one day you’ll look up and everything could be gone from
under you. Your tricks, your music, your money, and your
one chance. Luckily I still had my girls and other
hustles, so I concentrated on that to get my money
right.”
After stacking his bread, Preach brokered a deal that
allowed him to release the music he so painstakingly
worked at. Armed with his music and money for mastering,
Preach set out to find a manager. He settled with
longtime associates and Bay Area entertainment fixtures
Marcel Anderson and Meilani of MPRINT MUSIC.
Mirroring the storyline of “Hustle & Flow”, Preach
confesses,” I just knew that there was something else
out there for me. Something that was bigger than
hustling & pimping. I didn’t want to do that for the
rest of my life. This album means so much to me because
I did it on my own. I found all the producers, I wrote
the raps, I conceived this from beginning to end. So
when it drops I got this feeling people are gonna
identify with me.”
With a finished project entitled “From A.M. to P.M.”, a
connected management team, and steady money flowing in
you’d think hustling would already be a thing of Preachs’
past. “Not so,” Preach says. “Everyday is a struggle and
I gotta hustle my way through it. This rap game is a
hustle. Just to get noticed, to get airplay, to get
distribution you gotta finagle. My album is the result
of hustlin’. Like the title says, that’s all I do from
a.m. to p.m.”
Visit
www.mprintmusic.com
or
www.preachmartin.com
