Super Duty Tough Work Podcast

Everyone knows what it's like to have creative passion that you care deeply about and a job that you don't particularly care about. In most instances, these jobs drain our creative energy until our desire to pursue our craft outside of work is completely gone. To avoid this we must allow our art to help push us through these down periods so we can stay motivated. This episode is about small things you can do with your art that will help you survive your job. Let's go!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week there was a lot of commotion on social media when pop singer Billie Eilish featured a quote of her pointing out that she personally knows a lot of rappers constantly who lie about their lives and having things they don't really own. Many people were upset about her statement, firing back at her. In this episode we give our reaction to her statement and breakdown ten reasons why rappers lie so much in hip-hop. Let's go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Although New York producer Blockhead originally emerged on the hip-hop scene as one of Aesop Rock's main collaborators, he has since established his own career as an instrumentalist, releasing albums on legendary label Ninja Tune and many others. While on tour in Columbus, promoting his new album Bubble Bath, Blockhead stopped by the Super Duty studio for a dope conversation about his production process, releasing albums on different labels, and being embraced by a fanbase he wasn't even aware of. Let's go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Although we've had artist managers on the show before, we've never really went into depth about the pluses and minuses of having a manager. In this episode of the most infamous podcast on planet earth, we break down how managers help and hurt artists, so that anybody thinking about procuring one can know the best case and worst case scenarios ahead of time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No matter how perfect we strive to be as humans, there will be times in our lives when we feel insecure about where we are in life. It is at these moments that we are visited by the green-eyed monster, jealousy. And even if we don't feel it towards others, we are on the receiving end of it. In this episode, we break down ways to deal with jealousy, both internally and externally. This is a deep episode that you don't wanna miss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most fascinating and frustrating careers in hip-hop is the career of Queens rapper Nas. While his debut album Illmatic was considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, his fans have been routinely disappointed by his subsequent albums, and wondered why he wouldn't just go back to the style he employed on Illmatic. In this episode, we break down why Nas has never revisited the Illmatic style that made him so successful. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November, with several creative projects unfinished, we decided to create the 30 Days of Discipline Challenge, in hopes of locking in and getting more done. We also invited our listeners to participate in this challenge and call in with their results a the end of the year. In this week's episode, we share our results, and play the calls of our listeners who also participated in the challenge. Happy new year! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the most infamous podcast on planet earth, Blueprint sits down for an interview with hip-hop artist and professional illustrator Adam "Illus" Wallenta. Adam has done artwork for a who's who of hip-hop artists like Public Enemy and Craig G, published award winning Children's books, as well as illustrating all three of Blueprint's books. We break down his journey to become a professional illustrator, his time working at Marvel, and his independent publishing experiences. Lots of jewels in this one. Let's go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Being producers and MCs ourselves, we are always excited about hearing well-produced hip-hop albums. But as fans, we've had to admit that some of our favorite MCs have often released albums where the production didn't match their level of rhyming. In fact, some of the best rappers have frequently had some of the worst production. In this episode we break down our list of the Best rappers who've had some of the worst production in their careers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On our journey to create great art there will inevitably come points where we lose our momentum. It is at these moments when our level of anticipation takes a huge hit and we are no longer excited about our next step in the process. In this episode, we break down the three phases of the artistic journey and explain the points where you should be able to get your excitement back again. Let's go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We live in a society where those who are leaders--whether that be in business, entertainment, or in politics---are put on a pedestal. In many instances, we think that their position as a leader is without consequences, which causes us to romanticize it. In other instances, we see those in leadership positions fail publicly and believe it isn't worth the risk. In this episode, we break down the risks and rewards of being a leader that nobody talks about, so you can decide if it's worth it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have officially entered crunch time as artists, a time when everything has to be finished in order to get our albums out on time next year. With so much to be finished before the end of the year, we both decided to change our routines for the next 30 days and add more structure, in hopes of getting things done on time. But, to make things even more interesting, we are creating a challenge to all of our listeners over the next 30 days as well. In this episode, we break down our challenge, why it's important, and how you can participate and share your experiences on the show next month! Let's go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Although he was first heard touring with west coast legends like Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, and the Hieroglyphics crew, Bukue One's name reached another level when he became the manager of Del the Funky Homosapien. Through his unique experience as a graffiti writer, skateboarder, and marketer, he was able to help further solidify Del's impact on the culture by forming partnerships with brands in a way that hadn't been seen before in independent hip-hop. In this episode, Blueprint is joined by Bukue One for an in depth conversation about his history in hip-hop, selling water filters, merch for Hiero, managing Del, and ultimately forming his unique business that connects brands and artists with similar interests. Let's go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As hip-hop fans, we were all raised to want to listen to our music in the environment that has the most bang--clubs, cars, and loud system. But once upon a time, hip-hop went through a brief phase where artists started making albums that would sounded completely different in the headphones than they did on loud systems. Back then, these albums were referred to as "headphone albums." Although they disappeared for a while, headphone albums have been making a come back as of late. So in this episode, we break down our top ten headphone albums. If you haven't heard any of these albums we advise you to get a good pair of headphones and listen to them as we break down what makes them so special. Let's go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the biggest benefits of building an artistic career is the ability to travel the world and experience different cities and cultures. It's a dream that works out for some, but not for others. In this episode, Blueprint interviews Pittsburg native DJ Criminal about how his relocation to Southeast Asia led him to building a DJ career, touring remote countries, and ultimately becoming a published author. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There comes a point in everybody's career where you feel like you've hit a wall. Not because of the lack of achievement, but because you've actually achieved what you set out to do. We all know what it's like to celebrate after achieving our goal, but what comes after the celebration? For many, what follows are feelings of anxiety, depression, and confusion about what to do next, but we're firm believers that these feelings occur when we don't have a new mountain to climb. In this episode of the most infamous podcast on planet earth, Blueprint & Illogic talk about how to recognize when you need a new challenge, why it's so important, and how to narrow in on what you need to be doing. Let's go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In last week's episode, we covered the worst promotional strategies that artists are employing nowadays, often times hurting themselves in the process. During that episode we said that we would do a follow-up to it where we covered the best promotional strategies. Well, here it is. In this episode, we breakdown the best ways to promote yourself, so that you aren't wasting your time or annoying the people you're trying to get to pay attention. Even better is that the majority of these strategies cost you nothing. Let's go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the rapidly changing digital landscape, where every artist is capable of building their own platform and people are more accessible than ever, there tends to be a belief that overnight success happens all the time. We are frequently given abbreviated stories about how artist blew up simply by promoting themselves to everybody they could. This has created a situation where artists are promoting themselves more than ever, but often having less results due to how they are promoting themselves. In this episode, we break down the ten worst promotional strategies that we see nowadays, so hopefully you can avoid them and ultimately get more people to actually pay attention to what you're doing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Although we are both MCs, we are also avid beat-makers. And as beat-makers we have both been in our fair share of record stores hunting for the dopest records to use in our beat-making process. In this episode, we're talking about record shopping or "diggin in the crates" as they say, giving 8 tips on how to get better at it. Even though this conversation is for beginners, it should still be relevant for the experienced crate-digger. Let's go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As guys who have toured the world over, we have made our fair share of money on stage. We have also missed out on a lot of money performing. Whether due to our own negligence or shiesty promoters, we've been screwed over many times and left plenty of money on the table. In this episode, we bread down TEN WAYS that performers miss out on money when they perform so that you don't have to make the same mistakes and can get your money right! Let's go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices