I'm not obsessed. Nor am I a crazy fan boy. I just appreciate people who work super hard, chasing their dreams. It's even better when they buck the system, the traditional way of doing things, and do it independently on their own.
I can't think of anyone who has done this better lately, than the independent rapper, Tom MacDonald. Who with his girlfriend Nova, write, produce, and shoot their own music videos.
As Tom says in his rap "This House":
No record label, no distribution
No co-sign, no publicists
No manager, no teammates
No money to make up my budget with
No groceries, no studio
No bookin' agent, no bucket list
No PR and no marketin'
Just fans
source
Just fans, literally.
This is the type of person we need here on Hive. He already fits the decentralized and anti-censorship model that Hive espouses.
Plus, there is nothing from stopping him from continuing to post on YouTube, but why not back up all his videos here on 3Speak where they can live forever?!
This would be a big boon for all of us.
Tom currently has 2.5 million subscribers on YouTube. He isn't a one genre kinda artist either, so whether you love or hate rap, I'd bet he has at least one song that you would like or relate too.
Here are a few samples of his work, this one is inspirational:
This is one of many that are political:
This one is kid friendly, and self anointed as corny:
He's not afraid to laugh at himself and tell it how it is:
There are plenty more, but this last one tends to let me think that he knows about crypto, and maybe even about us, Hive.
He bought an NFT from Eminem. It was the beat to Em's song Stan. He paid 100K for it and made a rap tribute to Eminem, thanking him for paving the way for white rappers.
Here is the original from Em:
And here is Tom's tribute:
I sent a few emails to his fan page months ago, telling him how much I loved his music, and how I thought Hive would be a great spot for him to share his music.
But all I got were crickets. I'm sure he gets thousands of emails asking him for things. I wasn't expecting a response, but would have been cool if I did.
So clearly, emailing him isn't going to work.
I thought to myself, how can I tell him in a cool way, what Hive is, and why he should be here?
My thought was to rewrite his song Dear Slim, to Dear Tom, and explain it all as best I could. So I did.
I don't claim to be a rapper, nor a writer, or even a good marketer. I suggest watching his video first, and then reading my version, so you can kind of get the timing down of the lines. I wasn't able to recreate it line by line, but I feel like I did a decent job.
So here it is:
Dear Tom,
I thought you mighta heard of me maybe, cause I sent you emails months ago and I know you ain’t lazy.
But I’m here now,
Hi My name is Hive
People call me controversial
I’m the one that censored people follow
Every post I drop’s forever
Topics ranging from race & politics
To gardening & permaculture.
Yeah, I’m pretty clever.
Dear Tom,
We’re actually pretty similar politically,
All the videos I share of you
Are watched by users here wittingly.
But I’m here now
And I share the same messages like you.
Was addicted to FB & Twitter and quit em just like you.
People claim’n I’m a haven for nazis and racists,
But Thomas, that can’t be right dude.
Cause you just speak the truth,
And Thomas, I’m you.
Thomas, remember way back,
You released your first track,
Carried rap on your back,
Well now I’m just like you.
I don't give a what
Writing what I want with my fingers up
Everybody triggered and they think I suck
But I don't give a what, na na-na na-na
I don't give a what, na na-na na-na na na na.
Dear Tom, I figured since you blazed independently
You might relate to weight that freelance artists are carrying.
Releasing our content is tough at first,
When there’s nobody listening.
But I’m here now,
Go ahead and wait, it’ll hurt
Get paid, call me decentralized & censor free
Those are accurate words.
Dear Tom,
I just wanna give you a platform
I been bumping your music since my first kid was born.
You’re the reason I’m writing this,
Can’t listen to mainstream its embarrassing,
want your fans to know we’re here for the music your sharing.
But I’m here now,
They call us controversial just like you,
Cut the bull, spit the facts, speak the truth just like you.
Screw any guy who don’t appreciate all the words that you blew.
Cause in my mind it’s 2021, and, we’re you.
Thomas, remember way back,
You released your first track,
Carried rap on your back,
Well now I’m just like you.
I don't give a what
Writing what I want with my fingers up
Everybody triggered and they think I suck
But I don't give a what, na na-na na-na
I don't give a what, na na-na na-na na na na.
Whether ya love it or think this rap is bull piss
Spent a lot of time to make sure that you heard this.
The truth of the matter is that YouTube can censor
You can be put in a box and made to look like you’re an oppressor
You’ve showed us all you can do it,
You’re a lyrical freak,
Now show the world you really mean it,
And post your raps on 3speak.
Thomas, remember way back,
You released your first track,
Carried rap on your back,
Well now I’m just like you.
So there you have it. The question remains, how do we get this message to Tom? Well, here's my answer.
Email clearly doesn't work. As a big fan of his, I know he drops his new music videos every Friday at 9am West Coast time. So here's the plan...
Copy the URL for a post I will make soon about this rap and more in depth of why he should join, and as soon as his newest video drops, we'll all bombard the comments sections of his video right away with the link. He does get a lot of comments, but if he sees the same thing over and over again from hundreds of people, he'll have no choice to click and see what it's all about.
Hopefully from there, he appreciates the effort and at a minimum, will be willing to hear more.
Rap and Tom might not be your thing, but you can't deny the guy has some serious skills and a seriously loyal fan base.
Tagging @lordbutterfly as he is in charge of the best current marketing plan we have right now. Maybe you have some insights and/or ideas to make this plan even better.
Also, if you consider yourself a talented writer/rapper/video creator, and you think you can make my rap even better, please chime in with your thoughts, my feelings won't be hurt, I just want to put out the best product possible.
Much love for your time Hive fam. Let's bring Tom to Hive!
