With several reality TV shows giving fans a look into the makings of an artist from start to finish, Bay Area collective Hiero Imperium are ready to go above and beyond the industry norm, giving up-and-comers much more than 15 minutes of TV fame with their latest project. The collective will use their industry experience as a way to give back to artists via its new label, Triple i League. The project is similar to major league baseball’s farm teams or the NBA Develpmental League.
Hiero CEO Tajai Massey says the program is nothing like the typical industry contracts that exploit up-and-coming artists. Instead, it’s about taking artists who already have a complete package and mentoring them on the business side of the industry so that they can be capable of controlling their own careers and become the CEOs of tomorrow.
“Hiero isn’t looking to help polish lyrics or build from the ground up. Triple i League contenders must already be complete artists who are ready to move on to the next level,” he says.
Artists looking to get down, don’t need to have flash and flare, they simply need to make quality music and stay true to who they are as artists, a quality often overlooked in today’s mainstream music.
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In addition, new recruits must go through a rigorous regimen of trials and exercises in the Hiero Compound in East Oakland before being formally accepted as team members of the Triple i League.
“We’re looking for people that can bring honesty and integrity to the plate. Emcees with made-up images need not apply because that sort of artifice can be hard to maintain. Honesty about who you are and where you come from is the number one quality that will get you ahead in this game,” Tajai adds.
The first artist to drop on Triple i League is Bay Area emcee Knowbody. His Hiero debut, ThaClean Up, hits shelves Sept. 18. Knowbody garners praise from Hiero memer Casual, and also draws a comparison to one of the game’s top emcees.
“Knowbody’s well of rhymes runs deep,”Casual says of his skills. “The only other emcee I’ve heard who can consistently flow on the same subject throughout a song without having to switch up is Eminem.”
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For more information check out www.hieroglyphics.com
