Wise Words are knowledge and tips from people working in the arts and entertainment industry. But they won’t just give me advice, they’ll also provide some to themselves. These words are from Chi-Town’s Gerald Walker. Enjoy and learn something.
Photo taken by LeVar Pickens
Showmanship is KEY!
Remember the Stage is your best friend; don’t be afraid. You can be the best emcee or have the best group of musicians in the world, or the best band, but if you collectively look uninteresting or lack confidence, the crowd may not like you. Work on moving around, enjoying yourself, and getting the crowd involved aka showmanship.
I definitely need to step outside the studio and work on my live performances. Successful artist make 90% of their revenue performing live and maybe 5% from record sales. If this is the case – why am I not spending 95% of my time improving my showmanship? (Laughs) It’s something all artist should work on.
Gerald Walker is a rapper, born and raised in Chicago. Before entering the rap game he was in college at Columbia in Chicago, for TV writing; and in ’08 he toured with Paramore and No Doubt as a stage crew member. After focusing on moving from behind the stage to center stage, his latest mixtape, I Remember When This All Meant Something was released on July 16 and features Add-2, Mr. Robotic, Bryant Stewart, and Slot-A.
Gerald is already working on his next mixtape, while also working on putting together a stop the violence show/tour in Chicago. He’s also prepping for his video to “Silent”, which will be shot towards the end of September.
He’s always in the studio, and stays busy writing, working and performing whenever he can. But when he’s not focusing on his craft, you’ll probably catch Gerald watching several TV shows on HBO – including: Bored to Death, Hung, Entourage, How To Make It In America, and more.
Follow Gerald on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, and check out his blog – Dose of Dopeness. Also, make sure to download I Remember When This All Meant Something
—
Â
Previously: Wise Words from The Tay
Â
