Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. His newest project War Machine 2 was released on June 5th and will be followed up by a full-length with DJ Burn One entitled Cheer For The Villain. Follow him on twitter @tefpoe. Get War Machine 2 here.
Adam Murphy is the founder of Midwest Mixtapes. I talked to him about the many different roles he has played in the industry. We also discussed mixtape marketing and the importance of taking your plight to the streets while promoting your music.
See also: -50-Plus St. Louis Hip-Hop Artists You Should Know -The Demonization of Chief Keef and Lil JoJo -Tef Poe Archives
Tef Poe: When did your career begin?
Adam Murphy: My professional career started December 2001 when I walked into VIP studios looking to do an internship. I want to thank SPUD for the opportunity. I bounced out in April 2002 because that's when I got with Lyrikal Warfare. I was ahead of my time in marketing music, and this business is shady. April 2003, I executively produced Lyrikal Warfare's Articles of War album.
When I'm on overseas websites and I see fans talking about this album like it came out yesterday...the feeling is amazing. It's on iTunes but I might press up some for the tenth anniversary. Lyrikal Warfare first appeared on Memphis own Kingpin Skinny Pimp's Back2daPlayazBall 2000 album.
I help develop artists on the business aspect of the music industry. The majority of the time, it's on the marketing aspect of it: Internet/viral, DJ circulation, street team, publications, retails and more. If anybody remembers your 50 St. Louis artists you should hear blog, I had 4 guys on that list (DerrtyBoi Montana, County Brown, Richie Stacks and Ray Goss). Besides their hard work and talent, I'm a major reason they are well known locally and outside the STL market. DerrtyBoi Montana; I executive produced three albums and two mixtapes. Chicago has a lot of love for him but he's not from there. County Brown, we've known each other since first grade. He has been slanging music since we were in high school. He is a major reason I knew I could do this too. Richie Stacks, you've seen him on the posters all over town with the endorsement from Royal Blunts. I helped him get the endorsement deal. Ray Goss, we met at a low budget showcase type event. He walked up on me saying, "I see everybody talking to you, you must be somebody."
