mic moodswing – a new mood for texas hip-hop
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photo by steed media service
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Founder, Texas Summer Music Conference
The
Texas hip-hop scene is somewhat of a conundrum. While artists such as
ScarFace, UGK, Paul Wall, Chamillionaire, Mike Jones, and the Screwed
Up Click have all received national recognition, Texas has yet to fully
be recognized as an epicenter for hip-hop talent like Atlanta and New
Orleans. To increase Texas’s visibility in hip-hop, Dallas native Mic
Moodswing decided to create the Texas Summer Music Conference in 2003.
“Although we’re in a top 10 music market, a lot of our artists remain
local,” Moodswing says. “There are artists down here who can’t get to
New York or Los Angeles to meet with big executives. So, I wanted to
create a venue where the artists could rub shoulders with some of the
major check writers in the industry.
” Many aspiring artists who have participated in the Texas Summer Music
Conference have gone on to have tremendous success.
“Mike Jones came to the conference when nobody wanted to pay attention
to him,” Moodswing says. “But he presented himself as a businessman and
began to network with people. Before I knew it, Mike Jones was on the
radio with a platinum record under his belt.
” With the conference growing each year, Moodswing believes that many
Texas artists will finally get the respect they deserve.
“I continue to do this conference to make a difference,” he says. “The
biggest form of failure is to stop trying. The opportunity is always
there to improve.” – amir shaw
