Rich and Famous - Casting

Unbeknown to us, Y.G managed to bypass the majority of the casting process for a project called Rich and Famous.  This is how Dirty Street's Y.G begun his road to riches and proved there is a credible Urban scene beyond the capital.

Y.G was contacted by manager and producer Colin Evans regarding trying-out for a part in a track which was to be made alongside an unknown 80's pop star who was re-launching their career.  The brief was that Y.G, Lil Blak and Joavviva were to rap accapella to the celebrity and incorporate fame, fortune and the names Dave and Sue.  Colin asked Y.G to bring some other artists along so we borrowed a friends car and headed to The North Star in Hackney, London.  Although it wasn't quite that straight forward; Lukas only had a two seater van, so we had a choice of two other cars - Y.G's sister's car, which was consuming a lot of petrol, or the equally juicey Frontera from Lukas' mate Beefy.

Given the limited finances for the trip we chose the Frontera.  Unfortunately we had to go to Hove to pick it up, which meant driving passed the first pick-up which was at Portslade station, and they owner had popped out and was running half an hour late - too late to turn round and grab Y.G's sister's car.
Half an hour or so later Beefy turned up with the Frontera, we picked up the two other rappers and headed north to the M25 and London.

Because of a SATNAV being non-specific and the usual M25 traffic we arrived at The North Star an hour late, and we were greeted by the remains of the casting process.  It appeared that there was originally 200 people auditioning for the part, which included opera singers, guitarists, vocalists and rappers - even though the brief clearly requested an Urban rapper.

Each rapper was given three minutes to rap accapella, then six were shortlisted for the next round, where they were played the track which was to be recorded and they had to rap an 8 line verse over a certain part.  Of the three rappers we took, two (Y.G and Joavviva) made the final three.  During the final round they were reduced to the top 3 - Y.G, Styler and Defí.

The producers, David, Sue and the director got together and decided the outcome, during which each rapper filmed a piece to camera about their experience and what they hope to achieve.

After some deliberation the production team revealed that they would be using all three of the remaining rappers, each would have a section of the rap to perform.  The only problem was that the three parts weren't all of the same length,  there were two eight bar parts and one sixteen.  Styler, who was keen to push himself into alpha male position, begun his pitch for the sixteen.  I say pitch but it was more of a chain of demands, which alongside super-confidence, is one of Stylers strongest traits.

Following much picture taking and interviews, we were joined by Carole, one of the finalists from Big Brother 8, who spoke to me about her plans of writing and directing films (she claimed to have written 3 the previous day!) and release a track with heavy left-wing political messages.  Well, if there's money and exposure we'll be interested.

So, the final line-up was decided and they were given the date of the recording which would be on the following Sunday and would be working with producer T Green at Arcade Studios.

Welcome to Dirty Street

So what is Dirty Street all about?  it’s about setting a professional standard that says that you are taking yourself and your musical or artistic career seriously; its about getting smart about yourself as a business so that the right people will give you the right attention.

With the changing music industry making production more straight forward and accessible to all levels of ability, its critical to stand out from the crowd.  Now, more than ever, you need to have a full package for labels and management to take notice of you; whether its videos, virals, photo shoots, press packs or a number of costly requirements which are necessary to attract the right attention.  Remember that if you look like a victim you’ll be treated like one.

Co-founded by Y.G and Lukas, Dirty Street is a musician and artist development company specialising in preparing fresh talent for the real world and the demands of a changing industry.  The strategy is to take an individual or group and create a bespoke marketing package for them.  From mastering and producing tracks and videos to photo shoots and design, Dirty Street can manufacture the right package for you.

The future….the future’s Dirty, the future ‘s Street.