Liker-Hater

So today was a bit of a weird day. Just a bit, though. I published the latest song in my rap endeavour on SoundCloud, Propagandis (you can listen to it here: www.soundcloud.com/inianwarhadi ). I discuss a number of things in this song such as depression, societal ills and the struggle against our inner demons.

This song was a little different than what I’ve done previously in a couple of ways. Firstly, I actually wrote the lyrics to this song first, before making a beat for it. I just established a tempo for myself and freehanded the verses without having any idea what sounds would go in the background. Because of this, there are obvious parts in the song where the lyrics don’t fit into the beat very well. In rapper-speak, you’d say that the flow wasn’t much on point. To make it better suit the beat, I could have rewrote those parts of the lyrics, but being the pemalas that I am, I stuck with them the way they were.

This song was also longer than any of my previous tracks. I usually aim for 16 bars of rap for one song, but for this one, I made 32 bars (that’s twice as long). Actual rappers produce 32 bars of rap on the regular, often twice in one song excluding the hook/chorus, so it isn’t really any mean feat by me, but it is progress in the sense that I have proven to myself that I am capable of writing more. I’ve set a new bar for myself in the length of work that I have to put in, so let’s hope I can reach this new bar regularly in the songs that are written from this point on. Baby steps, man. Baby steps.

Having said that, I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from this one track so far from people on twitter. I am very grateful that people are willing to listen to my stuff, let alone say that they like what they are hearing. I am humbled.

I know that I haven’t produced any really significant work yet, since I have yet to have haters in the song-writing arena. I am actually of the belief that if you have haters, then you’re doing something meaningful, because people hate seeing other people doing meaningful work. But this isn't to say that having haters is the only marker of success. People shouldn’t strive to gain haters. That’s just plain ridiculous. 

Here’s how I see it. You need to keep an eye on your liker:hater ratio. If your haters form the minority of your feedback base, then you’re doing good and should continue doing whatever you’re doing. But if your haters actually form the majority of the pack, then you should take a step back and re-examine what you’re doing, whether you actually believe in the work you’re doing or if it’s bringing any good to the world. Have another look at your minority of likers, and try to understand why they like you anyway, even though a lot more people are haters. Do they have something to gain from liking your stuff? Do they give their honest opinions on your work? Are they still reasonable in their actions and defence of their taste? Once you’ve observed and found the answers to these questions, and if you’re honest with yourself, then you can decide whether or not to continue on the path that you’ve chosen or modify your approach.

At least that’s how I see it.