DISCLAIMERI do not own nor claim to own anything but the arrangement and design of this booklet/magazine. Each item used in this booklet/magazine has been referenced to its original location.

Lyrics were obtained from VIMA.

Music and video is under the copyrights of Egoistic Records.

Artists profile obtained from their respective Facebook pages.

I did this because I love this song and I have too much free time.

Social RapIan Yee (The Star R.AgE)

Everything was done in his studio, a small of-fice space on the first floor of a nondescript row of shop lots in Puchong, Selangor. They recorded the tracks, shot the video and did post-production all on their own, independent style. Ego even made the green screen for the videos background graphics himself, sewing lengths of green fabric together, and set up his own studio lighting by using fluorescent lights removed from his office ceiling.

Ego then posted the finished article, a track and music video called Run This, on his labels YouTube channel, Ego-centricTV.

The video immediately started clocking close to a thousand hits per day. Within eight days, it hit an impressive 10,000 views.

Now that might not seem like much compared to all the international YouTube sensations flooding the market right now, but for a Malay-sian artiste in a genre like hip-hop thats still pretty much in its infancy here, thats a whole lot of hits.

I was checking the statistics and there were about 900 people watching a day. I was like, where are all these people coming from?

But people are on their PCs all the time now

doesnt matter if theyre at work or at home. I mean, Im on Twitter right now on my phone, said Ego, waving his smartphone.

The stats also showed that most of the hits for Run This had come from people clicking on links that had been shared on Facebook.

With airtime on mainstream radio and TV get-ting harder and harder to come by, local hip-hop artistes are starting to turn to social media to get their music heard, and its been going pretty well for them.

Fans of the local hip-hop scene now stay up to date by logging on to YouTube or Facebook to watch the latest performances, music videos

Rapper and Egoistic Records CEO Edmund Anand showing the music video for Run This, a project featuring seven top local rappers (including himself) which Edmund produced independently. The video has gone viral, getting more than 10,000 hits in just over a week.

Rapper Edmund Anand, 24, aka Ego, recently got a few of his friends from the local hip-hop scene together to record a track and shoot a video.

and freestyle battles.

Using tools like YouTube and MySpace to help spread music isnt anything new, but in Malay-sia in particular, hip-hop artistes are starting to realise just how well hip-hop and social media go together.

Rapper Ashtin Sanjiv, 20, aka M.I.O, recorded a video of himself freestyling using a basic digital camera.

Rapper Ashtin Sanjiv, a.k.a. M.I.O., once posted a simple video of himself freestyling and it got over a thousand views. Now, hes planning to release his upcoming album with hip-hop duo Random Thoughts using YouTube.Pleased with the result, he posted it on You-Tube and just like that his video got over a thousand hits.

A spontaneous track like that would probably have never stood a chance of making it to main-stream radio, but on social media, stuff thats done on the fly fits in just right.

Most of the other videos on EgocentricTV have over a thousand hits as well, and with the suc-cess of Run This, their future videos would probably average even higher.

But its not just the potential exposure with social media that M.I.O is excited about. Its the creative possibilities.

Ive been rapping for as long as I can remem-ber, he said. But with social media now, the games really changing not just for hip-hop but music in general.

Its been good for hip-hop in particular because there are fewer boundaries on social media. You can be more creative, and you can say whatever you want.

Even the publicity for his new album will be done using a relatively new idea.The album, by M.I.O and fellow rapper Umair Al-Zubair Amirhamzah, 24 (aka Al-Z), who to-gether form hip-hop duo Random Thoughts, will be promoted using the annotations function in YouTube, which allows users to insert links onto a video.

Well be uploading previews of each track on a single YouTube video, and youll be able to click on the annotations at the beginning of the video to take you straight to the track you want to hear, explained M.I.O. People now want to find everything they want in one page. They dont want to have to click around, so this solves that problem.

Al-Z had been out of the hip-hop game for five years before making his comeback with Ran-dom Thoughts, and he was surprised at how quickly things had grown with social media dur-ing his absence.

Rapper Al-Z took a five-year break from the hip-hop scene, and he was surprised to see how the game had changed with the emergence of social media.

When I got back, everybody was promoting online, he said. I was on Blast Off (a reality TV talent competition) with another hip-hop group before all this that was one phase in the mu-sic industry, with all the reality competitions. But now its the Internet, and social media.

Even Joe Flizzows well-established Kartel Records now pushes their music through social media, and one of their most well-know names, Altimet, says it only makes sense for hip-hop to move in that direction.

Hip-hop has always been about social network-ing, even before social media. It started out underground, relied a lot on word-of-mouth and doing things like handing out vinyls and collabo-rating with each other.

So doing all this (social media networking) is almost like second nature to hip-hop, said Altimet.

And with social media, Altimet adds, it can be about so much more than just trying to create the next viral hit. If you learn how to capitalise on certain trends and situations, you can raise your visibility as an artiste overnight.

Its like with Malaysian Boy (the Malaysian version of Kanye West and Estelles American Boy). There was a rumour that Kanye was go-ing to sue us, so we capitalised on that. Just from that one incident, I got an extra 2,000 fol-lowers on Twitter.

Everyone thought I must have been scared because they thought I was going to get sued, but it was actually a really good week for me, he said.

Staying connectedIn recent times, hip-hop has become associated with the whole bling culture, where everythings flashy and big and expensive.

But according to rapper Kraft, who co-owns in-dependent label A-Hustle-Lah Records, hip-hop actually came from a very different place.

Hip-hop is about everyday life, said Kraft, one of the rappers featured in Run This. The ori-gins of hip-hop are not manufactured it comes

from poverty and pain. So hip-hop is very cul-tural. Its about society. And whats the best way to keep in touch (with society) now? Social media.

Kraft says hes been on both sides on main-stream media where some of his tracks have gotten airtime, and on social media so hes in a good position to comment.

His breakthrough single Diamonds was actually an accidental social media success. He posted the song online to get some feedback, but then radio stations picked up on it and before he knew it, it became a hit.

For Kraft, being tuned in to whats going on in society is essential in hip-hop, and social media helps artistes maintain that connection.

The essence of music is, do you touch people or not? he said. Sometimes people think were not doing anything because they dont hear us on the radio. But on social media, were always connected.

But Kraft is also quick to emphasise that there are pros and cons with taking hip-hop to social media.

For one, he says social media is starting to get the hobbyists mistaking themselves for profes-sionals. I play football, but that doesnt make me a footballer, he said.

Also, he says some rappers are now so focused on building social media followings that per-forming live takes a back seat.

But even then he admits that these days, it can actually be easier to connect with your fans on social media compared to live performances.

Even when Im performing, Im not necessarily reaching my demographic. Ive had old aun-ties at my show bobbing their heads along. But in social media, you are reaching your direct market.

If youre a jazz artiste, your crowd is prob-ably the people buying Mercedes and smoking cigars. Thats who you play to. With hip-hop, the crowd is on social media, he said.

Another reason why social media has worked so well for Malaysian hip-hop, according to M.I.O, is because of how tight the local scene is.

Social media is helping to keep this relatively small community together, allowing artistes and fans alike to stay in touch and in the know about all thats been going on be it a new track release, an up-coming event or a spontane-ous rap battle that was captured by someones cellphone camera.

In Malaysia, we can have a rap battle, diss each others mothers, and then go for mamak after that.

Were all friends thats why it works on social media. Were a community, said M.I.O.

Some of the rappers on Run This were even from rival record labels, but Ego decided to do the video together anyway.

He said: Hip-hop is all about the ego trip, the rivalry, trying to be bigger than each other But at the end of the day, were actually all friends.

Going viralAccording to Ego, the most important thing to remember if youre an artiste looking to utilise social media is to find a concept that can poten-tially go viral.

The whole point, he says, is to create some-thing that people would want to share, whether its on their Facebook statuses or their Twitter timelines.For Malaysian hip-hop, the best place to start doing that is by making a music video.

People wont listen to your stuff online if you dont have a video now, said Ego.Egos record label Egoistic Records, which he started with his brother, produces videos for lo-cal artistes. He says hes often approached by people who either want to make flashy videos with lots of girls, or simple videos with no con-cept.

Now a lot of artistes just make music videos for the sake of it. But with social media, the music video is the pinnacle of your promotion strategy. If youre song is good, but your video is bad, theres no way itll work, he said.

Original Article:http://rage.com.my/content/stories/social-rap/

Run This! The Good, The Badd & The Braggadocious

VIMAMasterminded by Ego, and featuring the finest of the land (Jin Hackman, Tactmatic, Roshan Jamrock, Sonaone, Sayla, Kraft ) heres an exclusive insight into what went down and how all the egos let it flow .

a) Tell us how did you come up with the con-cept of the video for the song and how did you manage to get so many talented rappers in one video shoot and song?I was always aware of the scene and fascinated by the Hip Hop Industry in Malaysia which gave me a view of the culture.

Being an avid patron of the Hip Hop scene in Malaysia, I was greatly fascinated by the amount of unseen talent. I saw an opportunity to unite the unexposed talents that I was partic-ularly interested in. The hip hop scene is known to be a braggadocious scene where rappers rap about their experiences and battle it out amongst each other through their verses. I felt Hip Hop in Malaysia was lacking the essence of good quality production in the form of music videos. I had the concept of the video in my mind which I dreamt about while working on the song collaboration. Most of these rappers in the song/video happened to be really close friends of mine. To me, the video captured the true show-off underground culture of the Malay-sian Hip Hop scene and brought it main stream. (note the lack of chorus in the song).

b) What is the song all about?It is mainly to tell the public that its about time that Malaysian rappers Run This, regardless of what we run hence the term RUN THIS. Each rapper came with their own flavor to tell the world how they Run This.

c) The video has gone viral and is getting a lot of attention worldwide.Did you expect this to happen?Yes and no. I knew people were going to talk about it but I never expected it to go as viral as it did. I am humbled by the number of views and feedback it got.

d) When is your next release? are you planning to have more songs that invloves collaborations with local artists?I just released my new single called King Without a Crown featuring a talented young local artiste named Zamaera. I will definitely be placing more of my music out there in the near future and collaborating with more Malaysian artistes.

Original Article:http://bitemymusic.com/vima/run-this/

LyricsRUN THIS//EGO

EgoUh, call me Ego, thats my doppelgngerA maestro, make double bangers,And fair skin chicks call me handsome,Rob your bitch no ransom,And I make more hits than the Jacksons,I came to conquer Anglo Saxons,Whatcha know about labels,Deals on the table, lawyers and the cables,And I make this hit with a flick with a mix,And half of this chicks wanna have my kids,And Im never gonna quit like a habit, have it,Shit so real as a hazard, fit like a misfit,And Im way far past it, cop my styles gonna make you look pasted,And I feel real big like a fat chicks waist is,And you wasted.

JinHackmanHah! Hah!

Dope flowing, show you where my level is,Childish rappers shitting like bricks,Cause I run this, like a gold medalist,Fuck around, beat you with my mind like a mentalist,Superfly, you just a bird watcher,Im the cross between Dre and The Hurt Lock-er,In other words.. *boom* Im explosive mother fucker!Ill kill rappers with a spork for sport,Ill swap my squad, abort that thought,Ricky Ross suck my balls, Im the boss,Im Sivaji doing backward somersaults,Delivery so fresh so clean, I mean, Im mean!No one in your corner can touch me, broken iPad screen!Used to do it for kicks like a sneaker head,Now I do it for the love and to stack chips,But some cats aint eating on some techno shit,So keep your day job, is what I tell these kidsSwagger..

LyricsRUN THIS//JINHACKMAN

TactmaticWhat it look like

Wait for a second would you reckon that you never for a second thought that I wouldnt come and kill this shit,Im a skinny Indian kid, feeling a little bit big,My achievements are appealing bitch,Howre you ever gonna chase my level, when Im humble and Im never gonna be foolish kid,Bet a rapper know that in the middle of a flow that had gotten approval and Im through with this,Incredible, the flow I kick impeccable,This aint my cup of tea when fellas asking me, I tell em thatThis style is so original, this soul is from Adidas yo,I do it just for kicks its like Im living for my sneakers though,Kicking it with the Ego, cause he does know that hes a bro,The rest of yall can see the show cause being me aint feasible,What it look like though, Im done with that,So throw your cameras away, no need no photo finish,When I run this track, funny that,You keep my name out of your mouth like its a spoiled snack,It look what it look like

LyricsRUN THIS//TACTMATIC

Roshan JamrockThese other muthafuckers all illusional, cant rap for nuts think they cool like popsicles,All of these suckers aint shit to me, when they claim to be all I see is wack emcees,Wannabes, never gonbes wanna be me,How the hell you gon touch, what you cant reach, bitch,They dont really run shit, doing a nine-to-five past 7-11,Grab three for ten cans, bitch about me with their friends,Two plus two, who the fuck is the man?You might have swag, fancy clothesBut I make better music, everybody knows,Smoke when I wanna, drink when I wanna,Call the shots in, I make a club banger, bang her,Give her the ughh, like she wanna,Get with me, thats why her boy turn sour,Crunk mother lover, higher than the user,Filipino brother, lyric barrette,Im so sure this all makes sense, cause Im so drunk with confidence,Haaahh Hahaaaaa

LyricsRUN THIS//ROSHAN JAMROCK

SonaoneHello, hello, hello,What it do what it is,Everybody wanna know whats good where the kids,Still outta my mind, still stupid and sick,Like eww, ill be drooling a bit,Every little thing I do is huge,Ill be getting dumb like I blew a fuse,Got a lot of ladies I can pick and choose,Poking on my balls no Pikachu,Ew ew ew thats gross, like a baby puked on your clothes,And Ill be burning up the bowl in the kitchen,While you having soup with your folks,I agree, I might come off as just a little crazy,If they put me in asylums, theres no way that it can change me,Im an illness imma kill it,Well be on then it pandemic,When it hits you, you wont even have the time to f****** panic.

LyricsRUN THIS//SONAONE

SaylaLeggo, leggooo!Hold up, you be fronting?Drop a couple tracks you act like you mean something?Man, what have you been tokin?Stop penning about the bitches youve been FB pokin,Haa, Emcee Lohan all drama swasta, bitch you boring.Saylas got em swag-jackin, like Im Mikey ch-kha Jackson.You be feeling my soul when I be spitting my flow,Though Im keeping it low I know youre feeling it too, right?Cause the way Im pennin this is kinda like a novelist,Made a couple bad calls, kinda like Condo-leezz Rice,But Im back on the dynamo,Dig a little deeper for the gold, the scenes Guantanamo,Codename me Jeranimo, packin in that Cana-mo,Do to you what Platinum and Plan B did to P.Ammo, haa,Eyo, keep your chin up Jay Leno,Sing and rise with the sun Coldplay, Yellow,Im from another world dropping by just to say hello, Hello!So get off my coat tail and all.

LyricsRUN THIS//SAYLA

KraftIm told.. Im broke..Momma..Im on a hustleIm at it on a dailyAll day everydayIm okay..Im told.. Ive fold..Baby..How the fuck are these people gonna break me?When they already know they aint made me..Please lahIm told.. Im gold..Aint the average go getterIm an olympic medalist gold getterSO.Attitude crude like liquid goldHome boy K 87 born24K, Im purely goldIf I ally.. Im alloy..International KL boy..Truth be told..Off I go..

I got an awesome flowYoure so awful broSo move it broBefore I remove your soulOff you go.. off you go..Im told.. Ill so..Run this pretty much on boost controlSo if I loose controlIll reduce controlDown to cruise controlFuckers!Im a virus that risesAs scientist eye thisTheir iris recognizeIm ill.. Im realPlus Im told.. Im a proStep to the scene back fresh to deathIm right back where the fuck I leftKL KL holler backLets run this motherfuck-er man..Im your MY numero uno, motherfuckers.And you know that!

LyricsRUN THIS//KRAFT

Music VideoRUN THIS

Click on the image above to be directed to the music video.