The deal might be different but the fact is the same as it always was, Cognito is ready. Oakland rap legend Too Short once said to “Get In Where You Fit In,” a message to put yourself in a place where you belong. After ten years of persistent hustling in the California rap game, fellow Bay Area rapper Cognito has found himself a perfect fit in Strange Music, the most successful indie rap label in the world. With his Strange Music debut, Automatic
, set to drop next week on April 20th and with a nationwide tour on the horizon, Cognito’s persistence has paid off, and the stage is set for him to take his career to the next level. The deal with Strange is no coincidence, for Cognito and his new home with a label that shares the same principles that have generated their respective success: tireless work ethic, a close and personal relationship with the fans, and above all, an unbridled passion to create great music.
This isn’t Cog’s first walk in the park. From the job he landed at 16 as a member of E-40′s street team, to having record deals with labels owned by Bay Area heavyweight Mike Mosley and rap star/entrepreneur Master P, to touring around the nation with Bay Area legend Andre Nickatina, Cognito is already a seasoned veteran of the scene as well as the music business. Though his previous deals were not the right fit, Cognito’s determination has never wavered. “I don’t regret any of the deals I’ve done,” he says, “I took what I could learn out of each one and applied it to get to the next step.” It was this hunger that quickly attracted D-Buck to Cognito’s wing, who left his position as A&R for Mike Mosley’s Steady Mobbin’ record label to push Cognito’s career. D-Buck shares his first encounter with Cog,
Cognito and D-Buck
“I had him hop in my car when I was doing promo work for Steady Mobbin’. He played some tracks for me. I didn’t really like the tracks, but I thought he was dope. I gave him five tracks and told him to write something to them, not expecting to hear from him in at least a week or two. Two days later he calls me and says he’s got all the songs done. I was like ‘damn…this dude is serious.’ I listened to the tracks and they were hot.”
Along the path of his hip-hop journey, Cognito caught the attention of the one and only Violet Brown, Urban Music buyer for Trans World, the largest music chain in the business. A heavyweight figure in the music business, she has rubbed shoulders with everyone in the rap game that you could imagine. “I listen to hip hop all day long as a buyer and I hear absolutely everything. When Cognito’s music came across my desk, I knew I had to know him, work with him and hear as much of his music as possible.” When Violet backs an artist, people listen. She gave what she heard to Travis O’Guin, Strange Music CEO, and the rest is history. Being that her favorite rapper is Tech N9ne, she’s excited as can be: “The Strange Music logo has become a major force in hip hop. They are selective about who they sign and I am glad, proud, and ecstatic that they have brought Cognito into their elite roster of artists.”
Strange Music is known for it’s grueling tours and for giving fans close access to the artists. Doing more than a 100 shows a year would be daunting for most newly signed artists to the label, but not Cognito. He’s been doing tours for years. During his stint under Master P’s Gutta Music label, Cognito had the pleasure and privilege of touring around the country with none other than Bay Area rap legend Andre Nickatina. During this time he did over 100 shows a year, building a name for himself on the underground scene. DJ Pause, who DJ’d for Nickatina and Cognito during the tour, was impressed right from the start. “I could tell that he’d been rocking the stage for awhile. He worked with the crowd, fed off the crowd, and even got me involved the first time I worked with him. He got me involved right off the bat.” Fans soon took notice as well. DJ Pause reflects: ”Put it this way: when he first asked me to start DJ’ing for him, it was in Idaho. When we went back the next year, his fanbase had doubled…at least. It was a trip.”
Being a label with a fan-first mentality has always been a staple of Strange Music’s way of doing business. V.I.P Packages, ustream broadcasts, twitters, forums, and a near-constant stream of shows and releases throughout the year have solidified Strange as a label set after the hearts of their fans. According to Cognito, this is right up his alley.
“The fans they have are real fans. Strange fans are real: they’re not built, made-up fans based off of one single because the label spent 10 million dollars trying to get radio or video play, and didn’t get real fans. Strange gained real fans. I’m a personal dude, I’m a personal artist. I like being personal with my fans, I like talking to my fans, I like hanging out with my fans, and that’s all Strange is about. They appreciate the fans as much as the fans appreciate them, and that’s something you usually don’t see in the music business.”
After a long journey through all the highs and lows that the music business has to offer, Cognito has finally found a home at Strange Music, and is as ready as ever to make a name for himself. Though success in this business is never certain, with an independent powerhouse like Strange Music by his side, the sky is the limit for Cognito.
Automatic is available in stores and on iTunes April 20th, 2010.
