How to Get a Record Deal With Grand Hustle

Started in 2003 by bestselling Atlanta-based rapper T. I. (Clifford Harris), Grand Hustle Records is rapidly becoming one of the top labels in rap and hip hop. With an up and coming roster that includes MCs like T. I., P$C, DJ Drama, and Young Dro, Grand Hustle is primed to do big things in the United States and internationally. An understanding of the type of music Grand Hustle has produced, as well as the artists on its roster, can help your chances of getting a deal from the label.

Make sure you’ve got the talent to join a prime time rap label like Grand Hustle. Work on your lyrics, flow, and musical composition. Be very self critical and solicit as much feedback as you can from friends, family, and neutral parties to make sure you’re as good as you possibly can be.

Become familiar with the type of music Grand Hustle Records currently produces. Make sure your work is compatible with what they are bringing to the market.

Prove your ability as an MC. Record demo tracks or an entire CD, create a website, and accounts at free social networking sites like "Myspace" and "Youtube" to strut your stuff. The more exposure you get, the greater the chance Grand Hustle will take an interest in you. If you can demonstrate your talent, marketability, and some kind of fan base to their Artists and Repertoire Department, you’re well above the competition that just sends in demos and hopes for the best.

Consider contacting some of the artists on Grande Hustle’s roster. People like P$C, DJ Drama, and Young Dro are very busy recording, touring, and answering fan mail, so it’s not a given you’ll get through to them, and you’ll probably have to go through their agents, publicists or managers. But considering the clout they have in the music business, and at Grand Hustle Records in particular, an endorsement from them could significantly raise your chances of getting noticed by the talent spotters.

Contact Grand Hustle Records A&R Department. Put together a package of your recordings, a press kit listing venues you’ve performed at, and other relevant biographical details, and mail it to one of Grand Hustle's A&R representatives. Be sure to address the package to somebody specifically and not just the department itself.