Pugs Atomz x Afro on Rubyhornet.com

Pugs does "freestyle in the park" for Rubyhornet.com

New Mustafa Rocks Interview

Rubyhornet.com Interview

Chicago DJ and clothing designer Mustafa Rocks is a man of wisdom in the fashion and music world. The creator of the Brotha Man and Afrowear clothing lines, as well as a ridiculously skilled DJ, Mustafa has navigated difficult industries to achieve success. That's not to say he hasn't learned the hard way. Both music and fashion are known to chew up and spit out creative types, especially those just happy to be making any money for their creative efforts. But if not careful, such efforts can become lucrative for all parties involved except the artist truly behind them. Mustafa Rocks knows the game well, and recently dropped knowledge on the RH crew during an in-depth interview on the South Side of Chicago. The full interview, which also featured gems from emcee Pugs Atomz, will be hitting the web this week, but we thought we'd jump the gun with these helpful tips from Mustafa himself, who signed a quick deal in his younger days that wasn't exactly "artist friendly." He told us, "I just did it because I wasn't making s**t and went from making nothing to making something. I said to myself, 'this is an opportunity and I don't want to blow it.' But I didn't know my self-worth at the time until they started selling the stuff."

So how do you know when you're getting a raw deal? Mustafa says, "When you're looking at the wrong end of the stick it says 'net' instead of 'gross.' That's one thing. When people try to rush you to sign something, that's a red flag..And definitely what you don't want to do is sign anything without a lawyer present. The company is looking out for their best interest, but you don't have anybody looking out for your best interest. You have to have their lawyers go back and forth until you have a happy medium and everybody's happy."

http://www.rubyhornet.com/index.php/blog/new-post/26-blog/944-words-of-wisdo