A few insights I’d like to share about an interesting Stanford E-corner podcast with QD3 and Chamillionaire. My first thought: Successful rap-artists are much smarter and business savvy than the public gives them credit for. It’s no accident these guys make millions of dollars. Second thought: these guys really get how to market & sell their products.

Chamillionaire was great. First thing I noticed  – he connected with the audience right away. It wasn’t him trying to prove he was ‘in’ with the Stanford crowd; it was just him acting naturally, like he would act at a concert.  And everyone became more engaged, myself included. I have listened to a few of these talks from CEOs of successful startups, and none of them ‘hooked’ me like as Chamillionaire. It fit right into what he was saying – your product needs to be authentic. Your audience can’t connect with you otherwise. It doesn’t matter if you are selling rap records or insurance policies.

I was at a Jay-Z concert last night; after listening to this talk,  I noticed that Jay-Z took a lot of time during his set to connect with the audience. Unlike some other performance art, good rappers take the time to be intimate with their fans.

Another thing that I noticed was the relative meritocracy of the rap world. I can’t say how widespread it is, but it seems there is less focus on pedigree and more evaluation based on quality. These guys get grass-roots distribution and marketing; nobody told them they needed an ad agency, so they talked to people they knew to spread buzz. They didn’t have the budget for print or TV, so they embraced the internet early. They are still quick to embrace new media as well – Twitter, iPhone, whatever. They don’t need to see a case study first – if it interests them, they try it.

Last thing – the effort they put into their work is phenomenal. As small artists working against big labels, it’s a David vs. Goliath situation, and they understand that. They understand they need to be more agile, defy social convention and work harder. When we listen to the final product it seems effortless, but it is equal parts work and brilliance that create a great album.

QD3 stated that last year, only indie labels made a profit. If indie gamemakers hope to survive against Goliaths like EA and Activision, we need to understand the lessons of the indie rapper.