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4Point Fam Only
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[Road to 100 Songs]
#105 - "Unstoppable"
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Brandon, Ellice, John, Kayla, Loren, Melissa, Robert, Steve and Sydney)😎
About the Song 📝
Every once in a while, you need a lil kick in the ass to get after it
That's what the haters, bless their soul, did for me!
Ever since a couple of our songs have popped off on social media, people have been clowning on me
Soft, dorky, gay, untalented, childish, corny... the list goes on
It's taking me back to a place I haven't been in since 2018
When I was first trying to break free of my mental cages and get my skills up as a rapper
...
I was a freshman in college, a time when most people are drinking, partying and enjoying temporary pleasures
But I was locked in
I'd wake up, go to class, rush to the library and get all my homework done before dinner so after dinner I could hit the gym, make a protein smoothie, and hit the studio
I'd carry my recording equipment across campus and record til midnight or 1 in the morning before walking back, knocking tf out, and doing it all again
I worked in secret, not sharing what I was up to with anyone but my closest friends
It gave me fuel to know that while everyone else was going about their normal lives, I was laying the groundwork to become something they didn't even think was possible
Something I hadn't thought I was capable of
...
My friends thought I was crazy
And I'd laugh and play along
"Yeah yeah, I am crazy, haha"
But inside, I knew that they were the crazy ones
They couldn't see that with every moment of inaction, every moment of normalcy, they were giving up the chance to live a life beyond anything they could dream of
If I had listened to my friends all those years ago and "just joined the party," I wouldn't have conquered my social anxiety, I wouldn't have toured the Americas with a rock band, I wouldn't have collabbed with a Grammy winner, and I wouldn't have met my incredible girlfriend
...
Normal might be okay for some people
But if you want to live the life of an artist, you need to follow your own rules
Do what’s best, not what’s popular.
And when they don't understand you, keep going
It means you're doing something right.
Road to 100 Songs Playlist 🎸
[Road to 100 Songs]
#104 - "2 Girls at 1 Time"
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Brandon, Ellice, John, Kayla, Loren, Melissa, Robert, Steve and Sydney)😎
About the Song 📝
Just got back from a seriously dope weekend with my producer Dustin in Atlanta
Now that I moved to Chicago we switched from recording one song every week, to recording a bunch of songs one long weekend every month
Frontier flies non stop back and forth for 60 bucks round trip, which is insane
This time, we pushed ourselves harder than we ever have, cooking up 5 new songs for you in 5 days!
...
I used to think there was a tradeoff between quality and quantity
That's why I'd spend so long on each song
But true artists don't think that way
We strive for quality AND quantity
Abundance
And to do that, I need to get faster
So I've been practicing my speed
I was nervous about doing 5 songs in one weekend, but I fought the excuses masquerading as "perfectionism"
And committed to working at a quick pace
This let us stay in flow, not giving us any time overthink, staying in the creative energy
...
But how do we make sure we're not rushing?
What's the bar for "quality" when focusing on speed?
The bar is: I have to be creating shit that's doper than my last shit, FASTER than my last shit
I think we did it
But this is one of the songs from the weekend
I'll let you decide if we hit the mark
[Shooting in Progress]
Life of a Dog: the Movie
Remember Life of a Dog?
It dropped to you guys 9 months ago, but remember... not everyone's in the 4Point Fam😈
To the public it's still unreleased... but I think it's about time to let them catch up
We're getting ready to drop the album to the rest of the world, and me and the homie Drew are going out and shooting movies to go with each of the songs
Every track has it's own unique storyline, character and setting to communicate the message
They come together to tell the story of the album: perseverance, coming into your own, and winning as you
...
For the final song on the project, Worst Rapper Alive, we got inspired by the underdog story in the movie Rocky and created my alter-ego: 4Point Rocky
He's the shadow self that I leaned on when I was 18, 19 and 20 to create 4Point from scratch, back when I had no talent, no supporters and no momentum
Here's some snippets from the shoots... none of it is finished, but I wanted to show you guys what we've been working on these last few weeks!!!
[Road to 100 Songs]
#103 - "Aladin"
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Ellice, John, Kayla, Loren, Melissa, Robert, Steve and Sydney)😎
About the Song 📝
I had a conversation with a friend the other day that hit me hard
He told me how hopeless he's been in his dating life, how he feels like he'll never find someone who likes him, he doesn't know what to do, and he's basically given up
This story is more and more common these days, and I relate to it
A few years ago I felt the same way
...
We live in a culture that only tells us half the story
We're taught how our feelings are "okay" and "valid"
But not that we could actually change them if we tried
It gives us binoculars and points out every last vulture around us
But somehow it forgets to tell us that we have a sword
It teaches us how to dissect all the little leaks in the house we live in
But not where to find the toolbox sitting on our basement floor
...
My generation wasn't trained how to be the hero
We were taught how to think about being a victim
...
That really sucks, and leaves a lot of us unequipped to face the world
Without the toughness it takes to do important things…
Like get a job
and find love.
When I hear about people who've gone off the deep end, I feel for them
There are definitely some wackos out there who would struggle in any time and in any culture
But my hunch is that most of them just haven't been shown that there's a way
A way that relies on courage, not the cards we were dealt
That's what David Goggins and Jordan Peterson did for me years ago
And what I want to do for the 4Point Fam:
Show people there's a way to win as you.
...
I hope song #103 makes you think a little
If you've got opinions, agree/disagree with my take on things, let me know. I'd be interested to hear them
And as always,
Keep grinding, keep shining.
U R > U KNOW
[Road to 100 Songs]
#101 - "Cotton Candy Dreams"
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Ellice, John, Kayla, Loren, Melissa, Robert, Steve and Sydney)😎
About the Song 📝
my girlfriend dropped a bomb on me last week that she feels nervous about me doing music as my career
it really sucked to hear and got me thinking a lot about what i want, where i'm headed and how things are gonna turn out
i wrote a few songs really fast in the span of just a few days, which is rare for me
i was in flow, just banging them out, the words came out super naturally
guess i had a lot to get off my chest
...
this is the first of those songs, #101, the start of the next 100 (which if you missed my last email, we're doing for charity)
...
i'm gonna hit this next 100 with an even bigger fire
i feel pressure from myself to take the music to the next level, and i wanna make this next album the best one of my life
and i feel pressure from the outside to start making some money
because my girlfriend deserves more than a broke rapper
thank you as always for being on the journey with me
and supporting me through the ups and downs
i hope you're ready for the dopest music yet.
keep grinding, keep shining
U R > U KNOW
we did it😎
7 Years, 100 songs in the history books📚
full playlist coming soon.
for now, i wanted to thank you:
this journey started 7 years ago when i was a senior in high school and i decided to pick up the pen and write my first song
at that time i didn't have a grand mission
i was just a confused kid who used music as a way to process his emotions
i recorded song #1 in my boy Joel's closet because he was the only one i knew who had a mic and recording software on his computer
it took me 5 years to get to song #30, writing in my spare time between classes and work and going into the school studio after hours to record when i could
then i started studying the art of transformation and learned that getting good at something takes not just "quality" but RIDICULOUS levels of volume too
so last year, we had an idea: let's record a song every week until we hit 100
at the time it felt so far away, but here we are!!
100 songs in the books
i hope it's shown us all what's possible when we chip away at something bit by bit for a long time
if you compare song #1 to song #99, it's pretty amazing how much we've grown
from utter dogshit to something that touches hundreds of people literally all over the globe
i started this shit WITHOUT talent
but i believed i could change
if there's one thing i wanted to prove with this project, it's that we don't have to accept the cards that were handed to us
with courage and consistency, we have the power to decide who we are
thank you so much for being in the Fam and supporting me, Dustin, and all my producers and collaborators on this journey
we're not done growing... (in fact, when i announce what's coming NEXT, you'll see we're really just getting started)
...but i wanted to take a moment to celebrate the milestone and thank you for being a part of it
keep an eye out for the playlist of all 100 songs coming in a few days
and remember...
U R > U KNOW.
keep grinding, keep shining
-4Point
[Road to 100 Songs]
#99 - "Ain't Nothin"
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Chris, Ellice, John, Loren, Robert, Steve and Sydney)😎
About the Song 📝
this is a fun one😎
i've been inspired by the haters this last few months, and wrote quite a few songs in response to their bad vibes
this is another one in the series
a lighthearted bop for your run-ins with your own haters, either internal or external
a lot of people let resistance stop them
but in the 4Point Fam we use it as fuel to get more lit🔥
keep grinding, keep shining
U R > U KNOW
[Road to 100 Songs]
#95 - "Win as You"
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Brennan, Chris, Ellice, John, Loren, Robert, Steve and Sydney)😎
About the Song 📝
Another one for the haters... 😈
Growing up I felt pressure to fit in
I saw examples of winners at school getting girls and being popular
And heard examples of winners in pop and rap music partying and living crazy lifestyles
None of them were like me
For a while I tried to conform
To become more like them so I could get the things they had
To an extent that’s healthy... imitating people who do things better than us is part of growing up
But looking back I wasn't always following the best examples
Part of my reason for making music is to show people like me that we don't have to do all the bullshit to be successful
You can be yourself and still be popular
You can be a dork and still get girls
You can do something that matters and still get money
You can make honest, trend-defying music and still make it (still working on that one lol!)
so fuck em all...
win as you
[Road to 100 Songs]
#94 - "Believe in Me"
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Brennan, Chris, Ellice, John, Loren, Robert, Steve and Sydney)😎
About the Song 📝
if you follow me on social media you've probably noticed the insane amount of hate comments we get
it's a little ridiculous sometimes ngl
this song is a response to the haters... and it turned out to be pretty hard if i do say so myself
...
for a long time my goal was to not care what anyone thought of me, so that fear of rejection wouldn't stop me from putting myself out there
i'd intentionally do embarrassing shit to train my brain to face the fear
it's one of the best things i've ever done, and i highly recommend it to anyone who wants to live life as an artist
but "not caring" what other people think isn't exactly right
you're probably always going to care, at least a little bit... and you should
to not feel emotions at all is some psychopath shit
what people mean (i hope) when they say "don't care" what other people think is really learning to care what YOU THINK MORE
every day that i post i'm a little scared that the song sucks and nobody's gonna like it
but i post it anyway
an artist listens to external voices, but always returns to their own
keep grinding, keep shining
U R > U KNOW
-4Point
[Road to 100 Songs]
#88 - "Summer of Me and You"
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Brennan, Chris, Ellice, John, Loren, Robert, Steve and Sydney)😎
About the Song 📝
I tried something really different with this song
Or honestly "tried" is the wrong word
I just heard the beat and was inspired
To start singing
The song is about me and my amazing girlfriend, who I met here in Atlanta right before I'm about to move to Chicago
It's a bittersweet feeling, the joy of falling in love with the sadness that we're about to be apart
It didn't feel like a rap song
It felt like a folk song
When I initially wrote it out, I sung it in the style of the folk music my dad used to sing to me
I think I subconsciously absorbed the influence as a kid
Then I added the little section of rap at the end to elaborate on the idea
I was nervous to record it because I'm not the best singer
But I really love how it turned out
Let me know how YOU think it turned out lol
Should I keep singing?
keep grinding, keep shining
U R > U KNOW
-4Point
[Road to 100 Songs]
#84 - "Time on the Run"
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Brennan, Chris, Ellice, John, Loren, Robert, Steve and Sydney)😎
About the Song 📝
I've gotten to know a lot of you on a personal level this year
We've texted, talked on the phone, seen each other at shows, even in other countries
It's been so dope in a ton of different ways
One of the things that's struck me is how incredible your stories are
You guys are battling a lot of shit in your lives
But still getting up, kicking ass and getting after it
The 4Point Fam is filled with some beasts!!🔥
I used to write about me, for me
But recently I've found myself more and more writing for you
Dedicated to my man Alvin, this song is inspired by several of your stories
That really made an impact on me
No matter what you're going through
Remember that you're important
And there's more to you than you realize
Keep grinding, keep shining
-4Point
[Road to 100 Songs]
#83 - "Irreplaceable" (in progress)
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Brennan, Chris, Ellice, John, Loren, Robert, Steve and Sydney)😎
About the Song 📝
this was one of the most spontaneous songs i've written
a dope UK artist by the name of Lady sent me a track she was working on, and i immediately caught the vibe so i asked her if i could hop on a remix
she was down and i added it to my backlog of features and collabs to finish
then a few weeks ago i realized i was going to be in London, and asked where in the UK she was based
turns out she's in london too so i hurried up and wrote something for our collab so we could record it in person when i got there🔥
the file i have is the rough mix of my part only (i wrote one super long verse and we're gonna chop it up and weave it into Lady's hook and verse to make the song)
we might keep all of it, but we'll probably trim it down to only the dopest parts
which sections do you think we should keep?
i personally think the second half is stronger but i'm curious to know what you think
Keep grinding, keep shining
4Point
[Road to 100 Songs]
#82 - "When in Rome"
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Brennan, Chris, Ellice, John, Loren, Robert, Steve and Sydney)😎
About the Song 📝
i've been working on my delivery lately
my writings always been my strength as an artist but i've felt more and more like my voice was a little bland
so i came to this session with the focus to play around with my voice and delivery to make the vibe more varied, unique and interesting
i'd love to know how you think i did
i like to have one area of focus for every recording session, and this'll probably be my focus for the next few months
U R > U KNOW.
Keep Grinding, Keep Shining,
4Point
[Road to 100 Songs]
#81 - "Happy in Love"
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Brennan, Chris, Ellice, John, Loren, Robert, Steve and Sydney)😎
About the Song 📝
love is scary
for a long time i shunned it to focus on myself
part of that was important... i felt like i needed to grow my pea before i joined a pod
but i have grown
and i need to shed the lone wolf mindset and embrace the wonder and vulnerability of being with someone who cares about you
it's not easy for me
my solo lifestyle became comfort
and routine
but i'm working on taking the leap
and ngl it's pretty lit!
U R > U KNOW.
Keep Grinding, Keep Shining,
4Point
[Road to 100 Songs]
#80 - "One Family" family👨👩👧👦
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Brennan, Chris, Ellice, John, Loren, Robert, Steve and Sydney)😎
About the Song 📝
I wrote this song the day I got back from Mexico City
I was doing my morning freestyle walk and vibing with the flowers
Atlanta had bloomed in the 3 weeks I was away, and it was a fitting setting for some sentimental vibes
My trip to mexico had me thinking a lot about what I've done in life, where I want to go, and what's important to me
For years it was my dream to reach a place where I could work remotely, make music from anywhere, and see the world
And don't get me wrong, being able to experience the food and people and culture of Mexico City was dope af
But it wasn't all I thought it would be when I fantasized about it all those years ago
I've been lucky enough to see a lot of places, and through that experience I've realized that it's less about WHERE you are, and more about WHAT you're doing there and WHO you're doing it with
Ambition is great, and as you guys know the journey of self improvement has been a huge part of my life and who I am as an artist
But sometimes you gotta take a day to walk down your street and watch the flowers bloom
Every year they giving grammys...
But you only got one family
Keep grinding, keep shining,
-4Point
P.S. I'm gonna close pre-orders on Monday and there's just one special one left... if you want it, now's the time :)
[Road to 100 Songs]
#79 - "In the Struggle"💪
Song named by the 4Point Founders
(Andrew, Anna, Brandon, Brennan, Chris, Ellice, John, Loren, Robert and Steve)😎
About the Song 📝
I remember the early days of writing music
After I had decided I was gonna be a rapper but LONG before I was any good
I'd find beats on YouTube and write to them in my parents' basement
I showed them to a few people but no one really took them seriously...
^baby 4Point writing music with his mic propped up on his textbooks😂
Looking back I don't understand why I was so convinced I was gonna make it...
I really was not good at all😂
But that's part of the beauty of it
My conviction trumped the facts
And because I believed I was good, I kept going, until eventually I was
^Me and WANZ cooking up "Monster," our collab single on the new album
I've come a long way since those early days and I'm proud of how far we've taken it
But I still have that chip on my shoulder mentality from the years when no one listened.
Thank you for being one of the "Day One's"
And I hope you enjoy song #79, "In the Struggle"
Keep grinding, keep shining,
-4Point
P.S. if you wanna get your name in the credits of the new album with WANZ, there's still 2 spots left :)