Easy McCoy - Music & Motivation The “Easy” Way
Musical legend Michael Greene, aka Easy McCoy, joins Black Beat host, John Washington for an unforgettable glimpse into the 20+ year career of one of Portland’s premier hip-hop artists. Raised on the mean streets of Seattle's Yesler Terrace neighborhood, Easy McCoy has spent over 2 decades writing, publishing, performing and producing his music. His new endeavor, Entity music group, is focused on helping young artists seeking to forge pathways in the music industry and gives them opportunities to sign with the label. He is also a fitness aficionado and a dedicated believer in the power of faith, consistency, and having an indomitable spirit that never gives up.
What Black Beat Host, John Washington and Easy McCoy talk about:
His journey from the streets to Hip-Hop artist, lyricist, producer
His health and fitness regiment
Highs and lows experienced along the way
His perspective on current industry trends and how artists are monetizing their brands
Successes and challenges navigating the music scene
Thoughts and perspectives on race relations and realities in America pre and post pandemic
His latest endeavor, Entity Music Group
How he has navigated the effects of COVID-19 and resources he has tapped into to keep going
His advice and contact information for aspiring musicians hoping to sign with his label
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Looking at him, one might think that Michael Greene, aka "Easy McCoy" was born with it. His easy demeanor and soulful presence belies a difficult start growing up on the mean streets of Seattle's Yesler Terrace neighborhood. Rising triumphant from the rubble of his tumultuous childhood, McCoy has since enjoyed over 2 decades in the music industry, writing, publishing, performing and producing his music.
"Like a lot of young Black males growing up in the inner city, I came up having to believe in myself by any means necessary, so I made it happen with no excuses," he remembered. Minus a Father and Mother around to guide him, he experienced many challenges and pitfalls of navigating his reality on his own. “Being in the street led to being locked up for gang stuff, all those things that happen without a father in the home that was raising you or someone constantly really pushing me to do what was right," he shared. "That being said, those experiences led to me finding who I was and to spend over 20 years in the music industry, sharing my story and all of its ups and downs. The one thing I didn’t do was give up."
McCoy's spirit for making music was also rooted in his culture and experiences as a young man. “When you are raised in the inner city, gangs are part of the culture but music is also part of the culture. Hip Hop is a big part of the culture. At a young age, when I was rapping on the corner and freestyling with my homeboys beatboxing it, that was some kind of voice. Being raised in the inner city, people don’t really listen to your story because they don’t want to hear it, but when you start rapping it, they start paying attention.”
His sincerity and faith-based approach attracted the attention of a Christian music label who was eager to sign him on. Despite his imperative to share his story from a positive framework, McCoy resisted being put in a box. “I never looked at myself as a ‘Christian Rapper’. You don’t hear people say ‘There’s a Muslim Rapper’ or ‘There’s a Hindu Rapper’. I was just speaking my faith through my music. I got a record deal and with that record deal, I realized I could be in a positive light and that was cool. I’m not on the label anymore because my Jesus count wasn’t high enough. They want you to say Jesus all the time and at some point that becomes fake. They were trying to control me, what I say and how I say it. Me coming from where I come from, I knew that wasn’t going to hit the people I was trying to reach. I had to get loose of that control because I just want to do music. I don’t want to be pigeon holed. Whether you are painting, writing, breakdancing, or just dancing, we are all telling a story. So what story do I choose to tell you all? If I am talking about Christ, Yahweh, God, that’s a part of my story. Everything ain’t negative everything ain’t gun gun bang bang. There is family life. There is real structure there and as a Black artist, I really want to share that."
A critical component for McCoy is applying discipline to everything he does, including health and fitness. ”For anyone, Man or Woman, health and discipline is a big part. It translates over to your business, to your relationships, to how you handle your money and people in your life. It doesn’t mean me doing a thousand pushups, it means me being disciplined through changes in diet, changes in exercise, changes in habits. I am not perfect by any means but I’m learning to strive to do something different. I am waking up at 5am to work out or go running, I write rhymes all day and choose what I am putting in my body. I am 45-50 percent vegan, trying to get to 100 percent. Being aware, being conscious of the God body we got, that’s important to me because I wasn’t always conscious of that. Now I am doing my best every day to be conscious of that.”
The discipline it takes to maintain his Family structure is the foundation for his drive to succeed in business and life. "My Son needs help with homework and I have a new baby on the way and with that, I have to have incredible focus. My determination for getting up at 5 am is to see my fiancé and kids sleeping peacefully. That is my motivation to keep going. They know they can depend on me to do everything I need to do in my life and that’s important when you call yourself a King. When you got a castle, there is no sleeping in. To run a kingdom you got to be the best,” he said with a laugh.
While his journey has been steeped in successful high moments, he credits the low moments he has experienced for showing him the depth and breadth of his character. “When I kept going, I appreciated those lows a lot more. I’ve had moments when I sat in my home not knowing what I am going to do with my life, like when I lost two homes and when I was trying to deal with not being able to see my children. At the same time, I was continuing to do music, music deals, music videos, working out. The lows really lift you up when you understand the reason for them. Because it’s a test when life keeps throwing bricks at you to see if you will quit. It’s a simple thing. Never quit. Keep going, keep walking no matter how hard it gets. That’s why I do a thousand pushups. The hardest moments are in the beginning but by 700-800, it’s just flow. I break through. It’s all about breaking through. You gotta break through the lows because then you will appreciate the highs so much more.”
One of the highs that keeps McCoy going and striving forth, is helping other young artists break into the music industry and get paid well for their craft. Aside from touring and making albums, he also helps those with the drive to create and work hard to tap into other means of distributing their music.
“What I am focusing on is doing music for television, which I got into 15 years ago. I had always noticed that when I am watching TV, there is always music and somebody is paying for that. Somebody has to pay somebody else to use these songs. I cracked the code and discovered that it is a better way to hustle in the music game because you have more control over your career. You don’t have to tour, you don’t have to sell your Soul, you don’t have to give up your rights or do things that make you mad. Since I am already established now, I want to open up those same doors for these young people to be able to get deals on their own, not sell their Soul and be able to make money for their families and for their college. I'm trying to open up another way for these artists to tell stories with other stories."
His passion for helping artists find avenues to tell their stories and stories of others, led him to form his own label, Entity Music Group. "What I wanted to do with this team when I started Entity was to help artists out. I've seen too many artists get robbed, so many artists not get opportunities. I've seen talented artists be depressed because they put in so much work and nothing has ever happened. So for me and my team, for the publishers and other teams I work with, we created a forum where we could really help these artists, not rob them because we know how much money is in sync, how much money is in television. It's a $190 billion dollar industry. Touch even 1 percent of that and you will be changing lives. That's why we created Entity. We want to teach artists and creatives the business side too so they know the value they have."
Artists knowing their value are critical in a rapidly-changing industry with even more rapidly advancing opportunities. “With this digital industry, it is easy for artists to get in because you can create from home and there are so many different ways for artists to get paid through digital distribution channels. In the digital age, we are also talking crypto-currency which is kind of like an internet boon. Anyone who is smart can be capitalizing on it. By next year do you know how many millionaires there will be who have invested in NFT's(Non-fungible Tokens)? The sky's the limit, you just have to study. In this digital age with Netflix and streaming, music is needed for everything. It is so easy to do it if you work hard and know the right people. The lane is wide open."
His style and diverse portfolio include an upcoming album and numerous collaborative opportunities. “I have so many projects coming out like singles, ESPN, stuff with NIKE and more. I have got a project coming up with Northstar Media and singleS being released throughout the month of March and April. I am not exclusive. No one owns rights to just me. Every deal I do with companies, I do on different terms which have given me leverage to do multiple styles, so everything is not sounding the same. These songs are like stocks to me right now."
Despite the deleterious effects of the COVID -19 pandemic on the economy, the music business has been booming and his stocks are rising. "For me and my craft, it affected me in a great way," he said with a smile. "It was one of the best years I have had. No one was doing anything, so I was recording a lot, going to the studio and doing one on one sessions. Because everybody was home, there was a huge demand for movies and songs to go with those movies. Everybody was watching TV, so I was putting the work in. I was creative."
The advice Easy McCoy hopes to impart to young artists includes words of wisdom with regards to the inner grit, determination and self-assurance it takes to succeed in the industry and in Life. "Faith without works is dead. You aren't going to be the greatest being soft. Period. Stop letting people tell you what you ain't when you know what you ARE. Stop wasting time for someone to come along and do it for you. Build solid relationships. Don't step on anybody, because you might need them 20 years from now and they might be your catapult to be as big as you are. Study what you want to do. Study the game. Learn the business. Put the phone away, put the work in and don't give up. God, The Universe, however you want to say it, they work around those who don't give up. I have never seen anybody who believed in themselves, who didn't give up and who put the work in, not achieve. Some of you don't believe. If you really believe, you will put the work in every day and put your money and time where your mouth is."
Listen, Learn and Follow Easy McCoy Here:
https://www.instagram.com/easymccoy/
https://twitter.com/easymccoy?lang=en