The Dreaded Writer’s Block…

Posted on February 13, 2008 by Dan Johns
Filed Under Uncategorized |

One of the most frustrating aspects of being a musician is the dreaded writer’s block. Truthfully, I don’t know if I’m experiencing writer’s block or writer’s fatigue. I’ve written a good many of songs over the course of the last 6 months, not to mention guest appearances for DJ’s and other artists.
So, with some projects on the horizon, I tried to give my pen a minute to breathe, so I could get back on it, but apparently my pen needs a longer break than the one I gave it. Either that, or the beats aren’t speaking to me like they should be. So, for those of you that are on deck for a new Dan Johns verse, it’s coming, just a little slower than I expected.
I remember when I used to make beats quite often, and would get ‘beat block.’ No matter how long I would dig for a fly sample, some days it just wouldn’t work out for me. Or if I found a really good sample, I couldn’t get a good sequence going. Or, worse still, if I got a good sequence going, I would have trouble finding the right drums/pattern to fit the sequence.
For me, making beats started out as a necessity because I had trouble finding someone to make the kind of beats that I wanted. I did okay for a while, and even produced a couple of joints that went over. But, the funny thing is, I became a lot better producer when I started to make beats for recreation, rather than out of necessity. I guess it all goes back to letting inspiration guide you. (note to self: I really need to make 2-3 beats a month just to stay sharp on the boards)
Which brings me to another aspect of this topic: when producers keep hitting me up about writing to their beats. To all of the emcees, singers, and songwriters reading this: have you ever gone through some beats that were sent to you, and really was feeling one of the beats more than the rest, and let the producer know that you liked the joint…only to later realize that (after you get a copy of the beat to write to) it doesn’t inspire you the way that you thought it would? This has happened to me TOO many times. My homie Encornelius and I would argue all of the time, as he would keep coming up with conspiracy theories about why I wouldn’t write to his beats. I can’t explain it really, other than to say that every good beat isn’t for every artist. I mean, there are some songs that I love, but when Encore asks me “would you have rapped to that beat,” I am not so certain. (this is normally the point in the discussion where he starts talking about expanding my sound, and trusting him more about what kinds of beats I should rhyme on…lol)
I don’t know if it’s possible to fully explain the creative process, because artists are all so different, and we all have different ‘zones’ where we feel the most creative. An example of the different zones would be how Akshun feels more comfortable writing at his job (don’t snitch), and how the bulk of my writing gets done in my truck. Some prefer to write to a song on the spot, for that live effect. I can get down like that too, but only if everyone else is writing on the spot as well. Its not something that I generally do on my own joints, unless I have already written the first verse, and I record that, which inspires me to write the rest of the joint then.
This concludes today’s rambling. Hopefully it will spark some direction for my pen, so I can write something that I can see a return on…peace.