to collaborate and educate with his song “Rest Up,” a heartfelt tribute to some of Madison’s fallen. With the song and video Swagger tackled the rare feat of bringing together several area artists, like Cash Moody, Daiyon, Chaos New Money and Status. “e goal was to change the energy around here and show some unity between artists for the greater good of the neighborhood...and show how powerful our voices are together,” says Swagger. Ready for takeoff e other obstacle, Swagger says, is a lack of widespread exposure as a Midwest hip hop artist. “ere’s no outlets in the Midwest.ere’s no label you can just try to submit your tape to,” he says, “especially in Madison.” at’s not to say the Midwest is without talent or inuence, however. Swagger describes Madison as a “melting pot” of sounds that have more impact on the national scale than listeners realize. “A lot of people get inspiration in the midwest and go to a bigger market and a bigger platform to put it out there,” he says. “ey get a lot of swag from us, but they get the credit for it.” Swagger’s entrepreneurial spirit pushed him to start an artist management and development company - called 747 Music to represent the ight of ideas to and from the region. Fueled by his own struggle as an artist trying to get his name out there, Swagger envisions 747 as a resource to educate new artists and propel them into the mainstream. “We can expose and educate artists coming up that have no direction, and give them a direction of how to get out there,” he says. takeoff
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any artists will tell you that authenticity thrives when you create what you know, and Madison rapper P. Swagger is nothing if not genuine. So when Swagger raps “If you talkin’ currency / now you speakin’ my language” in “Rosetta Stone,” he’s appealing to an inner drive for the type of success that inspired him from a young age. “I didn’t grow up with a steady household, so I would see people that signied success to me - jewelry, money, nice cars,” he says. “at’s what I saw myself being when I got older.” Swagger, in concerted pursuit of that dream of success, also recognizes the importance of good energy, which is what he aims to create with his upcoming single, “Make a Toast.”e record, he says, will exude optimistic positivity that is universally relatable, a welcome distraction for any and all listeners from daily conicts. “Sometimes we look at the bad things too much, so we have to celebrate what’s good,” says Swagger. “I want to change the energy and inspire, and everybody likes a celebration.” And with the inroads he’s made towards uniting a splintered local scene, and his painstaking e ort to bring greater attention to the hip hop of America’s heartland, why not take a minute to celebrate the triumphs? Bridging the divide According to Swagger, an artist’s struggle in the Midwest rap game is twofold, and it starts with an every-artist-for-himself mentality shared by local rappers. e community - or lack thereof - is divided, says Swagger, a fact that makes it harder for anyone to have a breakout success. But rather than lament the status quo, Swagger does what he can to bring talent together. He created an opportunity
“Theyget a lot of swag fromus, but theyget the credit for it.” - P. Swagger
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