SOUTHEAST PERFORMER MAG SPOTLIGHT:Platinum Souls By: Amena Brown MARCH 2008 Platinum Souls are about shining way more than the bling their name insinuates. Poet Ty Scott and MC Ricardo Flo have finagled their way to the top of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales charts, getting radio play throughout the East Coast and in the U.K. Flo, a self-described hood star, hustled music in his native Baltimore and moved to Atlanta to further his career as a producer/MC. Scott, an L.A. slam poet, competed in The National Poetry Slam competition three years in a row before moving to Atlanta. A road trip together to a show they were both playing led them to explore the idea of an MC and a poet spitting their own truth over the breakbeat. "The [road] trip sealed it for us that there was going to be more than, 'Okay I'll be on your project and you'll be on my project,'" Scott says. "When we came back we kinda had an idea that there was more building than we thought." "I wasn't a poetry fan at all," says Flo. "Working with Ty helped me to get into it. When somebody said 'poetry' I just thought, 'Oh, that's gonna be boring, people just talking.' But when I opened my ears, eyes, and heart, I was like, "Whoa, this is kinda cool.'" Forming a duo in 2002, Flo and Scott became Platinum Souls in light of the mainstream industry's obsession with the million-albums-sold mark, except they didn't have pushing a million units in mind. Instead they focused their energy on affecting a million lives with their music. Flo's B-more, b-boy style mixed with Scott's quick lyrical clip, garnered the pair consistent bookings on the Southeast college scene. Platinum Souls make music buoyed by Christian themes but you can catch them in a club battling other poets and MCs as easily as you can catch them in church. "We walk in the middle between the church and the streets," Scott explains. Platinum Souls have never known the grind of a nine to five, and have been doing their music full-time since they formed. Artist life may seem easier when signed to a major, considering the marketing push and financial support. But despite the challenges Platinum Souls would much rather juggle indie artist life even with all its obstacles and do-it-yourself necessities. "As indie artists, we get to do what we want to do, when we want to do it. We have the power to make decisions and when we make money it all goes to us," Flo says, giving Scott a high-five. Platinum Souls latest hustle involves wearing the crazy amount of hats indie artists know all too well: promoter, manager, publicist, A&R, booking agent and performer. They wanted in on the Billboard charts and found it would require much more hustle than they understood initially. As a hip-hop group, it was difficult to get their music played on gospel stations. With clean lyrics and no big label executive to walk their music in to a program manager, getting their songs played on an urban radio station was no easier. They even tried to sell their music through Christian bookstores, but without major distribution the opportunity was closed to them. With self-distribution and barcoded product, Platinum Souls registered "Dey Don't Know," a single from upcoming release Hybrid, with Billboard. They sold CDs of the single in Atlanta's independent record stores, and sent out e-blasts through their database of nearly 10,000 fans and supporters as well as partnering with other mailing lists to reach nearly 50,000 people with news of the single release. To gain radio play for the single, the duo partnered with Atlanta promotion company Power Promotions to get the single to influential Massachusetts record pool, Masspool. "Masspool is affiliated with BRE Magazine and DJ Times," says Flo. "A lot of industry people are checking those like they check Billboard. DJs do the research and they email us about how they can get our song in rotation." DJ Lace and his New World Music Record Pool helped to break the single among deejays who specialize in clean and "faith-based" music. Platinum Souls also used MySpace to push the single internationally. "I met hundreds of deejays on MySpace that were spinning on radio," says FLO. "The deejays appreciate that the content is different. We're showing people that you can be positive and still be really successful." At press time, "Dey Don't Know" achieved the number six spot after seven weeks on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart with a peak position in the nineties on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. "There's still so much work to do," says Flo. "Moving up on the Billboard charts will open up doors for more mainstream radio stations to pick us up. Being on Billboard creates international buzz about who we are and what we stand for." With hot beats, smart lyrics and incessant hustle, Platinum Souls may achieve the type of platinum they've been striving for.