Ramp Records

Mission: "Release dope music and try to make a living out of it."

Robin (Seda) Arthur (King) Marco (IJsblok) Pascal (Def P).

After 10 years rocking with their crew the Osdorp Posse (O.P.), they decided to start their own record company: RAMP Records. Ramp means in Dutch: disaster. At a point taking the chance to make a living out of what they love to do. "Well we still have to see that we are able to do so.", says Def P at their office in Amsterdam’s Rivierenbuurt, "Right now we’re living of the dough we make with selling T-shirts, CD’s and performing." The record company has to make money with selling the other men’ s music.

Everybody does what he does best

After ten years rocking, owning a record company. Ever imagined it or dreamed about it? Def P: "No," And how does it feel?, "well it’s too soon to tell how it all rolls." King: "We only released two full length underground albums (Check the reviews). We still can’t say it’s going well or it’s going fucked." About the necessary business ingredients King says: "I think motivation is the most important part. You can say ‘would like to do it, but I don’t do’. You really have to do what you want to do. Ofcourse there are enough days you don’t want to but you just have to do it." Def P: "It becomes a job, you know. I don’t think anybody goes to his job with a smile everyday." It’s something they do next to the O.P. Although Ramp Records and the O.P. are two different things, Ramp Records is their bands record company and all the band members are owners of Ramp Records. Def P: "But IJsblok and King are running the company. We [Seda & Def P] do not really involve in it." Seda and Def P are the musicians and take care of the music on which the whole O.P. is founded. Def P: "Everybody does what he does best." AQ: "Are you not afraid that having a record company will spoil your fun making music?" Def P: "No, because a record company has nothing to do with making music. It’s totally different. I don’t think it’s possible to sit at your office one hour doing management and the next hour being creative till your next appointment."

The whole shit

It all just came with the flow. Robin and Def P did the music and lyrics. King and IJsblok started to take care of all the factors around the music. Right now IJsblok does the tour management and King the mailorder service. Def P: "They looked around thinking about what they could do to make themselves as useful as possible." By doing that they started to do more and more by themselves. Till the point they decided that they just could do everything by themselves. Def P: "Record company, management and booking. The whole shit. If you are doing this as long as we, you come to realize that middle men only cost money. A lot of times you can’t built on them. Not always they do their job as you should do it. It all comes down to the fact that often the things you do yourself gives the best results." According to Def P the only thing still missing is their own CD factory. About burning their own cd’s. Def P: "Imagine we had to do Afslag Osdorp, we would have to burn 30.000 copies on our PC’s." 30.000 copies is very much for The Netherlands. The maximum target group is about 100.000 heads strong. Afslag Osdorp is the best sold Dutch HipHop album ever.

Has to be dope

Def P: "When we just started with the O.P. I made copies on my cassette deck. I soon realized that making copies on your own cassette deck was not the way to do it. ‘Fuck it, I go to a shop and make hundred copies and sell them for ƒ2,50 (Euro 1,-) a piece.’ And that took off as a rocket! From the start on we’re just busy doing things and taking the initiative." Their secret to success was simple: "When more people have your demo, the more people become interested. That is that snowball effect." Or in the words of Nixon: a domino theory. Those demo’s went in amounts of hundreds. Logically Miss DJAX did not to have to think twice. She signed them for a whole album. But all the tricks and marketing does not work when the essential ingredient is missing. King: "The music has to be dope."

From ’92 till ’98 they were signed to DJAX Records at Eindhoven. When the contract ended it was not renewed. Were they happy with DJAX? Def P: "Yes. There are a lot of artists who do complain about her. My self think it’s often exaggerated twaddle. The most people who release a record at DJAX ain’t jack. But they talk al lot of shit like they’re Michael Jackson when they’re touring." Considering the popularity of their band DJAX was and is still a very good record company for them. "We thought it would be smarter to do it ourselves." And keeping an eye on the future, right now Ramp Records is still wet behind the ears, it’s still a baby. "But when it takes off, we have comfortable seats for the future", -Def P. The contract with DJAX was not renewed although Miss DJAX really wanted them to sign a new contract. Def P: "She really showed her disappointment. She really took effort to get a new contract signed." King: "But we are still doing business with her." The records of the Ramp Records mailorder are mostly releases from the DJAX stable. Of course they don’t see each others as competitors. They are all working to make Dutch HipHop bigger. Def P: "So we all can pick more fruits from it."
Chit and chatting about the other companies and what makes their own identity. Def P: "We rather sell 2000 copies of an album we really back up, than selling 20.000 copies and afterwards acknowledge that it is and was a wack CD." To point out the difference between TopNotch and Ramp Records Def P says: "I really think it’s opposite to Top Notch. They rather make a wack record that has a chance to sell 20.000 than to make a dope album that only sells 2000 copies. They still would think they shouldn’t have released a dope album that only sold 2000."

Depending on as a independent label

Right now their company totally depends on the success of the O.P.. Are they not afraid that something could happen?
Def P: "That I die or something?"
AQ: "Or lose your voice like how it happened to the D.O.C.?"
Def P: "It would be a smarter choice to die. At least your records will get a boost in sales. ‘He’s dead, I need to buy his records’."
King: "If you think like that, you better don’t do jack at all."
Def P: "That is the meaning of building a company and to save money. When something happens, you can get somebody to do your work. You have to care for the work can continue when you’re not able to do your work."

The English Webster dictionary gives two definitions about what ‘ramp’ means.
"Ramp1= 1 An inclined passageway or roadway, as between floors or different levels of a building. 2 In building, a concave part at the top or lap of a railing, wall or coping." But the second definition of ramp is a more wicked metaphor. "Ramp2=…" Check it yourself.

AQ