Hey folks:

I'm starting to consider the idea of packing up my act and taking it to Europe.

I've been on tour there four times. I'm a conscious Rap artist/musician who performed with one of the very first live Hip Hop bands in 1995. The only other group doing the same thing at the time was the Roots. European audiences appreciated what we had to offer sooooo much more than Americans did. We didn't want to come home (although we were all stricken with the strangest feelings of **gasp** "nationalism" when we landed and looked up at the flag).

But things have changed here. My sound and message are very unique and that's not playing well on this side of the pond, what with all the "laffy taffy" and "candy shop" bullshit prevalent on mainstream urban contemporary radio. It's been said that it's easier to break a new Hip Hop act in GERMANY of all places, than it is in the US. Having been there, I can understand why that is. Furthermore, the jobs (in the administrative realm) that I USED to be able to get to support me while I pursued my real love have largely been outsourced to India, and I vehemently disagree with the overall direction this country is going in.

Given these factors, I am thinking about what might be involved with packing up and relocating to Europe. It's my impression that Germany is extremely expensive and perhaps not the best option. Britain and France, not as much either. But a tribe member said that Spain could be a reasonable alternative.

Spain appears lovely to me- I've always wanted to go there and I can get by with the language. Does anyone have any perspective to offer on what a US musician (with really comprehensive and marketable administrative skills) might be looking at in terms of finding a place to live and pursue his life's work somewhere in Europe?