First and foremost....the artist better have talent....in other words, they gotta have skills...being versatile helps too...opens u up to a wider range audience....if you got the talent...then would be money...money to promote ur artist....radio, video, ads, etc....sometimes if ur really talented you don't even need big name guests on ur tracks...but it does help for ur first release....good beats too....a good producer...and when u get ready to press make sure the album sounds proper...quality shit...not no bammer hissing or low ass garbled sound....when ppl buy cd's they want quality..not quantity....make sure every track u do u put in a 110%....with the stream of garbage vs the good shit coming out...a solo not known artist is gonna have a harder time getting the masses to listen....so don't put out half ass shit...and keep promoting..make connections...network with other people...help each other out..so you both can eat....if you have good relations with media, djs, labels, etc....people are more likely going to want to help you....anyways, I might have got off track here..sorry....good luck with whatever project you got brewing.