Keep a look out for J57, the kid is super talented producer.  Here's mini feature clip on him from a Cluster magazine and 2dopeboyz.

Excerpt from his full length interview below:

"“I’m lucky to learn from the people I know,” J57 tells me as he cues up a sample and pats his dog, Suri (co-producer). “A true student doesn’t emulate what they hear, they take what they are taught and apply it with their own flair,” J explains as he lists specific tricks he’s learned from masters. He cites Marco Polo as the “illest with bass lines,” an affinity that Marco personally passed down to him. DJ Premier is another mentor. Premier is the king of chopping samples, taking source material and re-deploying it in altered forms to unleash its hidden potential, an expertise J has not taken for granted. But J, too, has a fair share to offer his teachers and peers alike. He recently worked alongside Premier arranging Nas’ new single,“Regeneration,” which he recorded alongside the Berklee Symphony Orchestra. In this network of crews, hip-hop gods, and students, J57 cites the constant exchange between other artists as what keeps him advancing."

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In 1997, we put out Timbaland's first album, "Welcome To Our World".  This was after he made his mark with Aaliyah on her One In A Million album.

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I recently ran into Vita during CMJ.  She hails from Barbados and was discovered by the legendary Sturken & Rogers.  These guys own the Bajan pipeline to the music talent on that island.  So far they're responsible for bringing us Rihanna and Shontelle.  Vita and Hal are next on their agenda.

As you can see she's got the look and has an impressive set of pipes.  I had the pleasure of booking her 1st national performance on Centric's reboot of the Soul Train Awards back in 2009.  She was a ball of nerves but NAILED the performance and choreography.  Keep on the look out for her...

Follow her:  @vitachambers

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Second video from the Acknowledgement EP

Little known fact:  The video was shot on the same property where they filmed the last scene from Will Smith's "I Am Legend"

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My first trip to Toronto was to see them perform.  They were signed to our label at the time and there was a big push to get the rest of Universal and radio programmers behind them.  They put on a great show, the music isn't necessarily for me but I found myself singing some of the songs later that night.  This video gives you a little taste of what I experienced that night...

Another Canadian group that's big in their country but can't get sh*t in the US.

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I remember when he was assigned to me in the late 90s.  My first thought was "What the hell?"  His first video, "Welcome 2 The Party" didn't make any sense to me and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what to do with this project.  Then a little while later I saw the video for "I Am The Bullgod" and 50,000 light bulbs went off in my head.  I got it, strangely but amazingly I realized that this dude was serious.  We worked his major label debut, Devil Without A Cause for a while until things caught fire with a string of smashes "Bawitdaba", "Only God Knows Why", and "Cowboy."  MTV embraced Rock and the rest was history.

He's one of the sharpest businessmen (and artist) I know.  We worked together a lot for almost nine years.  Bob partied hard and worked even harder, he delivered what was needed of him every time.  That's a lot more than I can say for the majority of artists I've worked with.  The dude deserves all the success he's acheived.  If you ever get a chance to see him live he's worth the price, I promise you won't be disappointed.

R.I.P. Joe C

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Every once in a while, I'll post about upcoming artists who I feel will be a success.  There's no formula, just my own opinion.  Frank Ocean is this post's feature.  

His free album, nostalgia, Ultra is good from beginning to end.  Download and check for yourself:

Oh yeah, he's part of the group Odd Future and currently writing with Beyonce.

Check him out on twitter and his website.

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I worked with the legendary group for a brief second when Steve Rifkind signed them to SRC Records around 2008-9.  Below are some cool images from various artists who are part of an ongoing Wu-Tang art exhibit that will be seen throughout NYC this year at different galleries.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Below are some of my favorite joints of theres:

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Can't believe it took me this long to post this but I've been busy.  This is Soul Khan's 1st EP from a series of 4.  You can stream the music directly below with the option to purchase it for a mere $4.  Cheaper than a gallon of gas these days...

My favorite tracks are "Speeding Bullets" and "Alec Baldwin".  What's yours?

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The third video from Soul Khan's debut album, Soul Like Khan.  He drops a new EP, Acknowledgement on April 28th.  You can download it from his website.

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Swizzy's my man, loved working with him but I don't think he should've messed with Dr. Dre's beat on this one.  Here's a new cut that's been burning up NY radio (duh).

Loved the songs I worked off his One Man Band album.

Follow Swizz on twitter, he's one of the few hip hop cats stepping up his game outside of the world of typical hip hop buffoonery...

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Since I've worked in music my entire life I found this of use and thought you would too.  Here are 32 different possible revenue streams for artists, compiled by the Future of Music Coalition (FMC).  The group is currently conducting a survey of musicians to figure out which streams work the best:

A. If you are a composer or songwriter, here are possible revenue streams from your musical compositions...

1. Retail sales: Mechanical royalties from physical sales of recordings of your songs at stores, concerts or via mail order.

2. Digital sales: Mechanical royalties from digital sales via online services (CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, Rhapsody, MySpace Music)

3. Sheet music sales.

4. PRO Royalties: Royalties for the public performance of your work (airplay on radio, TV, movies, jukeboxes, live performance and foreign royalties, and home recording and foreign levy payments) as distributed to you by ASCAP/BMI/SESAC.

5. Advances from publishing companies during a publishing deal.

6. Payments from publishers for litigation settlements.

7. Commissions for works.

B. If you are a performer, possible revenue from sound recordings...

8. Digital performance royalties: Royalties for the digital performance of your recordings — airplay on satellite radio, webcast stations, cable TV stations — distributed to you by SoundExchange.

9. Advances from record labels that are not just reimbursement of recording or touring expenses.

10. Label payments for tour support or recording expenses.

11. Payments from labels for litigation settlements.

12. AARC royalties: collected for digital recording of your songs, foreign private copying levies, and foreign record rental royalties, distributed to US artists by AARC.

13. AFM Payments (TV, Film): Payments from the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund to performers on recordings used in TV and other secondary uses.

14. AFM Payments (Recordings): Sound Recording Special Payments Fund to performers for the sales of recorded music

15. AFM/AFTRA Payments: Payments from the AFM/AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund (distributes recording and performance royalties to the non-featured artists)

C. Possible revenue from licensing your musical composition or your sound recording...

16. Ringtone Sales: Mechanical revenue from ringtone sales

17. Synch Licenses: Synchronization royalties based on master rights licensing your song to TV/movies/video games/commercials

18. Sampling Licenses: Licensing fees from other musicians sampling your songs.

D. If you're a performer, possible revenue from live performances...

19. Touring and shows: compensation for playing live shows or performances, including busking.

E. Revenue from a performer's brand...

20. Merchandise sales: t-shirts, posters, etc.

21. Sponsorship: of tour or of a band/artist.

22. Direct financial support from fans/patrons.

23. Ad revenue or other miscellaneous income from your website properties (click-throughs, commissions on Amazon sales, etc.)

24. Acting in television, movies, commercials.

25. Product endorsements.

26. Other licensing of your persona (to video games, comic books, etc.)

F. Revenue from an artist's knowledge of the craft...

27. Work for hire/hired as a studio or live musician or composer

28. Work as a music teacher.

29. AFM/AFTRA session payments: Session payments for recording sessions, TV appearances, and performances flowing from synch licenses

30. Producer: income from producing or music direction

G. Other ways a musicians' work can be funded:

31. Government grants.

32. Nonprofit/foundation grants.

Thanks to Digital Music News.

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My second stop on my life long Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives tour.  Some of the best Greek food I've had in a looooooong time.  If you're ever in Houston, make sure you visit Niko Niko!

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The momentum continues... 

Since we released his free album, Soul Like Khan the response from fans and industry has been amazing. Over 10,000 downloads and 200+ blog mentions within two weeks and that's only the numbers we're able to track!  All Soul Khan's social profile numbers, posts, and fan lists have been spiking for days.  We're currently looking for the right partners to help grow his fan base and develop his brand.  Soul Khan recently taped an interview and performed a freestyle verse for MTV2 Sucker Free.  Not bad for his first time on national TV!  Click the videos below and let me know what you think:

Freestyle:

Exclusive interview:

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Every once in a while you come across talent that you believe in.  I was lucky enough to meet somebody who I think has what it takes to do something special.  This guy has over 2 million views on YouTube, has been featured on over 200 music blogs and websites, and without any major help put together a solid FREE album, Soul Like Khan that just dropped on Tuesday.  At the time of this post, the album has been downloaded over 5,000 times in a little over 24 hours.

His fame has grown for his talent to annihilate people in rap battles.  I’ve included one of his best below (if you like, you should google his name for more).  The knock on rap battlers is that they can't cross over and make good music.  Well, we just found somebody to break that trend...  Click the album cover below and see what all the buzz is about.  

He murders QP and his crew in this battle:

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So I'm one of those parents...  How can you not vote for this cute little face to be part of the Gerber Generation?  She's in the running to win, just needs that extra help from you!

All you have to do is click on the link below the picture and it will lead you to the contest.  There's an extra step to help make the voting authentic (I know it's a pain in the ass but it's for a great cause).  If you're inclined you can vote once a day until the contest ends (October 31st).

Thank you!!

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Eric Thomas is an inspirational speaker who specializes talking to today's youth.  In fact, they call him the "Hip Hop Preacher".  Every time I watch this clip (going on 4 times now) I get invigorated to continue working on my projects.  If you ever feel unmotivated, watch Eric talk to some students from Michigan State University.

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Watching Chamillionaire on this year's Techcrunch Disrupt was very inspiring.  He is one of the sharpest artists I've had the pleasure of working with.  I rank Chamillionaire with Kid Rock and Ryan Leslie as artists who truly understand and have a clear vision of their business.

I love seeing artists and other creative types take an interest in their business.  It's one thing to be creative and have people do the marketing, publicity, & production but it's impressive to understand how everything works.  Please watch this clip especially if you're an artist.  You need to KNOW the business your in and how things can affect you.

Watch to see how Chamillionaire stays relevant:

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My friends know I'm a foodie and I watch certain shows religiously.  One of my favs is "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives."  On one recent episode they interviewed a couple who toured the country visiting all the spots this series has showcased.  Of course I thought this was genius and I'm on a mission to copy them.  Not as extreme as the couple but if I'm in a city that has one of these restaurants bet your ass I'm there.  My first stop was in celebration of my birthday, my fiance surprised me and brought me to Brownstone Diner & Pancake Factory.  Highly recommend you visit this place if you're ever in Jersey City!

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He's the biggest of the four I booked on the show.  The hardest of all episodes to put together.  We were scrambling up to the last minute to get things cleared, multiple cancelled shoot dates, last minute ideas, too much to list.  Enjoy...

Dope album, get it here.

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