MUSIC INDUSTRY CONFESSION The Secret Meeting that Changed Rap Music and Destroyed a Generation We love a good conspiracy theory. But even the ones that ring true can’t always be trusted. But then again, our entire global history is rife with real conspiracies, not just theories. Wax Poetics, along with many other good people in the music and publishing industry, received this email today from an anonymous source claiming to be a former insider. We have chosen to post this for our audience to read, but we neither support nor argue against the claims of Mr. “John Smith.” Hello, After more than 20 years, I’ve finally decided to tell the world what I witnessed in 1991, which I believe was one of the biggest turning point in popular music, and ultimately American society. I have struggled for a long time weighing the pros and cons of making this story public as I was reluctant to implicate the individuals who were present that day. So I’ve simply decided to leave out names and all the details that may risk my personal well being and that of those who were, like me, dragged into something they weren’t ready for. Between the late 80′s and early 90’s, I was what you may call a “decision maker” with one of the more established company in the music industry. I came from Europe in the early 80’s and quickly established myself in the business. The industry was different back then. Since technology and media weren’t accessible to people like they are today, the industry had more control over the public and had the means to influence them anyway it wanted. This may explain why in early 1991, I was invited to attend a closed door meeting with a small group of music business insiders to discuss rap music’s new direction. Little did I know that we would be asked to participate in one of the most unethical and destructive business practice I’ve ever seen. The meeting was held at a private residence on the outskirts of Los Angeles. I remember about 25 to 30 people being there, most of them familiar faces. Speaking to those I knew, we joked about the theme of the meeting as many of us did not care for rap music and failed to see the purpose of being invited to a private gathering to discuss its future. Among the attendees was a small group of unfamiliar faces who stayed to themselves and made no attempt to socialize beyond their circle. Based on their behavior and formal appearances, they didn’t seem to be in our industry. Our casual chatter was interrupted when we were asked to sign a confidentiality agreement preventing us from publicly discussing the information presented during the meeting. Needless to say, this intrigued and in some cases disturbed many of us. The agreement was only a page long but very clear on the matter and consequences which stated that violating the terms would result in job termination. We asked several people what this meeting was about and the reason for such secrecy but couldn’t find anyone who had answers for us. A few people refused to sign and walked out. No one stopped them. I was tempted to follow but curiosity got the best of me. A man who was part of the “unfamiliar” group collected the agreements from us. Quickly after the meeting began, one of my industry colleagues (who shall remain nameless like everyone else) thanked us for attending. He then gave the floor to a man who only introduced himself by first name and gave no further details about his personal background. I think he was the owner of the residence but it was never confirmed. He briefly praised all of us for the success we had achieved in our industry and congratulated us for being selected as part of this small group of “decision makers”. At this point I begin to feel slightly uncomfortable at the strangeness of this gathering. The subject quickly changed as the speaker went on to tell us that the respective companies we represented had invested in a very profitable industry which could become even more rewarding with our active involvement. He explained that the companies we work for had invested millions into the building of privately owned prisons and that our positions of influence in the music industry would actually impact the profitability of these investments. I remember many of us in the group immediately looking at each other in confusion. At the time, I didn’t know what a private prison was but I wasn’t the only one. Sure enough, someone asked what these prisons were and what any of this had to do with us. We were told that these prisons were built by privately owned companies who received funding from the government based on the number of inmates. The more inmates, the more money the government would pay these prisons. It was also made clear to us that since these prisons are privately owned, as they become publicly traded, we’d be able to buy shares. Most of us were taken back by this. Again, a couple of people asked what this had to do with us. At this point, my industry colleague who had first opened the meeting took the floor again and answered our questions. He told us that since our employers had become silent investors in this prison business, it was now in their interest to make sure that these prisons remained filled. Our job would be to help make this happen by marketing music which promotes criminal behavior, rap being the music of choice. He assured us that this would be a great situation for us because rap music was becoming an increasingly profitable market for our companies, and as employee, we’d also be able to buy personal stocks in these prisons. Immediately, silence came over the room. You could have heard a pin drop. I remember looking around to make sure I wasn’t dreaming and saw half of the people with dropped jaws. My daze was interrupted when someone shouted, “Is this a f****** joke?” At this point things became chaotic. Two of the men who were part of the “unfamiliar” group grabbed the man who shouted out and attempted to remove him from the house. A few of us, myself included, tried to intervene. One of them pulled out a gun and we all backed off. They separated us from the crowd and all four of us were escorted outside. My industry colleague who had opened the meeting earlier hurried out to meet us and reminded us that we had signed agreement and would suffer the consequences of speaking about this publicly or even with those who attended the meeting. I asked him why he was involved with something this corrupt and he replied that it was bigger than the music business and nothing we’d want to challenge without risking consequences. We all protested and as he walked back into the house I remember word for word the last thing he said, “It’s out of my hands now. Remember you signed an agreement.” He then closed the door behind him. The men rushed us to our cars and actually watched until we drove off. A million things were going through my mind as I drove away and I eventually decided to pull over and park on a side street in order to collect my thoughts. I replayed everything in my mind repeatedly and it all seemed very surreal to me. I was angry with myself for not having taken a more active role in questioning what had been presented to us. I’d like to believe the shock of it all is what suspended my better nature. After what seemed like an eternity, I was able to calm myself enough to make it home. I didn’t talk or call anyone that night. The next day back at the office, I was visibly out of it but blamed it on being under the weather. No one else in my department had been invited to the meeting and I felt a sense of guilt for not being able to share what I had witnessed. I thought about contacting the 3 others who wear kicked out of the house but I didn’t remember their names and thought that tracking them down would probably bring unwanted attention. I considered speaking out publicly at the risk of losing my job but I realized I’d probably be jeopardizing more than my job and I wasn’t willing to risk anything happening to my family. I thought about those men with guns and wondered who they were? I had been told that this was bigger than the music business and all I could do was let my imagination run free. There were no answers and no one to talk to. I tried to do a little bit of research on private prisons but didn’t uncover anything about the music business’ involvement. However, the information I did find confirmed how dangerous this prison business really was. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Eventually, it was as if the meeting had never taken place. It all seemed surreal. I became more reclusive and stopped going to any industry events unless professionally obligated to do so. On two occasions, I found myself attending the same function as my former colleague. Both times, our eyes met but nothing more was exchanged. As the months passed, rap music had definitely changed direction. I was never a fan of it but even I could tell the difference. Rap acts that talked about politics or harmless fun were quickly fading away as gangster rap started dominating the airwaves. Only a few months had passed since the meeting but I suspect that the ideas presented that day had been successfully implemented. It was as if the order has been given to all major label executives. The music was climbing the charts and most companies when more than happy to capitalize on it. Each one was churning out their very own gangster rap acts on an assembly line. Everyone bought into it, consumers included. Violence and drug use became a central theme in most rap music. I spoke to a few of my peers in the industry to get their opinions on the new trend but was told repeatedly that it was all about supply and demand. Sadly many of them even expressed that the music reinforced their prejudice of minorities. I officially quit the music business in 1993 but my heart had already left months before. I broke ties with the majority of my peers and removed myself from this thing I had once loved. I took some time off, returned to Europe for a few years, settled out of state, and lived a “quiet” life away from the world of entertainment. As the years passed, I managed to keep my secret, fearful of sharing it with the wrong person but also a little ashamed of not having had the balls to blow the whistle. But as rap got worse, my guilt grew. Fortunately, in the late 90’s, having the internet as a resource which wasn’t at my disposal in the early days made it easier for me to investigate what is now labeled the prison industrial complex. Now that I have a greater understanding of how private prisons operate, things make much more sense than they ever have. I see how the criminalization of rap music played a big part in promoting racial stereotypes and misguided so many impressionable young minds into adopting these glorified criminal behaviors which often lead to incarceration. Twenty years of guilt is a heavy load to carry but the least I can do now is to share my story, hoping that fans of rap music realize how they’ve been used for the past 2 decades. Although I plan on remaining anonymous for obvious reasons, my goal now is to get this information out to as many people as possible. Please help me spread the word. Hopefully, others who attended the meeting back in 1991 will be inspired by this and tell their own stories. Most importantly, if only one life has been touched by my story, I pray it makes the weight of my guilt a little more tolerable. Thank you.

http://youtu.be/u4zaneVHibs

New C.L. Smooth "Nothin Can Match It" Produced by Divided Souls Ent.,LLC& D.J. Pain 1

What a surprise Produced by Me, Brent Dixon(Divided Souls Production) and scratches by DJ Pain 1 The legendary C.L. Smooth upcoming album....How many of ya'll producers can switch lanes effortlessly from Hardcore south music, to Authentic East Coast Boon Bap?!?!?! Music is music, learn to appreciate sounds CL SMOOTH "Nothin Can Match It" Video PROMO RETURN OF THE THE MECCA DON CL SMOOTH! CHECK OUT THIS SHORT PREVIEW OF THE NEW CL SMOOTH. FROM OFF OF HIS UPCOMING LONG AWAITED NEW LP "'THE EMANCIPATION OF ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=u4zaneVHibs

Whacha Smokin On

Whacha Smokin On

Happy 4/20....A lil something for yall
1st verse Rudye MrUncut Henry, 2nd verseYoung Bleed,
3rd verse Dexter "Decky" Platt

AUDIO RESUME DOWNLOAD

Divided Souls Ent: Audio Resume
by Justin on Apr 26, 2011 · 3 Comments and 7 Reactions




After months of waiting, Divided Souls Ent. is proud to bring their new compilation Audio Resume. The project gives you a glimpse into the versatile nature of the production crew, showcasing a variety of sounds and artists. There’s plenty of high profile guests on here too including Chuck D, Crooked Lettaz (Kamikaze & David Banner), Max Minelli, C.L. Smooth, Fiend, Juvenile, Stat Quo, Young Chris, Grand Daddy I.U. & Young Jeezy. For more info on the project, check out our producer spotlight on Brent & Spanky that will be running tonight. Tracklist & link after the jump.




DOWNLOAD:
http://www.mediafire.com/?1qgoc147sqnkr71

Producer Spotlight: Divided Souls Ent.-KEVIN NOTTINGHAM

Producer Spotlight: Divided Souls Ent.
by Justin on Apr 26, 2011 · 2 Comments and 14 Reactions




After releasing their compilation Audio Resume earlier today, here’s you chance to learn more about the production duo known as Divided Souls Ent. I got the chance to chop it up with Chris & Brent on a wide variety of topics in the days leading up to their compilation’s release date. The duo shared some interesting stories including how Divided Souls started, working with the likes of Grand Daddy I.U. & Chuck D, how a second Crooked Lettaz album was in the works at one time, DJ Pain 1′s role in the Divided Souls team, how producers can get work with TV shows and much more. Hit the jump for the full interview.


Introduce yourselves:

Chris “Spanky” Moss and Brent Dixon from Divided Souls Entertainment.

Now how did Divided Souls Ent. start?

Chris: The company started from an earlier production company called Groove Quest. Brent started it shortly after I left school in 2000. The genesis for all of this stems from my days as a DJ at KLSU’s hip hop show, Underground Sounds, and from Brent making moves in Baton Rouge with his group Methods of Science. He was the producer for that group. We linked up with David Banner, the Ill Relatives, Fiend, C-Loc, Max Minelli, Young Bleed, Happy Perez and many others.

Brent: The name came about after reading Marvin Gaye’s autobiography titled Divided Soul. I was always a huge fan and took from it the extremes of him as an artist and the dark side of his faults. It’s the contradiction of man. Sonically, it’s the gumbo mixture of musical influences from all spectrums of music being pulled towards East Coast drums, West Coast melody and my Down South soul hip hop.

Now you’ve worked with a lot of big names in the past few years. How did the collaborations with Chuck D for example happen?

Brent: I was developing a relationship with Scarface at the time. I told Face who we wanted to work with — Face, of course, Chuck D, KRS, LL [Cool J] & Rakim. Face and I called KRS, and left a message for him. The next day, Face got Chuck on a three way call with me and we exchanged info. So, off that wish list, we had a chance to work with two of those artists right now. We gave Face three tracks and Chuck crafted “Tear Down That Wall.”

I know y’all also have been working with Grand Daddy I.U. What’s that experience been like?

Chris: It’s been a rewarding experience working with I.U. He doesn’t sound dated. Some rappers from that Golden Age era have lost a little of their edge, he still has it! You don’t have to worry about him ever coming wack on a beat. We are supposed to be working on an EP with him, DJ Pain 1 and us are providing the beats. It’s not coming out next month or anything, but it’s coming.

That’s good, always felt I.U. was an underappreciated emcee from that era. You mentioned DJ Pain 1, who we’ve featured on the site many times before. I know y’all have worked together a lot, would you consider him an “unofficial” member of the Divided Souls team?

Brent: He is our fifth Beatle, so yes, he is in the family! We look at it as a strength in numbers approach and making music with friends makes the grind a little less taxing.

Definitely makes sense. You’ve had a roster of artists in the past such as Decky, Rudye and Thicker Den Water. Are there still plans for the label side of things with these guys or have you just decided to focus on producing?

Brent: As times have changed, we’ve had to adapt as well. Trying to be an indie and basically self-funded label was financially draining. You need to have the money to make the music and get it out there; it’s the nature of things. So, we have focused our attention now to producing and doing more television work too. It’s all love with those guys too, and there are some really good songs that need to see the light of day that we have in the can.

That’s understandable. Now let’s shift focus to the new project Audio Resume. I know it’s been in the works for a long time, tell us a little about what our readers should expect to hear.

Chris: Expect to hear a diverse lineup of artists for starters. The common thread is the quality in the production and the attention to detail that we all put into this project. I mean, we really try to make the drums hit hard and showcase a diverse offering to the masses via sample based and live musicianship, too.

We derive a lot of our inspiration for our sound from what Organized Noize did with their production work. They used all elements of Hip Hop — hard drums, samples, live instruments and scratches to make it sound dope. We have our own lane, but they are big influence on how we approach music production not just hip hop.

Rico, Ray & Sleepy are without a doubt are all time greats and a perfect model to follow. As you stated, you’ve got a very diverse lineup on this project. Can you tell us a few of the notable names on there and if we’ll see any collaborations we might not have expected?

Chris: The nature of this project is to let the listeners out there see what we’ve done over the years. Much like a resume shows off your skills and talents, this is just an audio version of that. We’ve got Stat Quo, C.L. Smooth, Crooked Lettaz, Chuck D, I.U, Juicy J and this artist Native. He’s dropping an insightful narrative about a soldier fighting in Iraq and coming back stateside.

The C.L. Smooth song will definitely catch people by surprise, too. It has a definite reggae feel to it. We were not trying to recapture the glory days of Pete and C.L. C.L. is still dropping hot bars on this song, just with a new twist.

Sounds like a must hear track. Now as a huge Crooked Lettaz fan, I can’t go without asking this: did you get Kamikaze & Banner on the same track?

Brent: Yes sir! The entire track was done on the SP 1200 and Banner and Kamikaze are killing their verses. We were sipping on some Hennessy that evening in the session in Jackson, MS [Laughs]. They were in the same studio, same time, same everything. It was supposed to go on the follow up to the Grey Skies album.

Wow, so they were working on a reunion album?

Brent: No, it was supposed to be a true second album and not a reunion album. As schedules, lives and times go, it just never transpired.

I see. Speaking of another artist we haven’t heard from in a while, are y’all still working with Young Bleed? Are we any closer to hearing a new solo LP from Bleed any time soon as far as you know?

Chris: We tried to get a collaborative album together with him on the vocals and us, DJ Pain 1 and Steve Below [UGK producer] on the production. However, we just couldn’t come to a mutual understanding on what direction to take that album. We had recorded one song and it was pretty hot! [Laughs] Maybe it’ll go on the Thinking Man’s Game project as well. Who knows?

Bleed seems like an enigma, never know what to expect from him. How is Thinking Man’s Game coming along?

Chris: It is coming along nicely. It’s a labor of love. We’ve been working on it for a little while now and we’ve added and deleted songs as we’ve gone along. We’re also trying to cash in on a couple of favors to really round out the project. It was put on hold though since we got busy doing these cable shows with DuBose Communications and MC Lyte. That has been a fruitful relationship which has allowed us to showcase some more of our diversity in a completely different arena: television.

As you know, we’ve got a lot of producers in the KN community. What advice can you give them on entering the television production market? How difficult was it for you to get into that area and how does it differ from just typical beat making?

Chris: I would suggest not limiting your creativity to the confined space of hip hop. It allows you to explore other ways of doing a song versus 16 bars, 8 bar hook, 16 bars, 8 bar hook, etc. Also, establish the relationship with the music supervisor or decision maker on the project. Try to find someone who knows someone and get in through that relationship. Approach the beat making free of structure absent of a typical “song mode.” Brent had to leave a movie early because Lyte needed something immediately because they were wrapping up the project. So, have your equipment ready because you’ll have to do beats, revise beats, whatever on the fly for real. Establishing the relationship by respectable means is key.

As we can see, there’s a lot on the table for Divided Souls. What can we expect to see in the future? Any artists in particular fans should keep an eye on that you’ve been producing for?

Chris: Lil Chuckee [Young Money]. We just did the song “We Gon Make It” which is a refreshing joint from an artist who has a lot of growth still in him. Also Dee-1 out of New Orleans, we’ve sent him about 15 beats and he recorded about 4 or 5 so far. Brent is mixing one as we speak. MC Lyte is coming out with a dope record called “Everlasting.” That’s some rough, boom bap Hip Hop there with a vicious scratched chorus via Pain 1. Let’s see, also Scarface is sitting on three of our joints for his upcoming project.

I’ve talked to Chuck D and we’re looking at getting back to work on a new song. Also, Backbone from Dungeon Family is getting down with us on some songs as well. We just teamed up with Killer Mike for a joint that we are doing with the Konsole Kingz and Rockband video game. It’s some “ghetto metal” type hip hop and Mike is annihilating the song over hard drums and rock guitars. We may also be working on a project with N.O. Joe.

Brent: We also got the title track on Memphis Bleek’s album called The Process.

Chris: Oh, by the way, we are looking for an artist that has an internet presence and following out there. If they are on the grind, we’ll grind with them. Hit us up: Brent: dividedsouls1@gmail.com or Spanky: dividedsouls2@gmail.com

Nice, sounds like we’ll be hearing a lot from Divided Souls in the near future. Any shout outs or last words?

Brent: To the artists - as with any craft, please do the knowledge and study the history. Know who did what, google your favorite artist, producer, etc. Associate yourself with like-minded artists and go hard. Don’t take No for an answer, just hustle around that. We do in the information age now so, really, to not know something shouldn’t be your excuse. Study the business side.

Chris: Be on the lookout for Thinking Man’s Game and some more television work from us via ESPN, BET and more in 2011. Shout out to the musicians (Esco, DJ Dirty D, Ian & Jeremy), Brenda Platt (Brent’s mom), my wife Serita, Al Lindstrom, MC Lyte, Will of SMC Recordings, N.O. Joe and of course God. Also Martha Platt, Brent’s grandmother, who helped him put together his first studio. And we’re out!

YOUNG MONEY'S LIL CHUCKEE-" WE GON MAKE IT" Produced & Mixed by DIVIDED SOULS ENT. PRODUCTIONS

MORE TO COME FROM THIS WORKING PARTNERSHIP DIVIDED SOULS & LIL CHUCKEE! STAY TUNE........@dividedsouls....@mpcinema