GRAINGE:FABFERNANDEZ.^ H
ABTEMARIAM:^ MOTOWN^RECORDS.KYSER:^ NOAGRIFFEL.^ G
ABA,MARTIN:^ COURTESY^OFATLANTIC^RECORDS.ST.HUBERT:^ ERINPATRICEO’BRIEN.^ M
ARTINI:^ COURTESY^OFCOMMISSION.^ P
ETTY:^ LESTER^COHEN.^ A
TLAS:^ MEREDITH^TRAUX.PITTS,^ BIVINS:RCARECORDS.^ B
ALOGUN:RO.LEXX.^ W
ILLIAMS:^ MIKE^COPPOLA/GETTY^IMAGES.^ B
ASTARD:^ AL^PEREIRA/MICHAELOCHS^ARCHIVES/GETTYIMAGES.^ C
AREY:^ SHUTTERSTOCK.Elliot Grainge
FOUNDER/CEO, 10K PROJECTS
REDD HOT “We always want to have a bit of
scrappiness,” says Grainge, 25, of the independent
hip-hop label he founded in 2016. That scrappi-
ness — which the son of Universal Music Group
chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge describes as “an
understanding of the digital age,” combined with
the perspective of a very young staff — has yield-
ed rapid success, most recently with Trippie Redd,
whose 2019 album, !, debuted at No. 3 on the
Billboard 200 in August. That same month, 10K,
which also counts rappers Tekashi 6ix9ine and iann
dior among its roster, forged a strategic partner-
ship with management and marketing company
Homemade Projects that covers touring, digital
marketing, management and merchandise.
LABEL INGREDIENTS The record company of the
past is evolving to become “an all-in-house enter-
tainment company,” says Grainge, adding, “Hope-
fully, with a couple of more years of experience, a
few great hires and a few more artists that break,
10K will be presented as that.”
Ethiopia Habtemariam
PRESIDENT, MOTOWN RECORDS; EXECUTIVE VP, CAPITOL
MUSIC GROUP; PRESIDENT, URBAN MUSIC/CO-HEAD OF
CREATIVE, UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBLISHING GROUP
DIAMOND DAYS Habtemariam marked Motown’s
60th anniversary with two TV specials — CBS’
Motown 60: A Grammy Celebration and Show-
time’s Hitsville: The Making of Motown — which
helped drive an increase in streams of its catalog.
According to Nielsen Connect, they are up
615 million year to date over 2018.
MORE TO COME “This year, we’ve been able to really
celebrate the brand at every level,” says Habte-
mariam who, in her five years running the label, has
ensured that Motown is recognized for its present
as much as its past thanks to current stars Vince
Staples, BJ the Chicago Kid and the Quality Con-
trol co- venture that brought Migos to the label.
Michael Kyser
PRESIDENT OF BLACK MUSIC, ATLANTIC RECORDS
Lanre Gaba
GM/SENIOR VP URBAN A&R, ATLANTIC RECORDS
Marsha St. Hubert
SENIOR VP URBAN MARKETING, ATLANTIC RECORDS
Dallas Martin
SENIOR VP A&R, ATLANTIC RECORDS
LIZZO MANIA Atlantic’s urban music quartet all
had a hand in Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” becoming the
longest-running Hot 100 No. 1 rap song by an
unaccompanied female artist — breaking a record
set by another Atlantic artist, Cardi B. Kyser also
oversaw the long- awaited return of Missy Elliott
with the August release of her EP, Iconology.
Gaba, a key player in the label’s Atlanta expansion,
continued developing staff producer Hitmaka,
who contributed to A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s
Billboard 200 No. 1 album, Hoodie SZN. And the
fruits of Martin, 35, and St. Hubert’s labors resulted
in best rap album Grammy nominations for Nipsey
Hussle’s Victory Lap and Cardi B’s Invasion of
Privacy, which won the category.
HONOR THE HUSSLE The team is still reeling from
Hussle’s murder in March. “Nipsey was bigger than
rap music. He was a giver — he changed people’s
lives in ways I don’t think we understand,” says
St. Hubert, 41, who knew the artist-entrepreneur
long before he joined Atlantic.
Kevin Liles
CO-FOUNDER/CEO, 300 ENTERTAINMENT
Rayna Bass
SENIOR VP MARKETING, 300 ENTERTAINMENT
Selim Bouab
SENIOR VP A&R, 300 ENTERTAINMENT
SEE PAGE 54.
Anthony Martini
PRESIDENT/CEO, COMMISSION RECORDS
20 MILLION REASONS TO PAY ATTENTION Since its
launch in 2015, Commission has grown from an
under-the-radar indie label to a formidable in-
dustry player. In June, Martini, 39, closed on a
$20 million deal with label, publisher, branding
and media company Big Noise Music Group.
The partnership gives Commission — with a
roster that includes Lil Dicky and MadeinTYO
— access to deeper financial pockets and
artist services.
DON’T FEAR THE FREAKY Martini, who has mined
gold and platinum records from such left-field
fare as Lil Dicky’s “Freaky Friday” (featuring
Chris Brown), says he looks for “polarizing” acts
with a unique approach to music. “I’m always
trying to figure out the next trend and sign and
develop those artists early, so that when that
scene is ready, they are ready,” says the New
Jersey native.
Julian Petty
EXECUTIVE VP/HEAD OF BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS,
WARNER RECORDS
Chris Atlas
SENIOR VP/HEAD OF URBAN MARKETING,
WARNER RECORDS
GROWTH AGENTS Petty, 42, closed deals with
such highly sought- after rising stars as NLE
Choppa, IDK, Shordie Shordie and Chika,
which have helped Warner expand its footprint
in R&B and hip-hop. Since joining the label
two years ago, Atlas, 47, has helped Saweetie
land her first Hot 100 single, “My Type,” which
reached No. 21; put Wale back on the hip-
hop map with “On Chill” (featuring Jeremih),
which currently sits at No. 23 on the chart; and
worked Lil Pump and Kanye West’s “I Love It”
and “Arms Around You” (with XXXTentacion and
featuring Maluma and Swae Lee) to platinum
status.
SOLID-GOLD SAWEETIE Atlas says digital market-
ing played a significant role in the success of
Saweetie. “She has a great one-on-one rela-
tionship with fans, constantly keeping her top of
mind,” he says. “Additionally, there was a consis-
tent amount of events, whether lifestyle, radio or
appearances that helped ‘My Type’ amass gold
status. And there’s still a huge trajectory with
that record since we introduced it to pop radio.”
Mark Pitts
PRESIDENT OF URBAN MUSIC, RCA RECORDS; CEO,
BYSTORM ENTERTAINMENT
Tunji Balogun
EXECUTIVE VP A&R, RCA RECORDS; CO-FOUNDER,
KEEP COOL
Carolyn Williams
EXECUTIVE VP MARKETING, RCA RECORDS
Geo Bivins
EXECUTIVE VP URBAN RADIO PROMOTION, RCA RECORDS
LEADING THE RENAISSANCE RCA’s R&B revivalists
upheld their winning streak. Khalid scored a
series of career milestones in 2019, landing his
first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 when
Free Spirit debuted in April, and his first single
to top R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, with “Talk.” The
single also ruled the Radio Songs chart for 11
weeks. Thirty-six-year-old Balogun’s guidance
of Normani’s solo career yielded the Hot 100
top 40 hit “Motivation” in August, and Williams
worked with Kevin Abstract on his experimental
“FANTASY (REMIX)” —
MARIAH CAREY
FEATURING
OL’ DIRTY BASTARD
“I remember being
young and living in a
world where rap and
pop lived on separate
sides of the street. This
[remix] was like, ‘Wait,
how do you even know
this lady, O.D.B.?’ ”
—MARSHA ST. HUBERT,
ATLANTIC RECORDS
BEST R&B/HIP-HOP
COLLABORATIONS
FROM CLASSIC CLUB ANTHEMS TO BILLBOARD HOT 100 CHART-TOPPERS,
EXECUTIVES LOOK BACK AT THE CULTURE’S MOST FLAWLESS MUSICAL PAIRINGS
HABTEMARIAM
KYSER
GABA
ST. HUBERT
MARTIN
MARTINI
PETTY
AT L AS
PITTS
BALOGUN
BIVINS
WILLIAMS
GRAINGE
50 BILLBOARD • OCTOBER 19, 2019
&
POWER PLAYERS 2019