SLAIBY:^ KOURYANGELO.^ C
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AHEDINIA:ANNIESHAK.GIBBS,^ PIERRE,REYNOLDS- D
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ARDI:^ LESTER^COHEN/GETTY^ IMAGES.BUDDEN:JOHN^LAMPARSKI/GETTYIMAGES.^5
0CENT:^DOMINIKBINDL/FILMMAGIC.^ C
UBE:ROYROCHLIN/GETTYIMAGES.^ M
IKE:SLAVEN^VLASIC/GETTYIMAGES.^ N
AS:^ ERIKAGOLDRING/GETTY^IMAGES.^ N
.O.R.E.:^JEROD^HARRIS/GETTY^IMAGES.^ S
COTT:^ RICH^FURY/GETTYIMAGES.^ M
INAJ:^ TAYLOR^HILL/FILMMAGIC.^ R
IHANNA:^ DIEGOCORREDOR/MEDIAPUNCH/IPX/APIMAGES.Wassim “Sal” Slaiby
CEO, SAL&CO/MAVERICK; CEO, XO RECORDS
TEAM-BUILDER In the 20 years since Slaiby emigrated
on his own from Lebanon to Canada at the age of 15,
he has built one of Canada’s top independent labels,
joined Maverick as a partner and formed its new
Maverick Urban division. His artist roster includes
The Weeknd, French Montana and NAV, who in
April topped the Billboard 200 for the first time, with
his second studio album, Bad Habits. “I love building
teams,” says Slaiby, 39. “That’s my specialty since
day one.” In June, The Weeknd, a client since 2011,
earned an RIAA diamond certification for “The Hills,”
and new signee Ali Gatie burst into the mainstream
with “It’s You,” which hit No. 4 on Hot R&B Songs.
BONDING WITH BARACK The soon-to-be father of
three gets wistful recalling his invitation to speak
at the Spotify-hosted Brilliant Minds conference in
Sweden in June — an invite that also was extended
to former President Barack Obama. “I got to stand
on that stage and not just talk about success,” says
Slaiby, who is also a member of the Global Citizen
advisory board. “It was a really remarkable moment
in my life.”
AGENCIES
Mark Cheatham
Joseph Harris
Zach Iser
Caroline Yim
MUSIC AGENTS, CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY
SIGNED THEE STALLION, NAS X AND A BOOGIE CAA’s
hip-hop specialists, Cheatham, Harris, 28; Iser, 34;
and Yim, 40, emphasize the collaborative nature
of their efforts when it comes to the agency’s wins
during the past year. The quartet reeled in three of
2019’s hottest artists: Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Nas X
and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. Clients Jay Rock and
2018 breakout Ella Mai took home Grammys and
sold out their respective tours, according to the
agency. The CAA team also lined up a Las Vegas
residency for Cardi B and live dates for longtime
client Anderson .Paak.
THE “ROAD” AHEAD Harris says working with
record-setting sensation Lil Nas X has been one
heck of a ride. “It’s all happening so fast, and it’s all
happening at once, and you don’t want to miss the
moment,” he says. “But it’s not always ‘Let’s just put
him on tour.’ Sometimes it’s ‘Let’s do this soft ticket,
let’s do this festival, let’s let the demand take over.’
The fun part,” he adds, “is when it gets nontradition-
al, such as branding deals, and you have to figure
out the best opportunities to help move the needle.”
Natalya Davis
DIRECTOR OF ARTIST STRATEGY, PARADIGM TALENT AGENCY
Anthony DiStasio
AGENT, BRAND PARTNERSHIPS, PARADIGM TALENT AGENCY
Fred Zahedinia
AGENT, PARADIGM TALENT AGENCY
ENTREPRENEURIAL ENABLERS Paradigm’s hip-hop
team takes a holistic approach to the careers of the
acts on their roster by working with other divisions
of the agency to find opportunities outside of
touring. “I’m an antenna,” says Davis, 36, explaining
CARDI B
The Bronx-bred MC’s money
moves extend well beyond
her debut album, Invasion
of Privacy. Her “Season 2”
collection with online bou-
tique Fashion Nova dropped
in May, reportedly taking in $1 million in one day.
Her minor but memorable film debut in Hustlers —
which grossed $33.2 million in its opening weekend
— should lead to more offers, and she and her
“Okurrr” catchphrase jazzed up major marketing
campaigns for Amazon’s Alexa and Pepsi.
NICKI MINAJ
Minaj may be retiring from
music, but she’s just getting
started in fashion. In Sep-
tember, she announced her
Fendi Prints On collaboration
with the luxury brand. The
127-piece collection — named after a lyric in her
song “Chun-Li” — will hit stores in October and fea-
ture clothing and accessories for women, men and
children. (Prices will range from $220 to $12,200.)
Minaj has said the women’s line will showcase
curves in an effort to promote body positivity.
JOE BUDDEN
Budden’s 2018 partnership
with Spotify for his name-
sake podcast; his YouTube
interview series, Pull Up; and
his REVOLT show State of the
Culture have changed the way
fans absorb hip-hop-focused digital media. “These
are necessary conversations that our audience
cares about, wants to hear more about and ulti-
mately can make their own decisions about,” says
Robyn Lattaker-Johnson, REVOLT’s head of content
and development.
NAS
Outside of his vaunted skills
on the mic, the Queens native
is proving to be a top-notch
businessman. In January,
Viacom spent $340 million
to acquire the Nas-backed
streaming platform Pluto TV. The rapper also has
invested in such companies as Lyft, Genius and
SeatGeek throughout the years. In August, his label
Mass Appeal, along with Universal Music Group,
announced the launch of Mass Appeal India and
signed DIVINE as its first act.
50 CENT
Although Fitty’s hit series
Power is in its sixth and final
season on Starz, the hip-hop
mogul is far from finished
with the network. In October
2018, he signed a reported
$150 million deal with the pay-cable channel that
includes a three-series commitment and a “discre-
tionary fund” for developing projects. According
to Power showrunner Courtney A. Kemp, the deal
includes a spinoff of the original series that will
star Mary J. Blige.
N.O.R.E.
REVOLT, Tidal and Mass
Appeal connected for a
multiplatform partnership with
N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN involving
their popular Drink Champs
podcast. In August, those
media outlets began offering exclusive content
from the show, which features hip-hop luminaries
candidly discussing their careers. “N.O.R.E. is a big
proponent of having fun, and the show just exudes
that,” says Roc-A-Fella co-founder Kareem “Biggs”
Burke, who was instrumental in the merger.
ICE CUBE
In April, CBS announced it had
inked an exclusive deal to air
over 20 hours of Ice Cube’s
BIG3 basketball league on
its broadcast network (and
more than 25 hours on its CBS
Sports Network cable channel), where NBA stars
compete in three-on-three half-court games. CBS
Sports executive vp programming Daniel Weinberg
applauds the MC for “working tirelessly” to pro-
mote the partnership: “Ice Cube provides a terrific
opportunity to create buzz and visibility.”
RIHANNA
In May, RiRi and LVMH Moët
Hennessy announced they
had partnered on a Fenty
fashion label in which the
luxury-brand conglomer-
ate will invest a reported
$30 million. The deal adds another facet to
Rihanna’s fashion empire, which began with her
inclusivity-driven Fenty Beauty makeup collection
and Fenty Savage lingerie line. The Barbadian
mogul also has been in the studio recording her
much-anticipated next album.
KILLER MIKE
The Run the Jewels star gets
candid about several topics
affecting the black community
and the world as a whole in
his Netflix docuseries Trigger
Warning With Killer Mike,
which began its six-episode run in early 2019. Killer
Mike says he was given the opportunity to construct
the series “without infringement,” allowing for a
seamless creative partnership. “This was my first
endeavor in TV, but Netflix is a company that I would
look forward to doing more cool shit with,” he says.
TRAVIS SCOTT
Scott’s Air Jordan 33 NRG
sneaker dropped in February,
the latest in a collaboration
with Nike that began in
- In March, he wrapped
his Astroworld — Wish You
Were Here Tour, which grossed $58.7 million in
North America. The creative process that led to
his Grammy-nominated Astroworld album was
depicted in Scott’s August Netflix doc Look Mom
I Can Fly, and his second Astroworld Festival is
slated for later this year. —J’NA JEFFERSON
BOSS’D UP
THANKS TO THEIR SIDE HUSTLES, THESE 10 R&B/HIP-HOP ARTISTS
ARE MAKING BANK EVEN WHEN THEY’RE NOT MAKING MUSIC
SLAIBY
CHEATHAM
HARRIS
ISER
YIM
DAVIS
DISTASIO
ZAHEDINIA
GIBBS
PIERRE
REYNOLDS-DRUMM
62 BILLBOARD • OCTOBER 19, 2019
&
POWER PLAYERS 2019