SHA MONEY XL(May 2009) | Interview By:
Javon Adams
I’m going to cut right to the chase: Sha Money XL is the man in the world of
Hip Hop. He is the man that was instrumental in building the 50 Cent and
G-Unit brand and he has managed some of your favorite emcees and producers.
Javon sat down with Sha to talk about his 3rd Annual One Stop Shop Producers
Conference coming up in Phoenix, AZ in May. And before you emcees say ‘Oh,
this ain’t for me’ you should know that producers and emcees alike will find
value in this great networking opportunity.
Read on to find out how you can build up your contacts and move your music
career forward. Invest in your dream and invest a few minutes to check out
the interview. And the website to get all the info is
MoneyManagementXL. See you at the conference.
As always you can contact javon@dubcnn.com with comments. Enjoy.
Dubcnn: Dubcnn and a great opportunity to hook up with Sha Money XL. How are
you this evening man?
Sha: I am good man. I am good.
Dubcnn: Cool. Now, you wear so many hats: producer, manager and
entrepreneur…what is your secret to time management? I had to ask you that
right off the bat.
Sha: What’s my secret to time management? You have to prioritize and I try
not to overwhelm myself with too many things on my plate. Like right now I
just had to let go of a few producers and narrow down on what I’m doing with
that in production and management. And even the same for artists…so I just
give my guys 100% and just keep building brands instead of just one-offs
with individuals here and there.
Dubcnn: I know one of the things we are going to talk about is your
One Stop Shop Producers Conference but you mentioned having to reevaluate
the number of producers that you are mentoring or managing…so what is that
process like? Is it difficult to figure out who you would have to let go?
Sha: Yeah, very difficult because I get personal with everybody that I
manage and get into their life and I really care about their careers. And I
had to just narrow down and work with what would be great for my brand and
the future ahead of me. It was difficult but that’s why the One Stop
Producers Conference is here because instead of me having to be really upset
about not being able to manage everybody I will still be able to connect and
help everybody through this program of networking and opening up the door
for everybody to be in the same place so they can politic and meet these
people that I’m dealing with direct and breaking bread with.
Dubcnn: I know that this is the 3rd year of the conference right?
Sha: Yup.
Dubcnn: So, Russell Simmons has the seminars about encouraging the
Hip Hop community to get their finances right and you seem to have found
your niche with what you are doing with the Producers Conference. What
brought it about? Was it your way of giving back or paying it forward to try
to help out the next up and coming producers out there?
Sha: Absolutely. My natural nature is to be a giver. There are a lot of
receivers and I am a giver. I have the gift to give and that humanitarian
trait that I have…I was at the top of my game when I did the first
conference. I woke up with the dream and just heard these producers asking
me, ‘Sha, can you mange me? Sha can you help me? Sha, Sha, Sha…’ I woke up
with those thoughts one morning in November and immediately wen into action.
I said I can’t do everybody but I’m going to do something where every dude
that I sold beats to, every A&R executive or publisher that I have come
across and politiced with and know that there are opportunities with…I hit
up my rolodex and said I’m doing this program and I’m going to invite you to
come out so you can meet all of these producers coming up. You gotta give
back to the next generation and encourage them and teach them to keep them
filled with hope.
When your coming fresh off of the ‘Hip Hop is Dead’ Hip Hop is this, Hip Hop
is that…so it’s not dead its just that no one has really given back. We have
to provide hope and opportunity and that’s what led to that. And me being
from Hollis Queens just like Russell…Russell was a big inspiration at his
label in 1996 and I rose to the top from there. Jam Master Jay is who put me
on and he mentored me. He taught me about mentoring and taking someone who
is no one and turning them into somebody by pulling them under your wing and
showing them the ropes.
Dubcnn: Is taking somebody under your wing and showing them the
ropes and becoming successful…what does that feel like? Is that a great
sense of accomplishment and pride?
Sha: For me, it is. To see someone that I know their craft is incredible
before 50 or Banks or anybody hears this guys music and saying, ‘I know that
I’m getting a kick out of this so as soon as somebody hears this they are
going to get a real kick out of this.’ When you know that before hand and
you actually start shopping their music and you see the results of someone
going from being broke to producing on major albums…the next thing you know,
their finances are up and their name is up and they’re out there. Before
they were underground but now they’re out there. So its an incredible
feeling, it definitely is.
Dubcnn: Now with the One Stop Producers Conference, it’s out here in
Phoenix, AZ. It’s a 2 day event and some of the panels that you have seem
really very interesting. Like the one that sticks out to me is the Power
Players Panel but can you talk about if you are a producer what is the value
that they will find in the conference.
Sha: They will find that…the fact that you spend a whole year of your life
mailing cds, finding emails and finding contacts and constantly hitting up
with no replies. Sending cds to no reply. And you know who the players are
because you’re buying these albums and reading the back of the credits and
knowing ‘Who’s who’. Your wishing, like damn I wish I could get to them. So
the whole year you spend just in Fed-Ex bills and time on the internet is
just cut in half when I give you one opportunity to invest in yourself. Not
me but in yourself for one time of the year to find everybody that you have
been emailing or trying to get to. The opportunity to meet them face to face
and know that your cd landed in their hand without anybody saying they need
a management fee or I need this or that.
You get to do all of that and really learn how to network and understand how
the industry flows. And if you have a swagger and you have some incredible
music…I have seen guys walk out of this program making records that are now
on big albums. So that is the opportunity that is really in this. Because
you know that coming up I was trying to get to everybody but back in my day
we used to have to stand in front of the record labels and in front of
concerts and wait for Nas and them to come out. There weren’t emails back
then. I was shopping cds since they were on tapes. That’s how I sold my
first beat. I was a promotions dude for Steve Stoute and I was doing Nas’ It
Was Written and I loved it because I was getting girls and I was in Harlem
and different neighborhoods promoting with the Nas banner on me. That sh*t
helped me get shorties and everything because I had product and everything
like the It Was Written book and I met Nas and Cormega the same day in
Harlem. Nas gave me my respect and to this day he didn’t know that…I gave
Cormega the beat tape that day in Harlem when they performed on 125th at the
State Building. I gave him the cd and that ended up being one of Cormega’s
biggest records, “Angel Dust”.
That was coming from being a promo dude so I’m cutting past all of those
hard struggles that I know I went through and making it easier by having
someone come to one building where its all about politicking and networking
going on and opportunities. Nothing but air and opportunities for these
young dudes to come up with and that is what this is about.
Dubcnn: What day is it? May 9th and 10th, right?
Sha: Yup, May 9th and 10th in Downtown Phoenix, AZ. People can register at
MoneyManagementXL
Dubcnn: Now obviously there is a benefit for producers but what about the
emcees on the other side of the spectrum?
Sha: Abosoultely. These guys are coming from markets where they can’t find
beats. I became a producer because no one in my neighborhood made beats. So
I had to make them for myself and that’s the way I became a producer. That
was a blessing in disguise. So you’re talking about being an emcee trying to
make it then you want to get with these top producers. You’re waiting for an
A&R but these producers are going to be here (in Phoenix). I saw emcees come
last year…Chamilionaire came last year and bought beats. Swizz Beats came
and bought beats last year and he is a producer.
I have emcees on the low…like Yayo and Banks taking these beat cds home and
finding gems and putting them on their album. This is where you know you’re
getting direct to the producer and getting direct to the beats. And if
you’re an up and coming dude then you would want to meet Don Cannon and
hopefully he can produce your cd like he did Asher Roth.
Dubcnn: It seems like it’s a great…when I first heard the concept of
it, it seemed perfect to me because oftentimes artists seem to get
fascinated by the big names but they forget that those big names were once
kind of obscure. There’s production out there it’s just about trying to find
it. I guess by having them in one place…people that are motivated like you
said, it makes it a great ‘win-win’ situation for everybody.
Sha: And your readers can tell you this…and I can tell you about over 100
producers that I have provided opportunities for without asking for
something in return. I’m just opening the door so they know that this is
where G-Unit was opening up the door for new guys that were once nobodys
that went from never selling a beat to making hundreds of thousands of
dollars just off of these sales and turning their lives around. This sh*t is
real and it’s no phony bullsh*t. It’s no the Grammy’s where we are wearing
our best suits and patting ourselves on the back. This sh*t is really about
the next generation and providing that lane for them to see that this is
your industry. Now you have to know that you gotta be on dubcnn and know
what sites to go to and find out who’s next. Know how to network and stay on
top of your game.
Dubcnn: You mentioned a couple of times some success stories. Are
there one or two that particularly stand out?
Sha: There are two that really stand out for me. One being last years Kanai
Finch. He was a producer making his beats at the Beat Battle at the
conference on his laptop using Logic. With no (music) keyboard, just the
keyboard on his laptop to program beats in Logic and making the dirtiest…he
had Swizz and everybody in awe with his beats, changes and his sound was
sonically crazy. He went on from there to producing with Just Blaze on the
T.I. and Rhianna record ‘Live Your Life”. And you can’t get any bigger than
that record. He did a whole bunch of other joints that are coming out. Like,
he did a record with 50 and R. Kelly. And he is one of my favorite dudes
right now. He’s fu*#ing dope.
Then you have this kid from Vegas named Duel Output. He came with the illest
fu*#ing samples that were chopped and he had everybody…Preemo was like
‘Whoa!’ This dude was nuts with it because he’s a sample head. Went from
there to taking the cd and giving it to 50 and he was on the last G-Unit
album with the song ‘No Days Off”. He made in time from March to a release
that came out in June. Now he is on 50’s new album with a record that could
possibly be a single and that is crazy and one of 50’s favorite records. So
he is on his way.
Dubcnn: Nice. So once again, May 9th and 10th in Phoenix, AZ. The
One Stop Producers Conference. Give them the website again so people can
check for it.
Sha:
MoneyManagementXL and I’m going to put some new footage up
there. I’m always communicating with everybody. Please come out if you are
really serious about your career and invest in yourself. This is the only
time you can really see everybody you need to see in one shot and not have
to worry about mailing cds and not getting answered.