By Agustin A. Iglesias
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
Surely, a lot of people have been seeing SKE Records blowing up all across the internet. The record label consists of Trel Mack and Petter Jones as the talent, DJ YRS Jerzy as their DJ, and Q The Question is the label head. But, one person who has not received much mention is the man behind the scenes, Rob Davis.
Rob Davis has a deep history in the music industry and he has worked with a lot of the legendary figures in the game. In a position where he can make and break a career with one phone call, Rob Davis decided to take a chance on Trel Mack. With 10,000 video views in only two days, easy to say he has no regrets.
Hip Hop Vibe had the chance to catch up with Rob Davis today. Rob Davis opened up about his history in the rap game and the music industry as a whole. He is making his way through the game, once again, with SKE Records and he explained to Hip Hop Vibe what type of potential these guys have.
Read the entire interview below:
Can you give us your background in the music industry? My background, I started when I was sixteen years old working with Hiriam Hicks. She was responsible for discovering Keith Sweat and Gerald Levert. Ultimately, she ended up working at Island Def Jam and I ended up working closely with Michael Bivins and I did talent relations with them. This afforded me the opportunity to travel with them and meet a lot of people in the business.
You have more of an R&B background, what led to you going into rap? Actually, my background is hip hop because I started out as a DJ, so that’s my first thing. R&B was just an opportunity to make some money and travel to get out of the Philadelphia streets. Doing that gave me a chance to appreciate my love for R&B and I also got involved with pop music when it was getting popular. My first music interaction was when I was a kid and I lived in Oakland, California for a while. My friend’s dad was a member of The Whispers and one of my other friends’ godfather was Charlie Wilson, so I always had an appreciation for R&B. When I came back home to Philadelphia, my dad had a relationship with this lady who knew George Clinton and he reached out to me and he gave me a little job. He comes out on stage and he pointed to me and I pushed the button a device he gave me and I hit it and smoke came out. So, I was hooked in the music industry.
So, what led you to begin working with Trel Mack? I have known Trel Mack for a while and I was managing a young lady, whose father was doing a lot of production for Trel. But, I was busy focusing on her career because she had a lot of major label offers. Anyway, time went on and I became a consultant for a lot of different major labels and I began working with different clients. I ended up running across an article about Trel Mack and I reached out to him and then we got together and I saw how talented he was as both an emcee and also how versed he was as a businessman. He owns a lot of different businesses at a young age and that is something a lot of older people have never done. But, I looked forward to seeing someone who could work alongside of me. Then, having Q in the mix and him and Trel being good guys and smart businessmen led to this deal. Those guys are my family, my little brothers, and great business partners to have. As an artist, I really think Trel has a dynamic that really needs to come back to hip hop, I respect it now and all the different areas. I respect J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar for starting this trend and the door is open for Trel Mack to do his thing because he fits this mold without being too preachy. He is great at teaching in his lyrics without being a teacher.
How do you feel about the potential Trel Mack has? Ah! To know Trel is to say he has infinite potential. I am tempted to say he is the 2013 version of Will Smith without being seen as squeaky clean. People have yet to see what he can really do, his potential is unlimited, the guy is very talented with his songwriting and wordplay. Not many people can teach a lesson without being seen as a teacher. From a marketing standpoint, he is also a handsome guy, which means a lot of people want to buy into him. He is charming and charismatic, the ladies love him and the fellas will appreciate him.
Were you impressed by the numbers Inspired by Greatness did? I am very impressed by it. Do I think it could’ve done more numbers? Absolutely. But, the project came at a time when Trel Mack was looking to establish himself and it served his purpose to get his fan base established. Either way, the stage is set for his next project and people will reach out to it more. Like I said before, guys like J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar helped set the stage for what Trel Mack is going to do. Hip hop went through a different phase before and now it is at a better standpoint, in terms of quality of music. Had he dropped this project at that time this year, it would’ve done better.
With Trel Mack and Q The Question both being strong, young, businessmen, and you having a long history, what are the business meetings like with you guys? The meetings between us are great, because we have fun. There are plenty of jokes about Q and the Spanish mamis. But, we always put a plan together into the big scheme and we come up with ways to implement them. So, we look at how things will pan out six months from now and we lay out the process. There is always a plan that is going to take us to that place, we don’t expect to just jump out of the gate and score 1 million views. We all stay in contact and we are always working. Everything is self-contained. Our last video did well and Trel shot and edited the music video himself and you see those numbers! All of it helps us to reach our goals and we are doing it all on our own. Everything is going well and our plans are working, for the most part. Something my friend, Duane Martin, said “anything you think about doing is an idea, but when you write it down, it becomes a plan.” That sticks with me and our ideas have become our plans and I feel as if we are reaching our goals all in hopes of reaching the ultimate goals. We understand that it will take some time to get to some of these goals.
How would you compare this SKE movement to some of the other movements you have been a part of? The SKE movement is on a smaller scale in comparison to some of the other things I have been a part of. But, the difference and the plus is that everything we do, we are completely responsible for without any help from any major outside companies. All the things that are done are done completely by Trel Mack and Q. We decide what we are going to do and when we are going to do it, because we handle everything even down to the fan relations, all on our own. Back in the day, we had to rely on different people who could make all of these things happen for us. With this situation, also, people tend to act like they know us, I remember hearing Michael Jackson talk for the first time and being amazed. But, with YouTube vlogs, all of this is not as foreign as it used to be back in the day. So, working with SKE and doing this is amazing because you can see that Trel and Q are real people. We work, we have fun, and we are accessible. Back in the day, celebrities were like unicorns, you heard them, but you never saw them. Now, we have the internet and we are knocking things out, even at 5 in the morning, we are dropping videos and getting fan reaction instantly. This helps determine which direction to go in because the fans are right there and the fans are loving the work, especially “Inspired by Greatness,” so now we are preparing to visualize some of the more fun records off the project.
What are some of the other projects you are working on? I am working on some stuff I really cannot speak on due to contracts and things of that nature. But, when I decided to begin working with Trel, I was working with some people in television and film that will be coming out. Right now, again, I cannot get into it and Trel Mack is my main focus, outside of all of that. He brings something new to the business that I hope the people jump on for. Trel Mack has a bright future doing a lot of different things.
If a person wanted to work with you, how would they go about getting you attention and what would make you decide whether or not to work with them? In the past, I have learned you should never work harder than the person who is looking to become the so-called celebrity or star. They should be working harder than you and there are so many outlets that allow these people entry in the game. When I ask you where you are online and I cannot find you, that’s the end. Also, you should already have your image ready, if I have to build that for you, chances are we are not working. But, all I am looking for is someone making effort to get their careers going, effort, attention, and potential makes me willing to work. Since I started at the age of sixteen, I have a lot of major connections, where I can take you right to the horse, so you need to have focus because I’m not risking losing those connections for anyone. This is why I like Trel Mack because if I stepped away right now, they would still have a lot of attention. All I am doing is letting the companies and booking agents know, this is Trel Mack and he exists. I get calls daily about someone who has power and they are interested in knowing about Trel Mack. I put the project in their face and they like it. This is my expertise and I like for people to already have motion.
Where can we find you on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? I’m on Instagram @MuzecMan, that’s also my Twitter, and always feel free to hit me. My email is [email protected] and that is for anyone who wants any additional information on me, Trel Mack, and Q. For anyone who wants to work with Trel Mack, hit us at [email protected].
Follow Agustin A. Iglesias on Twitter @Rule_York.
