DRUMMA BOY

Grammy-winning artist and producer Drumma Boy has worked with some of the brightest names in the rap and hip-hop worlds: Drake, Kanye West, Ludacris and Young Jeezy , to name a few. But everyone starts their journey somewhere. For Drumma Boy, it began at home where music was woven into the fabric of his formative years. His father was a member of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, his mother was an opera singer and his older brother ultimately became a producer. He first set foot in a studio at 13 and by 15, he and friends would sell out 500-seat local venues. His first song to earn radio airplay was Tela’s 2002 “Tennessee Titans,” which triggered a wave of offers from other artists.  Fame and talent are both undeniable assets to any producer. But neither unlocks a secret passage to success. “The main thing I’ve learned as a producer is how important ownership is and the power that you have,” the producer observes. “We are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to getting paid, but the top of it when it comes to creative. Now I distribute and market my own music and hire my own PR people. When an artist gets dropped from a label, they don’t know what to do. But I’ve always understood the importance of having each essential piece done in-house.”