interview with charles kimborough (845 entertainment)
(Interview by Big Bad Baragon)
Q. Thanks for taking the time to sit down with me, sir. Tell us about yourself and what it is you do.
A: My Name is Charles Kimbrough, and I am the CEO of a new Upstate artist management company 845 Entertainment. We currently manage 6 acts and I'm working with 4 others
Q. Give us a rundown of your current roster, names and roles, just to get our viewers familiar.
A: As for hip-hop artists we have Greek, A.R. Dash, & Preme Black. As for Pop/R&B - Cait Rose. And there are two bands Tell A Tall Tale & I'm Awake.
Q. Let’s get in depth for a second though. What do you think the 845 has to offer the music industry that most other areas can’t provide? What makes us special?
A: Right now everybody just wants to be gangsta, we create stories. I think because we been closed out of the game, we've been able to hold on to the true roots of hip-hop. And because of the southern connection we experiment with different sounds so we have the NY sound with a southern type music if you know what I mean.
Q. Interesting, NB does have a lot of diversity. do you feel that the Urban community is being represented as much as the suburban community and vice versa?
A: Well again depending on who you ask the only thing urban about NB is the behavior, I think unlike most area's Newburgh offers both types of commentary We have MC's like Greek who's not from the Hood, but spent most of his youth in and around the hood. His music reflects this with his joint "Crazy" you have Dylan Owen, Austin A Game, and Newcomer James Whitman (J-Prodege) who offer more straight suburban view of things. Then you have Cats like Life Lava, Preme, Angel, Djohns, Canns and Tito Montana ( I could name many more) that offer straight hood perspectives. On top of that you have this new Hybrid style like A-Sicka, Mark Quartet, TC1 that talk about the party side of the hood, and the suburban surroundings, I mean I can do talk about the diversity all day, You have A.R. Dash, Tell A Tall Tale, I'm Awake to the mix and the styles are as diverse as any I've seen.
Q. Newburgh NY is often referred to as the 6th Borough, do you think this damages or helps the credibility of the Newburgh scene?
A: Well I can say this it hasn't helped, We still have no major artist in the industry (That claims newburgh) and still calls this place home! So to be Honest I don't even think about it. When We Pop everybody will be on the band wagon, and they will make the nickname 6th Borough relevant.. Until then we do us!!
Q. How much importance do you think original quality production plays in today’s market?
A: Boy, you just asked the million dollar question...If had access to "quality" producers I would be miles ahead of where I am now. Producers and Beat makers are what's really missing. Wait, let me add one more, DJs. All DJs seem to want to be rappers, producers seem to be just engineers, and we need them all. And also people who want to be behind the scenes.
Let me be blunt for a second, We don't know how to network, and bring things to the table to make a project happen, Ego's always get in the way. We have to many bosses, everybody wants to boss, but not everyone can be a decision maker, and sometimes being the boss means letting someone else make a decision.
Q. If an artist from the 845 is reading this and they feel they have the talent to work with your company, how would they go about contacting you?
A: I always laugh when someone refers to us as a company. We just want this music scene to grow and to do that you need quality artists. Mr. John D, VP of Live Nation, told me something this year, and it has stuck with me. He said, “I’d rather have someone with 40% talent and 60% dedication and drive that to have someone with 60% talent and 40% dedication and drive”. The reasoning in his experience the more dedicated work will harder and still want to learn. That being said they can reach us at [email protected] or http://www.reverbnation.com/label/845ENT
Q. I agree whole heartidly, heard a similar quote "Hard work beats talent when talent don't work hard". Anyway we're about to bring this to a close, Any last words?
A: Network, network, network!
Q. Thanks for taking the time to sit down with me, sir. Tell us about yourself and what it is you do.
A: My Name is Charles Kimbrough, and I am the CEO of a new Upstate artist management company 845 Entertainment. We currently manage 6 acts and I'm working with 4 others
Q. Give us a rundown of your current roster, names and roles, just to get our viewers familiar.
A: As for hip-hop artists we have Greek, A.R. Dash, & Preme Black. As for Pop/R&B - Cait Rose. And there are two bands Tell A Tall Tale & I'm Awake.
Q. Let’s get in depth for a second though. What do you think the 845 has to offer the music industry that most other areas can’t provide? What makes us special?
A: Right now everybody just wants to be gangsta, we create stories. I think because we been closed out of the game, we've been able to hold on to the true roots of hip-hop. And because of the southern connection we experiment with different sounds so we have the NY sound with a southern type music if you know what I mean.
Q. Interesting, NB does have a lot of diversity. do you feel that the Urban community is being represented as much as the suburban community and vice versa?
A: Well again depending on who you ask the only thing urban about NB is the behavior, I think unlike most area's Newburgh offers both types of commentary We have MC's like Greek who's not from the Hood, but spent most of his youth in and around the hood. His music reflects this with his joint "Crazy" you have Dylan Owen, Austin A Game, and Newcomer James Whitman (J-Prodege) who offer more straight suburban view of things. Then you have Cats like Life Lava, Preme, Angel, Djohns, Canns and Tito Montana ( I could name many more) that offer straight hood perspectives. On top of that you have this new Hybrid style like A-Sicka, Mark Quartet, TC1 that talk about the party side of the hood, and the suburban surroundings, I mean I can do talk about the diversity all day, You have A.R. Dash, Tell A Tall Tale, I'm Awake to the mix and the styles are as diverse as any I've seen.
Q. Newburgh NY is often referred to as the 6th Borough, do you think this damages or helps the credibility of the Newburgh scene?
A: Well I can say this it hasn't helped, We still have no major artist in the industry (That claims newburgh) and still calls this place home! So to be Honest I don't even think about it. When We Pop everybody will be on the band wagon, and they will make the nickname 6th Borough relevant.. Until then we do us!!
Q. How much importance do you think original quality production plays in today’s market?
A: Boy, you just asked the million dollar question...If had access to "quality" producers I would be miles ahead of where I am now. Producers and Beat makers are what's really missing. Wait, let me add one more, DJs. All DJs seem to want to be rappers, producers seem to be just engineers, and we need them all. And also people who want to be behind the scenes.
Let me be blunt for a second, We don't know how to network, and bring things to the table to make a project happen, Ego's always get in the way. We have to many bosses, everybody wants to boss, but not everyone can be a decision maker, and sometimes being the boss means letting someone else make a decision.
Q. If an artist from the 845 is reading this and they feel they have the talent to work with your company, how would they go about contacting you?
A: I always laugh when someone refers to us as a company. We just want this music scene to grow and to do that you need quality artists. Mr. John D, VP of Live Nation, told me something this year, and it has stuck with me. He said, “I’d rather have someone with 40% talent and 60% dedication and drive that to have someone with 60% talent and 40% dedication and drive”. The reasoning in his experience the more dedicated work will harder and still want to learn. That being said they can reach us at [email protected] or http://www.reverbnation.com/label/845ENT
Q. I agree whole heartidly, heard a similar quote "Hard work beats talent when talent don't work hard". Anyway we're about to bring this to a close, Any last words?
A: Network, network, network!
