Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
/ The reply is a kick in the ass from a leg in a boot.
Enter the rap manager.
Shit, you need a Moses somebody to lead you out and plant the seeds.
Remember, you have 50 jobs in one.
Terrence Snake Hawkins: Manager is a broad term.
If youre smart, you do whatever needs to be done.
If they got luggage, you say, Go to the car, Ill get your bag.
You cant have an ego:Oh, Im not your assistant.
If you want them to get on that tour bus, put them bags under the bus.
Ive also had to go to the dope house and get artists so they can get on a plane.
Never forget the money … T.H.
:Play whatever role you got to play to get the money to flow.
You meet a lot of arrogant people who say,Im a manager.
This is my artist.
Okay, well, how much revenue did you make last quarter?
How about last year?
You didnt make no money?
So what are you managing?
But remember the moneys not about you.
Thats when you put yourself in a hole.
Dont make a decision for your client because youre broke.
Never overpromise.
:All I knew was the streets.
Then I started managing a clothing store, and athletes would come through, like Kevin Garnett.
Then I started promoting shows, which led to running promotion for Mike Tysons record label.
And that led to managing Gucci Mane.
I met Veeze around then.
Gucci wanted to sign him.
When youre ready, just let me know.
A few years later, he called and said, Yo, big bro, Im ready.
Dont leak the music … T.H.
:I cant monetize if music gets leaked; its all over.
Its impossible to plug all the leaks.
If you look on YouTube, Im sure theyre monetizing it.
I dont care if they made six bucks I want it.
I want my artists money.
… Well, actually, maybe leak the music.
Glyn Brown:We did that withGrippy.We tricked your minds.
People thought it was a new song with Cash and J. Cole.
We didnt put Dunk Contest (Remix) on it.
We just named it something different.Some people got fooled.
I feel like leaks is good.
Im not going to lie sometimes, it can push the song.
Cash leaks his own fucking music, basically.
[Laughs]
Sell them on touring.
Thats what a lot of young artists dont understand.
Its about putting the building blocks around the artist for them to be successful.
Those were components that madeGangerwhat it was.
Because when an artist is moving, awareness goes up, streams go up, sales go up.
Be protective of your artists well-being … T.H.
We didnt getin-ear monitorsfor the first tour, so I took Veeze to the ear doctor.
They made a mold of his ears.
Without them, youll eventually become deaf.
Also, it makes for a better show.
Listen to the clarity.
Know where they are 24/7.
And then we gotta look at his location, which he shares with us.
Sometimes we gotta pull up on him.
Its hectic, but you just gotta think ahead.
Understand your artists worth.
I remember telling my attorney, Were not taking more visits.
Lets get with a PR company and just putGangerout on our own, independently.
Never be afraid to disagree … G.B.
:Its all schedules and deadlines with Cash.
Hes an artist, and he moves on his own time.
When he hits on something and he wants to drop, its next week.
And then well have deadlines.
Cash is very unorthodox about when he turns shit in.
And you got to know how to really reverse his brain.
I say, Were trying to 48 Cash.
[Laughs]
T.H.
:An artist will say, Hey, I want to release this record.
Well, sometimes thats not a great idea.
If theres a sample in it, I need to reset the sample, which can be complicated.
Im not trying to infringe on your art, Im only giving my opinion.
That can be a push and pull.
… Or admit when youve fucked up.
:When making mistakes, be honest.
If I fuck up, I let them know.
That builds trust between you and your artist.
You just got to honor it: Hey, thats my bad.
Always keep the fans fed … G.B.
:People wanted an album from Cash, but we didnt want to rush anything.
But wealsodidnt want to leave the supporters without music.
Cash was like, We got to capitalize on this motion.
Thats why we went on that run where we were dropping a single every week.
Thats a big, big,bigpart of why I feel like right now hes blowing the fuck up.
But tease them, too.
:When I was Glyns age and younger, you had to do promo tours.
Thats when you get in the van and go city to city doing radio shows.
Then you stop at record stores to do CD signings.
Now it’s possible for you to be lazy.
You got to get your artist to understand, Hey, your project is about to drop.
you gotta start teasing it on socials.
You have to convince them to get off their ass.
When the shit dont perform well, they look for people to blame.
Well, guess what?
You didnt promote it on your Twitter or your Instagram.
As a rap artist, you have to make up the attention deficit.
Dont do too much too soon.
:I wish I could do Veezes international tour over.
I was so hell-bent on making him global.
We did three phases of theGangertour.
We were successful with phases one and two.
The revenue stream went up by 60 percent.
But it wasnt so much about the money, it was about building for the following year.
I should have been better prepared.
We needed to carve out a budget for festivals.
If we cant book anything between these dates, we cant do the festival.
I dont mind breaking even, I just dont want to come out of my pocket.
Im still bleeding from this run.
