About 2 months ago I received an email from somebody I had slightly dealt with in the past. The contents of the email outlined a loose idea of a tour that would take myself and my producer, Rodney Hazard, around the world. So like all the other millions of “Hey I’m a manager!” and “Yo, let’s do a song” emails I receive on a daily basis, I responded simply with, “Sounds good. Put it in motion and we’ll see what develops”.
Being an artist of somewhat adequate stature, I have people from all over the world offer me “deals” and “opportunities” all the time. Generally I give the email a quick read followed by a swift re-routing to my trash bin. Sometimes if the idea is viable and makes sense, I respond with the aforementioned phrase. 90% of the time the idea never even gets off the ground. 1 or 2 conversations back and forth and it’s dead in the water. 8% of the time it gets half way done and then it dies due to lack of intelligence and/or effort on the other party’s behalf. But 2% of the time the idea works and is a huge success, "
Marvelous World Of Color" being an example of that.
With that said, I’ve never been one to turn down a great idea. And if the other parties involved match mine and Rodney’s efforts, it’s always a recipe for something great. This particular person I was speaking with was somebody that I had dealt with before and somebody I had researched previously and found to be legitimate, therefore I felt comfortable that something positive would come out of it. So as the weeks progressed we began to develop what would be the beginning of a world tour. Or so I thought.
As plans for the tour went underway, I began to notice bits and pieces of disorganization. Random ideas thrown out but never followed up on, flights not paid for, itineraries not delivered on time and long confusing explanations as to why it was taking forever to do something as simple as forward an email. The words “the tickets are paid for and the itineraries will be in your inbox tomorrow morning” were repeated over and over as the month rolled by. It started to feel like I was in a real life adaptation of the movie “Groundhog Day”.
By the way, this wasn’t some idiot intern I was dealing with; it was the owner of the agency. That should’ve been my first sign to abandon ship, but me being hopeful and optimistic, I continued on with the plan.
The agent was almost impossible to deal with. A middle-aged man with an out of control ego, his arrogance was almost cringe worthy. Having had moderate success in the previous years running an independent European label, he was convinced that he was the end all be all when it came to independent music. His ego was so out of wack that he was borderline delusional.
If you’ve ever dealt with people in the music industry before, you know that these are all standard personality traits.
This being the circumstance, I kept it moving. A lot of the people I come across in the music industry I don’t always like but in most cases they’re a necessary evil. Being an artist you have to separate your business from your personal feelings. Bringing the worlds of art and business together is almost impossible and for some reason the business side of music seems to attract a lot of society’s bottom feeders.
So I sucked it up and stayed focused on the end result. I didn’t agree with most of the agent’s personal views and opinions but the fact remained that he had the ability to book Rodney and I shows around the world. The resources we so desperately needed were there and ready to be put to use; all I had to do was grin and bear it.
After a month and a half of waiting for our flight itineraries they finally arrived. Also, the agent had booked a flight for me to come down to Los Angeles and help organize a new clothing company he had invested into as well as assist in the overall structure of the tour. So I signed the contract, packed my bags and headed to LA.
Upon my arrival in Los Angeles I walked off the plane and right into a filthy apartment in Korea Town. I’m a firm believer in the power of presentation and how you present yourself says a lot about you and how you conduct business. With that said, this was not a good sign. But as always, I accepted the situation and kept my eyes on the prize.
The next 2 weeks were nothing short of a living hell. I was put on a minimal salary and expected to offload a substantial amount of stock from a clothing line that was amateur at best. The designs were awful and resembled something that would be sold by bootleggers in back alleys somewhere around 2001. Approaching high-end boutique shops was out of the question. There was no way they would be on board. We didn’t have enough stock to sell it to the wholesalers and we had too much stock to give it to the retailers. So the stock was being sold out of the apartment to around the way street vendors who didn’t know their ass from their elbow.
Of course, in the agent’s opinion, he was above it all and everything that wasn’t going his way was my fault. I was the reason that the clothing line he invested into was a complete failure and I wasn’t worth the dismal salary I was being paid. He called me names, threatened me and my career (and I quote, “I will burn your career to the ground! You fucked up, Jay! Do you think I give a fuck about you Americans? You fuckin cunts!”) and did the complete opposite of what any true professional would do.
Anybody who knows me personally knows that I’m a man of little restraint. I’m not outwardly violent or hostile but I will punch you in the mouth if the situation calls for it and this was definitely one of those moments.
But again I forced myself to stay focused, hold my tongue and keep my hands in my pockets. Despite the agent’s lack of professionalism and maturity, the tour was being booked. I saw it all coming together so I took a deep breath and decided to wait it out. As he was booking the tour I began to formulate a plan to hit the road and minimize his involvement as much as possible. The agent was not somebody that I wanted to represent me or Rodney but he had the resources to book the shows and make the tours happen. Sure, my plan was a little sideways but once you threaten me and call me a “cunt” all bets are off and loyalty goes out the fuckin window.
Then as the second week came to a close, I became aware of a private investor that had been investing funds into the clothing company and also into mine and Rodney’s tour which neither myself or Rodney had any previous knowledge of.
Now, anybody with half a brain can see how crooked that is. I have no problem working with investors but only if I’m aware of the terms agreed to by both parties. At this point, money had been invested into us that we were being made responsible for with absolutely no knowledge of how much was being invested and where it was being allocated. Basically we were about to tour the world while at the same time pushing ourselves deeper into debt. Obviously this was a bad situation to say the least.
Then on Halloween morning the shit hit the fan.
With 12 hours until my scheduled departure to New York City, I asked the agent about the tour deposit that should have been paid to myself and Rodney 2 weeks prior as stipulated in our signed and notarized agreement. With everything that had happened in the past few weeks, I was planning on heading to New York, performing the 10 European dates we were obligated to be at, then heading home and dissolving the relationship with the agent completely. But once I asked for the deposit the agent had what I can only call a total mental breakdown. Threats, name calling and more threats, the situation that erupted was one of the most confusing things I’ve ever faced. The agent was offended that I would dare ask for money that was owed to me. Never mind the fact that the deposit was 2 weeks past due, in the agent’s opinion the money that was owed to us was not his responsibility. My being in LA, attempting to work with some bullshit clothing line, helping to organize and build a tour and subsequently performing the shows was all some devious plot magically concocted by me and I was responsible for the money owed.
So I packed my bags, said fuck the tour and caught the first flight home to Vancouver.
I’m putting this piece out there for 2 reasons. First off, knowing this agent’s personality and general lack of business ethics, I know he’s going to try to dirty my name every chance he gets. So, as the title of this column suggests; THIS IS MY RIFLE. This is my way of telling my side of the story, also known as the truth. This is my counter-attack. I didn’t name the agent or his company because I want all other people I may potentially deal with in the future to know that even though I despise this person with every fiber of my being, I still maintain a certain level of professionalism and respect for confidentiality.
Secondly, I hope that some of the other upcoming artists out there read this article and take it as a cautionary tale. Trust me, I’ve been active in the world of music for a few years now and there’s nothing you can do to prevent these situations from occurring. This shit just happens. Around the world there are bottom feeders and bloodsuckers waiting to use your talent and your dream against you. I honestly hope that you attract as little of these situations as possible. Stay passionate, stay creative and don’t let these people stop you from pursuing a successful career in the music industry.
There were a few good experiences over the past few weeks though. One being that I had the opportunity to have lunch and engage in intelligent conversation with the creator of one of the best spots in Hip Hop, Refined Hype’s own Nathan S. The other being that I met a comedic actress who looks like a blend of Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie. Yeah, I actually re-named her “The Boner Machine”.
So here I am, back where I was 2 months ago and ready to get back to business. My iPod is full of beats for mine and Rodney’s next album and I’m where I belong, forever plugging away and plotting world domination from behind my laptop.
Man, thank God for the fuckin internet.
