Rigg Morales(Shady A&R)-iNTERVIEW

[shade45staff]

New York, NY – As an up-and-coming artist in the music industry, you tend to admire and look up to individuals who have not only paved the path for those who follow, but also revolutionized the game as well. These are people who find new ways to get things done while busting their ass to meet requirements, set by those above them, in order to make it to the top. Among my favorites, on the list of industry specialists, is Riggs Morales, who currently heads the A&R Department at Shady Records. For some people, the traditional sense of the A&R position has lost its importance or value with the emergence of the internet and the now oversaturated mixtape market. It could be argued that the onus is now on the artist to discover themselves by proving a sales worth and a buzz that expands over multiple states, or in our case, provinces. From there, it’s a no-brainer for the A&R to sign the independent artist making the biggest impact without that label support.

See, there is a misconception that all A&Rs are alike and that the job consists of sitting behind a desk and following the present-day market trends… signing something slightly similar to an already proven successful investment. The idea of the A&R searching high and wide for the next big act has therefore been lost to some. Frankly, the generalization might apply to some out of touch A&Rs but writing the position off all together would be ludicrous.

For example, Riggs Morales… he’s that dude. He redefined the A&R position through his accomplishments and what he continues to do to: discover new talent. If you were ever reading The Source magazine growing up, then you probably made a point to check you the “Unsigned Hype” column religiously. Hell, if you were an up-and-coming artist at the time or just trying to get your name out, you probably even sent your demo in. You probably even remember when David Banner, CNN and Eminem all graced those columns. If you have, then you definitely know why Riggs Morales is that dude.

Starting off at The Source as an intern, and working his way up to Music Editor prior to his leave, Riggs Morales discovered some of hip-hop’s most admirable talents. Being the down to earth guy that he is, Riggs sat down with me at the Shady office in New York and we kicked back as he unfolded memories of his journey into music. Boy was that real. Free of any sugar coating and blunt to the core, Riggs breaks it down for HipHopCanada.com:

HHC: So Riggs, your journey in the music industry has been a very busy one and to say you’ve accomplished a lot would be an understatement. I know this a very cliché question, but I really want to know about how you got your first break?
I started off as an intern at The Source in 1996. I was 18 at the time. About 3 years prior, I had read an article about what an A&R was and I had always had this thing about finding new shit. I like to be up on new shit. I remembered reading the letters A and R and I was like, “Oh shit, this is cool. They pay somebody to do this.” I started writing; I did a lot of poetry. I dropped out of school and then I went back to get my real diploma. I didn’t want a GED (we call it get an easy diploma, which takes 6 months to get.) I went in for another 2 years of high school. During my last year, one of my teachers saw that I had some writing potential; she brought it out of me and I took advantage of it. I was taken under the wing of Bonz Malone, who’s like journalist avant-garde. He was hip-hop journalism at its finest. He saw enough potential in me to recommend me to some people at The Source. At the time, The Source had the big walkout where everyone walked out and left (the first time around.) I went out there to intern and my boss told me to go through a refrigerator box and find him good demos. Those demos had accumulated for about a year because nobody was listening to them. As a music editor, you have to make sure that the magazine is run tight. I went through the box in about a week. In that box there was David Banner and Capone N Noreaga and those were two of the first Unsigned Hypes. From then on I just worked my way up. I did 5 beautiful years there as staff and 7 as a writer. I started off as an intern, then Staff Assistant, then Staff Writer, then Assistant Editor, Associate Editor, Senior Associate Music Editor, and finally as Music Editor.



HHC: What was going on with the Unsigned Hype column?
While I was there I had to make sure I got the Unsigned Hype column because that would show my A&R skills. When I got there, no one was writing it because everyone walked out, and that’s why the refrigerator box was there. The first review I wrote, prior to writing for the Unsigned Hype, was a review for the soundtrack to The Show. Seeing my name on print for the first time was the best feeling ever.

HHC: Do you have your articles framed?
No I don’t, but I should start doing that. I kept every issue that I worked on. The only one I framed was Eminem because when I found him in… [Thinking]

HHC: In 1997… tell me about that.
I put one underground cat on named Al Skills and then all of them started flocking.

HHC: Right, because you took the time to listen.
Exactly… and once they started flocking, all of them were asking if I had heard of this white dude, Eminem from Detroit. I needed to do something different because I was tired of doing New York, so I wanted to hear the demo. When I heard him, I was like “shit, I need to see him.” I met him and Paul Rosenberg at the same time. Em came in; he had brown hair, plaid Kurt Cobain shirt, a little chubby, quiet. I said to him: “You got some shit.” He said, “Thanks.” Looking back at that time, he was going through a shitty period so when I gave him that column, it was a whole month of him being a star. He worked at a shitty greasy hamburger joint, but still showing that his hard work was paying off. Going back in 2000… that was the best thing I could have done because he became this huge star.

HHC: How did you guys keep in touch?
I keep in touch with all my Unsigned Hypes to see how they’re doing and update the public. I remember… I got the call from Em telling me that Duckdown wanted to sign him. I told him to think about it. At the time, as strong as Duckdown was, they were just putting out their stuff. Eminem would have been a whole different thing. He was fortunate enough to have Dre listen to the demo.

HHC: How did Dre get a hold of it?
Dre got it because one of the A&R’s over at Aftermath had been following up on Eminem. He saw him perform and he passed it on to Jimmy Iovine. Jimmy heard it, his kids liked it, and he gave it to Dre. Dre liked it and the sky is the limit. So in 2000, when I was looking to leave and get into something new, Paul brought me up here to Goliath Artists.

HHC: And that’s Paul’s company?
Goliath Artists is a management company started by Paul Rosenberg. At the time, his main guys were Eminem and Cypress Hill. I came in and started the producer’s branch. A lot of my friends were producers so I decided to manage them. I worked with the Beatnuts, Alchemist, Fred Wreck, Lord Finesse, Dame Grease… In 2000, 50 and I had the same lawyer, which is Theo, who’s actually Shady’s lawyer. He played me 50’s stuff. I was not a big fan but I took a listen anyway and, despite that fact, when I heard the music I was amazed. It was some jaw dropping emotional street shit. Em heard it because I had sent it to his bodyguard. He liked it, sent it to Dre and they took him from there on. So he’s not technically under Goliath for management, but he’s under Shady.

HHC: When was Shady first established?
I want to say in 2000 when the D12 album first came out…

HHC: Ok, cool. So let’s take it back to interning for a minute, because I know it’s something you wanted to talk about.
Absolutely! It’s the most valuable shit in the world. If it weren’t for interning, I wouldn’t be where I am now. I took a crack at interning at a production company and for as little time as that was, it was still a good experience. I interned at The Source for a year, and they couldn’t afford to pay me, but they paid me for every article I wrote. As an intern, you want to make yourself as valuable to that company as possible. You also want to make sure that when you’re interning, you’re interning under somebody. Also, have a clear idea of what it is that you want to do because you never know how long it’s going to last and how long you are going to be there. Whether it’s marketing, promotion, A&R, management [etc], you have to figure it out. I wish people would do that. But there is this new law in New York where you can’t take interns off the street anymore. Whomever you bring in as an intern has to be going to school and it has to count as a credit towards their diploma.

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HHC: We have something like that in Canada called co-op. When you’re in your last year of school, you can chose to do the co-op program, which places you as an intern in whatever workplace you want to work at. Afterwards, they may or may not hire you, but you definitely have a better chance.
But the music education in our schools is pathetic.

HHC: Oh, I was talking about just general workplaces.
Oh, okay.

HHC: Ok, so what about people who have been getting their grind on, and hustling here and there to get their shit popping? For example, a producer who has been paid little money, here and there, bats for a few years or so to do collabos with people and is just starting to get his rep up and then all of a sudden finds the opportunity to do an internship that requires him to start from scratch and do everything for free.
Use it to your advantage. You figure it out. Do your research, you have to be able to study that company and know what you’re getting into. A smaller company may have a major/experienced dude running it and you will have a better chance of studying under his wing and learning a lot from him. It all depends on the situation and whom you are going to do internship for. You have to make sure it’s educational at the end of the day.

HHC: Should kids graduating high school go to college or take the hands-on approach?
I never did college so I can’t sit here and tell people to go to college. You have to follow your heart. My heart is into music… HEAVY… and I knew this was an opportunity I wanted to take and I was willing to take the risk.

HHC: So then education isn't necessarily a necessity for someone to be successful. For example, in order to be able to write, a lot of people assume that you have to have an education for it. You never attained any post-high school education, but yet you wrote for 5 years for one of the biggest magazines in the country.
Yeah. In fact, Carlito Rodriguez, who I met one night when he had just come home from jail, ended up being my boss when I brought him into The Source. He is one of the greatest writers I have ever met. He’s just a bad motherfucker and I don’t recall him going through any of that shit.

HHC: What were some of the biggest difficulties you’ve had to face coming up in this industry?
The biggest difficulty I’ve had to face was realizing that not everyone in this business is as genuine about the music as you are. Another difficulty that’s always ongoing is dealing with the different personalities that this business brings. They say that the music industry is bad, but it’s not the business, it’s the people. You’re going to come across people who you think are cool and they’re being two faced, and people who you think are shady but who are actually good hearted. You’re going to have people who have an agenda when they’re talking to you, and then you’re going to have people who just want to kick it with you on another level. You put up a block. If you ever wonder why someone is a prick, it’s because something happened to them and they just don’t trust anyone. They want to continue to be in the game, but they’ll be very introverted and short spoken. If you get to know them though, they’re probably the sweetest motherfuckers in the world. It’s difficult, but it’s the industry that we’re in. It’s like the street business. On a street level, you have a product to sell, everyone else has that product to sell and you can’t be nice to everybody.

HHC: What’s a quality you think someone should have when being in the music industry?
This business respects enthusiasm and it respects persistence. There is this thing about the follow up. The thing I would suggest to anyone getting in this business, is following up with people, and also respecting their space. I’ve seen both ends of it. On one hand you wish you could get back to everyone, but you just can’t. On the other hand, you have to keep in mind that whomever you’re trying to get in touch with is probably very busy on another degree, so you can’t get offended when they can’t hit you back right away. If they can find the time to respond back with a brief “hi” every 4 weeks, when you make 30 attempts, that’s a good sign.

HHC: As head of A&R for Shady, what do you look for in unsigned artists? What makes an artist hype?
Something different. At this point I’ve heard it all and seen it all. I have to be able to differentiate the fan from the businessman. This is a business. I have to find an artist that can sell records from state to state. I’m also a fan and have to like his shit. I have to believe to the point where I’m willing to put together all my resources to make sure this shit works, which is the case with Bobby Creekwater. I heard him spit a 16 on somebody else’s demo. I thought he was bad. I was ready to go all out for him. It’s rare that I do that and that’s why we probably sign maybe 1 thing a year. It’s your reputation and you also have a hierarchy to please. You have to show that this one can sell.

HHC: What takes priority: What the public wants or what you like?
You have to keep in mind what the public wants, but at the same time it’s your job to make that ill-lyrical-miracle fucking monster adjust his format to today’s audience.

HHC: So basically what you’re saying is that if you find someone who has amazing flow, style, delivery and sounds really good but may not be what the public wants at that time, you are willing to take them under your wing and work with them?
I love that. I fucking love that.

HHC: Something you see artists lacking and should improve on?
Substance. There is no substance. Life is from A to Z, hypothetically. ‘A’ being the beginning and ‘Z’ being the rewards. Everyone raps about the Z; no one raps about the journey. There is nothing that the public can relate to. If you notice, a lot of the good artists are the ones that people can attach on. I think that’s what’s missing. I’ve heard it all. For example if you’re rapping about the streets I need to hear more than the fact that you’re going to blast somebody. I need to hear stories, concepts, delivery, persona; the whole 9 yards.

HHC: How important is image?
In today’s business that’s very important. You have to have persona. The kids have got to want to be you.

HHC: As an artist, what’s the best approach I should take in becoming successful? (Release mixtapes, release an album, get singles on radio and then approach a label, or rather record a demo and approach labels with it?)
That’s a good question because the mixtape thing has been so saturated at this point. What I would suggest is really hone your craft; really really get your songs up. You want to either distribute it, or sell it, whatever the case is. Use the original mixtape format so that you can showcase how good you are over original records. Don’t give me shit where you’re freestyling over dude’s beats because I’m already used to the actual song. Nowadays there are so many promotional methods for your music and if your music is good then it is bound to make it. That’s the reality of it.

HHC: As an artist, after leaving one of my performances how would I have had to make you feel in order for you to even consider talking business with me?
You have to have really moved that crowd. People don’t know the difference. MC means move the crowd. If you rock the crowd and move me, I’m going to look for your or inquire about you.

HHC: Do you think that the digital world is replacing physical albums and therefore causing a decrease in album sales? Should new artists focus more on making their music available for download or putting out actual mixtapes/albums?
Artists should concentrate in rolling with the times. If that’s what it is, then that’s what it is. Until we get microchips embedded in our heads with our favorite playlist, do what you have to do to adjust to the times.

HHC: So with the artists that you guys work with, how do you adjust?
That’s what they have a new media department for. They basically attack the internet and make sure we have a presence on ITUNES, Yahoo Music, AOL Music, and all those other outlets for us to sell our music digitally.



HHC: You’re still going to put out physical albums though?
Of course.

HHC: How did The Re-Up do?
We did a million.

HHC: Did you?
Yeah. The return on that album was crazy. I don’t want to say we didn’t spend anything, but the return was amazing. Initially it was supposed to be a mixtape, but the music was coming out so good that we were like, “Fuck it, let’s sell it.” We did a quiet million.

HHC: What’s the next album for Eminem?
The next album, if he decides to put it out, God willing, it will be next year: 2008. Lord knows we could use him.

HHC: What about other Shady artists?
Cashis recently released his LP and for Bobby Creekwater we are now gearing up nice and lovely. I have to make sure that no shit is left unturned with that dude. When the public sees him, they have to be like, “Oh shit” and we have the kind of music that can do that.

HHC: What is the most creative way you have witnessed an artist try to bring back the excitement of a physical album?
I’ll let you know when I find one.

HHC: Best album you have heard in the recent years?
Both of Kanye’s albums and the second Game album was dope (I’m not supposed to be saying that, I’ll be fucking fired!). That’s about it. Every other album gets about 2 day play on my playlist and then it’s done.

HHC: What’s the importance of an entertainment lawyer, from the viewpoints of an artist, producer, label?
It’s very important. He’s who protects you from all the hound dogs.

HHC: At what point in an artist’s career does a lawyer come in?
When there’s interest on you. Don’t just get one just to get one. Whenever you have a contract that needs to be read over…

HHC: So you can’t have a friend…
Yeah, you can. You can do that as long as that person is breaking down exactly what is being said in that contract. They need to understand contract jargon.

HHC: What’s the most negative aspect about the music industry?
The business overpowers the music.



HHC: You wrote for the Source for a very long time. What’s the best way to land a gig for major publications? Anything else besides interning?
Showcasing your writing. You want to make sure that you get in touch with a lot of the editors and build relationships with them.

HHC: How?
Send them samples.

HHC: What in your opinion is the key to a well written article? Questions you see asked too often?
An article that’s going to paint the artist in a way that hasn’t been done before as well as bring out information about them. It’s essential to stay away from generic questions. You have to find out what they’re into and relate to them.

HHC: What can we expect to see you doing in the future?
Eventually, I would like to produce films; start writing.

HHC: Your key to success?
Be persistent and have a genuine love for the music.

Editor’s Note: For more information on Riggs Morales and Shady Records, check out http://www.shadyrecords.com.

[Th3 iMolateR]

Great interview man, its always good to read on every aspect of the music business.

Props.