Ray Daniels & Chris Anokute have a REAL talk about the music industry. - Raydar Report (Episode 96)
Ray Daniels Presents
17,492 views
Chris Anokute, the A&R who signed Katy Perry, tells Ray Daniels and T-Mac why he will never run a major label, how he handed Kanye West his checks in a Def Jam cubicle, and why he told a label boss on a Zoom call that no amount of money would get him the deal.
Chris grew up in West Orange, New Jersey around Vada Nobles, Ed Lover and Chris Lighty, listening to Z100 instead of Hot 97. He came up in A&R admin at Def Jam under Rob Mitchell, cutting checks for Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles and handing paper to a young Omari "Kanye" West. Jason Flom hired him at Virgin at 23. Six months after Rihanna's "Pon de Replay" he was a senior director. He worked Stacie Orrico and Joss Stone, got Lauryn Hill on a record, then signed Katy Perry.
Then Curtis Waters. Chris put $50,000 of his own money in with a pregnant wife at home, $25,000 into TikTok, and got in Spotify's Today's Top Hits unsigned. John Janick and Peter Edge were both offering $2 million. Aaron DM'd the artist behind his back, so Chris told him on a Zoom he would never get the deal. Curtis licensed to BMG, kept his masters and did 1.2 billion streams.
Ray tells his own: 2KBABY asking to meet Gary Vee, the "black floor" at Interscope, fighting for Dash in John Janick's office before Dash signed Playboi Carti and Juice WRLD, and quitting over Joey Manda's sign on the door. They get into unrecouped balances, LA Reid's run from TLC to Megan Thee Stallion, what Larry Jackson and Gamma did for Kanye, and why Bu, Akon's brother, got pushed out. Lucian Grainge, Rob Stringer, Jimmy Iovine, Sylvia Rhone, NLE Choppa and Joe Budden also come up.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Chris Anokute Joins Ray Daniels and T-Mac
1:40 The Dr. Luke Introduction That Changed Ray's Career
4:12 Why Chris Anokute Is Not Running a Label
5:47 Jason Flom, Virgin and Signing Katy Perry at 23
8:08 2KBABY Asked for Gary Vee, So Ray Became Him
9:46 The Curtis Waters Deal and the DM Behind His Back
12:14 $50,000 of His Own Money and a Pregnant Wife
14:39 Billboard's Top Producers and the Katy Perry Denominator
15:27 "You Will Never Get This Deal"
17:58 The Third Floor and the Only Black Exec at Interscope
19:34 Ray Sends Dash to John Janick, Then Come Carti and Juice WRLD
21:55 West Orange, Vada Nobles, Ed Lover and Chris Lighty
23:36 Why Chris Listened to Z100 Instead of Hot 97
27:29 Giving Kanye West His Checks at Def Jam
30:48 Why Black Execs Go Dark When They Get the Big Job
33:09 "You Can't Hire Us Because You Can't Fire Us"
39:48 Remote Work Killed the Record Business
43:47 The Nightclub Analogy and Why Coaches Beat Players
46:13 LA Reid's Rule About Future and Ciara
49:27 Ray's Formula for Breaking Artists: Just Talk
52:46 Kanye West, Larry Jackson and the Gamma Album
55:08 The 2KBABY Deal and the Six-Week Window
59:09 "Go Be His Uncle" - The NLE Choppa Conversation
1:03:13 They Tried to Kill Bu, Akon's Brother
1:06:26 They Never Learned How to Make the Pizza
1:11:18 Why Ray Quit Interscope and the Sign on the Door
1:16:56 Get in the Ray Daniels Business, Not the Music Business
The Raydar Report is Ray Daniels' weekly breakdown of the music business, hip-hop culture and Atlanta - hosted by a 20-year music executive, not a journalist. New episodes every week.
Like this video? Become a channel member for more content or join our Patreon!
Patreon: RayDanielsPresents
Subscribe on YouTube - https://bit.ly/RayDanielsYouTube
Watch full episodes of The Raydar Report - The Raydar Report
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Ray Daniels & Chris Anokute have a REAL talk about the music industry. - Raydar Report (Episode 96)
Ray Daniels Presents
17,492 views
Chris Anokute, the A&R who signed Katy Perry, tells Ray Daniels and T-Mac why he will never run a major label, how he handed Kanye West his checks in a Def Jam cubicle, and why he told a label boss on a Zoom call that no amount of money would get him the deal.
Chris grew up in West Orange, New Jersey around Vada Nobles, Ed Lover and Chris Lighty, listening to Z100 instead of Hot 97. He came up in A&R admin at Def Jam under Rob Mitchell, cutting checks for Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles and handing paper to a young Omari "Kanye" West. Jason Flom hired him at Virgin at 23. Six months after Rihanna's "Pon de Replay" he was a senior director. He worked Stacie Orrico and Joss Stone, got Lauryn Hill on a record, then signed Katy Perry.
Then Curtis Waters. Chris put $50,000 of his own money in with a pregnant wife at home, $25,000 into TikTok, and got in Spotify's Today's Top Hits unsigned. John Janick and Peter Edge were both offering $2 million. Aaron DM'd the artist behind his back, so Chris told him on a Zoom he would never get the deal. Curtis licensed to BMG, kept his masters and did 1.2 billion streams.
Ray tells his own: 2KBABY asking to meet Gary Vee, the "black floor" at Interscope, fighting for Dash in John Janick's office before Dash signed Playboi Carti and Juice WRLD, and quitting over Joey Manda's sign on the door. They get into unrecouped balances, LA Reid's run from TLC to Megan Thee Stallion, what Larry Jackson and Gamma did for Kanye, and why Bu, Akon's brother, got pushed out. Lucian Grainge, Rob Stringer, Jimmy Iovine, Sylvia Rhone, NLE Choppa and Joe Budden also come up.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Chris Anokute Joins Ray Daniels and T-Mac
1:40 The Dr. Luke Introduction That Changed Ray's Career
4:12 Why Chris Anokute Is Not Running a Label
5:47 Jason Flom, Virgin and Signing Katy Perry at 23
8:08 2KBABY Asked for Gary Vee, So Ray Became Him
9:46 The Curtis Waters Deal and the DM Behind His Back
12:14 $50,000 of His Own Money and a Pregnant Wife
14:39 Billboard's Top Producers and the Katy Perry Denominator
15:27 "You Will Never Get This Deal"
17:58 The Third Floor and the Only Black Exec at Interscope
19:34 Ray Sends Dash to John Janick, Then Come Carti and Juice WRLD
21:55 West Orange, Vada Nobles, Ed Lover and Chris Lighty
23:36 Why Chris Listened to Z100 Instead of Hot 97
27:29 Giving Kanye West His Checks at Def Jam
30:48 Why Black Execs Go Dark When They Get the Big Job
33:09 "You Can't Hire Us Because You Can't Fire Us"
39:48 Remote Work Killed the Record Business
43:47 The Nightclub Analogy and Why Coaches Beat Players
46:13 LA Reid's Rule About Future and Ciara
49:27 Ray's Formula for Breaking Artists: Just Talk
52:46 Kanye West, Larry Jackson and the Gamma Album
55:08 The 2KBABY Deal and the Six-Week Window
59:09 "Go Be His Uncle" - The NLE Choppa Conversation
1:03:13 They Tried to Kill Bu, Akon's Brother
1:06:26 They Never Learned How to Make the Pizza
1:11:18 Why Ray Quit Interscope and the Sign on the Door
1:16:56 Get in the Ray Daniels Business, Not the Music Business
The Raydar Report is Ray Daniels' weekly breakdown of the music business, hip-hop culture and Atlanta - hosted by a 20-year music executive, not a journalist. New episodes every week.
Like this video? Become a channel member for more content or join our Patreon!
Patreon: RayDanielsPresents
Subscribe on YouTube - https://bit.ly/RayDanielsYouTube
Watch full episodes of The Raydar Report - The Raydar Report
Follow:
Instagram - Instagram: raydaniels
Twitter - Twitter: raydaniels
TikTok - TikTok: ray.daniels
#raydaniels
#raydarreport