The Billboard Charting Hip Hop Emcee & Entertainment Attorney Feat. Tracey Lee Esq,

In this episode Durell is joined by hip-hop artist and entertainment attorney Tracey Lee Esq. Durell and Tracey begin the episode sharing how they got connected via New Skool Rules. Durell and Tracey talk about the importance of being global and that hip-hop emcees who are real street with their lyrics are able to have a platform like New Skool Rules that gives an opportunity and a platform to be seen and heard from all around the world. Durell shares that he’s always been told that most entertainment attorneys are former disgruntled artists but what makes Tracey different is that he still makes great music. Tracey shares that most indie artists are underrepresented because they are forced to be their own record label and play all the roles that come along with pursuing a career in music. Tracey and Durell talk about indie creatives who actually need the structure of a record label, but even with the help of a label artists need to have a strong working knowledge of how the music business works. Durell shares that he doesn’t look at the indie creatives that he personally manages as his clients but more as family.

Tracey shares that he was first introduced to music by his mother listening to Gospel music. Tracey says that his mother also listened to a lot of R&B which he really enjoyed and then he started playing drums in church. He shares that he remembers trying to direct the choir around the age of 3, and eventually the pastor brought him to the front and had them both directing. Tracey says that’s when the bug to have all eyes on him really began. He said the first time he heard “Rappers Delight” is when he really began to develop a love for hip-hop. He shares that Melle Mel is the first emcee that introduced him to lyrical rap, which he connected to because of what he was seeing in his neighborhood as a young kid. He then heard T La Rock and fell in love with his descriptive wordplay and LL Cool J who brought the energy and swagger to hip-hop. Tracey knew after these experiences that he wanted to pursue rap in a real way. He shares that he would send demos to record companies trying to get a record deal all the way up through high school. He shares that he graduated from high school and although he loved music he had another passion which was sports. He decided on Howard University because he wanted to study mass communications and become a color commentator.

Tracey shares that he only lasted in mass communications for one semester and then he eventually met Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie & Ron Lawrence. They both were heavy into music and found out that Tracey had a talent in rap and eventually brought the passion back for music. He shares that even though he ultimately graduated and got his degree he was fully back in the pursuit of trying to get a record deal. He shares that the great thing about going to Howard University was that there were so many great connections made that ultimately helped to set the table for what was to come. Tracey talks about getting a taste of the indie music hustle when he and a couple of his friends from college started an indie record label and cut a maxi single and that’s where he learned about the different layers of the music business.

Tracey shares that he inked his first record deal with Mark Pitts & his record label Bystorm Entertainment. The record deal was for about 5 albums. Durell and Tracey talk about what it means to get an advance from a record label as well as how royalties are paid out. Tracey talks about what it means to have to recoup the initial advance and why many artists never do so because of the large amount of debt that is accrued to the label. Tracey shares that his debut album “Many Facez” was released in 1997. Durell asked Tracey about the album making process back then and what that process was like. He shares that after he recorded the s