Darcus Beese

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(born 1969) is a British music executive and the former president and Chief Executive Officer of

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anothe ...

from his appointment in 2018 till his departure on 3 February 2021. During his time at the label, he signed several top musicians including

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A me ...

and

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

."Darcus Beese OBE , Honorary Fellow"
Falmouth University, 2013. Beese, who has been described by ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music Wee ...

'' as "one of the great A&R people of his or any other generation",Sutherland, Mark (24 May 2018)
"The Big Interview: Island Records' Darcus Beese"
''

''. subsequently joined Warner Music UK as executive vice-president.

Background

Darcus Beese grew up in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

— the son of Barbara Beese and

Darcus Howe Leighton Rhett Radford "Darcus" Howe (26 February 1943 – 1 April 2017)"Civil ...

— and has said: "The music in my household growing up was definitely a mixture of reggae, soul and calypso. My father was from

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

and my mother was of mixed heritage. So, yeah, my upbringing musically ranged from soca to reggae." Leaving school early, Beese worked in a hairdressing salon before eventually being employed in 1993 as a tea boy in the promotions department at Island Records, where he progressed upwards through various jobs, including A&R Director, and in 2008 co-president of the label, until in July 2013 he became president of Island Records. Among his key signings have been

Taio Cruz Jacob Taio Cruz (; born Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere, 23 April 1980), better known professionally as Taio Cruz (stylized TΛIO CRUZ), is an English singer, songwriter and record producer from London, England, currently based in Los Angeles. In 20 ...

, Florence & The Machine,

Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons is a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band currently consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, bass guitar, double bass), and Ben Lovett (vocals, ...

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. Dizz ...

, and

Rizzle Kicks Rizzle Kicks are a British hip hop duo from Brighton, England, consisting of Jordan "Rizzle" Stephens (born 25 January 1992) and Harley "Sylvester" Alexander-Sule (born 1991). Their debut album, '' Stereo Typical'', was released in 2011. As o ...

. In May 2018 it was announced by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...

(UMG) that Beese was to become President of Island Records USA, taking over from David Massey, and relocating to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

."Darcus Beese Named President of Island Records"
Universal Music Group, 24 May 2018. Describing Beese as someone who "has impeccable creative instincts and takes a long-term view of artist development", the Chairman and CEO of UMG, Sir

Lucian Grainge Sir Lucian Charles Grainge (born 29 February 1960) is the chairman and chief executive officer of Universal Music Group. Grainge has worked in the music business for his entire career. ''Billboard'' magazine named Grainge as the most powerful ...

, said: "Few in the music industry have Darcus's track record of creative and commercial success.... I'm excited to support him in signing, developing and breaking many more artists." In February 2021 it was announced that Beese was leaving the label and returning to the UK "for personal reasons and to pursue new career opportunities". It was announced in June 2021 that he would be joining Warner Music UK as executive vice-president and launching a new joint-venture label.

Awards

In 2013, Beese was made an Honorary Fellow of

Falmouth University Falmouth University ( kw, Pennskol Aberfal) is a specialist public university for the creative industries based in Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall, England. Founded as Falmouth School of Art in 1902, it was later known as Falmouth College of Ar ...

. In 2014, Beese was honoured as an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

list for services to the UK music industry. In 2016, he was named European Executive Of The Year by MUSEXPO Europe. In 2011 and 2015, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' named Beese to their list of the most important people in the British music industry.

References

External links

* Ash Houghton
"Behind the Music: Darcus Beese OBE (Island Records)"
SBTV. * Mark Sutherland
"Beese Here Now: Darcus Beese - The Music Week Interview"
''Music Week'', 4 February 2021. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beese, Darcus Living people 1969 births Black British men British music industry executives British people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Island Records Officers of the Order of the British Empire