Darcus Beese

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(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 Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

from his appointment in 2018 till his departure on 3 February 2021."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 We ...

'' 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 Warner Music Group (WMG) owns, has a joint share, or is associated with the record labels listed here. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Music Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * A ...

as executive vice-president.

Background

Darcus Beese grew up in

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

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the son of Barbara Beese and

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

. He 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, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

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

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer and songwriter. 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 ...

Taio Cruz Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere (born 23 April 1980), known professionally as Jacob Taio Cruz ( ), is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Cruz was discovered in the mid-2000s by American record producer Tricky Stewart, joinin ...

, Florence & The Machine,

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

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...

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 Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

(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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

."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,

Lucian Grainge Sir Lucian Charles Grainge (born 29 February 1960) is a British record executive who has served as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Universal Music Group since 2010. Beginning as an A&R staffer in the late 1970s, Grainge has work ...

, 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

as executive vice-president and launching a new joint-venture label.

Awards and recognition

In 2013, Beese was made an Honorary Fellow of

Falmouth University Falmouth University is a specialist public university for the creative industries based in Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall, Penryn, Cornwall, England. Founded as Falmouth School of Art in 1902, it was later known as Falmouth C ...

. 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...

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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 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 1969 births 21st-century Black British musicians 21st-century English businesspeople Black British businesspeople British music industry executives Businesspeople from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Island Records Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Fulham