Melvin Brown is an American record executive and talent manager. Brown, a relative of fellow music executive
Johnny Wright, is credited with having discovered Senegalese-American singer
Akon
Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...
in 2002. The following year, Brown, Akon, and the latter's brother Bu Thaim co-founded the record label,
Konvict Muzik
Konvict Kulture is a record label founded by R&B singer Akon, Melvin Brown (music manager), Melvin Brown and Bu Thiam in 2003 under the name Konvict Muzik. Artists including T-Pain, Kat DeLuna, Mali Music (singer), Mali Music, Red Café, Dolla ...
, as an imprint of
Universal Motown Records
Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the " urban" half of the Universal Records label, ...
. Konvict has signed artists including
T-Pain
Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...
,
Cyhi the Prynce
Cydel Charles Young (born September 15, 1984), known professionally as CyHi the Prynce (also referred to as CyHi Da Prynce or simply CyHi), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Stone Mountain, Georgia. He signed a major label recor ...
, and
Verse Simmonds
Maurice "Verse" Simmonds is a Puerto Rican / Virgin Islander singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. Based in Los Angeles but raised in the Virgin Islands, he moved to the United States after high school and he forme ...
.
Career
2000–2002
Melvin Brown began his career in media after graduating from
Duke University
Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
and moving to
Orlando, Florida
Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
to work as an assistant to his first cousin, record executive
Johnny Wright. It was there he "learned the ropes" of the industry by working on projects for international superstars like the
Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...
,
*NSYNC,
Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...
,
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
, and more.
In 2002, while working for Wright, Brown discovered the then unknown recording artist
Akon
Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...
.
2003–2009
In 2003,
Akon
Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...
and Brown founded
Konvict Muzik
Konvict Kulture is a record label founded by R&B singer Akon, Melvin Brown (music manager), Melvin Brown and Bu Thiam in 2003 under the name Konvict Muzik. Artists including T-Pain, Kat DeLuna, Mali Music (singer), Mali Music, Red Café, Dolla ...
.
[Melvin Brown "One Marketing Group Talks Muzik with CEO of Konvict]
" One Marketing Group Talks Muzik with CEO of Konvict "
''The New York Times'', January 2009 Konvict Muzik has signed artists such as
T-Pain
Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...
,
Verse Simmonds
Maurice "Verse" Simmonds is a Puerto Rican / Virgin Islander singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. Based in Los Angeles but raised in the Virgin Islands, he moved to the United States after high school and he forme ...
and
Cyhi the Prynce
Cydel Charles Young (born September 15, 1984), known professionally as CyHi the Prynce (also referred to as CyHi Da Prynce or simply CyHi), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Stone Mountain, Georgia. He signed a major label recor ...
.
2011–2015
In 2011, Brown formed the Melvin Brown Media Group (MBMG), a multimedia company.
References
* Complex
"Executive Profiles", ''Complex Magazine'', 2014to advance into US Market", ''AllKpop'', 2015"Cassanova Eyes Konvict", ''NewsTime'', 2011"Executive Profiles", ''Prezi'', 2014Brown visits Siwon de super junior en el set de poisedon", ''Konda Korea'', 2011Brown visits Siwon", ''Suju'', 2015"Konvict Muzik", ''OvGuide'', 2014l"black wall street ", ''bmorenews'', 2014
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Melvin E.
1977 births
Living people
People from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania