Published: Monday - July 2, 2007
Words by Bear Frazer
Shalik Berry (Photo: Hiphoppalace.com)
As a Senior A&R Executive at Def Jam Records, Shalik Berry is usually either scouting out potential superstars or portraying an artist's vision to financing, marketing and promotional teams. But on this warm Wednesday afternoon, the 28-year-old executive sits quite comfortably at his desk inside the Def Jam offices in New York City and takes a quick break before attending more meetings later in the day.
Berry is busy around the clock, but he has solid time management. It's like he was destined for this career. While living in Harlem, New York, Berry's older brothers were making strives in the music industry with perhaps his eldest, Kareem "Biggs" Burke, making the biggest splash of all. Burke was part owner of Roc-A-Fella Records, along with Dame Dash and Shawn Carter (also known as Jay-Z). Since Berry was always around the three, he picked up little tidbits of advice and became inspired by their entrepreneurship.
"Growing up, you do what you're taught until you venture out and try something," Berry explains. "I look at my mother and she taught me one way to live. Then, Biggs and Dame taught me another way that was out there, so I just took advantage of what they were showing me."
After graduating high school, Berry launched Consignment Management in 1997 with a few partners. Some of the acts they managed included Queensbridge hip-hop group Screwball, Tommy Boy Records recording artists Kamikaze and Priority Records rap duo Draft Pick (which Juelz Santana was once apart of).
Though Berry built his own management company from scratch, he was yearning for something more. While attending random studio sessions with Roc-A-Fella artists, he was vocal about their songs they cut and offered his analysis whenever anyone would ask. The big three recognized that trait and eventually, it led to a golden opportunity.
"When Jay-Z was in the studio recording his albums, I was already there because those guys were like family," Berry says. "I was always giving my opinion and if they had a track or something, I'd always give it in. They noticed I had the talent and I had the good ear, so one day, Biggs called me up and said, 'We want you to come down and work with us.' I was like, 'You know what? I'll do it. I'll take advantage of it'."
With Consignment Management slowly folding, Berry jumped over to Roc-A-Fella as an A&R in 2002. He immediately began working with some of the label's top artists. His fondest achievement, however, was helping the label score a lyrical heavyweight. "I had something to do with the Beanie Sigel signing," he proudly says. "When my brother played me the music, I was really excited. We actually went over to Jay's crib and was like, 'Yo, you gotta do the deal with this kid.' We were real passionate about it. He just seen our excitement and he was like, 'Let's do the deal'."
Although Roc-A-Fella Records was sold to Def Jam in 2006, Jay-Z brought Berry along as a Senior A&R Executive. Since then, Berry has worked with a couple of acts on the company's roster and even signed a few musicians including singer Chrisette Michele, pop rock artists Laura Warshauer and super producer, Mannie Fresh. Berry is doing his part to add onto Def Jam's rich legacy and he's just getting started.
"There is a lot of history here, so I'm trying to keep the legacy going and bring in some young, new talent. That's what I'm going to bring to the table in these up and coming months," he explains. "I really wanna bring as much young, hot new talent in that we can find. Just keep it coming in and keep that legacy going."
In addition to his Def Jam responsibilities, Berry is looking to build on his own legacy. Along with Ray Cash, he launched Recognize Real, which is their production/management company. With a few producers already signed and labels already requesting beats, it seems like Berry has a promising future.
Portfolio
- Co-Owner of Consignment Management. - A&R at Rocafella Records. - Helped sign Beanie Sigel. - Worked on projects for State Property, Jay-Z, Cam'ron and other Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella artists. - Senior A&R Executive at Def Jam.
Future Projects
- Pushing projects from Chrisette Michele, Laura Warshauer, Mannie Fresh and Freeway. - Co-Owner of production/management company Recognize Real with Ray Cash.
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