It takes a strong man to recognize the assets of skills that a woman brings to the table for their business. For decades, the music business has presented a male dominated industry. But, gradually over the last three decades, we’ve witnessed a shift with more women in executive positions, heading up label divisions and transitioning in ‘shot-caller’ roles.
The women of Bad Boy Entertainment, Faith Evans, the members of Total; Pamela Long, Kima Raynor, Keisha Epps and choreographer; Laurieann Gibson was a part of this legacy of strong women contributing to the success of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs mega-empire.
They treated a room full of rising and established female executives with their words of wisdom and shared stories of challenges and triumphs during their Chicago concert stop at the Velvet Lounge. ORS Olive Oil partnered with LA’s Brand Maverick Entertainment and Chicago base marketing company, Ariel the Mogul to present the No Stereotypes speaker series during the Bad Boy Reunion Tour to host an up close and personal panel discussion and brunch.
Over the last two decades, Laurieann Gibson has been responsible for some of the famous dance routines reflected in the latter Uptown Records videos and lending her signature style to Bad Boy’s artistry. When asked what would she tell her younger self now what she needed to know when first starting out in the entertainment business—she pauses.
She said, “That’s a huge question for me—to buckle up! I was originally born in Toronto. I left Alvin Ailey and went to a Heavy D. audition wearing a bun and I remember when I met Puff Daddy for the first time—he was at Uptown Records and he gave me his business card. The young label executive explained to her that he was the A&R Director.
Gibson asked what an A&R Director was? She laughs, “He left Uptown Records and formed Bad Boy Entertainment.”
She points to Faith, ‘Remember when we first met? You were wearing this motorcycle outfit—it was so dope and I was from Canada and I felt so corny,” Gibson jokingly adds, “Faith always protected me and she still does because of the boys. I would tell my younger self, ‘To believe in myself. I went on this journey where I had this gift and over time I would learn how to operate. I didn’t understand it when I was younger. Faith understood the power of my gift. The manipulation when you see a gifted person come into this industry is to instantly strip it of its power—to deny it of its affect.”
R&B singer and songwriter, Faith Evans has been through her growing pains in the music business. Considered the ‘first lady’ of Bad Boy and the wife of slain Hip Hop icon; Notorious B.I.G.—the two met at the label. They married, had a son together, later separating as both careers continued to grow.
Twenty-years later, she reflects on her growth in the business. “Knowing my worth, I don’t put that in terms of a number or record chart. I’ve always know I’ve had a gift from God with music would be a huge part of my life. I think earlier on; I knew my worth but I was afraid to demand it or exercising my rights to demand my worth,” said Evans.
“I know when my first contractual situation, although I had a good attorney—I didn’t want to know every faucet of what was in that deal. Now, everything is important. I want to know everything—there’s a lot of little loop holes. Overall, overtime I’ve grown more as a business person and obviously I would’ve done things differently.” she said.
Total’s founding member, Keisha Epps she talks about how she met her two bandmates—Kima Raynor and Pamela Long, growing up in Newark, New Jersey. They ended up meeting the mother of Puff’s Godson, who had them going to Mt. Vernon to sing for other popular artists like DJ Biz Markie and Heavy D.
They eventually ended up singing for Combs, and after hearing the group—he was impressed and invited them to the studio where Jodeci was doing a remix.
He called their rep, immediately wanting them to sign with his newly formed Bad Boy Record label.
The beautiful wife of actor Omar Epps, reflects. “We’re really blessed because I just came back to the group in twenty years. Just to see the love from everyone is really amazing. We have to put some music out. We have a bond that we just can’t get out of,” Epps turns to Pamela Long. “We’ve loved on each other hard and we’ve had some pretty hard break-ups. I’m just grateful for this moment here.”
Originally Published by The Chicago Defender September 2016
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