Episode #32 with BIG RICH
The Early Days:
Bay Area Hip Hop legend Big Rich started his career making beats at a young age, which is how he first met a young San Quinn, another bay area superstar. He quickly developed his love for producing and rapping in the group Fully Loaded, which became the breakout group on San Quinn and Charles Kelley’s record label. In 2002, Big Rich released San Francisco Anthem with San Quinn and producer Traxamillion. Which became the most requested song on 106.1 KMEL and became the theme music for the Giants and 49ers. Big Rich went on to work with other bay area legends like Mac Dre and E-40 and had a number of hit songs in the greater Bay Area.
Pivoting Into Education & Management
Rich first made the decision to diversify his career in the industry by starting a label services marketing agency with his girlfriend and business partner Danielle. They then pivoted to education and artist discovery by launching Project Level and 1015 Management. Project Level is an educational organization that trains underserved youth in San Francisco at many levels of the music industry, including music production, videography, photography, choreography, talent management, and record label A&R work.
Project Level, 1015 Management & 24KGoldn
Rich came up with the idea for Project Level because he believed music saved his life at a young age. He wanted to be able to share that gift with a new generation of young people in the community. 1015 Management is geared toward finding the next generation of talent to help them get developed and signed like 24KGoldn, a Bay Area superstar who Big Rich helped make the introduction to get signed by Columbia Records and go multi-platinum. With a combination of training, management and a discovery showcase called “The Next Big Thing” Project Level is well poised to deliver on its promise. Add to that funding sources and partnerships including Atlantic Records, Time/Warner, YouTube, The Golden State Warriors, and Pyramind Institute, and Big Rich is well on his way to creating an amazing ecosystem of opportunities for career development and finding the next generation of superstars.
Follow Big Rich https://www.instagram.com/big.rich/?hl=en
Listen to the music from the podcast https://open.spotify.com/artist/5lkPydJppIPd2K9jJkfmMC
Check out Project Level https://www.projectlevel.org/
