Kedar Massenburg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kedar Massenburg
|
|
|---|---|
| Birth name | William Henry Massenburg |
| Born | March 1, 1963 New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | Neo soul |
| Occupation(s) | entrepreneur, music producer, manager |
| Years active | 1995 – present |
| Labels | Motown Records (1998–2004) Kedar Entertainment (1995–2012) Massenburg Media (2012–present) |
| Associated acts | D'Angelo, Joe, Profyle, Erykah Badu, A+, Chico DeBarge, Da Bush Babees, Freestyle Fellowship |
William "Kedar" Massenburg (born 1963) is an American record producer and record label executive. He was the president of Motown Records from 1997 to 2004. Massenburg is famous for helping Erykah Badu become a star. He also created the music term "neo soul."
Massenburg is the person who started Kedar Entertainment. He is its president and CEO.
Contents
Early Life and Education
William "Kedar" Massenburg was born in 1963. He went to Erasmus Hall High School in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York. He graduated in 1981. Later, he graduated from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio in 1986.
Music Career and Success
After college, Massenburg worked in marketing for a few years. He worked for companies like PepsiCo and SmithKline Beecham.
In 1995, he started his own company, Kedar Entertainment. He began it from his home in New York. He used only $1,700 of his own money. His company helped manage music artists. For a time, he managed the rap group Stetsasonic.
By 1994, Massenburg was very successful. He was involved in many important music deals. He also started working in music production and publishing. Massenburg helped sign young rappers like A+ and Freestyle Fellowship. He also signed Erykah Badu to her first big recording contracts. He helped produce Chico Debarge's Long Time No See album. This album was very popular.
Working with D'Angelo
Massenburg also managed the soul singer D'Angelo. D'Angelo's first song, "Brown Sugar," was popular on the East Coast. But it wasn't played much on the West Coast. Massenburg worked with EMI to fix this. They flew many West Coast radio people to New York. They came to see D'Angelo perform. They also enjoyed nice meals and places to stay. Massenburg later said it was worth the money. Radio stations played D'Angelo's music much more after that show.
Discovering Erykah Badu
In 1995, Kedar Entertainment signed Erykah Badu. Massenburg's work for Badu made him well-known. His first step was to give out 1,000 copies of her song, "On & On." He did this at the 1996 Soul Train Music Awards. He knew he had a hit when he heard it playing from cars that same night. Badu's music was exactly what Massenburg was looking for.
Creating Neo Soul
Massenburg wanted to create a new music style. He called it "Neo Soul." This style recognized the influence of hip-hop music. It also used electronic sounds. But it also went back to older music forms.
Other Ventures
In 2005, Massenburg started Kedar Beverages LLC. This company makes different types of wine. They produce chardonnay, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon.
Personal Life
As an adult, Kedar Massenburg has lived in Manhattan. He also lived in Saddle River, New Jersey.
He has three children. Their names are Kayla, Eliana, and Elijah Massenburg.
