CEO of the label is me, Young Sears. We are a team of song producers. Everything is on deck from songwriters to mixdown engineers to track producers. We haved worked with different artists such as Mike Jones, Slim Thug, Lil Flip, David Banner, Nelly, St. Lunatics, Young Buck of G-Unit, Olivia of G-Unit, 8Ball & MJG, Young Jeezy, Chamillionaire, Paul Wall, Young Bloodz, Rick Ross, DJ Drama, etc.
Rap Steady
Louisville native Anthony Sears wants to be a force in hip-hop By Maisy Fernandez
Louisville native Anthony Sears is riding the wave of hip-hop success.
In the finicky business that is hip-hop music, staying on top of your game (and the music charts) isn't easy, and it's never guaranteed.
Fans change their preferences more often than their bedsheets, and many legitimate artists enjoy even less longevity than the notoriously untalented William Hung. So when someone can craft a lucrative career amid the ever-changing, rap-fad-of-the-moment culture, it's definitely an accomplishment.
Louisville native Anthony Sears is riding a wave of success as a writer and producer, a craft at which he hopes to make a long-lasting career.
Now living in Houston, Sears is working on an upcoming CD for Bun B (one half of the duo UGK) and tracks for Paul Wall, who was introduced to the masses as a guest artist on Mike Jones' hugely successful 2005 track "Still Tippin'."
"I never really saw it coming this far," the 24-year-old Sears said in a phone interview from Houston. "Where I came from, nobody had a lot of hope."
Growing up in the Parkland neighborhood in Louisville's West End, Sears never imagined his résumé would include a publishing deal with EMI; working with big-name stars like Lil' Flip, Busta Rhymes, Nas, David Banner, Mike Jones and Nelly; amassing a growing pile of platinum and gold plaques; or producing songs for movie soundtracks like "2 Fast 2 Furious." Yet that's exactly where he is today.
Sears categorizes his vibe as mostly a down South style, but "I try to make it universal," he said. "You have to be diverse because everyone is demanding different stuff," said Sears, who still visits Louisville often and is managed locally by Swatt Music/Universal.
In the beginning.
Where music is concerned, Sears followed in the footsteps of his father, who plays multiple instruments and had an affinity for '70s funk.
Sears admits he can't read music, but he did teach himself to play guitar and keyboards as a teen, and started producing hip-hop tracks at the urging of a friend while he was a student at Waggener High School.
Sears who, in the past, has gone by the name Young Sears ended up hooking up with the local outfit Too Big Entertainment. Through that connection, he met Houston rap artist Lil' Flip, who had already made a name for himself on the underground circuit with his independently-released debut record "The Leprechaun."
The two became roommates in Houston, and when Lil' Flip got signed to Sony, Sears wrote and produced the majority of his first major label release 2002's "Undaground Legend," which lead Sears to tour with Flip for more than two years as his DJ.
"I went on the road with him, and met so many people doing that," Sears said. "It kind of set up the rest of my career for me from there."
Inspired by producers like Dr. Dre, Timbaland and Mannie Fresh, Sears said his music is a reflection of artists he appreciates, all for different reasons.
"Timbaland was just so different at the time he came out," Sears said. "It was like `What is that?' I didn't know how to take it (at first). But it's genius."
As for Dr. Dre, "he's the king of the technical part of music," he said. "His mixing is perfect. And Mannie Fresh is crazy with percussion and breakdowns and stuff."
Coming attractions
The fact that it's hard to sustain an extended career in hip-hop behind the scenes or otherwise isn't lost on Sears. While he'd love to do what he's doing for a long time, "The average time (in this line of work) is three years at the most," he said.
Future plans include starting a record label through Swatt Music, and looking into music score and soundtrack opportunities. (You can see what he's up to at his artist website at www.ndtpmusicgroup.com)
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