After being groomed by her former record label SoBe Entertainment as a South Beach Beyonce, songwriter and singer Phyllisia Ross wiggled out of the constraints of the traditional record label box, and started promoting, marketing, and building herself. Any record that snatches Mizz Ross already has more than half of the work done. The artist has a solid fan community that follow her moves and look forward to her new song releases. Whether in Guadeloupe, Paris, Abidjan, Port-au-Prince, New York, Orlando, Montreal, or Miami, they come to see her showcase her brand of organic world soul. She’s a deft songwriter, and writes songs in multiple languages, so the winning record label won’t have to foot six figure production songwriting fees from external songwriting teams. And as far as the singer Phyllisia Ross herself? No more having to worry about everything herself…from video production to marketing, to touring…Let some record label worry about that!

So, let’s look at five record labels that would be a great musical abode for the singer.

1. Parkwood Entertainment
Overview: Parkwood Entertainment is Beyonce Knowles Carter’s record label. Thus far, Beyonce has been extremely selective about who gets in and who gets an invitation to join. On the roster are just three artists Chloe X Halle, Ingrid, and Sophie Beem.
What Phyllisia Would Bring To This Label Phyllisia would definitely deliver a multicultural aura to Parkwood. She’s released songs in Haitian Creole, English and French, and goodness knows having been born and raised in Miami, she probably picked up a little Spanish here and there. Like the incumbent Parkwood Entertainment artists, Phyllisia is multi-faceted, from acoustic sets to her impromptu jamming during her performances, like the one she pulled at Griot Fest in Palm Beach recently. Her presence at Parkwood Entertainment would also mean the use of her songwriter-skills for other artists on the Parkwood Entertainment label roster, and who knows, she could write or co-write songs with Beyonce herself.

2. Sony Music Entertainment France
Overview: Sony Music Entertainment and its European partner label Sony Music Entertainment France are as big as record labels come. The label has retained its prestige, power and reputation, even as pundits point out at the decline of the traditional record label.
What Phyllisia Would Bring To This Label Youthfulness, for one thing! Many of Sony Music France’s artists are classic and long-established artists. Phyllisia/Mizz Ross’s joining would mean young blood. Right now, Sony Music France have very few artists under 30—singer Sindy, Black M, being among the few. Phyllisia doesn’t necessarily have to be brought under the France leg—she could come under the mainstream Sony Music Entertainment banner, and release a French album under the France branch. Most of the artists under Sony Music Entertainment/France are doing straight, mainstream pop music (whether in English or French). The fact that Phyllisia is a multicultural woman would make her appealing to the wide, increasingly multicultural communities in France, Switzerland, North, West, and East Africa, Russia, and other multicultural markets all over Europe, Africa, and Asia, and of course the Caribbean.

3. RocNation
Overview: Roc Nation has a reputation as a “street” label, even though lots of “soft core” artists are on its roster. There’s an Emily Sande, Justine Skye, Claudia Liette, Dorothy, Alicia Rose, and so on, but there’s no Phyllisia Ross.
What Phyllisia Would Bring To This Label A staunch Caribbean and Creole flavor. Also, RocNation has a growing Latin label, demonstrating that it’s trying to test the international market and be more than a U.S. label. Just six artists have been added to Roc Nation Latin, and only two females at that. When record labels create Latin divisions, the next step is usually an International division. Phyllisia has the ability to be the breakout artist that can help RocNation penetrate markets outside of the USA. Phyllisia would in good company alongside Dominican-American star Romeo Santos. They could even do a Creole-Spanish duet together!

4. Universal Music
Overview: Drake, Selena Gomez, Kanye West and many others call Universal Music home. In addition to its mainstream division, Universal Music is also the home of artists like Kalash, Kaaris, Booba, black artists who are marketed by the France division. Universal could go two routes with Phyllisia…either put her alongside its mainstream acts, or better yet, build her up into the quintessential diva alongside the aforementioned male artists.
What Phyllisia Would Bring To This Label Her talent, her multiracial appeal, and her unique sound. Right now, Universal Music France doesn’t have an artist like Phyllisia Ross on its roster. By “an artist like Phyllisia Ross”, I mean that they don’t have a black woman, who they could push on the international market, and who has demonstrated multilingual singing skills, and can hold her own in the studio.

5. OVO Sound
Overview: Okay, so it’s basically all Canadian artists on this label founded by one Aubrey “Drake” Graham. Just because it’s all-Canadian right now doesn’t mean that it should remain this way. And thus far, the label is all male with the artist roster consisting of Drake himself, PartyNextDoor, Majid Jordan, Roy Wood, OB O’Brien, and DVSN.
What Phyllisia Would Bring To This Label Female presence! Imagine OVO Sound doesn’t have a First Lady, and not just anybody should become First Lady to this label. This is where Phyllisia Ross comes in, bringing her lady charm, and most of all her golden voice and stage presence!

Phyllisia Ross has shown that she’s very strategic when it comes to her career. Let’s see which of these labels will be the first to sign a deal with her.

And what are your thoughts? Of these labels, which would you like to see her signed to?

CLICK HERE to read past articles about Phyllisia Ross!

Video Credit: Ayiti Biyografi

So, there you have it folks, 5 record labels that should sign Phyllisia Ross, like now. This has been another episode of Kreyolicious Music, brought to you by your fave chick Kreyolicious. Until next time!

Haiti rapper Princess Eud signed a deal with music producer and record label mogul Steven Machat late last month. This deal, which also includes management representation, is viewed by many as the breakthrough the singer-rapper and fledgling fashion mogul was looking for to bring her career up to the next echelon. Here are five thoughts that I have on this deal.

1. So this is a record/distribution/management pact? So it is!

Steven Machat has quite a reputation in the music business world as an artist marketer, and as someone who has built, renovated many an artists’ careers. He’s worked with, among others, Bobby Brown and The Rolling Stones. He even wrote a music industry guide entitled Gods, Gangsters and Honor. It The fact that he’s been working in the music business since for over three decades, and has witnesses so many shifts and changes in the music industry makes him an asset to Princess Eud’s team.

An artist should worry mainly about music. Having Machat’s firm guide her will take quite a bit off her shoulders. He has had experience in managing world artists like Cameroon’s Manu Dibango, and will surely increase Princess Eud’s reach on the music market.

As far as this being a management and a record-deal…It’s my view that management and record label should be separate. Record/distribution label and artist management should not be carried out by the same entity.

Above: Princess Eud vibing in Port-au-Prince.

2. Princess Eud’s new deal is a sign of the times.

There’s this shift that’s been going on in books, movies and now music. I mean it’s not really a shift, as there is nothing new under the sun. But there is this attempt by the mainstream lately to draw artists, films, and books from small niche markets and give them wide appeal. In the cinema world, Disney’s release of Queen of Katwe, an underdog chess player story with Lupita Ny’ongo playing one of the leads. The story takes place in Uganda. In the literary world, there is the Diverse Books movement to portray characters of color. Books by African authors are no longer seen as token books or oh-yeah-let’s-take-a-chance-on-this-one books on publishers’ list, but as “lead books” for publisher’s prime titles list. And in music, record labels—both mainstream and independent—are signing artists who wouldn’t have been an afterthought even—years before. This would be either because they wouldn’t know how to market them, or they were convinced that they wouldn’t have mass appeal. But hey, it’s a new day, and thankfully unique artists like Princess Eud are savoring the fruit of this shift.

3. Princess Eud’s deal should serve as a reminder.
Yes, siree…a reminder to all artists and creatives no matter who they are, or where they are or what field they’re in…to be bold. Don’t be afraid of being original. And don’t sit there and wait for people to give things to you. The artist had been guiding herself, marketing herself and producing herself by herself all this time. She’s obviously well-known in her home country. Princess Eud’s story should be a reminder to everyone—regardless of their fields—how essential it is to put in the work, to take the creative shovel and dig, and build. We live in age where the record labels that are still in existence are looking for artists who’ve already built a platform and have a solid fan base—not someone who has to be built up from scratch. Do like Princess Eud, folks. Work, work, work creatives!

4. The work is done, but there’s more to be done.
Princess Eud ought to be marketed as a Pan-Caribbean, Pan-African Lauryn Hill, and the Machat team should book performances for her all over Africa and the Caribbean, not to mention Europe, where there is an increase number of multicultural families and demand for something different. She should be placed on the festival circuit in Asia. To my knowledge, other than mainstream acts, there doesn’t seem to be a great formal musical exchange between that continent and the Caribbean. Emphasis on the word “formal”.

While I am not privy to the explicit terms of this deal, I hope it includes Princess Eud licensing her songs to ancillary markets like motion pictures and gaming, and streaming shows.

Above: Princess Eud alongside her musical cohort Ded Kra-Z.

5. Let this deal be the doing and not the undoing of this artist.
What got this rapper noticed by Steven Machat’s organization was her down-to-earth image and empowering music. It’s crucial that these two traits remain part of the Princess Eud package. Of course, that isn’t to say that Princess Eud shouldn’t be a tidbit flexible when it comes to song choice and other aspects of production and image.

This deal will really widen her musical horizon, and with deals like this, it will afford her more opportunities to truly penetrate the world music market. And let’s not mention collaborations…especially with other female world artists (Zap Mama, Lira, and Lauryn Hill come to mind).

Oh…

And…

With new markets to be conquered, there’ll be new pressures, new temptations, and new challenges. What’s that saying? Oh yeah…what’s the point of conquering the whole world, but losing your soul in the process. May Princess Eud’s head continue to remain firm and tight on her shoulders, and may she never lose sight of the things that really matter.

Didn’t I tell you once that there was something about Princess Eud?

It’s total Eudomination. World get ready.

CLICK HERE TO READ OTHER ARTICLES ABOUT HAITI RAPPER PRINCESS EUD! #kreyolicious