Avonte Ramirez aka Papichampu or Champu doing music since 16. He started out doing marketing for a small record label name shai management. where they let he works with there artist and his brother where he sent his album sells up 25%. He knew after that he wanted to be a manager. He went on to manage his own artist thru out the years.
Instagram: papichampu6
website: www.itschampuworld.com
Interview by Tim Brown
What sets you apart from other managers in new York city? What I’ve noticed from others throughout the years is that they sometimes think being a manager is sitting behind a computer all day, not going to enough live shows, not scouting for artists in the real world or constantly trying to learn and grow. A lot of managers I’ve met in the past thought that just having connections will open all the doors but it’s really a craft, knowing people on the scene but having real relationships with them, being present in the field, constantly observing the ins and outs of the industry, it’s all about growth, you don’t want to just be sitting around submitting songs through the computer, you have to be out there as much as possible building in person.
What sets you apart from other managers in new York city? What I’ve noticed from others throughout the years is that they sometimes think being a manager is sitting behind a computer all day, not going to enough live shows, not scouting for artists in the real world or constantly trying to learn and grow. A lot of managers I’ve met in the past thought that just having connections will open all the doors but it’s really a craft, knowing people on the scene but having real relationships with them, being present in the field, constantly observing the ins and outs of the industry, it’s all about growth, you don’t want to just be sitting around submitting songs through the computer, you have to be out there as much as possible building in person.
What’s the worst experience you’ve ever had while working? I had a meeting with a record label I won’t mention for a group I had, we had a project completed and were offered a million dollar deal, the lead singer wanted a bigger budget though so they went behind my back and tried to negotiate a deal without me which ended up with the deal being dropped completely, next thing I know the artist called me from an airport in Indiana saying he was going home and never coming back leaving me out $20k at the age of 22 which was a huge disappointment but when things like this happen, and in this industry they will, you have to know how to bounce back and keep going because time wasting is a killer.
How do you feel about Soundcloud rappers? I feel like every generation has their own style of rappers that get popular, for me it’s just the birth of a new style of artist, just like back in the day where we had the conscious rappers like Q-Tip then we had the harder stuff like DMX, it’s new variation of the genre; a lot of people will criticize SoundCloud artists and write them off either because they see them as mumble rappers and they don’t like that or they don’t like the lyrical content but I think there’s space for everything and audiences for everything , I don’t think that there has to be a set way of doing things and I like seeing musical trends and styles develop.
What is something you regret doing or not doing in your career? I regret turning down an opportunity that I had with Hot 97 because at the time I didn’t think I was ready, the same goes for an offer I got from MTV too; I was too afraid to step outside of my comfort zone when they came my way. My advice to others would be to put yourself outside of your comfort zone as much as possible and to not be afraid because this is where real growth and learning happens.
Do you think a manager is crucial to an artist’s success? I think a manager has to be just as good at what they do as an artist is at creating and the two work in tandem; the manager is responsible for setting things up for the artist and allows the artist to focus fully on being an artist. This relationship opens up ways of working and achievements that may not otherwise have been possible; while there are some artists that can do it all and that are great at it, generally speaking most artists benefit from a manager and will see their success grow exponentially from having the right person on their team hustling for them. For me championing an artist I believe in is a huge responsibility but also one of the greatest feelings ever when you see them reach their potential.
Billboard Musik 