Hear YE, Hear YE, Hear YE

“But I have to just thank God for the situation that I am in… “Through the Wire” is the worst thing that could’ve possibly happened to me, and now it’s obviously the best thing. Look how it exploded!” Kanye West     “But West initially had trouble convincing Roc-A-Fella execs to let him make his own album as a rapper. He was able to change their minds only after the accident that inspired his breakthrough single, ‘Through the Wire.’” USA Weekend 8/19/2007 .

In November of 2003, when Ye’s first single about his car accident, “Through The Wire” was was formally released to urban radio, I was entering my tenth year as a major player in the Urban independent radio promotion business.  My company, Whitewall Records, had, arguably, the best track record statistically, in the country, for breaking R&B and Hip-Hop singles at Urban radio. Between 1995 and 2010, my companies and my team were responsible for breaking over one hundred (100) No. 1 singles at Urban radio.  I had a great ear for rap and R&B and could predict, within a couple of slots, where any single I worked at radio would end up on the Billboard Urban chart. Major label promotion executives never questioned the quality of my work or the level of its excellence.  They used my companies because I could deliver at the highest level.

From 1995- 2004, I worked urban radio for every single on Def Jam, except for one.  I broke every Jay-Z, Ludacris, Ja Rule, Dru Hill, Sysco, Ashanti and Ye single as well as many others that were released during that period. For Arista, I broke OutKast’s first major single, “Miss Jackson,” and Pharrell’s first solo single ,”Frontin.” I closed out the urban radio panel for Virgin Records with a Janet Jackson single and almost did it the same week for Atlantic’s Sunshine Anderson song, “I Heard It All Before.”  I broke at radio all of Jim Jones and DJ Khalid’s singles for E-One/Koch, including Jones’ No. 1 single on Columbia, “Pop Champagne”.   My track record was undeniable.

In the midst of watching the second episode of the Ye bio on Netflix, it became obvious that the show only described how the song, “Through the Wire,” was written and not how it came to be a major hit at radio shooting Ye’s career as a solo artist into overdrive. Prior to his breakout solo artist career, those of us in the industry knew Ye only as a successful record producer.

Now for the untold story behind the success of Ye’s first single, “Through the Wire.” In November, 2003, the VP of Marketing and Promotion for Def Jam, Benny Pough, asked me to work at Urban radio Ye’s “Through the Wire.” Usually, my budget was $85-90,000 to work a record nationally at Urban radio. However, when a label gave me only half of my usual budget, like they did with “Through The Wire,” my job was to pick up as many stations as I could to make the effort look good and then move on to whatever my next project was. 

Interest at the label to make this single happen was never communicated to me as a priority.  Get in and get out I was told. So, I worked the record to get as many stations as I could to make the label’s effort look good.  In its first week, I picked up somewhere around thirty (30) to forty (40) stations. In those days, I had a sixth sense for smelling out a hit record. Word in the street, radio programmers and my own instincts told me I had a potential hit record.  But I didn’t have the budget to bring the record home.

That next Monday, my partner and former Def Jam VP of Marketing and Promotion, Wes Johnson, an icon in the Urban promotion world, asked me to attend a meeting with Benny Pough, the current Def Jam VP of Promotion; Kevin Liles, The President of Def Jam and Lyor Cohen, The Chairman of Island-Def Jam. I don’t recall the reason for that meeting.

After the topic at hand was discussed, I had to make a critical career impacting decision. Never one to rock the boat with the powers that be, I felt that I had to speak up about the Kanye West, “Through The Wire” single. Politely, I told the three of them that I was confident that the record was a hit and that if they gave me the rest of the budget, I could bring the record home.  At this point in my independent promotion career, I could deliver on anything I wanted at Urban Radio.  All I needed was the rest of the budget to break Ye’s first single.  

Benny Pough spoke up first and said, “If Dave thinks he can get Kanye’s single, then he can get it and we should give him the rest of the budget.” Kevin Liles with a quizzical look on his face wasn’t sure what to say. Then, after some thought, he said if Benny thinks Dave could get the single, then he thought we should give Dave the rest of the budget. We all waited to see what Lyor Cohen would say. In my mind I was wondering what the holdup was. Everyone in the room knew I could make the single happen.

Then Lyor spoke. He had worked out a deal with Atlantic where he would give the inside track to their Jamie Foxx/Twista, Ye produced single and hold back the Def Jam single. My first thought was we were all Def Jam.  Why would we offer help to another company at the expense of a Def Jam project? It didn’t make sense.

All of us spoke up again and said the single was gettable.  I told everyone, I thought “Through the Wire” was a hit and to give me the rest of the budget and I would make it happen.  Finally, Lyor caved.  I got the rest of the budget and just like Ye said, his first single “exploded.”  “Through the Wire” was followed by “Jesus Walks” which also became a huge hit and the rest is history.  Ye went on to become a mega star. In February 2004, Kanye West stood on the Grammy stage accepting a Grammy for Best New Artist solidifying his immense talent.

Ye, you owe me nothing.  I fought for your single because it was my job. That it worked out so well reflected in my ability to pick out hit records and work them at Urban radio to the max. I have spent a large part of the past fifteen (15) years thinking about how to create a better path for discovering artists and bringing them into the mainstream. I have a solution and would love to run it by you for your help and support.  I want to change the way mainstream artists are discovered and a better way for the music business to conduct itself moving forward. Please reach out. I will be waiting to hear from you.  Thanks

David Sherbow

MyLifeWithMusic.com

davidsherbow@gmail.com