IN THIS RAP COALITION UPDATE:

*Beats By The Pound label deal coming....
*Wendy Day finally sues Cash Money Records....
*C-Murder to be represented by Wilhelmina Modeling Agency....
*Twista ponders signing to Puffy's Bad Boy Records....
*Tragedy released from V2 Records....
*Fiend released from No Limit Records....
*More independent record releases than ever....
*Visionary Management adds Slick Rick and C-Murder to the roster....
*New urban industry report card for rap record labels...www.industryreport.com


Beats By The Pound, the four-man production team responsible for the No Limit platinum hits such as Make ‘Em Say Uhhhh, Ice Cream Man, Bout It Bout It, etc, has finally gone out on their own and are about to release their first recording artist, Six Shot. No other production team in urban music have sold more records than Beats By The Pound, who changed their name last year to Medicine Men to further distance themselves from Master P's No Limit empire. The production team left No Limit in April of 1999, when it became apparent Master P had no intention of paying them. They were the first of many artists to allegedly leave for the same reason. With over 40 million records sold, and with many platinum and gold hits under their belts (including recent hits for Mariah Carey, Brian McKnight, and Mystikal), Medicine Men are poised to build a strong empire on their own, this time reaping the benefits of their hard work. Beats By The Pound were responsible for the production of over 800 songs for artists down with Master P's No Limit Records, and have a catalog of over 2,000 songs completed. They own all of their own publishing from Day One, and are also seeking a publishing deal for the new and old work.

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In February, Wendy Day (who secured the now famous $30 million distribution deal for Cash Money Records) filed suit against Cash Money Records and owners Bryan and Ronald Williams for not paying her to secure their deal. Although industry insiders estimated the deal to be worth $30 million at the time the deal was done, the deal is worth more like $75 million after 20 months according to Day's calculations. "I wrote an article for www.rapstation.com that just applies the mathematical formula from their Universal deal and independent releases. Since I did the deal, I'm privy to that information," says Day. After she spent nine months shopping the deal, writing business plans, building hype, securing press, and helping to increase their independent sales, Ronald and Bryan Williams owners of Cash Money just didn't pay the agreed, or any, fee. Day claims they've contacted her 3 times in the past two year period to pay her, but just never get around to it.

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C-Murder, who is the newest artist to be consulted by Visionary Management, has just secured representation by the internationally famous Wilhelmina Modeling Agency. Wendy Day, CEO of Visionary Management Consultants, realized in March after spending time with C-Murder in Baton Rouge, just how outstanding his charisma is. "I haven't seen charisma and charm like this since Tupac," sites Day, "It just seemed natural for me to find a modeling agency that could see our vision for C, and after a wee bit of stalking, they saw it my way! They are the number one modeling agency for male models and this will take C to a whole other level--where he should be!!" Look out for C-Murder on billboards, runways, and magazines near you!

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Twista ponders signing to Puffy's Bad Boy Records. Puffy has been very outspoken about his respect and admiration for Chicago recording artist Twista, who sold over 600,000 records for Atlantic Records through a production company that he is currently fighting in court. "They forgot to pay Twista, and this drove him into bankruptcy," says a former artist signed to the same production company as Twista. Day confirms that Twista is currently undergoing a legal battle regarding his freedom but is no longer signed to Atlantic or the fledgling production company. "It's sad because it was a great deal that I did years ago and it got lots of attention, because it was a 50-50 split with Atlantic. Had Twista been paid what he should have, both he and the production company would still be making money together today. Very, very sad." Day adds that she is unsure if the production company is still in the music business, "but if they are, they are only making music for their three block radius in Chicago. They were at the pinnacle of success and their greed ruined it for everyone." Twista has recently release a compilation album of new artists from Chicago. Legit Ballin' Volume 1 has sold almost 100,000 copies independently throughout the Mid-west and South, and Twista and crew are working on Volume 2 currently.

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Tragedy, the rapper most well known for the hand he played in the careers of Capone and Noreaga, obtained his release from V2 Records in April. Tragedy had originally signed to Gee Street Records three years ago, but with mergers, transitions, and buy outs, he ended up at V2 as one of the only urban acts. After gaining his release, V2 decided to close their Black Music department and let the entire staff go. Tragedy is currently in negotiations with labels with track records in rap music, that are able to take his career to the level it should be.

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Fiend obtained his release from No Limit Records as of May 8 and is currently a free agent. He is about to release a rap documentary video and accompanying soundtrack called Can I Burn?independently throughout the South and Mid-west on his own record label: Fiend Entertainment. Although he is grateful to Master P for the opportunity to learn the music business through the eyes of a No Limit Soldier, Fiend is poised to experience the fruit of his own labor. Fiend obtained his release from No Limit through breached clauses in his contract which Master P had 60 days to "cure" (fix) and he did not respond. Fiend is currently being courted by some major labels in urban music for his solo deal. He also has an all-star group in the works. But his main focus is the independent release of "Can I Burn?" which is a behind the scenes documentary of the past year in Fiend's life, and its accompanying soundtrack. Other No Limit Recording artists who have joined the ranks of independently released projects: Kane & Abel, Mr Serv-On, Big Ed, Magic, Mo B Dick, KLC, and C-Murder.

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More independent record releases than ever are coming out on the streets throughout the country. Murder Dog Magazine has been running a column for a year written by Wendy Day, Founder of Rap Coalition. The column is called "rapcointelpro" and provides practical advice for anyone putting out their own records.

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Visionary Management, founded in 1999 by Wendy Day, adds Slick Rick and C-Murder to the roster. "Visionary Management is unique in that we consult with our artists to teach them the music business inside and out, and so that they can be self-managed eventually" Ms Day informs us. Visionary Management was started out of the frustration caused by the lack of good managers in urban music. The company trains and mentors up and coming managers, and is currently working with the managers of Beats By The Pound and Black Rob. The program, due to its incredible popularity, is full until 2004.

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Now there's a way to track the success of rap record labels without succumbing to the "hype factor." www.industryreport.com is a new urban industry report card for rap record labels. The free web site breaks down all rap record releases from 1993 through 1999, and rates each record labels based on the number of rap records sold (according to SoundScan) and the number of rap records released each year. There is finally a way to quantify the success of Death Row, Bad Boy, and Def Jam year by year. The site also lists the all time Top 1000 Rap Records from 1993 to 1999. The site will be updated annually to reflect new trends in rap music.

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Rap Coalition is a not-for-profit artist advocacy organization dedicated to the education, support, protection, and unification of hip hop artists and producers.