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- Interview by Nile Ivey for TheMixGame.com

THEMIXGAME - Your six month internship in Arista Records video department resulted in you becoming the A&R staffs official intern, and eventually the staff began calling you Memphitz. How did that come about?

MeMpHiTz - Yeah, I was a slave by choice. Nobody wants to hear your ideas as an intern in the beginning until they start to trust you and even then its like not to much. So once I had someone sneak me on the A&R floor, I met Mark Pitts I thought he was my idol Puff, so I stood there in a pool of stupid face until he assured me that he wasn't Puff or related...but that they were like brothers...I told him I had a work ethic and hustle that I could show him with no talk if he gave me a chance and he said Lets See! He got me on the A&R floor and I soon became the 9th floor slave boy. I did what I had to do until they were ready to hear anything I had to say. Many times feeling as if it was leading nowhere real fast...but it did make the floor become dependent upon me and really that was my plan from the jump. Some days you could hear all the A&R's calling my name at the same time wanting whatever they asked me or needed me to do to be done like yesterday...It was actually music to my f***in ears!! As far as the name goes people were already regularly calling me Memphis, some were calling me Tennessee, as I know many people do to any Memphian once they move in a new city. I kinda heard someone say memphitz jokingly in a side conversation one time because I used to always be talking about I was gonna be dropping nuthin but hits one day...I spelled it out on paper what I thought I heard and it just felt right...like I had talked the nickname into existence...After that I put the name as my credit on a project me and my big brother in the game Mark Pitts were working on at the time. People started asking me how to say it, I told 'em and it started spreading. Then I got cocky with it as the name went on and so I personalized the spelling to go up and down like sound wave level bars you see on a radio or sumthin..."MeMpHiTz".

TMG - Were you surprised when JD agreed to let you handle the Young Bloodz second album, as you were still an intern?

MeMpHiTz - Yeah! I raised my hand because Karen Kwak saw me sweating like I wanted too anyway so she pinched me a couple times and I raised my hand nervously but high and said I'll do it!! JD said OK so fast that it didn't even soak in to me that he had said yes until after the meeting! I couldn't believe it...I guess it's safe to say that Jermaine Dupri gave me my first solo A&R shot. I was nervous but my being nervous didn't have s**t on my fear of how everyone would look at me if I couldn't make it happen...So I made it happen!

TMG - After you moved from Arista to Jive / Zomba, you signed T-Pain, can you tell us about the process of signing him and how you felt about him?

MeMpHiTz - When I signed T-Pain I knew I had found something more special than a lotta other things I was interested in...I'm such a R. Kelly fan that when I ran across Pain I was like Whoa.... But we all agreed that a new look absolutely had to take place so I started to get him made over. It took a lil sec but the product of what we collectively contributed to this makeover is how u see him today...

TMG - Along with your new position as Director of A&R at Jive / Zomba they granted you your own label imprint, Hitz Committee. What are your plans for this venture and how do you feel about your first artist Huey's debut?

MeMpHiTz - Yeah, that was a main reason for my choice to sign with Jive anyway. They seemed to be really interested in my interview speech about how I wanted to build an Empire. My first artist HUEY is one of the dopest lyricists out. But as the industry changes by the day a lot of New but Real artists like HUEY usually fall victim to the First Single Ringtone curse. The single is so Big that anything that comes out to early or to close to the one everyone loves and is totally into at that time usually are not prone to go buy the album. If the label finds a hot ringtone on your album you better have a backup plan because they squeeze the last drop of life out of it, in turn leaving you in an unnecessarily awkward position. But I got a new plan for Huey and its coming real soon... It definitely ain't over tho.. HiTz Committee don't quit until we get what we came for and that's usually your money and your respect...2 things people normally don't have a real problem with if you are willing to go thru a brick wall to earn it!

TMG - Now as a VP of A&R explain a normal day for you.

MeMpHiTz - Taking calls, scheduling sessions, listening to new producers demos, new artist demos, marketing meetings, creative meetings...Thinking of how to make more money with less work, the usual!

TMG - Iight...When devoloping a new artist, what key components do you look for and consider most important?

MeMpHiTz - Stars are not made they're born. All I do especially in the beginning is show them how to flex they're star muscles..I look for strengths and weaknesses. I try to expose them all in an event to make them more aware of themselves creatively.

TMG - Do you feel that the Major record labels have lost focus in developing artists? Do you think it's still possible to fully develop an artist, or is it better to find artists that are basically handling everything themselves?

MeMpHiTz - Yeah the artist developement thing has left the building, but I know how important development is especially on new artists, so I implement different developmental exercises on my own during the recording of they're debut album. And it's only a bigger treat if the artist already handles everything themselves that means they DO WORK aka meet me halfway and thats how we get the real paper.

TMG - By looking at the success of many urban artists today, they have one mega single, but the album does not perform at retail. Do you think labels need to switch to giving out more singles or EP deals now?

MeMpHiTz - I think Labels should put out an artists album at peak performance time of the first single after of course they've already flooded the market with the second single for at least 6 weeks because thats usually how long it takes the normal listener to stop hating and just admit they love the shit.

TMG - What are your feelings on Hip Hop and the music business in general nowadays?

MeMpHiTz - The truth is that the majors are capitalizing heavily on the state of Hip Hop right now....At the same time these artists are learning the game, but at the cost of getting FUCKED. By the time they get out of their deal (depending on how they spent their monies if they made any monies) They're back in the same spot they started from. These artists or rappers need to re-evaluate the deals they are doing with these majors and make a decision on if they really need a major push yet. If they feel they do and you and your lawyer feel like someway is better than noway then do you, sign the deal, learn the game, try not to get fucked too severely, shut the fuck up and drop Hits! As far as my feeling on Hip Hop I feel like just because Hip Hop in its original form is not as prevalent as it once was it's STUPID too say its dead. It's offsprings / step kids ain't doing such a bad job at keeping the worlds attention or getting its hard earned dollars.. Things change, HIP HOP WILL LIVE FOREVER...Thru its fathers, mothers, children and stepchildren and so on and so on. That's like me telling my daughter I'm dead to her if she decides she doesn't wanna live her life they way I feel like she should or because she doesn't wanna be like me when she grows up...The Family Tree Of Hip Hop will Never wither. It will only continue to evolve. Trust Me...

TMG - What future projects do you have in the works?

MeMpHiTz - HiTz Committee Presents... Asia Cruise with her debut SMASH SINGLE and soon to be Female Anthem

"SELFISH"

From Her Forthcoming Debut Album

WHO IS ASIA CRUISE

COMING SOON On HiTz Committee / JIVE Records....

Appearances by Chris Brown, Lil Mama, T-Pain, and HUEY

Executive Produced By Mickey "MeMpHiTz" Wright and T-PAIN

TMG - What advice can you give aspiring artists?

MeMpHiTz - Find a manager (tooting your own horn is not Fly), gather your material, study and research A&R's who more than likely understand your music based on things they've previously signed...GO HARD, DO WORK, RIDE OR DIE

GOD will handle the rest!

TMG - What advice can you give aspiring music business professionals?

MeMpHiTz - GO TO SCHOOL! But at the same time you should be going as hard to get into a hectic environment that tends to your career choices and show 'em what ya Made of... DO WORK!

Need A Video??

Send your contact info, and the song you want to shoot the video for to,

Hitzcommitteefilmz@gmail.com

Wanna make some extra cash??

HiTz Travel at YTB
www.ytb.com/Hitztravel

Learn about Hitz Committee Artists and how to get Hitz Committee Merchandise

www.HiTzCommittee.com
www.myspace.com/hueyhitz
www.myspace.com/asiahitz


T-PAIN EPIHANY In Stores NOW
HUEY NOTEBOOK PAPER Album In Stores NOW
UGK Underground Kingz In Stores Now

Coming Soon Sean Paul Of The YoungBloodz WATCH ME DO MY THANG

First Single "Everywhere We Go" feat. DJ Khaled (Produced by Cool & Dre)

And...

HiTz Committee Presents...
Who is Asia Cruise?

-HiTz, Shouts to TheMixGame.com