Devyne Intervention – Music Mogul Teaches Youth, Industry How to Dream Big

Devyne Stephens believes in big dreams.

For more than a decade, the 39 year-old Atlanta mega mogul has been the go-to man for hip-hop and pop stars seeking everything from cutting edge dance moves to a record contract broker.

Through his Upfront Megatainment conglomerate, Stephens has lived his dream of becoming the next Berry Gordy, albeit with a twist. The company’s flagship is its record label Upfront, which features multi-platinum-selling hip-hop artist Akon. Upfront’s holdings also include a talent management agency, digital media and film arms, and the aptly named Dreamland, an 18,000 square foot Atlanta mansion that can be rented for high-profile events.

“I just followed my vision and my dream,” Stephens says. “I really wanted to be in the entertainment business and worked on perfecting myself whether it was as an artist, choreographer or a record executive. That was my motivation. And I wasn’t going to give up no matter what.”

Stephens has trekked an unusual path toward mogul status. Discovered and signed as a teenager to L.A. Reid and Babyface’s legendary LaFace Records, Stephens started in the industry as an artist.

He later transitioned to artist development at LaFace, working with such top R&B and hip-hop acts as TLC, Usher, Babyface, Toni Braxton, Outkast and 112. Stephens soon began working closely with Sean “Diddy” Combs and artists on his Bad Boy Entertainment label, gaining increased notoriety in the industry for choreographing Combs’ musical tribute to rapper Notorious B.I.G. at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.

Stephens’ choreography has been featured on the tours of such artists as Jay Z, Mary J. Blige, Gwen Stefani, Pink, Outcast and Mariah Carey. In 2000, Stephens returned to his roots as an artist with the release of the single “Uh Huh,” whose video featured Stephens’ signature slick dance moves and an appearance by TLC member T-Boz.

While successful in several fields, Stephens has had his biggest triumphs as a dealmaker in hip-hop and with several Atlanta businesses. For example, Upfront Megatainment operates The Complex, a 7,500 square foot facility in midtown Atlanta that provides end-to-end development services for athletes and artists, including facilities for rehearsals, photo shoots, fitness, media training and choreography. Stephens said The Complex was inspired by the Detroit’s legendary “Hitsville” facility, which was home to Motown Records in the 1960s.

“I’m a big fan of Berry Gordy,” says Stephens, who fondly recalls meeting Gordy. “Motown was fixated at the [Hitsville] complex. I just took it a step further.”

Upfront plans to add a recording studio to The Complex to make the facility one-stop shopping for high profile clients, Stephens says.

For now, Stephens is busy modeling his Upfront empire after Universal Music Group, which owns the largest family of record labels, including Island Def Jam, Interscope and Geffen Records, which launched Akon’s KonLive Music label, with Stephens brokering the deal. Stephens is now Executive Vice President of KonLive, which is home to current pop chart-topper Lady GaGa.

Upfront’s business activities continue to become more diverse. Upfront Digital Media is the midst of a viral global talent search for its “Who’s Next,” webisode series. There’s even plans to launch an English language television channel that covers African news and entertainment, a project inspired by Akon, who is of Senegalese heritage.

“This guy [Stephens] has a vision like no else out there,” says Steve Rifkind, Founder of Loud and SRC Records. “He really sees something from someone who has the possibility of being great. He can execute his vision. He’ll produce.”

Even as the music industry struggles with record sales moving from disc to digital, Stephens says he’s confident the industry can rebound.

“There’s always going to be new age ways of reaching the consumer,” he says. “It can be done. But it has to be done in a grandstand way. It also centers on having a hit album or hit record.”

Rising From Struggle

Much of what shapes Stephens today can be traced back to his humble childhood in the College Park Red Oak housing projects near Atlanta. Raised by a single mother, Stephens says, his childhood was challenging, but also filled with music. His father and uncles comprised of a local gospel group. “I grew up in that environment,” he says. “Music was embedded in my soul.”

Stephens says his bleak surroundings and difficult upbringing led him to work to hard to make it out of poverty.

“What motivated me was the struggle,” he says “I had a humble beginning and I wanted to do something different.”

Running a conglomerate has its time constraints, Stephens admits, saying he had to retire from certain activities. Stephens says he hasn’t choreographed in six years and has no plans to return as an artist.|

When he’s not brokering multimillion dollar deals, Stephens is focusing on his charitable activities, including the non-profit Devyne Intervention, which he established to help less fortunate communities in the Atlanta area.
The organization, led by Stephens and Akon, delivered turkeys last Thanksgiving to College Park, GA residents, and at Christmas, the organization delivered toys. Stephens is planning to expand the organization to help additional communities.

Stephens is also a board member for an Atlanta-area children’s hospital, and for Camp Twin Lakes, a camping facility in Georgia for children with chronic illnesses and disabilities. At one outing for 300 young sickle anemia patients, Stephens invited TLC’s T-Boz, who is a sickle cell patient and a public awareness advocate for the disease, to speak about the illness.

“You have to focus on the youth, the kids,” Stephens says. “You want to get to them at an early age and motivate them.”

For aspiring moguls, Stephens offers advice on how to persevere through the challenging road toward success.

“It’s been very challenging,” he says. “Whenever you start something out from the beginning it’s going to be challenging. Sometimes want to give up, but you have to keep on pursing your dream.”

Molding a Mogul

One early challenge for Stephens was his personal support and the career launch of Akon. Stephens has mentored Akon professionally and personally since 1997, when the singer signed to the mogul’s talent agency in hopes of pursing a major deal.

As Stephens pitched Akon’s music to some of the industry’s top record executives (often without success), the singer often found himself in trouble with the law. Akon has discussed such incidents in interviews and songs, including his breakout 2004 single “Locked Up.”

Stephens says his childhood environment, where prison and other “grey” activities were a part of life for many housing project residents, led him to give Akon a second chance. “Growing up where I’m from, I always someone to believe second chances,” Stephens says. “I knew Akon had exceptional talent. I knew if he steered himself in the right way and focused that negative energy on the positive side, he would be a force in the world.”

Stephens’ gamble appears to have paid off, with Akon releasing several commercially and critically acclaimed albums, and dozens of high-profile collaborations, including duets for the comeback albums of Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. Akon has also become Stephens’ protégé as a mogul, with the singer dealmaking for Konvict Muzik, home to R&B singer T-Pain and rapper Red Café, and KonLive Distribution.

“Devyne taught me how the (music) game actually works,” Akon says. “I would just be around Devyne, watch him and that’s how I developed. I got in because of Devyne.”