Vibe Magazine
September '99 Issue page 184
- Sometimes anonymity has it’s advantages.
It’s not about me, it’s about the act, says the manager who helped
transform backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and ‘N Sync from11goofy adolescents
into three of the most powerfulactsin the history of pop.When you’re out there
allthe time, you’re a target.Crunchberry size hail stones spelt his imaculate
new Range Rover as he steers along the four-lane highway that connects the four
theme parrks and the 16 resorts that make up Walt Disney World Resorts.
----6 paragraphs edited out here cause I’m
just writing the ‘N Sync part--
We were calling up
different black execs, SaysLou, and they were like, ‘Full Force?
Oh, you mean the n****s with the Jheri curls?’ After a couple years out of the
loop, these proven songwriters and producers were considered passe. We said,’F***
all of this,’ Lou recalls. ‘Let’s meet with some white mawf***s.’ And when we
called, the white execs’ arms was just open for us.
After Backstreet
Boys recorded Full Force’s All I Have to Give, the floodgates were
opened. These pop group sh**s are the rage right now, says Lou They just won’t
die. We’re doing stuff for ‘N Sync, C-Note, all the Trans Con groups. A lot of
people are surprised thatwe’rebehind all this white s***. Now all the black producers
are coming to us like, How can I be down with y’all?
As much as Full
Force’s adventures in the teenage wasteland (excuse me??)
have taught them about the music business, they’ve also learned somthing about
the next generation of white youth. Justin Timberlake of ‘N Sync blew us away
with his human beat box thing, says Baby Gerry (Of Full Force). But that’s him.
That’s in him.
After watching
the 18-year old heartthrob lead the five-man ensemble in a bizarro
harmonic version of Sanford and Son theme, Gerry knew he had to talk to this kid.
Come to find out he’s listening to nothing but hip hop and Brian McKnight, Gerry
says. That’s his whole world. And he’s not trying to hide the influence. He sings
on pop tracks and stuff, but his riff capabilities are ridiculous.
And that’s
why today’s teen pop explosion is not just an updated minstrel
show. What was once cruel mockery has been replaced with heartfelt yearning to
melt into pure white chocolate. Groups like ‘N Sync are what segregation was supssed
to prevent-five white guys in Wu-Wear swetter_vests who can rock. They grew up
on black culture; how could it not change them? They are taking the Sugarhill
Gang on tour with them this summer; they want nothing more than to record a song
with Busta Rhymes. So when they slip into afro wigs for a Jackson 5 tribute, you
can cringe, you can laugh, or maybe you can hold out hope for the future.
If ‘N Sync
were black,Wright says, They would be perceived in the same vein
as Boyz II Men. Wright hasn’t lost his ear or his mind. His Wright Entertainment
Group manages black acts too, including Left Eye’s pop trio, Blaque, and the bass
group 95 South.
Until 1998, he also managed Backstreet
Boys. A contract dispute grew into resentment over, aboung other
things, Wright’s involvemento with ‘N Sync. Lawyers were hired and the peef strained
Wright’s relationship with Trans Con and broke up his 15 year relationship with
his wife and business partner. Through it all, Wright has stoof by ‘N Synd and
they by him. It’s always been the stereotype that because black vocal groups came
from the church, that’s their thing, and when they do it, they’re credible, he
says. But when white kids do it, they’re just trying to mimic somthing. I don’t
understand the double standard.
Wright says working with
‘N Sync is fun. They were friends who put themselves together before
getting a record deal. They are doing this because they want to, and that’s how
Wright wants to live his life too.
The Music
industry is always a battle, he says at the end of a long day at
Disney Wrold. Someone’s always trying to test you or catch you off guard. My job
is to defend my artists at all costs. Even if I think the attist might not be
right, I gotta protect their wishes. In the end you hope that it’s appreciated
by your acts, he says, but very often it’s not. It’s no longer a question these
days of if a group is gonna turn on you; it becomes a question of when.
Whether
‘N Sync will get the street cred and critical respect to go with
their enormous record sales and sold-out tours remains to be seen. But their success
definitely signals a profound shift in youth culture. The definition of pop music
is changing,says Wright. The kids are changing.
And a
generation from now, when Justin’s and Britney’s kids are finding
their heroes, America could be a ver different place. Look at MTV, stop any kid
on the street, says Baby Gerry. These kids are different. These white kids aren’t
the same white kids. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, right?
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If you must know my opinion, I think Lou Perlman is a gay money
hungry freak who I can't stand and Jonny Wright will say anything to keep 'N Sync
happy cause they make him a VERY rich man.. but that's just MY opinion