Tina M. Davis
Sr. Vice President A&R, Def Jam/Def Soul
As we embark on a new millennium, the explosion
of urban music is exemplified by the unparalleled success
of the genre's premier label, Def Jam Recordings. As Def Jam
Sr. Vice president of A&R since 1996, Tina Davis has performed
an indispensable role in the label's success.
During her impressive tenure, Davis has
overseen releases from some of the biggest names in hip hop
and R&B including DMX, Method Man, Redman, LL Cool J,
Montell Jordan and many others.
While managing a hectic release schedule,
she also spearheaded a wide-reaching series of smash soundtracks
like The Nutty Professor I and II, Rush Hour, Belly and How
To Be A Player. "If something doesn't show and prove
that the artists come first, then we can't be involved in
it," says the tireless 31-year-old music industry veteran.
"All that matters to me is maintaining the integrity
of the Def Jam logo and the artists that record on the label."
A&R supervision whether it be savvily
brokering deals, to prudently navigating budgets, deftly disseminating
administrative tasks, or simply trusting one's ear for quality
material is as consuming a job as any in the music business.
But for this Vallejo, CA native, music has always been an
integral part of her life. As a child, Davis' ingenuity exhibited
itself early on when she'd organize and sing in her own shows
for third grade schoolmates during recess. Later, she'd split
her time between high brow and street level genres, studying
classical piano for eight years and dancing for local rap
acts (one of whom was a cousin known as E-40) on the burgeoning
Bay Area hip hop scene.
But it was the influence of Tina's musician
father that was the key to her professional evolution. "My
father always used to have bands perform in the garage or
he'd just sing songs with my brother and myself to pass time,"
she reminisces warmly. Quickly under his guidance, her discerning
tastes became quite evident. "As a kid I'd catch myself
picking all the songs I liked and putting them together on
imaginary albums myself. I didn't even really realize that
this was something I wanted to do."
By the time Tina graduated from Grambling
State University with a degree in Mass Communications for
production and broadcasting, she'd already begun working at
local station KRUS and Lee Bailey's syndicated show Radioscope.
She soon realized, however, that the recording industry would
provide her life's work. A gig as the creative assistant to
the head of Black Music at Chrysalis Music publishing in Los
Angeles eventually led to a position at Def Jam's budding
West Coast office as an A&R administrator. In 1995, Tina
was elevated to head of Def Jam West, overseeing the label's
celebrated inaugural Westside rap connections for Warren G,
Jayo Felony, Richie Rich and others. By the following year,
Def Jam CEO Lyor Cohen persuaded Davis to leave her Cali roots
behind and head up Def Jam's A&R department in the Big
Apple.
"Lyor Cohen is the person who has put
me in every important position that I've been in my life,"
lauds Davis. "He believed in me from the beginning. He
told me that he could put me in any arena and I could come
out and figure out what was best for Def Jam." Remarkably,
prior to Davis' arrival in New York, Def Jam's only A&R
representatives were Cohen himself, label co-founder Russell
Simons and current label president Kevin Liles. It's no accident
that Davis' construction of a tight 10 person A&R team
has coincided with the most prolific run of Def Jam's already
historic 16 year existence.
Another of Davis' innovations has been the
official creation of Def Jam's R&B imprint, Def Soul.
It was a move that drew directly from her broadcasting experience.
"I thought that we should put all of our R&B on a
label called Def Soul and have it promoted as Def Soul so
that when we brought a Def Jam R&B act to a radio station,
it wouldn't limit where our records got played," she
explains. As is evident from the chart-topping exploits of
Sisqo, Kelly price and Montell Jordan, Def Soul is well on
its way to extending Def Jam's importance in the world of
R&B.
But in the end, Davis' primary objective
is a personal one she shares with many successful career women:
"To get married and have kids is my ultimate goal,"
she confesses. And thus provide the same kind of strong family
support unit she herself enjoyed growing up. Within one of
Tina's favorite sayings, there is the acceptance that as long
as there are music fans out there, her work may never fully
be completed. "One thing I always tell my staff that's
gotten me where I am today," she states conclusively,
"if the radio never turns off, then A&R can never
turn off." Tina Davis, rock... rock on!
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