Q&A With Steve “Raze” Julien, EVP of Digital Content and Multimedia at AllHipHop.com

A.D. The General: AllHipHop.com has been very influential and in the forefront of today’s hip hop media world. What is your role and to what do you attribute your success as a CEO, now for over a decade?

Steve “Raze” Julien: My official title is Executive Vice President of Digital Content and Multimedia. The CEOs are Chuck Creekmur and Grouchy Greg, both of whom I know and grew up with or went to high school with.  At any rate, I do oversee my entire department and have made influential decisions with the executive team in molding AllHipHop and its brand. I attribute my success to being creatively flexible enough to come up with ideas and actually being able to implement them on a major scale. If it’s AllHipHop Week, Breeding Ground showcase, or the actual changes and adaptations we make to the site, we stay flexible in a constantly changing environment.

A.D.: You have recently created a new outlet to get a closer look at some of today’s most talked about artists in hip hop, with 48 Hours. What was the concept behind 48 hours?

SRJ: I sat down with Harry Anthony, CEO of JumpOffTV one day in January of 2009 and came up with this very simple idea, that had to be well planned and executed to pull off. We thought about documenting an artist releasing their album, and not just for one day like everyone else does, but demand we get three full days of 16 hours of filming… 48 hours. All we had to do was execute it, and when I spoke to Def Jam about the idea, they loved it too. We did our first one with Jadakiss a little over a year ago.

A.D.: AllHipHop.com has always been an advocate for the unsigned and independent community. With the ever so popular Breeding Ground section, how important is it to continue to highlight the unsigned community?

SRJ: As editor of the Breeding Ground, I hold that section in very high regard. The future of hip hop is in a studio, showcase, stage or basement with the ability to generate a billion dollars and create amazing music, and it’s my responsibility to find them. Our track record is pretty good covering B.o.B., Nicki Minaj, Maino, Kidz In The Hall and several others, months or even years before they got signed. The new artists are the future.

A.D.: I understand that you also run Tantrum Consulting & Tantrum Events. What kind of services are you providing with these companies?

SRJ: Tantrum Events is a booking and event coordination company which has help produce concerts with Redman & Method Man, Rick Ross and other events and concerts.

Tantrum Consulting helps with whatever entertainment, music, production needs you might have. If I have the knowledge, my team will get you to your goals. Concerts, showcases, getting a major artist or producer featured on your song, industry meetings, and just being the person that connects the dots. I consult platinum artists with their career and run online campaigns for various record labels. The sky is the limit.

Tantrum Productions is my third company. That company is a co-owner of The Next 48 Hours series.  We are currently working with our fourth major label in eight months on an all new video project. The internet community will once again see why we are one of the most creative online brands.

A.D.: You currently reside in Brooklyn, NY, but are originally from Delaware and most certainly have traveled the word with AllHipHop.com. What is your advice to New York artists on the come up?

SRJ: I go to neighborhoods all over this country, and the stories are mostly the same: artists grinding and working hard, but not working smart. Artists have to understand with the competitive nature of the hip hop community, you have a good chance of getting lost in the mass of music out there that comes across my desk. Instead of rapping and that’s it, run your business, because this is the music business. Hire a real manager, a real publicist and hire a team that is serious about your music. If you can’t find people to do those roles efficiently then you are doing your career a disservice. Reinvest your money into yourself, all of it. Convince an investor to believe in you and once you reach that point, you are finally serious and can expect things to happen.

Your team is important but your music is key. Be yourself and be as different and creative as possible. Look at B.o.B., extremely creative and not the typical rapper, but has millions of fans all over the world for being different and creative.

A.D.: You are now directing and producing. What are some of the credits currently under your belt?

SRJ: I’ve been directing and producing for a long time. My projects range from AllHipHop’s Extreme Intel, AllHipHop Direct, AllHipHop Studio Exclusive, and The Next 48 Hours series. The Next 48 Hours with Raekwon has appeared on MTV2’s Suckerfree in 2009 and we have more plans to work with MTV in the future.

I started producing a new webseries that is going to be phenomenal, a dramatic series that’s totally different from what you would expect. I’m real excited about that project. I’m also working with a major record label to develop an entirely new web series which we plan to air in October.

I’m in the very early stages of a motion picture I’m working on with a writer/producer and I’m also looking into possibly doing music videos, if the situation is right.

A.D.: Where do you see yourself and your brands in 5 years?

SRJ: I see myself signing and developing new web, mobile and TV content. I see myself producing and directing television, movies, web content, and expanding the AllHipHop brand. I’m currently taking on an offline events and branding position for AllHipHop heading all offline events for the company, as well as developing new web series.

Expect AllHipHop to be in the mobile environment soon. We have already developed an AllHipHop iPhone app, more content and an expansion of the AllHipHop brand physically in other countries. We will be embedded in not just hip hop culture, but pop culture. The brand has virtually no limit because hip hop is such a powerful genre of music.

A.D.: Where can our readers send music for possible consideration and affiliation with you?

SRJ: The best place to send music is to music@allhiphop.com. My team will review music and if youre good, we’ll put you on the site. Video submissions go to video@allhiphop.com.

A.D.: If the world can only remember you by one quote what would it be?

SRJ: Steve Raze worked until he saw his dreams come true, then he went on to conquer new dreams.