Ludacris HIV Awareness Video
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Real Talk
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Featured Contributor
Charles McCree
More than a hustler, Charles McCree is the definition of the word. Self-proclaimed "THE ADVOCATE FOR THE DREAMER" and crowned "THE REAL ULTIMATE HUSTLER" by Def Jam co-founder and the God-father of hip-hop, Mr. Russell Simmons himself, Charles is passion in its purest form. His "I will not lose" attitude is displayed in everything he puts his hands on and he is truly destined to become one of the best executives to have ever worked in the music business.
Born in North Philadelphia, Charles' love for music was birthed as a child. He would sneak late at night to listen to Power 99 FM and changed the channel to BET and MTV when his parents left the room because they didn't see music as a positive influence. They felt that musical outlets were a fantasy world, and would distract him from focusing on a good education. For Charles, that was his world, and what he saw and heard was a classroom in itself. Respecting his parents' wishes he found ways to appease them while simultaneously feeding his passion.
What he once envisioned as a child led him to become a relentless adult. He made plenty of phone calls and visits (3-4 times a week) to Tara Thomas (formerly the morning show producer to the Frank Ski Morning Show) at V-103 in Atlanta, and finally his life began to change. He never missed the chance to introduce himself to key people whenever he went by the station; the lobby became his second home. Persistence paid off and he was offered an unpaid internship. Tara Thomas is noted as saying "he just kept calling and calling until finally I just said come in! Charles was the best intern we have ever had to date." Needless to say friends and family questioned Charles' decision to take this internship because two weeks prior he was offered a solid position with IBM. Charles was determined to show everyone that he knew what he was doing by following what he pictured for himself when sneaking to watch music videos as a child and soon became known around Atlanta as "Charles the super intern".
Nine months later, after meeting with former Def Jam/Def Soul recording artist Kelly Price and her manager Jeffery Rolle, he was offered a job at Priceless Music Management, the company owned by Kelly Price. His initial role was the office manager and personal assistant to Jeffery Rolle. During his tenure with the company he also took on the position of A&R administration for Kelly Price's last two albums on Def Jam and project manger while she traveled with Tyler Perry's production "Why Did I Get Married?"
Charles has gone on to build a 10-year career in the music business. Some highlights include his involvement in the Russell Simmons Phat Farm Tour which led him to assisting Hurricane Katrina victims, becoming an on- air promotions rep for V-103's marketing department, and creating and maintaining the artist relations department for the ring tone company Hi-Fli Tones. With Hi-Fli Tones, he was able to land a ring tone deal for Rico Love, a hip-hop recording artist and songwriter (for Usher's label US Records).
His newest project has called for him to step into the role of executive producer with his made-for-television documentary: "ON THE ROAD II NEXT". While pitching his idea of highlighting people in the music industry lacking the opportunity but filled with determination to make it, he was met with similar opposition from network executives. They seemed to believe in the show's idea but not quite in him. In true McCree fashion, he continued to push finally finding a believer in Dara Thomas-Mims, C.E.O. of Reel Authentic Productions, and the documentary came to fruition. He is also currently the Head of New Marketing Media and Project Manager for the record label SRC/Universal.
Through his spirit of helping others, in the winter of 2008, Charles established Project: Walk a Mile in My Shoes, where he personally reaches out to his peers in the entertainment industry and calls on them to donate brand new and slightly used shoes and sneakers to the homeless and inner city youth. The project has raised over 4,000 pairs of shoes. When asked the one word that best describes him, Charles McCree is quick to flash his bright smile, look you right in the eyes without blinking and say: RELENTLESS!
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