Wendy Day: Activist, writer, entrepreneur

Wendy Day founded the not-for-profit Rap Coalition in March of 1992, out of disgust for the way urban artists are unfairly exploited in the music industry. Wanting to shift the balance of power to favor the artists, Wendy dumped her life savings into starting the advocacy organization to support, educate, protect and unify hip hop artists and producers--in other words, to keep artists from getting jerked. In the past seven years, Rap Coalition has impacted the rap music industry by helping, for free, thousands of rap artists, DJs, and producers individually, as well as through monthly panel discussions, seminars, demo listening sessions, cipher sessions, showcases and fair deal negotiations. Rap Coalition breaks unfairly oppressive contracts (pulling artists out of bad deals), teaches the business side of the music industry to thousands of artists around the country, offers health care and dental benefits, coordinates the panels at most of the major Black Music Conventions, has instituted a mentor program combining up and coming artists with established artists, and helps set up artist owned record labels.

Rap Coalition answers to a Board of Advisors consisting of Chuck D from Public Enemy, Vinnie from Naughty By Nature, David Banner from Crooked Lettaz, Keith Murray, Yungbuk from Psycho Drama, Gipp from Goodie Mob, Sticky Fingaz from Onyx, Too Short, Ras Kass, Do Or Die, Killah Priest, Twista, Pimp C from UGK, Easy Mo Bee, Shinehead, 8Ball, EA Ski, Shorty from Da Lench Mob, Evil Dee from Black Moon, Freddie Foxxx, Bizzy Bone, Cold 187um from Above The Law, Schoolly D, and Kool Kim from The UMCs. Prior to his death, Tupac Shakur was the first member of Rap Coalition's Board Of Advisors. Rap Coalition is based in New York, with offices in Chicag, Atlanta, Houston and Los Angeles.

One of Wendy's priorities is to consult with and help build local and national independent urban record labels so hip hop artists can regain control of their own art form. Consistent with this goal, Ms Day has negotiated some stellar distribution deals in urban music. She has played a major part in Eminem's deal at Aftermath/Interscope, Master P's No Limit deal with Priority Records, Psycho Drama's deal at Suave House, Beenie Man's deal with Virgin, DJ DMD's deal with Elektra, and UGK's renegotiation with Jive. She negotiated the incredible joint venture deal for Twista with Atlantic which The Source and Rap Pages both called "the best deal in the history of Black music," until she topped her own record with the $30 million dollar deal for Cash Money Records with Universal. She is currently setting up labels for Twista, Bizzy Bone, Pimp C from UGK, and Gipp from the Goodie Mob.

In the Fall of 1998, tired of the lack of professionalism and inconsistencies in managers for urban artists, Wendy Day started Visionary Management to train up and coming managers in urban music. "Most artists appoint their "boys" to positions of power, and then get frustrated when their careers don't go anywhere. I started Visionary Management as a training ground for people who seriously want to get into management and have the skills and ability to manage," she states emphatically. Visionary Management currently manages Twista, Ras Kass, Crooked Lettaz, and DJ DMD, and co-manages Parental Advisory (an Organized Noize group) with Mona Scott from Violator Management. Mona works heavily with the trainees at Visionary Management since she effectively runs the strongest and most profitable management company in urban music today, catapulting the careers of artists like Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, Total, Next, A Tribe Called Quest, Mobb Deep, Camron, and Cormega.

Source: Rapstation.com

Continue to page 2 for an interview between HHNLive.com and Wendy Day from 2006.