10 Questions With Hip Hop Entrepreneur and Manager Markeaus "Miz The Manager" Turner
Markeaus Turner is known in his neighborhood of North Richmond, CA as Miz, short for Mizzery Child an affectionate name given to him by his mother referring to her hard long labor giving birth to her last child. Over the years of growing up in the hood, he admits that he has been through some tough times. However, those experiences have made him more confident in the music industry. Like so many others in his era early 90s and 2000s Markeaus grew up hustling marijuana and crack Cocaine on the streets of “Narf” Richmond. He has had his run-ins with law enforcement and even served time in California Corrections something he is not proud of and prefers not to talk about only saying “ I put all of that behind me I’m a father and a businessman now.” In 2018 Markeaus along with business partner Wilson “ A&R Milli “ Mendizabal, formed their first company Dreem Agency LLC a hip-hop management company. Initially only managing two artists VIPete and Way Way Santana, which quickly grew with the addition of Kavi Picasso and D’Barbie. Then the pandemic hit and a major part of their revenue took a significant blow. With virtually all access to venues and shows being cut. The dynamic duo had to shift gears and they did so by creating Dreem Live Media LLC and multimedia hip-hop company rooted in the Bay Area. We caught up with him who now is more known by the moniker Miz The Manager or Dreem Live Miz for a Q&A session on the status of the hip-hop entrepreneur business and how to take the heat.
Q: What made you get into the music business?
A: I have a friend who is an underground rapper named Jason Carvajhal aka Unseen. Back in 1997 he took me to the studio with him to record and at that time I was like 21 and heavy in the streets. So I would go with him and watch the process you know just soaking it all up and I fell in love. I remember he was working with this indie label I believe it was called M Entertainment headed by Robert Roseborough. We use to go to a lot of places studios and events that sort of thing. Robert had worked with an early version of the Mobb Figgaz in Pittsburg, CA, and had just signed a young Messy Marv. Robert really liked my homeboy and wanted to sign him but I was always curious about the contract situation and I wanted to see it. So one day my boy showed it to me and it was a shitty contract I remember telling him back with no experience what so ever don’t sign that shit. I even said this in front of Rob’s face like Nigga you trying to get over this a five-album deal with no guarantees of financial compensation. So I would say that is how I step into the industry.
Q: What was your first management gig?
A: Unseen was my first artist after I convinced him not to sign with M Entertainment we set out on our own. He knew I had zero experience but I had street knowledge I knew a lot of Bay Area rappers and so did he. We did shows, pressed up our own CDs, and sold them on the corners just like crack. We use to go to record stores like Rasputins and ask the manager if it was ok to sell in front of their store they would say yes and then they would play our CD in the store. Ironically Messy Marv who Robert signed when on to become a Bay Area rap Icon. I use to secretly wonder if I fucked up Unseen’s opportunity to blow? Over time Unseen began to take a break from his dream of becoming a famous rapper but I was just getting started. One day during one of Unseen’s sessions I heard a young rap group called No Sense music playing and I asked the engineer who is that? He said you should know them they’re from your neck of the woods that’s Johnny Ca$h. Years later I would get the opportunity to work with him briefly during his years at Mac Dre’s label Thizz records. Although I held the unofficial title of Johnny Ca$h manager I never really got a chance to do too much. I would run into some legal issues and he would be murdered a short time later. But what I can say is that Ca$h legitimized me as a hip-hop manager. People began to recognize me as a real manager so after his death and when I came home I went harder. I guess you could say I had unfinished business.
Q: Fast forward to you coming home and how did you get back into the industry?
A: Well by the time I came home in 2013 a lot had changed in the music industry. Music was now basically free there were these new streaming platforms and nobody sold CDs anymore. I was completely lost I had to relearn the game. So I went to work for an online radio company called KPR1 Radio. I created a show called Da Reallionairez with my dear friend and sister Suga one of the funniest women God has ever created. I was doing this as a clever way to learn on the job. It afforded me unfettered access to hip-hop artists from all over America. We hired a young DJ Tay Bottlez who knew all the latest trends in music. This was before the podcast boom but we pretty much ran our show like a podcast recording everything we did on camera.
Q: Why did you stop doing radio and how did you get back into managing artists?
A: KPR1 Radio and myself did not share the same vision. While I was trying to expand my show they started a for-profit radio platform. Basically to earn money they began to sell radio show spots to anyone who wanted a show. Which ultimately led to the demise of the overall growth of the company. I remember always arguing with the owner Gabriel Solamanl over ideas and ways to grow the audience. But in the end, we just didn’t see eye to eye. During this time I got into promoting concerts and various events. I met an owner of a nightclub in downtown Oakland called Bella’s Lounge through my cousin KO who is a promoter. The nightclub owner Tem offered me a position to run booking and event marketing for Bella’s Lounge. I did that for a while bringing artists to perform live shows or do walks which was huge at that time. One of my young homies VIPete from the hood who was originally in a rap group with Johnny Ca$h called the Hood Fellaz reached out and asked me to get back in the management game. After some thought and knowing I was rusty I had to really reflect and make sure I was able to do the job. I accepted the job and I had to study the digital streaming service platform and how albums or music are generally sold. I needed to understand what worked in today’s market this wasn’t the early 2000s anymore.
Q: What happened to VIPete is he still rapping?
A: Yes and no he no longer goes by VIPete even before that moniker he was known to many as Pete-Eruption. These days he goes by Pedro Jetson and he is more of a consultant of mine he’s a father and does a lot of work in the community helping people find resources and housing. But he did just re-release Da Hood Fellaz album to commemorate the 20th anniversary.
Q: Who are you actively managing now?
A: We have a super-talented artist named Top Tier Way Way aka Way Way Santana and another amazing artist named Kavi Picasso. Plus we are engaged with a new talent 8ooPeez.
Q: What happened with D’Barbie? She looks to be a rising star in the Bay Area and beyond.
A: Well I agree that she is super talented and she is hands down one of the best bars for bar rappers in the Bay right now. I was fortunate to work with her during her first EP D’ Yellow Zone and after that, she got an opportunity to work with the rapper Mozzy’s camp. I believe that was a great move for her career and possibly a better fit. But we are all connected we are family from the same hood. We remain in contact and I still support and root for her in any way I can.
Q: Ok let’s switch gears to Dreem.Live Media and the multimedia company. How did you get involved with this industry?
A: We’ll I had an opportunity to spend some time with Death Row’s Records founder Michael “Harry O” Harris. Back in 2008 and I remembered him telling me that multimedia is the future of everything. At the time I had no clue what he was talking about and he would explain it to me. He would give me many books to read on a variety of topics but mainly business. He was a wealth of knowledge and he didn’t mind sharing it. I grabbed onto it and put it in my back pocket. During the pandemic I had a lot of time on my hands we were thinking of ways to keep Dreem Agency relevant. So I harkened back to the information I acquired from Harry O and thought this could work. In today’s world of entertainment, you need to be able to do everything yourself. You need to know how social media works, and you need to be able to create content to build an audience. So blogging is a part of that, having a YouTube channel, and a website to funnel traffic through and put out your branding message. Maybe you want to do a podcast shoot videos or create a vlog or a series of scripted shows. Also, recording music is a form of media these are all means of mass communication. Digital marketing is the number one way to get people interested in your business, music, and work. By putting that all together in under one umbrella we were able to control our own message and create an audience that would benefit from our services.
Q: How did you meet your business partner A&R Milli?
A: We met through Pedro Jetson when I was managing him and Milli was one of his creative partners. They’ve known each other since they were kids and we just clicked. Milli is a visionary he has a brilliant mind he sees things in a way that no one else does. He is current on everything hip hop he knows all the trends in fashion and music. He’s a great writer of music and a director of talent. He usually comes up with ideas about visual artwork and video treatments for the artist. That’s my brother, we joke and say together we are hip hop, he is the hip and I’m the hop. This means he handles the creative side of things and I take care of the business respectively.
Q: So how do you measure success in the industry?
A: Ownership and the ability to make decisions based on your own personal preferences. I do not believe that money equals success it is an indicator that what you selling is selling. I believe that when you are in the position to make your ideas come to life that in itself is a success. Money comes and goes but what stays is your legacy and impact.
By: Mike Incognito