15 Hip-Hop Managers You Should Know

It is easy to overlook, or even forget, that there are people, often a rather large team of them, behind the scenes who help coordinate and fuel any majorly successful artist's career-- simply because, that's the point-- the artist is the star. However, from negotiating massive record deals and brand partnerships to scheduling studio sessions, it's safe to say that a manager is a vital part of an artist's development. 

Since there is no standard set of guidelines or rulebook for the world of music management, it becomes an extremely risky business. There is a fine line between a successful and inefficient manager. We have all seen incidents resulting in managers being dropped with no explanation. High risk and high reward is the perfect way to describe it.

Who are the brave few that have reached success? Today we're highlighting fifteen of them. You may be familiar with some of these names already, while some keep a more low-key profile. Take a look. Presented in no particular order.

Clients Include:  Kanye West and Justin Bieber

Receiving his start in the music industry with Jermaine Dupree and So So Def Records, Braun has gone on to manage some of the biggest artists in the world. He is the force behind the break-out success of college student at the time, Asher Roth, becoming a platinum record artist within a year of management. Justin Bieber was the second and arguably the biggest artist Braun has worked with-- finding the teenage YouTube singer and helping him establish himself as a pop star. The most recent addition to Braun's star-studded management company has been Kanye West. As the story goes, "We’d been friends a long time. And all of a sudden – one thing led to another. And I told him, ‘Look, I probably shouldn’t manage you. We’re friends.' The next day, I get a phone call from Adidas and Def Jam saying, ‘We were told to deal with you, that you’re in charge.’ I call Kanye and I said, ‘I thought we’d talk in a week.’ He goes, ‘I don’t have time to wait a week. You’re in.’ And that was that." 

Clients Include:  Lil Yachty, Migos and Lil Baby

This legendary Atlanta manager is most notable for his early work with two of the city's trap music pioneers, Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane. As co-founder of Quality Control record label alongside fellow manager Pee in 2013, the two have quickly taken the label from obscure to household name. Coach K has an unmatched ear for finding talent with his most recent add-ons being up-and-comers Lil Baby and Marlo. Through the success of his artists, Coach K has been involved in brokering deals with Nautica, Sprite, Target, Under Amour and most notably his label's joint venture with Motown/Capitol Records. The QC label also recently got into the compilation game, dropping off their first Control the Streets group project.

Clients Include:  21 Savage

Fairly new to the world of artist management, Henderson has not missed a step since getting on board with 21 Savage's management. 21 Savage's Issa Album debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200, but of course, he truly popped off when he released a joint album with Metro Boomin, impressively taking his career to new heights in the span of a year. Kei's expertise lies in social media campaigning, where she has years of experience at Complex magazine and New York's 10.Deep clothing brand. On top of management, she runs her own brand marketing company, King Me Collective.

Clients Include: Nas, Future

Anthony Saleh is commended for his many business ventures but is most well-known for managing some of hip-hops biggest artist's. Saleh has helped Nas catapult his business ventures into different realms, starting with re-launching a defunct Mass Appeal Magazine with a $6-million dollar investment from Universal Music Group. The company has since launched Mass Appeal Records and a creative agency with clients including Red Bull, Sprite and Under Armour. With a veterans touch, Saleh has helped Future dominate the world of streaming becoming the only artist to ever have two albums debut at #1 on the US Billboard 200 in consecutive weeks.

Clients Include: A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie has helped propel a resurgence of sorts of the New York hip-hop scene, and to that effect, we should also bestow some credit onto his manager, Kevin Webb. No stranger to the business, Webb managed Brooklyn legend Fabolous for nineteen years. With close ties to A Boogie's Highbridge The Label brand, Webb has provided years of experience to the camps business. He has been integral part of negotiating deals with companies such as a partnership with Luc Belaire and Atlantic Records. He recently sat down for an in-depth interview, which should shed more light on all the work he's put in in the industry, check that out below.

Clients Include:  The Weeknd, Belly, NAV

The Canadian duo of Sal and Cash, of the XO record label, are primarily known for breaking The Weeknd into super-stardom. Both co-managers are changing the dynamic of Toronto's music scene with a roster dominated by Canadian talent. The Weeknd, Belly and NAV are among the talents that that their management team boasts. We've all been privy to the r'n'b game-changing success of The Weeknd, leading him to earning Grammy honors, as well as lucrative business deals (although he just cut ties with one such-- H&M), the XO based management team has built an elite and rather exclusive roster. Belly and NAV continue to be forces to be reckoned with as they secure their respective spots in a generally cluttered industry.

Clients Include:  Pusha T, Desiigner, Ski Mask the Slump God, The-Dream, D Savage 3900

Steven Victor is definitely an industry heavyweight at this point, although he started his come-uppance working with Clipse, Jadakiss and Nelly Furtado. One of those relationships seemed to have stuck-- namely 1/2 of Clipse, Pusha T, who has gone on to see great success with a solo career. However, he's got a roster full of talent under his belt, and Victor wears many caps as the Chief Operating Officer of G.O.O.D. Music as well as Vice President and Head of A&R at Def Jam. Under his management, he has seen platinum singles and albums that range from Big Sean's I Decided album to Desiigner's break out single "Panda." As of late, his focus has been grooming his newest artists Ski Mask the Slump God and D Savage 3900 who are each set to have a huge 2018.

Clients Include:  Drake

Oliver El-Khatib is the man partially responsible for the 6 God and the OVO empire. From the massive $19 million Apple Music deal to the success of the "Boy Meets World" Tour (and, every other Drizzy tour, probably), El-Khatib has been co-managing (Future the Prince is also on Drizzy's management team) Drake since the beginning of his music career. As co-founder of OVO as well, alongside Noah "40" Shebib, El-Khatib has been instrumental in establishment of five flagship stores that the brand has set up across the world, a Jordan partnership, as well as Drake being the #2 most streamed artist of 2017.

Clients Include:  J. Cole

Ib and Cole built a strong relationship stemming from their mutual attendance at St. John's University in New York City. The relationship lead to the foundation of Dreamville Records, which Ib is currently president of. Ib has been a huge part in building the cult fan base that has pushed all four of J. Cole's studio album to debut at #1 on the US Billboard 200 charts. They have both been known to voice opinions on the dangers of conforming to the mainstream music world: an ideology that has come to life with J. Cole fourth studio album 4 Your Eyez Only achieving certified platinum accolades without any traditional marketing or features. Receiving such outstanding critical acclaim, Ib navigated a deal with HBO featuring a documentary series named after the album, while Dreamville Records continues to expand and grow their roster with lyrically-minded MCs, keeping inline with their aesthetic. 

Clients Include:  Chance The Rapper

Chance The Rapper and his manager Pat Corcoran have received nothing but praise for taking the independent route of music to new heights. The two met while Corcoran was in college studying Psychology before dropping out in 2012 to head into the management game (for Chance, of course) full time. Corcoran's legendary status was secured by leading a digital campaign in which the Coloring Book album won three Grammy's without selling a physical copy, not to mention the fact that it was an Apple Music exclusive. With no record label behind the Chicago team, Corcoran is the focal point of negotiations involving the likes of Apple Music, New Era, Nestle and Nike.

Clients Include:  Kendrick Lamar

Dave Free has been supporting Kendrick Lamar since way back, as Kendrick tells it, since the tenth grade. Although his management of the soon-to-be-star at that time might have not been fully realized, presently, it is.  As Kendrick once told i-D magazine, the two met through a mutual friend in high school, and the rest is history, "A mutual friend told him about me and we decided to start doing music and we’ve been doing it ever since." When it came time to make it official, Free was the obvious choice. Free, who also acts as the President of TDE, is thus responsible in part for more than just the success of K. Dot-- you can add ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, SZA, Isaiah Rashad and Lance Skiiiwalker to the continually growing list of artists he's helping put on, with the goal of crossing over to major markets much in the same way Kendrick already has.

Clients Include:  Metro Boomin and Sonny Digital

Unlike most, Rico Brooks has made a living ensuring that the business of our era's top producers remains intact-- although, as Sonny Digital has voiced, there's still a way's to go on that front. Nonetheless, Rico currently manages the most-indemand producer in the rap game-- Metro Boomin has become a household name beyond your average producer's wildest dreams, and helped propel the joint album into trending territory. Sonny Digital had his own piece of the producer pie prior to Metro's fame, and Rico is currently assisting the producer transition into an artist. Rico's knowledge and insight of how the music industry works, from publishing to relationships, is extremely key in his success as a manager.

Clients Include:  Tory Lanez

Scoremore Shows, a concert promotion company based in Texas is the origin of Sascha Gutterfreund's entry into the music industry. Throwing successful college concerts which included one for a young J. Cole has since led to a steady string of shows with basically any notable or rising rapper you can think of, as well, it led to a relationship with up-and-coming Tory Lanez. Lanez and Guttfreund embodied the "flood the streets with music" tactic before negotiating a deal with Interscope Records. Since the deal they have released an extremely successful I Told You debut album featuring Grammy-nominated single "Luv" and partnered with Champ Sports in series of campaign ads, while Tory readies his sophomore album, and Sascha takes over the festival circuit with Scoremore's JMBLYA expanding to Houston in 2018, in addition to already having Dallas and Austin on lock.

Clients Include:  Logic

Chris Zarou, the founder of the independent record label Visionary Music Group, and thus, the engine behind platinum recording artist, Logic. While he himself did not have musical talents, he spent his spare time trying to find those who did-- and thus stumbled across a YouTube video of Logic freestyling, as Forbes tells it. In the same Forbes piece, Zarou states his advantage was actually a perceived detractor--“My biggest advantage was my inexperience. I didn’t have anybody who taught me the old model of the music industry. I came in at a point when the music industry was drastically changing." So, with basically zero contacts in the industry, the two built Logic's career from the ground up, and it's no surprise then, that Logic has become known for his devoted fanbase, leading to an eventual major label signing with Def Jam. 

Developing a concept for a song called "1-800-273-8255" that spread a strong suicide-prevention message to millions of fans that would help propel Logic into mainstream success.

Clients Include:  Post Malone

Post Malone and his manager Dre London can't seem to miss, with Posty generating hit after hit. London, who was born and raised in London, made a move to New York in 2008, which is when things really started falling in place, after he managed to build a network with local stars like French Montana, Jadakiss and Max B. Even so, it wasn't until a 2012 move to Los Angeles that he discovered Post Malone and signed him to his company London Ent. Dre had the brilliant idea to market Malone's breakout single "White Iverson" as an underground hit rather than put the song in the hands of the usual mainstream media outlets. The success of "White Iverson" was quickly duplicated with more multi-platinum singles, including "Congratulations," as well as securing enough hype for Post Malone's debut album Stoney to make a #1 debut. Most recently taking advantage of the streaming system, London strategically released the single "rockstar" which broke Apple Music's single week record with 25 million streams.