Love of dancehall launches a video and music business
NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - What started as a love of dancehall music has blossomed into a lucrative career. "Dancehall Music Review" debuted on YouTube on November 9, 2009.
Video blogger CV and FirstBorn make up the dancehall group LNJ, which stands for London, New York, Jamaica. CV is the N, for New York, FirstBorn is the L for London, and the J represents that they're both from Jamaica.
CV began video blogging, or "vlogging," as a way to gain popularity and exposure for himself and other singers.
"We feature the hottest new dancehall music videos, new music, drama, rumors, gossip," CV said.
Little did he know the idea would catch on like wildfire.
"So I figured I could incorporate industry artists, current news, current events and then incorporate our music in it," he said. "And it gained some popularity that way and it took off."
But instant success didn't make things easy. After a series of ups and downs, CV launched "DMR News," a new channel that would allow him to create content without using a third party. No music label, no problem. With a do-it-yourself kind of attitude, he joined forces with DBrown, who became his producer.
"My role is to basically keep CV on his toes. Make sure that he doesn't you know repeat himself because as you know most people when they're reading and look in the camera there's a prompter right beside them when they're reading," DBrown said. "There's nothing like that we have here. Everything just flows off of his mind and I got to sit there and hang onto every word that he's saying. So if he ends up repeating something I could say. 'Hey, cut, we got to shoot that again."
DBrown said that DMR News is being aired on HypeTV in Jamaica.
"It's like the MTV to the Caribbean," he added.
CV and DBrown prove that you don't need an elaborate production in order to make great videos. All the magic goes down right here in a tiny studio.
"Many, many artists, my email, my DM, people keep hitting me up and I'm like, 'I can't help everybody!'" CV said. "I got to help myself and my team you know. So we try, though."
"DMR News" now promotes artists who are flourishing under their direction.
Singers G-Star and Brittany Bloom have a hit racing up the charts. They were introduced by their managers but CV makes their collaboration "sing."
"Management just kind of hooked us together and it was a perfect fit," Bloom said.
"CV is one of the hardest working persons I've ever met in my life," G-Star said. "If you have somebody like that pushing your music, help pushing your music, you're going to reach a broad audience."
"Everybody knows Cement Kidd right now basically because of CV. I've been doing my thing from Jamaica. I come to the States, where I just cool off for a little bit," Cement Kidd said. "Then I met CV and everything just take off again."
"I've been working with CV for about a year and half right now and I lay down probably about five tracks with him already," Ellygan said. "And the tracks have been doing good."
Staying humble and grounded, CV and DBrown know the key to their success is hard work and consistency. They have goals to make a full-length movie.
Also, both of CV's children have autism, so they give back by throwing an annual autism fundraiser in Jamaica.
The sky is the limit for these two entrepreneurs who prove that "If you build it, they will come."
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