National Hockey League
player Anson Carter has launched Big Up Entertainment, a new record label which
the hockey pro aims to turn into the next big Hip-Hop franchise.
Carter spent the
majority of his career with the New York Rangers. With the NHL on strike for
almost a year now, Carter is using the time to build Big Up Entertainment.
of right now, we are building the ground level to be a multi-faceted entertainment
company," Carter told AllHipHop.com. "We want to put out movies. We
have a hockey movie called ‘Blades’ currently in development that
we’ve been talking to a few different distributors about, distributing
our movie next February. But at the same time we are willing to start off with
putting out some good music. Main and Merc being our first artists are going
to lead the way.”
Carter, of West
Indian descent, grew up in Ontario, Canada and is one of the only black hockey
players in the NHL. He entered the league in 1992, and soon became one of the
NHL’s top power forwards.
“Hip-Hop’s
a lot bigger in hockey than people think,” Carter continued. “I
was in charge of music in the dressing room and you had your few guys who requested
country music and you have to please everyone, but for the most part everyone
listened to hip-hop before and after the games.”
The first release
from the independent label will be Richmond, Virginia natives Main & Merc.
“The thing
that drives them is to be the best," Carter said of the fledgling group.
"I see it all the time, whether in business or sports, when people are
in it just to make money, they may make a few dollars, but they won’t
reach their potential. It’s ok to want to make money, but their drive
impressed me. That was important to me, because I am looking for artists that
have that passion to be the best.”
While the group
is preparing their untitled debut album, Carter said he was making plans to
turn Big Up Entertainment into a full media company, spanning sports, music
and fashion.
of the major labels are controlling things and no one wants to do the heavy
lifting,” Carter said. “We are willing to grind on the street level,
mixtapes or work the internet. I look at these labels like the Bad Boys, the
Rocafellas and New No Limits, and we want to be a powerhouse like that as an
independent. If a point in time comes when major wants to come and talk, we
will listen, but at the same time we want to be the best we can be as an independent
label. We want to empower as many people as possible who are willing to work
and be hungry.”
For more information,
visit http://www.bigupentertainment.com.
