(AllHipHop Features) Kevin “Coach K” Lee is one of the forces behind the chart-dominating Quality Control Music. In just seven years, Quality Control has collected multiple Platinum plaques, over a dozen Top 40 hits, and billions of views on YouTube.
Along with QC co-founder Pierre “Pee” Thomas, Indianapolis-bred Coach K took over the Atlanta music scene with acts such as Migos, Lil Yachty, and Lil Baby. Pee and Coach then traveled to Miami to find the new school Salt-N-Pepa/Trina hybrid known as City Girls.
Offset, Quavo, and Takeoff (the three family members that make up Migos) kicked off the Quality Control run in 2013 with a Zaytoven-produced single titled “Versace.” The Y.R.N. (Young Rich N*ggas) track peaked at #99 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and made several end-of-the-year lists. The next few years were marked by more undeniable prosperity from QC The Label.
In November, Red Bull Music Festival Atlanta brought out Coach K to share some of his insights and experiences. I caught up with the former Hendu Entertainment A&R at the Plaza Theatre to get his personal assessments on the success of four breakout singles from his company’s roster of talent.
[ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Coach K On Representing For QC & ATL At Red Bull Music Festival Atlanta]
Migos – “Versace”
Coach K:
The repetitive cadence. I remember running to record labels and they would laugh at me. I was taking it to some of my friends that were A&Rs at different labels, like, “Check this out.” They were like, “Why is it repeating over and over?” I said, “Watch, you’re going to be saying it in about a week.”
Lil Yachty – “One Night”
Coach K:
Style. His style and his voice texture. And his confidence to make a record like that. His confidence. That’s what made me, when I first met him, really want to sign him. Here’s this dark-skinned kid with red hair, crazy style, but he’s so confident in who he is, we can sell that.
Lil Baby – “Yes Indeed” Featuring Drake
Coach K:
That was an amazing moment. We have a really good relationship with Drake. I tell people he’s a hell of an A&R because he listens to what’s going on. At the time, he was hitting us about doing a record with Baby. Magic happened with that record. Baby’s part of the record ended up being the one. He shined on that record.
City Girls – “Act Up”
Coach K:
You know what’s so wild? We were promoting “Twerk.” “Act Up” was sitting on the [Girl Code] album. The album came out in December. “Act Up” didn’t really start picking up until March. It had been sitting there for four months. You know how it goes? The Internet. Young girls hit it, some sh*t went viral, and the next thing you know… it’s gone.
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Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
