Hoping to break new
artists as effortlessly as he breaks would-be tacklers, NFL wide receiver Muhsin
Muhammad partnered with music industry veteran Danny Blaq three years ago to form
Baylo Entertainment.
The “full-service” company, as they refer to themselves,
specializes in marketing and promoting acts, as well as distributing mixtapes
and the popular “Screwed & Chopped” version of albums.
“We hit the pavement,” Muhammad, the company’s
CEO, told AllHipHop.com. “We help artists get a buzz on the streets and
that’s really what our focus is.”
Muhammad, an all-pro with the Carolina Panthers who recently
signed with the Chicago Bears as a free agent, met Blaq through a mutual acquaintance
in Atlanta, where Blaq was based as a manager of Patchwerk studio.
Through their shared interest in music and business, the duo
decided to form Baylo. Initially, however, the company dabbled in concert promotion,
booking tours in North Carolina and throughout the South, before morphing into
what it is today.
“As a business man, I’m gonna go to where the niche
is,” Muhammad explained of the company’s vision. “And I think
where the niche is, is being a conduit for the artist to the masses. We want
to take the guys who got a little something going for themselves and take them
to the top.
“It’s like we’re a translator,” said
Blaq. “Because the majors are out of touch with the streets. They have
the pipe line and the money, but they can’t find the artists.”
Mainly through word of mouth, the company has been able to attract
top talent in the South. Swisha House, the Boss Hogg Outlaws, and Boyz N Da
Hood are just a few of the acts that Baylo has helped to break, according to
Muhammed and Blaq, whose online store boast over 300 “Chopped & Screwed”
mixtapes.
“We actually interact with the streets,” said Blaq.
“We hang out. Baylo is kind of like a hub, because of the capacities that
we have and what we can do.”
Lil Weavah, and upstart rapper from Southwest Atlanta, couldn’t
agree more.
“Every time
I ran into someone [while pushing my CDs], they would always mention Baylo,”
said Weavah of his decision to sign with Muhammed and Blaq. “I’m
talking everyone, even signed artists. Baylo really is an established superstar
company and they got everything [an artists needs].