Makeba Riddick: A Songwriter’s Dream

Calling singing and songwriting her hobbies since the age of seven, Makeba Riddick always felt a successful career as a musician was just a dream. But it’s her song on T.I., “Live Your Life,” that became the #1 single in the country and the #1 digital download. That distant dream is now a serious reality.

Born in Baltimore, MD, Makeba’s love for music would lead her to the Berklee School Of Music in Boston. With actually being a musician still only a dream, she majored in music business and only minored in songwriting. After graduating in only three years, she moved to New York and used her music business degree to begin working at record labels. She still didn’t know she would ever become a songwriter. With the music bug still in her system though, she was working at labels during the day and doing song demos at night with different producers around the city, until one producer finally convinced her to do music professionally.

The strong catalog she had amassed soon made its way to Dave McPherson who selected one of her songs for Jennifer Lopez’s This Is Me … Then album. Her song, “All I Have,” made it all the way to #1 on the charts. She got a publishing deal with P. Diddy and the whirlwind began.

“It was really surreal,” she explains. “I always grew up admiring Puff Daddy and here I was with him telling me about how awesome that I was going to be.” She was only 20, living in a foreign city without any family, but every week she was in the studio with producers like Cory Rooney, Mario Winans, Troy Oliver and the Souldiggaz.

Upon moving to Los Angeles, she got her next big break in 2006 while working with her dream producer, Rodney Jerkins. He told her he saw something special in her and the songs they worked on together ended up on Beyoncé’s album.

She was then introduced to a budding young artist named Rihanna, with whom she started writing and developing songs. Within two years, Rihanna would become a household name, selling more than seven million copies of Good Girl Gone Bad and establishing Makeba as the go-to songwriter. With Rihanna’s sound she was able to really carve out her own niche. A&R knew it could rely on her to supply them with that perfect pop sound that everyone could relate to.

When asked what makes her songwriting unique, Makeba says she tries to make her “lyrics inspirational. Even if it may be an urban or pop song that you might think would only appeal to some, I try to write songs that make people say, ‘I have been through that or I have felt that.’ Stuff that makes people feel connected to each other as humans.”

Finding that commonality in all of us is what will make her a great pop songwriter for years to come and not just a flash in the pan urban songwriter.

In terms of her own musical tastes, Makeba stays true to her roots as a student of music by always listening to different material. She may be writing for Rihanna or Beyoncé but she might be listening to the Killers. It keeps her “unique and different. You have got to be a student of music to inspire others with your music.”

Makeba has written or co-written for everyone from Mariah Carey to Michelle Williams; Jessica Simpson to Fantasia; the Black Eyed Peas to Danity Kane; Avant to Solange Knowles. Most recently, she co-wrote “Ave Maria” on Beyoncé’s latest I am… Sasha Fierce and has been working closely with P. Diddy on all his new projects as well as Lil Jon. She has also been writing on the upcoming new Toni Braxton album and has begun work on Rihanna’s new album.

And humble as ever, Makeba is still amazed that all of this keeps happening to her.

Shelly Stewart Honored

Birmingham’s broadcast legend Shelly “The Playboy” Stewart was in rare form for the illustrious tribute in honor of his 41 years of service to the community. The Who’s Who of Birmingham and the state of Alabama were in full force for the tribute, thanks to Phil Christian, the executive director of the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation, named for his mother.

I personally journeyed to the event because of my respect for his contributions to his community and his undying dedication to our industry as a broadcaster. And, on a more personal note, it was Shelly who strongly recommended me for my job as Southeastern Promotions Director for Capitol Records back in 1966 when he was PD and afternoon jock at that time at Atlanta’s WAOK. I had traveled to Atlanta for the interview with Capitol executives and we had stopped by to visit Shelly while he was on the air. I didn’t realize it at the time, but his endorsement was key to my getting the position. After we left the control room, he called me back in alone and gave me his business card and told me he had recommended me and that if I didn’t get it to call him and he would remove all of their product until they hired me. Fortunately, his recommendation was strong enough.

Stewart’s latest venture was parked outside in the parking lot: a specially equipped bus outfitted to make a positive impression on young people to make the right choices in life. Set up classroom style, the bus had a video monitor backed by a black curtain airing different options available to kids who stay in school. And as the adverse options were presented, the curtain dropped to reveal a scaled model jail cell.  Stewart says it has been making a powerful impression on young minds and has proven to be a deterrent to kids leaving school. He now has several buses in production to travel around visiting schools.