BRE MAN OF THE YEAR ‘09 DEVYNE STEPHENS

Don’t be fooled by his boyish good looks, easy smile and humble nature. Devyne Stephens is a powerhouse. A heat-seeking talent missile. Savvy international businessman. Trendsetter. Empire builder. Star Maker.

For those who are serious about the music business, Devyne Stephens has become the “go to” guy. If you want to be a music superstar, Devyne is the man who can pull all the pieces together, polish your act, get you ready for prime time and even negotiate your contract.

Driven… Passionate…. Visionary… Devyne Stephens has already helped shape the hit albums, performances, videos and world tours of some of the brightest stars in the entertainment galaxy: Akon, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, T. Pain, Lionel Richie, Mary J. Blige, Jay Z, Usher, Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani, Mariah Carey, P. Diddy, Ciara, Ludacris, Sting, Pink, Outkast, Monica, TLC, Jermaine Dupri, Busta Rhymes, Nelly, New Edition, 112, Sean Paul, Boyz II Men and many more.

He brokered the deal for his international multi-platinum selling artist Akon to produce songs for Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston for her long-awaited comeback album I Look To You. Devyne’s well sought-after artist/producer Akon has also worked with such great talents as Lionel Richie, Gwen Stefani and Leona Lewis, to name a few.

Entertainment and business mogul, P. Diddy says Devyne simply “understands what it takes to make people into international superstars. My fondest memory of Devyne would be in rehearsal just watching his passion. Not just passion for dance but his passion for interpreting the lyrics. Sometimes,” says P. Diddy, “you need someone to really take you out of your comfort zone and really deal with what you are saying, deal with what this record means to people.”

“Devyne has great ears,” adds Universal Motown President, Sylvia Rhone. Universal Motown, along with Steve Rifkind’s imprint SRC, embraced Devyne’s pitch of the now highly successful artist Akon. “He can take an artist from infancy and develop their style, performance, attitude, staging, and everything in between. He is truly a consummate music man.”

Starmaker, L.A. Reid, IDJMG Chairman, who has known Devyne since he was a teenager, recalls, “ I knew instantly he was one to watch. His overall presentation – style, moves, vibe – were light years ahead of the competition, and he was already stepping out as a born leader. Today,” says Reid, “his business acumen and invaluable experience as an entrepreneur are second to none.”

Until he met Devyne, international music star Akon was headed down a rocky road that eventually landed him in “the big house” miles away from his childhood dreams. Today he thanks Devyne, his friend and business partner, for a second chance at the good life.

“I used to do so much, it was jumbled up, like gumbo. He helped me organize that talent to calmly just mold it into a franchise.” Akon’s praise for Devyne runs deep. “He has the skill to make you believe, more than you believe in yourself. You know, not everybody can actually motivate in that way. Devyne definitely has that gift.”

Like so many others, Akon says of Devyne, “There’s something about him. He can read people. Know their talents. Know their gifts. Know their strengths and know their weaknesses. Help you identify that, and then work from that point. He helps you see the whole thing clearly.”

Devyne is Executive Vice President of Akon’s label, Kon Live Distribution, and helped launch the careers of the flamboyant Lady Gaga and the ubiquitous T-Pain (Konvict Muzik), two highly popular artists. At the Upfront/Konvict brand, Devyne and Akon help direct numerous artists, producers and songwriters to industry success.

In fact, it was Devyne who negotiated the deals for Akon’s label imprint Kon Live Distribution and his song deal as a producer with Interscope/Geffen Records. In addition, Devyne was also influential in re-negotiating the artist deal for T. Pain and Konvict Muzik/Jive Records.

Renowned entertainment attorney, Joel Katz counts Devyne as a friend. He says his unique demeanor is one of the aces behind his booming business. “He’s very, very aggressive in a non-aggressive way,” says Katz, “which is very positive because he can get most of the things done that he puts his mind to, without irritating people or fighting with people or yelling at people. Yet he’s very strong-willed and he gets done what needs to be done.”

“Devyne has a unique ability to bring out the best in those around him, adds popular platinum-selling artist, Usher. “He’s like a brother to me and a good friend.” Usher started working with Devyne when he was 14 years old. Today the megastar freely compliments the talent, work ethic and determination Devyne showed him, and the impact that it had on his career, and so many others.

“He is very strategic,” says renowned producer, filmmaker and high school runnin’ partner, Dallas Austin. “He knows how to get things done. He’s been an artist, so he understands that perspective and can integrate it all together.”

Vision, passion, hard work and faith have evolved into Devyne’s ever-expanding recording and development empire, Upfront Megatainment.

Its divisions cover all of the artist development bases, from creation through distribution. There are plans to expand Upfront Megatainment abroad, opening an international branch in London, possibly as soon as next year.

Artists, athletes, comedians and others flock to the development center, “The Complex” an incubation facility in Atlanta. Here, Devyne and his staff give attention to the finest details of artist development: from body and voice strengthening, hair styling, makeup, wardrobe, choreography/staging and media training.

Says Devyne, “You have to stay ten steps ahead of the talent, making sure you’re providing a way for them to succeed. You have to set the stage in order for them to command the stage.”

In a world grown fat and lazy with overnight successes and “one hit wonders” Devyne Stephens is “old school” and “hands on,” taking the time to groom artists for long-term success.

“From the element of the music, to wardrobe, to the staging, to the production and putting shows together, Devyne is really unique at what he does,” says Upfront A&R Exec, Leon Lee, “because he sees everything and knows how to bring it together so well. Devyne instinctively knows how his clients or artists should look, sound and present themselves for the greatest impact in the marketplace.”

Says veteran entertainment publicist, Jody Miller: “He combines market forces knowledge with strong support of his artists to be the best people they can be.”

Those instincts and knowledge come to bear every day as Devyne heads up his own label, Upfront Megatainment, distributed by Universal Music, representing artists from Akon and soul singer, Majic Massey to girl group, KRAVE.

His Cartel Management Group gives guidance and direction to blossoming careers of not only artists but also the roster of Upfront Producers, including Jazze Pha, Akon, Chris Beatz, Young Sears and Bdon, as they keep the hits rolling out of the studio. “He made me realize that ownership, relationships and branding make the world go around when it comes to the music or any business,” shares platinum producer, Jazze Pha. “He can take a diamond in the rough and make it shine brighter than most.”1-cvr_moty_devyne

For exclusive entertaining, Devyne and his real estate/design team developed Dreamland, an opulent 18-thousand square foot palatial Atlanta estate, as well as two popular local nightclubs.

“Who’s Next Worldwide” searches the globe for the next hot, new creative talent on the planet, while Devyne makes ever blossoming plans for upcoming Publishing, Television and Film projects. Peachtree TV and Film Production, headed by Ryan Glover, is currently working on reality show projects like “Welcome to Dreamland” and singer Monica’s showcase: “Monica: Still Standing.” Popular filmmaker, Will Packer says he and Devyne may soon do something big together. “He’s somebody that’s at the forefront of creativity within this industry. I am really very impressed. I’m proud to be working in the same industry and market with the brother.”

Of Devyne’s many endeavors, especially dear to his heart is his Devyne Intervention Foundation, created to share his blessings. The Foundation helps to inspire and create opportunities for young people, through the healing power of music.

On one occasion Devyne and T-Boz, who suffers from sickle cell, visited a host of excited 6-16 year old children who suffer from serious illnesses and life challenges at Camp Twin Lakes. At the camp, T. Boz shared her story about her struggle with sickle cell. Afterwards, everyone shared their dreams and ice pops on a hot summer day.

Devyne’s latest Foundation project is huge. He is helping to raise $46-million to underwrite the success of a brand new children’s hospital, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding, right across the street from the public hospital Grady Memorial where he was born.

Devyne remembers what it was like to be young and disadvantaged. His is a classic ‘rags to riches’ story. Growing up in the Red Oak housing project near Atlanta, Devyne knew hardship, family challenges and disappointments. But he never lost faith that better days were coming. These days, the plates on one of his fancier cars reads, “Red Oak,” a constant reminder that vision, passion and hard work can lead to happy endings.

The music and dance he loved was his ticket out. His father was a minister and the lead singer in a gospel band, along with his uncles. Records and the radio were a constant in his home. When the music came on, any music at all, little Devyne would dance. When he was just five years old, his mother entered him in a talent contest at WAOK Radio, and he won. It would be the first of many wins in contests and dance battles around the Southeast and across the country.

Ladi Drew has known him since he was around 10-years-old, a non-stop dancing machine. “Devyne danced in front of the complex where I lived in College Park with a transistor radio in one hand. He danced all the grass down to red dirt! He was always very energetic, the way he is now. Innovative. Always making up new steps.”

Years later, he would persistently ask Ladi Drew, who was working with Arrested Development at the time, to help him learn about the business of music. “He said to me, ‘if you would just take time and manage me, believe in me, we could go places.” She did, and they did. Today, Ladi Drew is Vice President and CFO of Devyne’s thriving entertainment empire, Upfront Megatainment.

There was no school and no one person who could teach Devyne all he would eventually learn about both the business and creative sides of the industry. “I was always watching other people and always picking up on things, so I learned what to do and what not to do. And somehow, I made it out,” he adds with a laugh.

Devyne’s special gift? “Talking,” teases songwriter Sean Garrett. “ Really, he’s a good negotiator and a student of the game.” Being willing to share his knowledge of ‘the game’ has led to Devyne’s success.

Devyne has helped stage some of the music industry’s most prestigious events, including the Grammys, American Music Awards, the Soul Train Awards, VMA Awards, Billboard Awards, the BET Awards, Vibe Awards, VH1 Awards, Source Awards and even the NFL’s Super Bowl Half Time.

Passionate about excellence, and an arbiter of “what’s hot and what’s not,” Devyne is the name to call when you want to take an event or an artist to the next level.

When they were all just kids, Jermaine Dupri used to put mix tapes together for Devyne’s own early dance routines with his group FDC, the Fresh Dance Crew. Dupri says for as long as he’s known his old friend, Devyne hasn’t had a problem telling anybody when an approach was on the right track or not. And he still doesn’t.

“You know, I’ve seen him work with Jay-Z. I’ve seen him work with Puff,“ says Jermaine, “and the little things that he did for each one of them, were definitely something they didn’t have in the beginning. Just showing them, and telling them don’t be scared to do this. He helped me develop as a producer over the years. You need people like that around you in this business, to really direct you and keep you on the right track.”

As an aspiring teenage artist, Devyne added other dancers, vocals, music and rapping to his act. The new group, called Devyne plus 90 Miles per Hour reflected his energy, drive and super-polished performances and became the first act signed to LaFace Records. But before they ever released an album, the group broke up. LaFace dropped the contract, breaking Devyne’s heart and dissolving all of his hard-earned perks, overnight.

For the first time, he seriously considered leaving show business.

But Fate wasn’t having that.

Devyne had successfully polished other acts, including Boyz II Men, who got their start in Devyne’s garage studio, where Dallas Austin would drop the four off to work on their routines. Just as Devyne’s own performance career hit a roadblock, Boyz II Men skyrocketed to fame, and bassist Mike McCrary of the group suggested that Devyne might try another career path… helping other acts the way he had helped theirs.

Devyne recalls clearly, “Mike said, ‘since performing is not working for you right now, have you ever thought about choreographing, you know, just like what you did for us?”

“At the time, I didn’t even know what the word really meant,” Devyne remembers, but when Mike added, “You know you can make money doing this,’ I said ‘Wow!”

With that, Devyne’s “performer” chapter ended and the “choreographer, artist developer and entrepreneur” chapters began.

A lot of choreographers can dance and perform,” says Nathan Morris of Boyz II Men, “but it’s very difficult to translate that to another artist. Devyne has a gift of being able to translate.”

LaFace promptly rehired him for artist development. Word of his impressive work with TLC, a teenager called Usher and Pebbles led to more recommendations and more successful relationships. Calls from RCA, Cable Records, Arista, Motown, Bad Boy and others eventually led to work with nearly every important R&B and Pop artist on the map.

“He was our first choreographer,” says singer LaToya Luckett of the days when she was a part of Destiny’s Child at age 14. “He put us through it, honey. We had never worked with a choreographer before and we were like ‘whew!’ He had us sweating. It was a workout. He’s a grinder. He is so talented.”

One of the very first artists Devyne helped develop, Pebbles, recalls the swag of the outfits, hairstyles and dance moves he came up with to prepare her for the “Arsenio Hall Show.” He even rapped in the background to help pull the whole look together. “He is an extremely talented person, with such a positive energy and drive…and he’s fearless,” says Pebbles. That fearlessness, drive and faith have led Devyne Stephens to become a superstar himself, behind the scenes.

“He’s got the concept, he has the vibration and he does his thing. He’s really intuitive about what’s going on in the industry,” says Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men. “He’s everybody’s legend,” says rising star Keri Hilson, “it’s almost like you can’t escape his name.”

“Devyne has a magical energy about him,” says renowned video producer, Bille Woodruff. “ There is a reason that all kinds of people, executives, people in the hood, pop divas, R&B stars, hip-hop artists and so on are drawn to Devyne – he hasn’t lost his love of the magic of what draws us into entertainment. He is pure in that way. It gives him a light that people react positively to. He has a way of bringing out the best in people and making them calm in stressful situations.”

Famed choreographer and video director, Fatima Robinson says, “Devyne has amazing intuition. He sees what artists naturally have, and he has the ability to give them the confidence to do it.“

“I know when I first started producing records Devyne saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself,” producer Bryan-Michael Cox reveals, explaining that Devyne “would come and get records from me. Devyne really believed in me, really 100% believed. He saw something. And now 10, 11 years later here I am, a success story.”

Keith Sweat goes “way back” with Devyne, who choreographed his dancers before his tours. “He knows what an artist needs. When he meets an artist, he knows if they have what it takes to take it to the next level.”

As Atlanta exploded onto the music scene as a fertile source of talent and creativity, one of the unseen forces behind the movement was Devyne Stephens.

Singer and “Real Housewives of Atlanta” performer, Kandi Burruss, says, “He has been just an icon in the city of Atlanta, helping things get going. He does everything, helping people to be an overall artist. Not just the choreography or the music. He knows how to build a brand. I think he’s just an amazing person.”

Star songstress Monica was 11 when she met Devyne, who has helped her with videos and vocal recordings, as he has for so many others. “He just gives himself unselfishly and thinks about the end result. He believed in me, a young girl from Atlanta, when people said ‘we don’t have celebrities here.’ He was one of the believers who said, ‘You’re going to make it. We’re all going to make it.’ He has faith that’s unmovable.”

“He has benefited the culture so much,” says Atlanta’s Mayor-elect Kasim Reed. “I think he is a role model. He has taught people how to move from the entertainment space to the business space. He’s so much more than music now.”

Top Atlanta radio personalities at CBS urban WVEE-FM (V103), Frank Ski and Ryan Cameron, reflect on Devyne’s transition from artist to artist developer. “He’s come full circle,” says Ski, “He is a true testament that there is opportunity beyond the mic and the camera. Devyne is one of the most successful people you will meet behind the scenes.” Cameron, who has known Devyne for the past 15 years adds, Devyne is “very unique, because he refuses to fail.”

These days, Devyne Stephens is being called the Berry Gordy of his generation. A visionary, whose special gifts help make people’s dreams come true.

“He has talent and passion and knowledge of music. He sees a very big picture,” according to Steve Rifkind, Founder and CEO of SRC Records/Universal.

Devyne’s first job when he meets a new artist is identifying that timeless attribute called “star” quality. A star, he says, is “a person that is able to attract and has a certain glow, a certain flair and style about themselves that makes people gravitate to them. Either you got it or you don’t,” says the man who knows the real thing when he sees it. Stars are born. Celebrities are created. “We have a lot of celebrities nowadays, but not a lot of superstars.”

Devyne is an admitted perfectionist. And that can be a challenge. “Sometimes that can be very frustrating,” says Upfront A&R man, Leon Lee, “because you feel like ‘you’re there’, and then he still sees something and says ‘no, that ain’t it.’ We can make this better.”

“Devyne comes in and ‘fine tunes’ the situation,” says indie label owner, Slim, formerly of 112, “so if you’re not coming up to par, then you have him to deal with.” Jazz speaks for all of KRAVE when she says, “He can see certain things that the average person wouldn’t see. His imagination, his creativity, he’s so in sync with that, that sometimes I’m like ‘D, are you sure?’ It’s just so left field. But it’s just so beautiful when it happens.”

“He’s not only a perfectionist at what he does, he wants the people around him to be perfectionists as well,” says Upfront General Manager, Steve Lucas. “It runs from him, through his staff, through everybody he works with; it just flows that way. That’s why you get great things out of great people.”

Devyne says another well-known artistic perfectionist, Michael Jackson, has influenced his personal standard of excellence. Long before they met, Devyne was impressed by Michael’s famous attention to detail and genuine humility. When they did meet, Devyne says, “it was a defining moment for me in terms of my mission and what really makes you a star.”

As far as Devyne’s own bright future is concerned, music mogul, Michael Mauldin says, “Devyne has the ability to continue to reinvent himself… and he seems to usually do it at a time when the industry is in need of innovation. He does it in a way that seems to catch folks by surprise.” So just stand by and watch for fireworks.

After a fleeting mental pause to wonder where he got his name, the first thing you notice about Devyne Stephens is that he’s such a nice guy - the kind of well-mannered, soft spoken, well-dressed, accomplished young man you want to introduce to your sister.

A real standout in a world known for excess and self-centeredness, he doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, helps the poor, loves kids, goes to church and has a great job. Everybody’s fantasy big brother.

But this is no ordinary nice guy. This guy is Devyne.

In case you’re still wondering, the name came from his grandmother, who saw something so special in him, even as a child, that she constantly called him “divine.” As he grew up, the spelling changed, but the name, and apparently the impetus, stuck.

Life is good for Devyne Stephens these days. He thoroughly enjoys the perks that come along with his success. But he stays truly humble in the midst of it all. He says the best part of being him is being able to serve and teach others the ins and outs of the business. The rocky road to his success has been filled with hazards, challenges and detours. But he says, “I wouldn’t change anything that I went through.” When it’s all said and done, if you ask him who his heroes have been, Devyne answers quickly, “The struggle is my hero.”

Says the ‘behind the scenes’ superstar, “Everyday I wake up, there’s a struggle. Everyday I have a purpose. If I have 100 problems…and if I could just get one thing right in a day, I had an incredible day. That’s my outlook. I think that’s my purpose… to help and to solve as many problems as I possibly can.”

Problem solver. Star Maker. Innovator. Visionary.

No, he’s not just any nice guy. He’s Devyne.