Power 107's Miss Monique with Jagged Edge

Flint, Michigan native Miss Monique has returned to Clear Channel urban WPRW-FM (Power 107) in Augusta, Ga to take over APD/MD duties. Formerly with the station last year in promotions and on the air in the midday slot, Miss Monique departed due to budget cuts. Operations Manager Tim “Fatz” Snell, however, was happy to welcome her back. “We’re really excited about having Monique back. She knows the music and the market. She’s ready to take on the task and we’re looking forward to having her back.”

Mayo, who joined the Radio One team in 2006 as a consultant, resigned effective March 16 to pursue other ventures. “Partnering with Alfred and helping to execute his vision has been a rewarding experience, and I am proud of what we have accomplished,” he said in a joint statement released from both. “I am grateful for the support shown me during my tenure. While I will miss the relationships forged, I am truly looking forward to the next phase of my career.”

Citing Clear Channel’s ‘Best Rate’ sales tactics as impacting the radio industry adversely, Liggins added, “Barry has been an integral member of Radio One’s executive management team for nearly five years, and he has served the Company with passion and distinction. I am grateful for Barry’s contributions to the success of the Company’s initiatives, particularly given the challenging economic environment. I understand, however, that there comes a time for change in a person’s career, and I fully respect Barry’s decision to undertake new challenges.  I truly wish him well.”

And, although chagrined by the poor performance of the radio division on which Liggins had always been bullish, he also delivered an upbeat report on TV One and the Internet divisions, saying, “We’re in a good space with these two businesses.” He also believes “the radio group is poised to rebound strongly in 2012, with mid to high single digit revenue growth in both the first and second quarters.”

(l-r) Jay Stevens, Vice President of Programming, Radio One; Chris Wegmann, Regional Vice President Washington DC, Dallas and St. Louis; Barry Mayo, President Radio One; Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor To the White House; Alfred Liggins, CEO Radio One Inc; Cathy Hughes, Chairman/Founder Radio One; Sheila Stewart, Director of Community Affairs, Radio One DC.

Radio One DC gave White House Senior Advisor Valeria Jarrett a tour of its new offices and studios.

The new staff is shown (l-r) Jimmy Rush, DJ Fire Starter, Casual, Marcus Kage.

As Southeast Alabama Broadcasters took over the licensing of the Dothan, Alabama cluster of stations that include Talk WDBT (105.3 the Voice), Classic Hits WESP-FM (102.5 the Eagle), Rock WJRL-FM (Rock 104) and Adult Hits WLDA-FM (Star 100.5), change was the order of business with WLDA flipping its format to Urban. WLDA started the new year as 100.5 the Beat and boasting a new line-up that included “Casual Mornings” from 6am-10, “Marcus Kage at Middays” from 10am-2pm, “Jimmy Rush Afternoons” from 2pm-6pm, and “DJ Firestarter Primetime Show” from 6pm-10pm. Clif “Casual” Hawthorne, the new PD for the station, is asking for service from music labels be mailed to WLDA, 285 N Foster Street, 8^th Floor, Dothan, AL 36303 or e-mail MP3s to casualmusic@aol.com.

And she just exudes exuberance. Add in her wealth of knowledge, experience and her all-American work ethic and no wonder she’s a winner. Her longevity in broadcasting, however, she readily attributes to staying true to her mantra: “Educate, inform and entertain.”

Her biggest challenge?

“Getting up so early every morning. People think you get used to it, but you don’t,” she tells BRE in an exclusive interview in between shows recently.

The Dallas-based McGuire gets up at 4 a.m., has her morning coffee and drives 35 minutes to K104. She watches the overnight news before she hits the airwaves “so I know what’s going on,” she explains. After being on the air from 6 until 10 a.m., she has an after-show meeting. Then she drives the 35 minutes home and may sneak in an hour nap. Then she’s back on the road to do the afternoon drive show with Doug Banks at another studio.

“I love working with Doug,” she declares in that perky upbeat style that comes so naturally to her. “We have so much fun on the air.”

With today’s technology, McGuire could actually do her dynamic duet with Banks from her home, but she chooses to be face to face with her on-air partner with whom she has worked for 15 years.

And, speaking of partners, McGuire recently married a businessman she calls “Baby Black.” And yes, marriage did have an impact on her single “cougar” style.

“That’s my character and my soul on the air,” she explains. “I went from being the single lady to the married lady. When I first got married, one of my listeners told me, ‘I’m so sure you are going to bring the ups and downs of married life to the air like you did the single life’. So I continue to grow up with my audience.”

Even though there’s some commonality between both her shows, there are also differences not only in the music but also the topics of discussions. “We do more adult conversations on Doug Banks, talking about everything from politics to relationships. It’s a little more adult focused. But the one commonality is that people want to be informed and entertained. I think that’s the key no matter what the demo.”

“And I have a great team around me,” she exclaims about both the young-end talent at K104 whom she describes as “amazing,” and then with Doug. ”We’ve been doing this for 15 years…what more can I say!”

Averaging maybe five hours of sleep a night, McGuire explains why she works so hard.

“I wanted to do it. I was stuck in that demo of 18-34. But I love R&B and the AC urban format too, so I thought, ‘Why couldn’t I do both… why do I have to choose one or the other.’ So now I have the best of both worlds.”

Besides, she adds, there’s no guarantee the same job will be available tomorrow. Radio has changed drastically over the last several years. Technology and syndication have caused a great loss of positions. Indeed, in Dallas alone, McGuire and her crew, which includes Lady Jade and Kevvy Kev of “The Crazy Azz Morning Show,” are up against no less than three nationally syndicated urban morning shows – Tom Joyner, Steve Harvey and Rickey Smiley.

“We have to work harder now,” she says. “I really admire people such as Egypt… she’s doing so many things. You have to constantly re-invent. Things are constantly changing. You have to change your game to stay in it.”

One of McGuire’s many attributes includes being able to attract major celebrities for interviews. Key, she says, is the approach. “There’s a way to talk to a celebrity… you can’t attack them,” she explains. “If they don’t want to talk about it, then don’t push it. I honor that and then they are also easier to get to next time. They will remember this person is fair. Working with Doug, I learned so much from him. I got that from Doug – never attack an artist.”

Her Do’s and Don’ts…

• Don’t attack.

• Make the artist comfortable.

• Always make sure to end on a high note.

• Pre-record – you can take out awkward moments.

McGuire has an admirable work ethic, but she also admits to a guilty pleasure. “I watch reality shows… I’m so addicted to them. “Housewives of Orange County”…all the Housewives, as a matter of fact. Anything reality, I watch. That’s how I relax.”

Looking back McGuire recalls how she got her start at a country station where she was initially hired as the receptionist. It wasn’t long, though, that management recognized her dynamic voice and personality and she went to work on air. He climb was swift, as she soon went on to program KIIZ-FM (Z92.3). She held down gigs at KTFM-FM (94.1) in San Antonio before taking on afternoons at heritage K104. Her career then took her to WPNT in Chicago, where she tried her hand at a late-night dating show for two years before heading to Top 40 WIQQ-FM (Q102) in Philadelphia as the midday afternoon drive personality.

In addition to co-hosting “The Ride With Doug & DeDe” and now doing morning drive on K104, she is also a popular television personality. She has successfully hosted two syndicated video programs and makes numerous guest appearances on top local and national talk shows.

And speaking of television, it’s too soon to tell, but word is that McGuire is about to announce another major gig, this one on television. Stay tuned!

“I have an incredible support crew… brothers and sisters, co-workers,” she says. “I don’t know how long this is going to last. This biz is getting smaller and smaller…but I’m going to ride it until the wheels fall off.”

Thumbs up! exclaims the new kid on the block

“I feel like a kid on the first day at a new school,” exclaimed Egypt as she began her new midday slot on WVEE-FM (V103) in Atlanta. Her new studio was decorated with an Egyptian sarcophagus and even her own throne, courtesy of her new boss Reggie Rouse, who also had a lunch catered for the former NY radio personality. “I have never had a welcome like this in my entire career!” she said on the air as she welcomed special guests like Keith Sweat, Chili, Musiq Soulchild, Jazze Pha, the Braxtons, Nelly and Marsha Ambrosius, among others. Also a host of HGTV’s “Property Virgins,” Egypt says she will continue to do that show on the weekends as production is moving from to NY to Atlanta to accommodate her new schedule.

Syndicated radio host and recording artist Keith Sweat embraced Egypt on her move to Atlanta

Nelly and Chili both stopped into the Atlanta studios

Trina Braxton, Demetria McKinney and Egypt shared details about their childbirth stories

Egypt chats with Jazze Pha

Radio One's Alfred Liggins with his mother, NAACP Imaage Awards Honoree Cathy Hughes

The premiere multicultural awards show celebrating the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film, this year’s 43^rd NAACP Image Awards selected Radio One founder Cathy Hughes for its Chairman’s Award. Presenting the award and unveiling the wax statue in Hughes’ image that was also presented during the special Image viewing event in Newark, NAACP Chairman Roslyn M. Brock commented, “This recognition is long overdue for her accomplishments as a trailblazer in the media industry.  As the founder of Radio One and TV One, an advocate for small business entrepreneurship, and philanthropist, Cathy Hughes reminds us that collectively and as individuals, we can make a difference.”

Another special award, the President’s Award, honored the men and women of the Black Stuntmen’s Association. NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous commented, “The efforts of these pioneers helped to chip away at the racial barriers that divided not only stuntmen, but the entire entertainment/media industry.” The Smithsonian Institute is currently planning to curate an exhibit to honor the Coalition and the Black Stuntmen’s Association in Washington, D.C.

The two-hour live special that aired on NBC was hosted by Sanaa Latham and Anthony Mackie and also gave special recognition with its Vanguard Award to George Lucas for his efforts on “Red Tails.”

Tracey E. Edmonds Our Stories Films under RLJ Company's “Jumping the Broom” realized three top honors

Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, whose book “My Song”was named Outstanding Literary Work

Performers at the 43rd NAACP Image Nominees Luncheon included Tyler James Williams, Coco Jones and Trevor Jackson, stars of the upcoming Disney Channel Original Movie “Let It Shine” premiering on the Disney Channel this June--a modern day story set in the world of hip-hop, rap and gospel music and based on the classic Cyrano de Bergerac love-triangle

Ford donated $10,000 to Blair Underwood's Students Helping Our World (SHOW) Program at the 8th Annual NAACP Hollywood Symposium. (l-r) Pamela Alexander, Director, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services, actor Blair Underwood, Daniel Belgrad, President, SHOW and Lamell McMorris, NAACP, National Board Member.

By Hedi Butler

Cover Photo by Brian Lowe  Cover Imaging by Lawrence Fletcher  Photos by David Marshall

What do you do after you’ve traveled the globe performing for hundreds of thousands as a member of one of the premier vocal groups of our time?  And preceded that stellar chapter in your life with a solid career as a theater arts educator, producing and directing plays, and even taking to the airwaves as a television newsman?

For Kris Lamans, President/CEO of Pearl Records Group and Filmworks– one of four companies in his rapidly growing Los Angeles-based multimedia empire – his seven-year stint from 1970 to 1977as second tenor for the World Famous Platters was indeed transformative.  But what was to follow would transcend even his popularity as a part of that romantic era in music and the glory of an international spotlight.

Kris Lamans credits his time as a member of the world famous Platters with helping obtain his status now as CEO of Pearl Records Group and Filmworks--Photo by Davi Marshall

With a fan base that crossed generations and geography, the group toured from coast to coast, as well as throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. “My exposure with the Platters was phenomenal,” Lamans reflects, “but it actually helped to prepare me for what I’m doing today. I have developed five film projects just from that experience alone,” he explains. “I could not have had a better foundation for moving on to the next step – building my own entertainment company.”

For Lamans, it was the culmination of a long-held vision that one day he would have his own record label and film production company. He saw himself establishing a vehicle through which he could express his natural gifts and enduring passion for music, writing, directing and producing a diverse array of projects that, like the man himself, would not be confined by genres or demographics.

Today, the offices of his multimedia entertainment complex, prestigiously perched on one of the top floors at NBC/Universal Plaza in Hollywood, house not only Lamans’ music-making arm, PRG and Filmworks, but his other companies whose activities all complement and support each other:  Kris Lemans Production LLC (KLP), TAMDMultimedia Corporation, SAM PRODUCTIONS LLC, and FOCEN NETWORK Inc.

On the strength of his credibility in the entertainment industry, bolstered by impressive songwriting, production and acting credits accrued over the years, Lamans was able to secure a $250 million line of credit – green lighted for $50 million a year for five years – to finance his multimedia projects in music, film, television, video, publishing and other special projects.

But the savvy entrepreneur readily points out that he had previously raised $2.5 million, backed by the viability of two of his projects, to serve as development capital for his current operation.

While Lamans’ executive suite is tastefully and eclectically appointed with a mix of French antiques and bold modern art, it is far more than just an elegant showcase for a man with sophisticated tastes.  These days, it is a beehive of activity where he coordinates the companies’ ongoing and upcoming projects.

Currently, he’s enjoying the success of the most recent releases on his Pearl Records Group and Filmworks label through a major deal with LRT/INgrooves/Fontana Universal Worldwide Distribution. While following the latest industry trend of digital distribution, Lamans says his approach incorporates the best of the new and the old.

“We are using the newest technology to get our music out there,” he says, “but we are also committed to restoring the best traditions of R&B music with lyrics that are loving and respectful to women, that celebrate their beauty and the experience of falling in love. That never goes out of style.”

Not surprisingly, the label’s roster represents the company’s inclusive something-for-everybody philosophy. At the same time, the music is quality-controlled by the high standards the company imposes on its content and production values.

Leading the PRG artist pack is none other than the master himself, Kris Lamans. With his rich, mellow voice, described as a cross “between Johnny Mathis and Al Green,” the seasoned balladeer reignites the classic, “Close to You,” the debut single from his newly released CD, Dressed for Love

Sultry singer-actress Marva King, whose exceptional vocal talents have backed up a who’s who in R&B/Pop from Stevie Wonder to Michael Jackson to Prince, steps out front with an out-the-box winner, “Steppin.’” King’s hot new release, the first track from her upcoming album 360 Deal, is already soaring up the digital charts and anchoring PRG’s growing visibility in the music marketplace. King will be featured in an upcoming BRE cover story.

German-born Lisa Rine, whose model-svelte figure and exotic good looks complement her music, brings her European Rock background as a pianist-composer-vocalist to the label. With production assistance from Lamans, Kevin Dorsey, former music director for Quincy Jones and the late “King of Pop, as well as Jimmy Hunter, whose credits include working with the legendary “Doors,” Rine delivers a polished

A Country-Pop-flavored yet soulful sound that will appeal to a broad audience spectrum. War is Hell, her five-song EP, combines her singles with accompanying videos that add visual excitement to the music. Look out for “Do You Believe in Love,” “That Was Him” and  “Doing Him Really Good,” all of which are standout performances.

Rine has found a supportive musical home and mentor through her association with Lamans. “We share a passion as songwriters, performers and interpreters of music,” he confirms. “Lisa is not only very talented, but like Marva, she knows who she is and where she wants to go as an artist.”

Rine’s enthusiasm about her experience with the company is palpable. “I am so happy to be a member of the Pearl Records family,” she says. “I think it’s amazing and the best thing that’s happened to me in my career!”

As the company celebrates its musical successes, PRG’s partnership with Lisa Thomas of the LRT Music Group is providing the strategic link to getting their product marketed and distributed through a vast digital network.

“I am proud and excited that Kris Lamans’ Pearl Records is with LRT Music  Group/INgrooves/Fontana,” says Lisa Thomas, President/CEO. “Kris has brought back the soul, substance and romance that have been missing in our music today. I look forward to a long and profitable business relationship with Kris Lamans/Pearl Records and many hits!”

Thomas’s optimistic prediction may well be an understatement. During a recent BRE interview, she disclosed that the PRG sales figures were then in excess of 800,000 downloads. And this is just the beginning as the company releases more music and begins to build upon its own audiences.

While Lamans basks in the dramatic unfolding of a vision born during his early childhood in a hard-scrabble cotton farming town in Northeast Louisiana, he also reflects on the strengths he gained from his family – particularly his mother and father, Pearl and Talmadge Armstrong Sr. He has even immortalized his close relationship with his mother in the choice of her name for his company.

Indeed, the Armstrongs’ loving support and encouragement cleared the path for the long journey from his home in tiny Mer Rouge – which translates from the French as “Red Sea” – to the glamour of Hollywood’s Red Carpets.

Born Talmadge Armstrong Jr.–he is listed as “Tal” Armstrong in earlier credits as an artist and writer–he was the seventh of nine children in a close-knit family, seven of whom survive. Originally from Canton, Miss., where his musical bloodlines intersect with those of superstar Jennifer Hudson on his father’s side, the family relocated to Louisiana where his father acquired 23 acres of farmland and began the cotton farming enterprise that was the mainstay of their survival.

“When I walk into my office today and sit down at my desk, I think of my Dad and what it was like to share my vision with him,” he reflects. “Although I was charting a very different course, he understood my dreams of Hollywood and show business – and was with me every step of the way. He only asked that I never forget who I was, where I came from, or my responsibilities to the family that had always supported me.”

As a child, many signs pointed to Kris’s future.  He not only loved Westerns, he’d draw images and act them out, just as he did with the dashing characters of Captain Marvel and Zorro. He focused on his make-believe world even with the harsh realities of farm life ever before him, but that’s how creative people nourish their artistic souls.

While attending Delta High School, there was actually a paradigm shift in his life. His initial interest in sports was permanently diverted when he was cast by an English teacher in his first play, “Special Guest.” Kris won a “Best Actor’s Award” in a district theater competition and the die was cast.

As his graduation approached, decisions had to be made. Knowing the value of a son’s help on the farm, Lamans’ father took an unselfish long-range view and supported his desire to pursue higher education at Grambling State College (now University) in nearby Ruston. He was even instrumental in getting his son a Legislative Scholarship through connections with the Governor of Louisiana.

Grambling, which had one of the top Speech and Theater Departments among Historically Black Colleges and Universities, provided invaluable training, experience and exposure for the aspiring thespian. He was able to star in major theatrical productions from “The Rainmaker” to Lorraine Hansberry’s classic black drama, “A Raisin in the Sun.”

Under the mentorship of then Department head Dr. Floyd Sandle, who would be succeeded by his protégé and former student, Dr. Allen Williams, Lamans laid the academic foundation for the calling that would come to define his life and career.  His talent bloomed on stage as a performer, while he also mastered stagecraft – how to build sets, mount plays and ultimately, to direct.

When he graduated from Grambling in 1962, Lamans was well equipped to take on the world with a Bachelor of Science degree and multiple majors and minors, ranging from Speech and Theatre to English, Humanities and the Arts. It was also a triumphant day for the whole Armstrong family, complete with an emotional embrace from his father who had left his seat in the audience to join his son as he received his coveted degree.

A recommendation from Dr. Sandle led him almost immediately to a position teaching English and Drama at a high school in Beaumont, Texas. In short order, he had created a mini-theatrical training ground modeled after his experience at Grambling. Not unlike the competitive choir instruction in the popular TV show “Glee,” Lamans mounted first-rate productions, including “A Raisin in the Sun” to instill an appreciation for quality theater production in his students, who excelled under his guidance.

Lamans went on to earn a Master’s Degree at Beaumont’s Lamar University and achieved more visibility in the market delivering news and weather on the city’s KBM-TV. All the while, he was moving closer toward his dream as he made his way from Texas to California – and yes, Hollywood.

Before long, he was starring in an award-winning film for television, “One of the Missing,” as well as scoring roles in “The Evil Altar” and “Melinda.” The teacher had come to claim his own stardom and even more opportunities awaited him.

From the time Lamans was tapped to join the lineup of the World Famous Platters in 1970 to the ensuing years, his hard work began to pay off with a series of breakthroughs. He was actually making his mark in the highly competitive Los Angeles entertainment scene and was poised to accomplish much of what he had long ago conceived in his mind’s eye.

So it came as no surprise when he caught the attention of the late Harvey Fuqua, a former member of the legendary Moonglows and a much sought-after writer-producer turned record executive. Hearing him sing at a club with The Platters, Fuqua signed him to a recording and publishing deal at RCA and produced two albums on him.  Lamans went on to write or co-write a catalog of more than 250 songs under the RCA publishing banner.

But identifying and nurturing talent, from students to stars, has always been Lamans’ hallmark.  Today, he takes great pride in grooming his artists, each of whom came to the company in a more destined than deliberate way, while encouraging them to discover and appreciate that special gift that lies within them.

And it is that artist-to-artist understanding that allows him to run his own multimedia entertainment empire so effectively.  As PRG gears up to make noise in the industry on several fronts during the coming year, Lamans insists that it has all come together because the staff is united in purpose and support – a concept modeled after his own family dynamic.

He vividly recounts his father’s frequent reminders of Lincoln’s cautionary advice about the dangers of  “a house divided.” So his company has become a family in a very real sense, complete with “pet names” for each other.

The current Pearl Records Group and Filmworks team is led by Lamans, who serves as President/CEO of all four corporate entities. Sonja Dunson, the Treasurer, is as much a one-woman entertainment dynamo as the man who calls her his “sister.”  Dunson, a Detroit native, is a former television actress, Michigan and USA beauty queen, and independent filmmaker.  She has scripted and produced her own SBA-financed movie, “You Can’t Buy Love,” for which Lamans helped to write and record the soundtrack. “She is unstoppable, a remarkable talent,” Lamans says.

A more recent but integral member of the PRG family is Belinda Foster, Executive VP of Marketing and Public Relations. Foster, whom Lamans describes warmly as ”our staff motivator,” was also a former television actress before launching a highly successful career in entertainment-focused public relations.

The President of her own AWJ Platinum PR of Beverly Hills, Foster is fully committed to promoting PRG’s impact across its multimedia platforms.  Recently, she brought on board her associates at Rogers and Cowan to assist in the company’s international branding efforts.

“I believe in Kris Lamans and his vision for Pearl Records Group and Filmworks … and all the projects and artists we are so proud to work with,” Foster told BRE. “We are inspired daily by Marva King, Lisa Rine, Kris and all the wonderful PRG artists to create solid campaigns to market their goals to success.”

Other members of the PRG team include Selena Hutcherson, Corporate Finance; Pamela Azmi Andrew, TV Production (with Casting Director credits); and Kevin Dorsey, Executive Producer.

But the talents and experience of PRG’s non-music staff will soon come into play as scheduled projects in other media kick off. The recently taped pilot for the upcoming television series, “The Soul of American Music” (produced by SAM Productions LLC in association with PRG/KLP) was a stirring tribute to the legendary Sam Cooke, whom Lamans counted among his private circle of industry friends.

According to BRE founder and chairman Sidney Miller, who attended the taping, the pilot served notice that the series may well have blockbuster potential. “This show will add another dimension to the genre popularized by TV One’s excellent ‘Unsung,’” Miller said. “I applaud Kris’s efforts to bring more visibility to the giants of American music in such an entertaining way, particularly for the current generation.”

As Lamans and company segue from the small screen to the big screen, there is one upcoming film project that is unquestionably closest to his heart. “’Heat on the Delta’ is actually my fictionalized retelling of my family’s history, including my mother and father’s love story,” he reveals.  “It is set in a small Louisiana town between 1918 and 1948.”

The intriguing storyline follows the course of an unlikely friendship that develops between the black son of a sharecropper and the white son of a wealthy plantation owner – a relationship that survives, against all odds, the rampant bigotry and hatred of that era.  These characters are loosely drawn from the experiences of his father and a longtime white friend who was, in fact, the gentleman responsible for securing Lamans’ scholarship to Grambling.

In the synergistic way in which so many of his projects have come together, casting for “Heat on the Delta” has had a similarly organic flow.  “Of course, Marva King has it all and was a natural to play the character based on my mother,” Lamans says, “and we’re looking at Idris Elba to play my father’s role.”  What was really fated was finding Susie Oliver, a beautiful Canadian-born actress who Lamans knew immediately would be perfect as the white female lead to play opposite a Matthew McConaughey- type as her husband. “We’ll complete the casting and begin shooting in Canton this summer,” he says.

But the filmmaker also has other powerful non-urban stories to tell. “The Crowning Glory” is a biopic based on a book by Eric Root, Lana Turner’s longtime hairdresser, companion and confidante.  In a society still obsessed by the dark side of celebrity, Lamans plans to bring a more sensitive approach to Root’s riveting revelations about the glamorous screen legend, who was embroiled in a sensational murder and scandal involving her daughter and her mob-connected lover.

From a screen queen to the “The Empress of the Blues,” Lamans proudly announces, too, that he has acquired the rights to “The Bessie Smith Story,” and is looking forward to introducing one of the most influential but least known women in black music history to new audiences.

How does one man juggle so many projects?  Clearly Kris Lamans’ multimedia ‘platter’ is filled to the brim. But his drive is super-charged by the adrenalin of living the vision for which he started preparing himself as a child back in Mer Rouge, surrounded by the greatest teachers of all – his parents. Through the years, he has used their wisdom as a compass to guide him at every juncture of his journey from self-discovery to self-realization.

Kris Lamans sums up his philosophy boldly and succinctly.  “If you’re not successful, there is something you didn’t do,” he says. “You’ve got to be willing to go for it from your gut!”

From where we sit, there is no better example than his own success with Pearl Records Group and Filmworks that Lamans is walking his talk. All the way to the top of NBC/Universal Plaza.