Oliver Davis Interview (Illzed Culture Founder)

Published

9 years ago

September 21, 2014

Today I interview Oliver Davis, the founder of Illzed Cuture. His label includes various artists who are skilled in different genres of music. He breaks down the menaing of his record label and gives us details on his artists and upcoming projects. Well let me stop talking, read the interview below.

YI: When and how did the record label first get started?

OD: It started around April time earlier this year, I'm a musician myself so at first I intended to just use ILLZED as a platform to release my music on but then people started emailing their work and it stood out to what I was used to saying so I thought fuck it let's get a label started, we'll get further with our talents merged together under one brand so that's what it is.

YI: Who are some of your artists under your label, and what have they been doing so far?

OD: We've got Rashaun Hampton who will be dropping 'The American Tour' soon, Orrin's coming with 'baby ep,' Zippo Hebs has a new project 'Wyzteria' in the works, Lonny X with 'Tombstone LP' is also being worked on too, TMLOE are touring at the moment but will be releasing their next project in 2015, then myself, PRJCT94 with 'MANSION, dreams' also next year. Those are all our artists so look out for them as they're all talented. As for our producers, we've got Zeraj Retalso who recently released 'Phantasm' and WUUDS who will be dropping '14:41' this Saturday. Our roster is extremely versatile with each signee having a completely different style to eachother.

YI: What is the process that someone has to go through to become and artist for your label?

OD: On our website there's a contact section which has our emails, any creative whether it's an artist, producer, designer etc can all use these emails to send in their work. It's sounds cliché but we do listen to all the work that is sent in, some stuff may not be replied to for whatever reason but I make sure I take notice of those who've taken time out of their day to show support and send in their work. As an artist apart from your craft and support, what have you got? It's all about keeping consistent creativity and a strong core support.

YI: What made you want to have different types of music on your record label?

OD: I don't want to limit ourselves in the wider realm of things, I want to fuse genres together, there's very few artistic masterpieces, but I'm trying to piece together many of them with the talent on the ILLZED roster.

YI: Could you see yourself expanding the roster anytime soon?

OD: I'm always ready to strengthen the ILLZED brand, whether that's by expanding the roster then of course if it makes sense and if the person or people are original because nowadays everyone's a clone.

YI: Very true, that's very true *laughs* . There's no originality nowadays. Where do you see the label being in the next 10yrs?

OD: The top.

YI: Just to overview, do you feel like you guys work well as a team?

OD: Yes, this is more than a team. It's a culture.

YI: So who's next up to release a project?

OD: Check out WUUDS new EP 14:41 , It was actually released Saturday.

Music

Ariana Grande – 34+35 (Remix) feat. Doja Cat & Megan Thee Stallion

Published

3 years ago

January 15, 2021

HM staff writer

Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion, and Doja Cat have teamed up for a new remix of Grande’s Positions track 34+35.

Film & Television

Why Did Michaela Coel Walk Away From a $1 Million Dollar Deal with Netflix?

Published

3 years ago

July 6, 2020

HM staff writer

Michaela Coel, the star of HBO’s hit series I May Destroy You had to decline Netflix’s $1 million offer after the streaming giant refused to allow her to retain “at least 5 percent of her rights” for the show.

Coel’s success in the U.S. is largely credited to Netflix. The streamer was the U.S. distributor of Coel’s acclaimed comedy series Chewing Gum. Netflix also housed a feature musical titled Been So Long in which Coel was the lead, as well as the drama series Black Earth Rising. Coel also starred in an Emmy-winning episode of Black Mirror, also distributed by Netflix. So, naturally, Coel’s history with the streaming platform made it the premier destination for her new project. After a short negotiation with a Netflix executive, however, Coel had to find a different home for I May Destroy You in order to maintain ownership of the series.

According to Vulture, Coel recalled that Netflix made her a $1 million offer for I May Destroy You in spring 2017 but she turned it down. Why? The streamer wouldn’t allow her to retain any percentage of the copyright. Coel even discontinued her relationship with CAA after it “tried to push her to take the deal”.

I May Destry You is based on Coel’s personal experience of being sexually assaulted during the making of Chewing Gum. At the age of 32, Coel is in full creative control of the series as its showrunner, director, star, and writer. She wrote all 12 episodes and co-directed nine, stars as a young writer Arabella struggling to come to terms and process a recent assault.

The series is now streaming on HBO.

Film & Television

Ava DuVernay and Whoopi Goldberg Elected to The Academy’s Board of Governors

Published

3 years ago

June 11, 2020

HM staff writer

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has just elected members to its 2020-2021 Board of Governors. Among the six newly elected governors are director Ava DuVernay. EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg has been re-elected for a second three-year term.

For those not familiar with the work of the Board of Governors, here is a breakdown of how it works and what it does.

Per Oscars official website, The Board of Governors directs the Academy’s strategic vision, preserves the organization’s financial health and assures the fulfillment of its mission.

Governors attend 6-8 board meetings annually (in person or by video). Each Governor also serves on one board oversight committee and their branch’s executive committee, and they are expected to represent their branch at numerous Academy events through the year.

The Academy has a total of 18 branches, including the actors branch and directors branch, where Goldberg and DuVernay will serve. Each branch is represented by three governors who are elected for three-year terms.

Since the #OscarSoWhite campaign in 2015, the Academy has been making efforts to increase diversity across the board. After the most recent election, out of 54 governors, the number of female Academy governors increased from 25 to 26, and people of color increased from 11 to 12.