Tell us about yourself and your music

Black Lion Entertainment Music Group was founded by music industry veteran, Wayne A. Jones, a disabled, Prostate Cancer survivor. Jones has spent a career making music and managing talent. The idea behind BLEMG was to give local artists a platform to market themselves and distribute their music in a way that enables them to maintain more control over their music and image. The stories behind the launch of Julia, as well as, the growth of BLEMG is one that needs to be told and shared with the world.

Wayne Jones was born in Brooklyn in Kings County Hospital on August 4, 1965 to Robert Wayne Jones and Pauline Jones. Growing up in a low income family and neighborhood, nothing was easy for Wayne. From almost day one, Wayne Jones worked hard for all he obtained.

It was in high school that Wayne found out his gift,…..Music. Wayne has a beautiful voice and that was his niche in High School. Wayne was also very athletic. He dabbled for the basketball team and wrestling team, but, again, found his niche with the track team, where he excelled.

When Wayne was 17 years old, he was introduced to the United States Army. Wayne’s grades were not good enough to garner him a scholarship and not qualifying for the state championships in track and field, hurt his chances of obtaining a athletic scholarship. So Wayne decided to join the Army to obtain the monies needed to go to college. In June 1983, Wayne entered the United States Army. He would stay with them for 6 years and in 1989, he was granted an Honorable Discharge.

In 1992, Wayne began his business career. From 1992 to 2010 Wayne worked for top-tier, C-Level Senior Executives. He worked for various companies in various industries. Some of those companies were Zicherman Bloome Engineering Consultants, Consolidated Edison Company of New York (Con Ed), Korn/Ferry International (an Executive Search firm), The New York City School Construction Authority, The Law Offices of C. Vernon Mason, Charles Rapp Enterprises and The Daily Blossom. Wayne credits his business knowledge from working with former attorney C. Vernon Mason, Howard Rapp and Arnold Graham (President and Vice President of Charles Rapp Enterprises) and Saundra Parks, Owner/Founder/CEO and Creative Director of The Daily Blossom and Daily Blossom Events. These positions proved to be the preparation grounds for his next level in his already interesting business career.

Wayne is the Owner, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Wayne Management Company. Wayne Management Company is a multi-service company where their only job is to promote and market, not to mention, provide additional professional consultation and resources for small to medium sized businesses. Currently, Wayne is personal manager to Blak Cheri, Farrogoummo, Blaze Billions, Nyce 1, Meetsource, Mr. Swagg 360, and Rarebreed. He also has a consulting agreement consultant with Million Dolla Ram, HBoyz and Diamond Dolla Entertainment, LLC. He just recently signed the newest member to the roster Julia. He also is personally involved in the development of his newest artist Sweet Tee Ali. In December 2013, Wayne launched Black Lion Entertainment Music Group to give his artists a platform to market and advertise their brand as well as their music. In May 2014 Wayne was diagnosed with prostate cancer and spent the first half of 2014 in the hospital. Although he is temporarily paralyzed and going through a lot of treatments and therapies, it has not slowed him down, but actually, made him work harder. Black Lion Entertainment Music Group has already begun production of their next mixtape THE LION’S DEN, which is scheduled for release in November 2015. Also in production is the full CD album, WE ARE HERE, which is a compilation of all of Wayne Management Company and Black Lion Entertainment Music Group artists and is poised to set new standards in the music industry. B.L.E.M.G. 2nd mixtape “WE ARE COMING DA MIXTAPE” has already won Best Album by Poze Productions’ X-Poz-Ing Music Awards and was nominated for Album/Mixtape of the Year with the Southern Coalition Movement Music Awards. Also nominated in the categories of Promoter of the Year for both Black Lion Entertainment Music Group and Wayne Management Company, Small Business Owner of the Year, Record Label of the Year (Independent), and 5 other categories. Also interesting to note that the mixtape has also garnered awards with their group Rarebreed for their smash “WE ON IT” from the X-Poz-Ing Music Awards and the Akademia Music Awards, and is now also nominated for Song of the Year with the Southern Coalition Movement Music Awards for 2016.

Wayne Jones is 51 years old, living in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. He is a proud father of 7 (6 girls and one boy) and an even prouder grandfather of 14 and a great grandfather of one.

Talk to us more about your latest release

On August 4, 2016, we released our first studio album, BABY YOU GOT IT, by Julia. This was artist’s debut release.

She is a very accomplished opera singer who has the ability to sing pop, R&B, Reggae, Jazz and Gospel.

BABY YOU GOT IT covers her music skills in R&B, Pop and Reggae. Included in the release are titles like Want Your Love, It Ain’t The Same, and Please Tell Me. Julia is a talented artist and musician, having written many of the songs on her debut album by herself, something rare today in the music industry.

What inspired you to write this release?

This released was inspired by Julia’s love of music. She wanted to showcase her talents in various genres.

Any plans to release a video?

Currently, Julia is in search of a video director for her single BABY YOU GOT IT.

Any plans to hit the road?

At this time, there are no plans to go on the road, however, during the 2nd Quarter of 2017, she will be traveling to Los Angeles, CA to begin production on her 2nd CD, which we are looking to release in 2018.

As an indie artist, how do you brand yourself and your music to stand out from the rest of the artists out there?

As CEO of a fast growing independent label, the best way I found to brand my company is literally by word of mouth and, of course, social media. I have designed shirts and hats with our logo and our services. I have negotiated agreements with overseas companies to help with artist and company branding.

Who have you been listening to lately?

I’ve been mostly listening to the latest in R&B; but for the majority of the time, I listen to the music that my artists create because, quite frankly, it is the only music worth listening to these days that is not negative or disrespectful to individuals.

Tell us about your passions

My passion is to help others. In 2013 I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. Not to long after, due to a medical error, I was paralyzed from the waist down. I keep pushing forward for myself and anyone suffering from this thing called CANCER. I do this to let everyone know, you don’t have to sit down and wait for the disease to take over your body. In my case it was caught early and I have a very good chance at remission over the next year or two. In the meantime, it is my intention to achieve all my goals and then some.

What else is happening next in your world?

We have begun production on our company’s 4th Mixtape CONCRETE JUNGLE, which is due for release on April 2, 2017. We also have production on our debut Gospel album, which will be entitled LIGHT OF THE WORLD; as well as our debut Hip Hop album WE ARE HERE. Both scheduled for a December 2017 release.

Thanks for an awesome interview, Wayne!

Connect with Black Lion Entertainment Music Group

Website: https://www.blemg.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/BlkLionENTMG
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BlkLionENTMG
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeX9vgscj3xr8XiAT8eGGQA
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/blklion766
Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/label/blacklionentertainmentmusicgroup