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DEVYNE STEPHENS

For more reasons than one, Devyne Stephens has earned the right to stake his claim on Atlanta and its swelling music industry. Not only is he a native I was born in Atlanta, raised in College Park - he is truly one of the founding fathers of what is arguably the most fertile and trendsetting music scene on the planet.

Devyne has cemented his reputation as a man with an eye and ear for talent and, through his various businesses and ventures, now collectively known as, Upfront Mega-tainment; hes opening the door for a whole new generation of hotness. I represent Atlanta, he states matter-of-factly. Atlanta has always been a town that is known for the hottest new trend. As long as you keep your ear to the street and know whats going on in the ghetto and in the hood, you can always be creative because ATL is always coming with something new.

Upfront, an artist-development-oriented label that is distributed by Universal Music, is Devynes latest claim to fame. His biggest success story to date: rapper/singer/producer Akon. A lot of people dont know and dont credit me with the success of Akons first album, he notes, in his calm, soft-spoken manner. What a lot of people dont know is that he was first signed to Elektra. After that didnt work out, I picked him up and he has been with me ever since. I groomed him as a producer and as an artist.

Always the business-man, Devyne brokered a new label deal for Akon with Geffen Records for Akons Kon Live Music label. I like to see the artist on my label grow to be entrepreneurs just as I did. We are a family that builds each other up, states Stephens. That Akon has tapped Stephens to be the Executive V.P. of his new label is a testament to their mutual respect.

Upfronts current artist roster also boasts Kandi Burrus (formerly of Xscape), rap group FA, male vocal group Red Dirt and blue-eyed soul-o vocalist Rod Michaels as well as a host of producers and songwriters. For Devyne, this is life coming full circle. My dream was always to own an Atlanta-based label that would garner the support and attract the attention of an industry leader like UMG. Everything Ive done from choreography, to being an artist myself was mere preparation for where I am now in my career and where we as a family are about to go. When it comes to artist development, Im that guy. In fact, when I was doing choreography, I had a production company -- we been doing music since day one; the label was just a natural progression.

Like many of the citys music leaders, Devyne cut his teeth at Laface Records. He formed a rap group called Devyne and 90MPH he recalls, we were the first act signed to LaFace. The group disbanded but, Devynes relationship with Antonio LA Reid stayed in tact. LA asked me to help develop some of his talent and I started choreographing Pebbles. Devyne got a little help from his friends, a bunch of upstarts all trying to make a name for themselves in musicJermaine Dupri, Dallas Austin and Kevin Wales, just to name a few. Dallas did the music that got me the deal at LaFace and thats how I started working with Boys II Men and ABC Jermaine made my show tapes. Devyne went on to become one of the music industrys most sought-after choreographers with a client roster equal to noneincluding homegrown heroes like Usher, Donell Jones, Jagged Edge, 112, and Ciara including nonsoutherners like P. Diddy, Mary J. Blige, Gwen Stefani, 50 Cents, Pink, Jay Z and others.

Just as he has trained and developed talent, Devyne has built a legacy that he can now claim as his own. In 2005, after noticing an opportunity for synergy and facet in the music business that was largely ignored, Devyne open the celebrity/artist development arm of the business, a 7,500-square-foot full service Atlanta-based building, the Complex Artist Development Center (ADC). At the Complex, as it is now known in industry circles, Devyne and his staff train artists and athletes to succeed in all arenas. From choreography and physical conditioning to vocal coaching and media training, Devynes clients undergo total artistic development and image refinement; much like Barry Gordys legendary Motown machine, but in the context of todays Hip Hop and R&B genres. Devyne wants for his clients exactly what he has always wanted for himself: growth, uninhibited creativity, excellence. I am motivated from a different source, he muses. I am inspired by the struggle. I am more interested in the process of change, seeing people develop, and making ideas come into fruition. My situation is global, more humanitarian than most not just monetary. I am here to change peoples lives through song, through dance and through my actions.

Also in the works for Upfront is a cross-country tour of five of the top choreographer/dancers from Spotlyte, Devynes renowned dance agency which is responsible for staffing and staging almost every top act on the Hip Hop and R&B charts. Always on the cutting edge, the Upfront film and television is in talks regarding the development of a new program that will team athletes and entertainers together. .. width="425" height="350">..> .. width="425" height="350">..>