We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christopher Kelson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Christopher, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.

What corporate America gets wrong in the music industry is that every artist should just focus on the music and never learn the actual business. The major music record labels take advantage of the ignorance of a brand new artist. In reality, each artist when signed to a record deal should be forced to go through a music business class provided by the label. That would be too much like right because the more the artist is not educated on the business, the labels can take advantage of the artist from an ownership standpoint. Some of our biggest artist from singers to rappers from the 50s on up till now have signed bad contracts due to them not knowing they are in a business. Also not knowing to get an entertainment attorney and how to negotiate a fair deal. We all jump in the music business off emotion and the love for the art. That passion to create makes us sign whatever deal in hopes of being a star and being on the radio. The labels know that so they know we are quick to sign whatever they put in front of us hoping we would blow after the ink is dry on the paper. That rarely goes like that and most of our biggest artist have died broke because of these industry practices.

Christopher, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Christopher Kelson. I’m a National Recording Hip Hop artist from Baton Rouge, La. I go by the stage name Boxx The Hungry Genius. I’ve been an artist for 20 years. My love for music started at the age of 13 years old. Took it serious and started hitting the studio around 16. Signed my first indie record deal with Big Faces Entertainment. I was signed to that label for over 8 years and my development as an artist was cultivated in that time. I then started my own label Hungry Boy Records. During my new journey as a CEO, I learned me and the CEO of the former label I was signed to did not know the music business and therefore none of my music was registered to receive royalties. We were ignorant and just didn’t know. That sparked a passion in me to begin to teach the music business as I learned it to other artist. So now as a full time artist, I still put out music and do shows while helping other artist with my company Hungry Boy Coaching University. I’m proud of me being able to maintain and grow my fan base independently under my own label. I want potential fans to know that you will get fed whenever you rock with Boxx The Hungry Genius. Motivation, Inspiration, and Wisdom is what you get rocking with me.

Have you ever had to pivot?

A time I had to pivot in my life is when I was working at the car dealership 11 years ago and I prayed to God to give me an opportunity to have more time and more money to raise my son and travel and do music at a high level to build my fanbase. I was at a point at the time In my music career where I was doing shows on Friday nights out of town and I had to still be back at my 9-5 job Saturday morning. So either I would have to quit my job or stop doing shows on Friday nights out of town. Two days later after I said the prayer, I met my business coach Charles Harris and he introduced me to the life insurance industry. I never seen myself selling life insurance but I did see myself as a business man and Charles showed me I could work for myself and leave my job. I had just got accepted into college for business and I had to make a decision immediately. I chose to never attend college and to get licensed as an agent and use to the money from selling insurance to fund my music career. Within 45 days of me getting licensed I became #5 in the nation and #1 in the state. I then used some of my money from my business and started my record label Hungry Boy Records.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson I had to unlearn was that everyone that starts out with me on my journey wont go with me. My mama told me that early on in my career. The backstory was I knew that it was time for me to leave the label I was signed to. The writing was on the wall that everyone on the label heart wasn’t in it no more. I knew it was time for me to transition but I was afraid to have the tough conversation with my CEO at the time. I went and sat down with my CEO Kandace and I told her it was time for me to start my own label and bet 100 percent on myself. I thought the label that signed me was supposed to take me all the way to the top and we get rich together. It was hard walking away but that was the beginning of me understanding God will send people in your life for seasons and everyone isn’t going where I’m going and I’m not going where everyone else is going. If you’re blessed to finish with the people you start with, by all means be grateful but nine times out of 10 you wont finish the race with every single person that comes on the journey with you and I had to be ok with that,

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/BoxxTheHungryGenius
• Instagram: Boxx_Hungry
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boxx.hard/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@boxxthehungrygenius?si=eamLs1RHOyqxCWTd