We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lawrence King a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lawrence, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
My journey towards creating Trilla G ENT began when I was 16 at Davidson College. I was selected to join the July Experience, a 3-week summer program at Davidson that brought high school students from all over the world to experience college life. I had no expectations for the program, I‘d never heard of Davidson College, and I only went to please my mother and college advisor. Little did I know, this would be one of the most important moments of my life!
You have to understand that I was a completely different person before this camp. I was timid, indecisive, and lost. But as soon as I came to Davidson, I came out of my shell and changed with each passing day. There was something about being around the beautiful nature of Davidson, the genuine kindness of the locals, and the unique energy of the other students that affected me. I felt understood, I felt seen, and I felt so happy and blessed to be there. This was only the beginning. The moment that changed my life forever was the “JE Talent Show.”
I need to back up a little now. On the very first day of the camp, I met a girl we can call S. The very first activity of the camp was a scavenger hunt and I was hanging around the back being my usual shy and anti-social self. S saw me in the back, she came right up to me, took my hand, said “Come on!” and pulled me with her to the front. I fell for her right then and there! Looking back on it now, I realized that I had always had my hand out waiting for someone to take it and pull me forward and S was the one who fulfilled that wish. So fast forward to the end of week 2 of the camp. I’m talking with my roommate about the upcoming talent show, something I have no intention of participating in, and hip-hop comes up. I end up jokingly saying, “Wouldn’t it be funny if I rapped at the Talent Show.” We both laughed but S misheard what I said, excitedly approached me, and said, “You’re going to rap at the Talent Show?!” She was so excited and I was so in love that I said “Yes. Yes, I am.”
Keep in mind, I’ve never rapped or written anything a day in my life! S told everyone in the camp and there was no way to get out of it. So I had a week to find a beat, write a song, and perform in front of the entire camp. I was petrified but I couldn’t let S down. I worked with my roommate to find a beat, I wrote about everything I’d seen and experienced at the camp, and I rehearsed the song like a madman every day until the big night. I was terrified. My heart was beating out my chest before my set. But I steeled my resolve, went up there, and performed my heart out. Much to my surprise, everyone liked it! They liked it so much that I ended up winning the whole thing! Also, S was very impressed. When I got off the stage, I felt a wave of joy and adrenaline. I knew I had discovered something very important. I’d discovered my purpose.
I got home to Brooklyn and told my mother that I was going to Davidson no matter what. I knew that Davidson College would help me grow and further understand my purpose in life. I spent my senior year of high school raising my grades as high as possible, studying for the SATs, and taking extra classes for college credit. I applied Early Decision to Davidson and I was accepted thanks in no small part to my contributions at the July Experience. Within the first week of my college journey, I met my best friend and Co-Founder of Trilla G ENT, Victor-Alan Weeks. We became fast friends in our French class and bonded over our shared love of music. He introduced me to my other best friend and Co-Founder, Bradford Grant, who happened to live in the same dorm as me. Brad rapped and produced so we all ended up freestyling together using his beats. We became inseparable. Before the first semester of our Freshman year was over we had formed a rap group called NXT LVL and we dropped our first mixtape called the Davidson College EP or DCEP.
We took over the entire campus with our music! We performed everywhere, shot music videos, released projects at the end of every semester, and found other artists on campus who were eager to work with us. However, we discovered a major problem at Davidson. The student groups who invited us to perform were not allowed to pay us. We were rehearsing hard and performing like crazy while maintaining our grades and it wasn’t sustainable. We couldn’t continue to do this for free. During our Junior Year, the three of us went our separate ways. Victor-Alan went to New Zealand, Bradford dived deeper into his medical career and fraternity, and I went to Prague for Film School. This time apart proved crucial for our growth.
In Prague, I was surrounded by like-minded artists and creatives. I spent four and a half months working on professional film sets and creating new music of my own. I learned a ton about film, art, and myself. Being around professionals made me realize that we had all the tools we needed to take our art to another level and solve the problem of student artists not being paid on campus. I came back to Davidson, shared my vision of starting a company with the boys, and we got to work. We contacted lawyers to help us apply for an LLC and trademark for our business, we applied for a grant that helped us design and buy custom t-shirts, we raised money by selling the exclusive NXT LVL merchandise, and we recruited a dozen artists that we worked with to join our brand new business venture, Trilla G ENT. By working and performing as business owners and Trilla G Members, we were all allowed to be paid for our art.
Trilla G ENT is a Record Label/Production company that specializes in music production, videography, graphic design, and consulting. The Trilla G ENT brand is solidified by the conglomeration of artists from these various disciplines, along with the Trilla G rap group, TG3. Through this collective, we promote the individuality of our members’ voices by providing a platform for creativity. We are an artist collective that wishes to make people happy and effect change in people’s and communities’ lives through our artistic passions. We became incorporated in 2018 and have been going strong ever since!
Lawrence, 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?
I’m 26 years old. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. I’m Jamaican on my mom’s side and Nigerian on my dad’s side. I’m a rapper, filmmaker, photographer, DJ, graphic designer, and voice actor. I’m also the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Trilla G ENT. Using our artistic and marketing talents to consult with and promote individuals and businesses, big and small we are a one stop shop for all of your artistic needs. My dream is for my company, Trilla G ENT, to become a positive global force through the meaningful art we create and to become the best rapper alive!
I have a Bachelors Degree from Davidson College for Film and Media Studies. I’m a 2015 UBS NextGen Leader, a 2019 Venture For America Fellow, and a 2023 Tulsa Remote member. In UBS, I was one of 125 Scholars selected out of 1,000 applicants to participate in a four-year college success program. Venture For America is a selective two-year entrepreneurship fellowship that serves to create economic opportunity in American cities. VFA Fellows complete intensive training and commit to spending two years working at a high-growth company in an emerging startup ecosystem. Tulsa Remote attracts and retains remote workers whose skills and passions make Tulsa a more diverse and vibrant place, while contributing to the foundation of a more inclusive and resilient economy.
Three claims to fame: In my senior year, my team’s music video got retweeted by, fellow Davidson Alum, Steph Curry on my 21st birthday! It went viral shortly after (https://bit.ly/3Q6XxVh). A couple of years back I was inspired/requested to make a song about HBO’s Last Week Tonight host John Oliver. I became a superfan over the pandemic. Shot a music video for it in Charlotte, Atlanta, and Hawaii! (https://bit.ly/3u3E5LX) Finally, I recently took a trip to Capri, Italy with my Co-Founder, Victor-Alan Weeks, and we shot 13 music videos there in 8 days! (https://bit.ly/3OpLa5g)
Outside of art, I love fitness, learning new languages, anime, movies, television, video games, playing chess, reading, traveling and anything that has to do with self-improvement!
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
In my particular field, it’s very important to have a social media presence but it’s important for any business or owner to be able to showcase their product and personality online. I recommend getting on all of the major social media platforms. We use TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. I’ve been doing my team’s marketing for almost ten years now and I’ve learned a few important things. I learned that there are actually no rules when it comes to social media! The “algorithm” doesn’t work the way people think it does. The algorithm simply follows and promotes what we the people think is cool. And what do we think is cool? Two things. Consistency and authenticity.
The problem people have is that they give up when they see their first few posts aren’t going viral. In the beginning, my posts would cap at 200 views. But I didn’t care because I actually enjoyed what I was posting and promoting. People felt that passion and kept coming back so the “algorithm” brought new people to me. And when those people stay by following us, the page gets more popular and the algorithm will reward me because I’m keeping folks on the platform. Recently I had three posts surpass 100K views and my follower count grew by 800% thanks to this method!
When I let go of the idea of following made-up rules, everything changed. I used to stress over when I posted, how long the post was, the quality of the video, etc. But none of that really matters. As long as you genuinely love the thing you’re posting and you keep at it, you’ll see the fruits of your labor! Keep striving to improve yourself and your knowledge and take your followers on that journey with you. Basically, the secret is to be yourself, be free, and have fun!
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
When you’re building a team from scratch it’s very important to go slow. You need to make sure everyone who joins your team is on the same page. You have to hire slowly and vet candidates vigorously. If people join the company who don’t see the vision, you’ll have a tainted work culture and a drop in morale.
When you have the right team, your job as a founder, and as a leader, is to take as much weight as possible off of your employees. You have to handle all of the “busy” work in the beginning so that your employees can focus on doing what they do best. As you grow, you’ll slowly hire experts to handle the work you have taken charge of.
You must be kind and listen to your team no matter how big you get. You can never forget that without your employees your company is nothing. Always strive to make sure that they’re happy and they have all they need. Make sure they’re well paid, they’re challenged, and they’re not burned out. It’s also important to not force a connection. A lot of teams will try to artificially create bonds in the office through icebreakers or awkward gatherings. Never force your employees into situations like these. You can put an event out there and if people show, great, if they don’t, that’s fine too. Focus on fostering a space that encourages organic bonding.
Take things slow, take care of your team, and never lose sight of your core mission or vision.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/Trilla_G_ENT
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mc_bklyn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrillaGEnt
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-king-2072ba109/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrillaG3nt
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TrillaGENT/featured
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@trillagent? https://open.spotify.com/artist/0KzuSsk6Ljm9W1wSdHE0Vs
Image Credits
Victor-Alan Weeks, Nate Nido, Richy Tovar, and Judson Womack