Big musicians flex their muscle with record labels

Talent agency The Firm encourages its musicians to cut out the middle man, make more money for themselves, writes Fortune’s Devin Leonard.

Jeff Kwatinetz, CEO of the Beverly Hills management company known as the Firm, made the rounds to several major record companies with a proposition earlier this year. His client, the rapper-actor Ice Cube, was preparing to record his first album in six years. Did they want to put it out? How could any record company resist?

Ice Cube is a founding father of West Coast gangsta rap. His profanity-laden classics like Lethal Injection and Death Certificate sold millions in the early ’90s. Sure, gangsta rap is old school. These days so-called crunk acts like Dem Franchize Boyz are the rage with hip-hop fans.

But Cube hasn’t been lounging by the pool reading The Source. He’s been producing and starring in movies like “Are We There Yet?” and “Barbershop 2: Back In Business.” In short, Ice Cube has become a mass-market brand like Snoop Dogg, another Firm client.

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