Скачать или смотреть G-SHOCK X RESPECT - Arthur Pitt

As a kid growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, steel, baseball and football were the common trending topics of discussion when Arthur Pitt’s hometown was mentioned. Thanks to Pitt and his success within Benjy Grinberg’s locally founded Rostrum Records, hip-hop has recently been added to the Burgh’s claims to fame. Long before millions of records were sold, before global brand recognition was attained and before his current vice president status was acquired, Pitt easily recalls his humble beginnings, his sacrifices to create superstars and his passion to put Pittsburgh on the hip-hop map.

Was it hard to convince local talent that you could help move their careers forward?

I was a smart, college-educated kid, but not too many people believed in me at first because I didn’t have any experience. I grew up in hip-hop culture; I grew up listening to rap music. I wanted to do it, I just didn’t know how.

Once you got some momentum and gathered an understanding about how the business worked, where did you end up spending a great deal of your time?

I handed out flyers, I was selling CDs, putting them in stores for consignment. It was the digital age, too, and I’m pretty good with computers, so I was able to implement digital marketing. We started putting out a lot of free music, and we figured out a formula as a team.

It must be extremely fulfilling to know you’ve had artists gamble on you who were ultimately rewarded with millions in sales.
Forget the millions in sales and the touring worldwide - when you start to break artists, and people are feeling them, that’s when the artists are usually at their happiest point. With success I learned that things become more difficult, if anything. It’s not as celebratory as everybody thinks. The work gets harder because there’s more pressure.

Doing photo shoots to flex with hot new timepieces are definitely one of the many perks that come with success. What are your thoughts on the G-Shock brand?

I like Casio G-Shock, and so do my artists. They ask me if I know anyone at G-Shock. I feel like Casio has rebranded itself a lot, and the youth love it. Whatever the youngsters say is hot - that’s hot.