SHARONNELSON/ Tony Austin/PROUCER/ ARTIST/OWNER

sitting down with Kevin, I knew I wanted to go to work with him up in New York. At the time he had just became the President of Def Jam Records.” Although Kevin was in the position to place Tony in an immediate role at the label, Tony wasn’t opposed to working hard to earn his way up the ladder. “When I went up to New York, I started out being Kevin’s driver, then after working hard and proving that I could do more, I was hired to do A&R. My first project was to oversee DMX’s Grand Champ album.” Grand Champ sold 312,000 units in its first week, debuted at 1 on the Billboard 200 and eventually went platinum. The success of this album legitimized Tony Austin’s skills as person that knows music. When Kevin Liles left Def Jam in 2004 to become Executive Vice President of Warner Music Group he called Tony and brought to his attention a few opportunities that were available. One such opportunity took Tony to L.A. to have lunch with Russell Simmons at the Four Seasons Hotel to discuss the role of Tony becoming a partner and president of the music label Russell Simmons Music Group. He would accept the position. “It was such a blessing and I'm always thankful and humbled to Kevin for giving me such opportunities and opening the door for me, because something like this would have normally been closed for a real street guy from Baltimore City.” In short, Tony Austin has lived an accomplished life and now as he rolls through the streets of his hometown with pride and much respect from every part of the city because he never forgot where he came from. There’s still more that he wants to do. Taking Baltimore up and out of the dark t Char