Macon Magazine

Soon, Japanese artists, enamored with AC Black's funky-smooth fusion sound, began to approach the band about possible production gigs. "At the time, we didn't really know what producing and writing even was," Alvin says. "We just did everything ourselves. We were too busy being musicians and getting girls, and we blew people off at first." Namie Amuro, a wildly popular artist known at the time as "the Japanese Madonna," approached Alvin and Calvin after a show one night asking for their production help. e artists clicked, and the brothers ended up producing quite a few records for her. Eventually, they branched out to work with many other J-Pop and K-Pop artists as well. AC Black's music didn't perform as well as the label had hoped, and the group disbanded not too long after their 1989 self-titled record was released, but Alvin and Calvin had found new life and a new career in music production. e brothers bounced back and forth between Japan and Atlanta for years. "We had a flat in Japan," Alvin says. "Japan is one of the busiest, cleanest, safest places you can imagine. e culture taught us a lot – to respect time, respect people and always be about your business. If you had a meeting at 9, the meeting started at 9, not 9:01. We still practice that to this day. We are on time for everything." PRODUCTION POWER In 1999, Alvin and Calvin formed e Machine Group, an entertainment consulting company that has connected some of the world's leading songwriters and producers to create records that have sold over 200 million copies worldwide. ey also bring their deep expertise to strategy, marketing, technology and analytics, and work to create opportunities for a diverse array of artists. e brothers, gifted at finding talent, have signed some seriously iconic hitmakers in modern music. Two of their most impressive finds: Teddy Riley, inventor of the New Jack Swing sound, who worked with Michael Jackson, Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z, and James "Keyz" Foye, who worked with Beyonce, Nick Cannon and Jeezy, and who is currently enjoying success as co-producer of the sexy, saucy Cardi B/Megan ee Stallion summer 2020 hit "WAP." "We signed those guys to major publishing deals in Japan and made them rich," says Alvin. Over time, the brothers became less hands-on in their producing duties, choosing instead to curate teams full of musical talent and leave them alone in the studio to do what they do best. Decades in the music industry have put them on a first-name basis with many of the artists on rotation on any respectable Southern hip-hop playlist, like Cee-Lo Green, Big Gipp and Big Boi of OutKast fame. "We've got a joint venture coming out with Big Boi soon," Alvin says. "Purple Machine. We're gonna introduce a new line of baseball caps." A CROWNING PROMOTION DEAL ose won't be the first hats the brothers are professionally affiliated with, though. A few years back, Alvin and Calvin were engaged in one of their favorite pastimes: shopping at the Shops Buckhead in Atlanta, around the corner from their house. In Attom, a chic menswear boutique, something new caught their eye – a display of striking fedoras, classic designs rendered in modern, bold colors, each with a signature red brim. In a stroke of good fortune, the hats' designer, James Keith, was in the store at the time, and Calvin approached him to compliment his designs. A young, black designer who was inspired to create his hat line as a testament to the values and traditions of his family and his North Carolina hometown, James was startled when Calvin asked him if he'd ever thought about having his hats in Neiman-Marcus. "I can't do that, man," James said, flattered but practical. Calvin laughed: "Well, we can." How did the brothers develop a relationship with Neiman-Marcus? "Well, we spend enough money there to have a good relationship," laughs Alvin. But it all came down to their reputation in Atlanta. "We were always taught to have a good rapport with people," Alvin says. "Let people know you're a good person, you're good to deal with, and at some point, the word will get around to the right people that you're good people." FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 | maconmagazine.com 65

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