Managing world tours, negotiating million-dollar record deals, and 20 years of achievement in the industry, music executive and marketing powerhouse Maurice “Moetown” Lee has created platforms for success on all fronts. With a heavy influence on careers such as Kendrick Lamar, 8Ball & MJG, 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige, his track record is proven and still growing. Lee recently sat down with rolling out to discuss his incredible run.
Tell us about your background and where you’re from.
I am from California. I grew up in Compton. I started out as a DJ, and I was just doing a bunch of parties and stuff like that. I started messing around making mixtapes. I left and went to school, [and] my friend’s brother had this artist named Paperboy. He ended up linking with Pay [Paperboy and] ended up putting out the song called “The Diddy.” We went on tour [and] sold 3 million records. So, I was on tour deejaying for him and kind of road managing, and then I started dabbling as Tupac’s DJ [while] being on the road with Paperboy, [who] ended up getting a deal with Priority Records.
How did you end up in the music space in Atlanta?
I worked for Priority [Records], and then from Priority, I went and start working with a couple of my homeboys at a company called FCC doing promotions for all the labels. [Then] I started a management company and ended up managing 8Ball & MJG, Lloyd and working with Gucci [Mane]. … In between, I was working with Interscope with Kendrick [Lamar], Robin Thicke and 50 Cent. I was the Southeast regional manager for Interscope [and] a record lobbyist. [Currently], I own my own consulting company called Westway Consulting, [and] now I work with Dreamville [Records], DaBaby, Janet Jackson and Jagged Edge.
Learn how Lee chooses talent for ONE Musicfest and more on the next page.
