Derek “Pres” Jackson is the founder and CEO of NCEG or the National Collegiate Entertainment Group. He started this organization at Georgia State University and now there are NCEG chapters at over 25 schools nationwide including Kennesaw State, Georgia Gwinnett College and even a provisional chapter at Arizona State. They have also birthed multiple stars already including DreTL, the winner of the second season of “Rhythm + Flow,” and Atlanta rap star Kenny Mason.
What exactly is NCEG?
NCEG is a nonprofit organization. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was formally established back in December of 2016. The idea behind NCEG, what we are building is the NCAA of the music industry. That is what I always like to say. That’s the simple line. So, when you talk about what that means, or what that is, is that ultimately it was created for us to establish a better way, a safer way, for all of our young, aspiring creatives, music industry execs, artists, to be able to get into the industry. It’s for us to be able to create a pathway for them to be acknowledged, and a platform for them to be acknowledged that aligns with the academic system, the same way we have for sports and athletics.
What does a college need to start their own NCEG chapter?
The main thing that we look for, and one of the primary things that we think is a strength to NCEG, is that any group of college students, and when I say group, I mean like small group, like four or five, and you have four or five of your friends on any college campus, really, in the country you can start NCEG chapter. Now the colleges that we pre-approved are mostly schools that meet a certain undergraduate population, okay, like there’s a certain size and a lot of that is about just the ability for those schools to be able to have the amount of interest among the student population, in order to be able to actually create a team in the first place. But generally speaking, any school, as long as you have a minimum number of students who are interested in being a part of the team, you can start an NCEG team, and then in starting an NCEG team, you’ll be connected with all of the other schools and other programs that also have NCEGs.
What are some similarities between DreTL and Kenny Mason?
There’s obviously huge differences between the two. One thing that I think unifies both of them, though, is their love for their city and their family, right? And that’s not just blood family, but also, like adopted family. It’s a real emphasis on community. Even if you were talking about the song that really helped blow Kenny up, his hit, the hit song, “Hit” with the music video, and you got the whole big crowd that looks like a mob scene. All of those are Atlanta creatives.
What was the hardest part of starting NCEG?
Yeah, honestly, I can say that it was a little difficult. It was difficult, but it wasn’t unexpected. In the early days of NCEG, when I was explaining this concept, and we were looking for people to join the organization, there was a lot of skepticism, partially because, who thinks that some 18 or 19 year olds, could blow somebody up, can really like, you know, blow somebody up, let alone be able to, like, be talented enough and kind of run an entertainment label. So there was that side of it on like a professional tip, where people were skeptical about how professional college students can be. And then there was the other side of it where artists themselves were skeptical about how they would be received.
