As LilYachty receives some of the best reviews of his career with 'Let's Start Here,' motown's vice president of A&R Gelareh Rouzbehani earns the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Rouzbehani discusses the switch for Yachty from hip-hop to alt-rock, and the somewhat unexpected success that the album achieved, given how difficult it can be to change the narrative for an artist who is nearly a decade into his career at this point. “It goes to show that great music still reigns supreme,” Rouzbehani tells. “Working with Yachty on this album was more about adding ideas rather than taking things away.
The beauty of this album’s success thus far is that it has organically resonated with people around the world. It goes to show that great music still reigns supreme. Working with Yachty on this album was more about adding ideas rather than taking things away. He had a really strong sense of the record he was making and, for me, it was about bringing session ideas to the table, people I felt like could add to his vision.
This album represented a stylistic switch for Yachty, from rap to rock. What did that entail from the A&R side?and music that inspired him as an artist and me as an exec. He has always wanted to make an alternative record and I was itching to A&R an alt-leaning album. We didn’t necessarily sit down and say, “Hey, let’s do this now.” The stars just aligned. He had met Pony, Patrick and Jacob and just started creating. I’m grateful that Yachty trusts me with his art.
The album debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums chart with a strong critical reception. What did you do to help it succeed out of the gate, and how do you keep the momentum going now? Having every department aligned on our goals was key for the rollout of this project. Everyone was really excited hearing the record, but the challenge was how to get it out to the world in the most meaningful and genuine way. That energy has to match the music, from marketing to international to creative. The goal was to have people listen to the album top to bottom, no skips, since it’s really a journey from the very beginning to the last track.
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