stronger foundations because of it,” explains Coach, who recalls booking T.I. for $1,500 or $2,000 in the early days and Lil Wayne for $10,000 when he was touring with Sqad Up and already had two albums under his belt. “They made solid movement all the way up the ladder until they’ve reached this point [where they command six figure show prices], and I can respect any artist that is willing to go out and work from the ground up.” Johnnie is certainly not the only booking agent to charge exorbitant prices for an artist with one hit record, but it’s one thing he is infamously known for – resulting in a short lifespan of many artists he has represented (where are the Shop Boyz, of “Party Like a Rock Star” fame? Fabo? D4L? Crime Mob?). Nicki Minaj, for example, has a strong buzz, but doesn’t have an album out yet. Jesse Peak inquired about booking Nicki for a BET Hip Hop Awards afterparty in Atlanta in October 2009 but quickly changed his mind when her former manager Cortez directed him to Hitt Afta Hitt. “They were shooting out dumb numbers like $12,000 plus I’ve gotta pay a travel fee, even though she was already scheduled to be in Atlanta,” says Peak. “When an artist is represented by Hitt Afta Hitt, it discourages me from booking them because I know exactly what to expect from them: They say whatever you wanna hear to get your money, and once they get your money, you can’t get a call back.” Mosley laughs while offering some words of advice to artists considering Hitt Afta Hitt representation: “You’ll have better luck diving off the Sears Tower.” “A lot of artists are overpriced, and that hurts their career,” explains Coach. “If an artist is really overpriced and a promoter takes a risk on him and loses badly, when the artist tries to make a comeback the promoter is gonna say, ‘I did you when you were hot and I lost, so I’m definitely not gonna do you when you’re cold.’ So when you put the artist’s price up so high just because they’re new and the demand is high but they haven’t been proven, you’re risk-
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ing their career longevity. These artists today get one single and they want $7,500 for a show. They haven’t been tested. The single may be hot, but the promoters lose money. Some might win, but most lose. And [as a result] the artist’s careers are short-lived. Very short-lived.” D4L frontman Shawty Lo (left) is a perfect example of this phenomenon. “I don’t get requests for Shawty Lo [now],” says Coach. “In my opinion, he should have been charging less than [he was] at his peak. It would have made him a much more viable product today if he had been at a lower price when he was really hot. More people would’ve had accessibility to him. He would’ve been in more venues; more promoters would have been successful with him and would’ve had a better opinion of him. When [a promoter] loses, it leaves a bad taste in their mouth as far as that artist afterwards. Not saying that they lost at every show, but there were some where the price was just too high.” Godfatha is even more direct. “[Johnnie] killed Shawty Lo; destroyed his career,” he confirms. “[Shawty Lo] can’t get shows now because of his relationship with Johnnie. Johnnie overcharges and double-books. [Shawty Lo] was battling with T.I., the so-called King of the South. How were you on his level and then you fell from grace that fast? It’s because [Johnnie] was overpricing him, [charging] $40,000 or $50,000 for a guy with two songs, then doing noshows, then threatening you with the $5,000 booking fee. He took his price past what he was worth and he fell off quick. [Now] I wouldn’t give [Shawty Lo] $1,000 to go anywhere. That’s not personal on Lo, it’s Johnnie. And he’s gonna do the same thing to Gucci [Mane’s career]. I didn’t deal with him on D4L because they had so many no-shows. No one wanted to book them any-