In this in-depth conversation, the music industry veteran reflects on the careers of Big Pun, Fat Joe, Biggie, and Bone thugs-n-harmony
Steve Lobel walks into #DXHQ exactly on time for this conversation. He’s rocking a black bucket hat with the words “Hip Hop Don’t Know You” wrapped around the top. On his feet, a pair of white adidas shelltoes, which the Queens native seems to always wear. Emblazoned across his grey T-shirt reads “We Working” spelled out in classic logos from various cultural titans (the Wu-Tang symbol for the “W,” Eazy-E’s “E” for the “E,” for example). He’s nearly branded head-to-toe with each of his various business ventures. As he sits for this interview he explains the concept for his upcoming book, The Coach Lasts Longer Than The Player, which is currently in progress.
“It’s true,” Steve Lobel says. “The coach lasts longer than the player. Without the coach and other people on the team, you can’t be the player you want to be. Jay Z has a team, Kobe and LeBron have a team. Together Everybody Achieves More: That’s what “team” means. If you’re a real musical artist, you have an accountant, you have a business manager, a lawyer, an agent, an assistant, you have a team. You need a team, you can’t do it yourself. HipHopDX has a team. Hip Hop Don’t Know You has a team. We Working has a team. You need a team. So the coach lasts longer than the player.”
Steve Lobel’s concept of team was cultivated over his 20-plus year career managing Hip Hop acts. He’s was instrumental in the creation of Bone thugs-n-harmony’s timeless debut, E. 1999 Eternal, as well as the careers of Common, Three 6 Mafia, Fat Joe, Big Pun, Nipsey Hussle, Mann, Sean Kingston, Soulja Boy, DJ Kiss, and countless others, all of which he discusses in this exclusive conversation.
Now in his third decade in the music business, Lobel’s expanded his sphere of influence into journalism. In 2014, he launched Live With Steve Lobel—his interview series which is featured on website, Blurred Culture. To date he’s notched revealing conversations with J. Cole, Logic, Bizzy Bone, and more. “I’m gonna be the next Jimmy Kimmel, but the Hip Hop version,” Steve says. Seriously, the discourse below could double as a new artist’s guide on how to make it in the music industry.