VIDEO: Bill Stephney, CEO, Stepsun Entertainment takes a different approach with recording artists with label that includes Paul Mooney

What’s The 411 co-host Amelia Moore, chats with music entrepreneur Bill Stephney, CEO of StepSun Entertainment, and he is the man behind Paul Mooney, Miss Jones, The Troubleneck Brothers, and others.

Stephney talks about how his record label Stepsun Entertainment is different from the larger labels, his approach to artist development, and his definition of hip-hop and its impact on society.

Moore and Stephney discuss the culture of hip-hop, gangsta rap and how society wanted to kill the messenger rather listen to the message in the music. Stephney specifically points to the song, The Message, by Melle Mel as a member of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. Perhaps, if those in power had listened to the words of the song and embraced it with policies to positively affect all people, perhaps societal conditions would be better.

Circa 1994