Meet Aaliyah Shambe | CMO and Head of Artist Development

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aaliyah Shambe and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aaliyah, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I was in high school, there was a lot of pressure to figure out what your next steps in life would be after graduation. What would your career be, etc. In the beginning, I thought I wanted to be a geneticist and go to an Ivy League to follow that path since I had a genuine albeit light interest in that subject. However, my English teacher my sophomore year had opened my eyes to the fact that whatever I was truly passionate about, I should go for in trying to make it my career. I’ve always been passionate about music, entertainment and the arts, however I still did not see how exactly I could make a living off of my passion for music- until I decided to research record labels and the music business in detail those early years of my highschool career. From there, I actually had started an initial version of the label called “Pure Artist Records” and had “signed” (there weren’t really any contracts back then [my Junior year of high school] 2 artists. I banded some of my friends together, and we gave the artists photoshoots, recorded their songs in my parents house with a basic recording set up, took a few DIY videos, created a logo and everything. It was a lot of fun, and was the main reason I chose to stay in Colorado for my university schooling. I had recognized that the Denver music scene had a lot of talent, venues, etc, but was lacking a major label presence and so my goal since high school has been to create that here. That same goal is exactly what landed me in the recording and production program at the Lamont school of music (transferring from a purely commercial and jazz vocal program which I had attained a hefty scholarship for). Throughout my early college experience pre pandemic I was collaborating with different programs and students, while writing my business plan, to try and bring my business, my dream to life. However, it took the pandemic shutting down everything (including our school’s state of the art recording studios) for my father Tafari Shambe to take a genuine interest in my goals by then helping me to fund and build out a professional grade recording studio in his home, that we could then accept clients to record- which eventually lead to artists coming though who we have had the pleasure of legitimately signing over time. I had to learn marketing from the ground up, branding, legal, high level networking, how to put in dry wall (lol), sales and a whole array of things I had never learned in depth before to build the business to where it is now (and im still learning and building and growing). It also helped that my aunt Akiba Nelson was already connected to parts of the music industry through contacts she had made in the 90s and onward- those contacts have also played a huge role in getting our business off of the ground. Its awesome to think the very technical start was 2017, labeled Pure Artist Records, to now being an officially registered business in Colorado by 2020 labeled Pure Artist Music (the name change was to suggest we are more than just a label, we are a music/entertainment entity).

What should our readers know about your business?
Here at Pure Artist Music, we don’t just offer music and merch- we offer magic and experience wrapped in the arms of community, or what we like to call PAMILY. We have a strong focus on artist development in all areas of each of our artist’s careers in order to produce consumables and experiences of the upmost quality. We pride ourselves on having fair and equitable contracts and relationships with each of our artists so they can feel comfortable and confident in their journey with us. We are most excited to kick our next phase of marketing plans into full gear at the start of 2024 to increase our artist’s exposure now that they each have a decent amount of songs, shows and development under their belts. We made it to the place we are today because of many many factors, including building an unstoppable team, being intentional about our branding to inspire and further build our community and having the passion and grit to keep going even in face of some of our biggest failures. Some lessons we have learned along they way are ‘never be afraid to ask for the worst you can hear is no’ and ‘the more you fail the more you learn, the more you learn the greater chance of success you will have’. I want the world to know that Pure Artist Music is about elevating your mindset, creating intentionally and inspiring the next generation.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Whew, let’s see! I will keep it as close to the Denver Metro Area Range as possible!

Monday- (Eats: Urban Egg, Tacos El Metate, The D-Bar Denver-Activity: Molly Brown House Museum. Walk around Park Hill area, especially down Montview Parkway (they have the most beautiful trees and that’s where my great grandmother used to live before she passed away, so many amazing memories. Side note, the D bar Denver has stunning desserts, best place for a sweet tooth night cap)

Tuesday- (Eats: Babes Tea Room, Jamaican Bar & Grill, Yum Yum Spice- Activity: One UP arcade/bar, and also see if we could see a local band or artist at the Black Buzzard)

Wednesday- Play Date in Parker (Eats: Bread & Butters, Indias Kitchen Buffet, Kurosawa- Activity: Show at the PACE Center after walking around Mainstreet, and chilling in Obrien Park)

Thursday- (Eats: Lucilles Cafe Activity, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Nola Voodoo Tavern-Activity: Hike at Red Rocks, drive up to Boulder and walk around Pearl Street and CU Boulder’s gorgeous campus) :

Friday- Play Date in Aurora (Eats: Rosies Diner, Golden Saigon, Seoul K.B.B.Q & Hot Pot-Activity: Roller blade around Utah Park, visit the Southland’s mall, maybe catch a movie at that theater if there are any good ones out)

Saturday-(Eats: Sam’s #3, Sexy Pizza, Main Shack-Activity: Denver Art Museum, Walk around the University of Denver campus for they also have a wildly beautiful campus and gotta show some love to my Alma Mater.

Sunday-(Eats: Botanical Bakery, What the Pho, Jax Fish House-Activity: Have a picnic in the middle of the Botanic Gardens, and drinks at the 54thirty rooftop bar),

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Yes, plenty of people! We like to call our team of executives, and artists and their managers, along with fans of the artist and our label our P.A.M FAM. The working environment we’ve created really does feel like a second family to me. Included in our PAM FAM are: Akiba Nelson, the mover shaker, ultimate networker in the history of networkers! She has helped develop my baby dream into a reality by connecting our label and our artists to celebrities, industry producers, DJs, promoters and the like. Truly the lifeblood of Pure Artist Music. Then there is my dad Tafari Shambe’ – who has not only financially funded this entire venture, but has also been my day 1, my #1 supporter, wise counsel, business partner, emotional support when the going gets tough, builds ideas with me and we help keep each other excited and to keep going (because IMO the music business is one of the most cut throat industries out there). Then there is Hassani Shambe’ -my uncle- AKA producer name: Play 2 Much. His connections alone landed us with our very first signed artist, the extraordinary SIRDEVON. But even more than that, he has held down the studio (Dark Star Studios under P.A.M. the one we built) for a myriad of clientele from the start, putting in so many hours of work to make sure that everything in the land of Hip-Hop and modern R&B mostly, comes out sounding absolutely pristine! (Speaking of sound- Tafari Shambe has ALSO, been a mogul of sound, he has been a stellar mastering engineer and has helped bring in all of the equipment and alot of plug in choices to the studio to contribute to the foundation of our solid recordings, mixes and masters). I would also love to give a huge shout out to our initial team of artists: SIRDEVON, Debanaire, Avery Doss, and Rachel Winnick!!! Without them, our label would not be possible, they have contributed so much high quality art from music to visuals, it has been an absolute pleasure watching them grow in their craft on stage, in the studio and in front of the cameras. I can’t do shoutouts without giving one to the one and only Dajah Brookes- she has also been a day one- we went to university together and when I reached out to her when we first started Pure Artist Music, regarding marketing and social media, since at that time I literally knew not a single thing, she accepted the challenge, took me under her wing, did weekly meetings, has helped us set up sponsorship opportunities, connected us with Education Through Music, has done insane event planning, helped me set up our first company social media accounts and posts, has given me advice and as I have grown in my knowledge, has listened to my ideas and confirms which ones are certified platinum and which ones I should leave in the dust. She also flew out to Houston with me to gather some event research and she has just ultimately been another great friend and business partner. Our managers AdeWe Stovall and Mathena Washington are the most kick butt- name taking young ladies in the biz. They have both contributed so much to their artist’s careers in tandem with our label, we all have a grip to be thankful for to them both!! Last but not least, Melia Buckton and our new apprentice Brinlee. They have both contributed so much in so little time to the label in terms of media, photography, film, and social media planning, editing and posting and both have beautiful spirits and are fun to work with and I’m excited to continue working with them!

Website: https://pure-artist-music.com/home

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pure_artist_music/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pureartistmusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzwRxakKdvCgoORLG3QA1w

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