Meet Robert Houston II | International Hip Hop Recording Artist & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Robert Houston II and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Robert, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My business started organically from being a popular hip hop artist in the region. It was a natural progression to open a recording studio, throw concerts/festivals and build a content/media company.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started recording as an hip hop artist in 1998 and it began to take off in 2004. It was tough working a day job and performing late nights but I was able to quit my day job in 2004 to focus on my career as an artist. Quitting my job forced me to figure out how to make money in the music industry. I learned to be a salesman by hustling merchandise at shows like Cds and t shirt sales, I learned how to network and negotiate to get shows and get paid for shows. I learned about show deals/contracts, how to hire people to help sell merchandise. At one point I was dj-ing clubs and then even became a driver for big national artists to position myself to open up for them. I’ve driven around the Rza, from Wu Tang, Baby Bash, Slick Rick, Lil Jon and many others. Through these experiences I learned Drive, socialize, basic accounting and how to budget. All these things allowed me to become a tour manager on top of being an artist. I made a living and was just getting by from 2004-2011. In that time I managed to tour all of America multiple times, Canada and Europe. Though I put in the work I still didn’t manage to break through on the mainstream scene. I seemed to hover in the independent underground scene for like a decade. In 2010 I started to dabble in throwing local concerts and open mics while juggling my artist career but by 2011 I started really focusing on concert promotion. By 2015 I doubled my income by throwing concerts, in 2016 I opened a recording studio, hired an engineer to run it and opened our doors to the public. At this moment I throw some of the biggest concerts in Colorado Springs, we also throw big events in Denver, Fort Collins and have scaled out to Reno NV, AZ and Seattle with our concerts. Our studio is open to the public and flourishing in Colorado Springs, I still perform as an artist from time to time, release music regularly and building a media company through my podcast and youtube.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to the manitou incline, The paint mines, Garden of The Gods, Red Rocks, Palmer park, and a trip to breck. For food, I dig Urban egg for breakfast, The Famous steak house, Carlos Bistro and Sushi Den. Just depends on the person and personality for me to choose activities but there is a ton to choose from here.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would shoutout my parents for the basic life fundamentals. Also my first engineers/producers Blizz & Base Jase, My first hip hop group F.O.S/Focus On Skillz. I could do a novel of shoutouts but the is the foundation where I started.

Website: www.BlackPegasusRap.com

Instagram: @BlackPegasusRaps

Facebook: @BlackPegasusRaps

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/pegasusblack