{"id":170492,"date":"2025-07-01T15:10:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T19:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2025\/07\/01\/abou-bu-thiam-on-managing-kanye-chris-brown-his-buvision-label-at-atlantic-breaking-new-artists-2\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T15:10:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T19:10:13","slug":"abou-bu-thiam-on-managing-kanye-chris-brown-his-buvision-label-at-atlantic-breaking-new-artists-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2025\/07\/01\/abou-bu-thiam-on-managing-kanye-chris-brown-his-buvision-label-at-atlantic-breaking-new-artists-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Abou \u2018Bu\u2019 Thiam on Managing Kanye & Chris Brown, His BuVision Label at Atlantic & Breaking New\u00a0Artists"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tTo the uninitiated, Abou \u201cBu\u201d Thiam<\/strong> is most known as Akon<\/a>\u2019s younger brother, the subject of a line in the MC\u2019s 2008 Billboard Hot 100 hit \u201cI\u2019m So Paid\u201d: \u201cMy little brother Bu got that vision, baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor those in the know, however, he\u2019s quietly become a very successful businessman in the music industry over the past 20 years. He\u2019s worked with not only his brother, but artists such as Lady Gaga<\/a>, Rihanna<\/a>, Jay-Z<\/a>, Kanye West<\/a>, Chris Brown<\/a>, T-Pain<\/a> and Jeremih<\/a> \u2014 as a record executive at Def Jam and Columbia, as an artist manager and, most recently, as the founder and CEO of BuVision, an imprint for which he recently signed a partnership deal with Atlantic Records. An accomplished A&R and manager, his credits include working on albums like Rih\u2019s Talk That Talk<\/em>, Jay and Ye\u2019s Watch The Throne<\/em> and DONDA<\/em>, among many others; signing Gaga to her first deal with Interscope through his and Akon\u2019s Konvikt Music; signing 4Batz<\/a> and Central Cee<\/a> to Columbia; and managing the careers of Ye and Brown at different times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tAbou ‘Bu’ Thiam Partners With Atlantic Music Group For BuVision\u00a0Label\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tNow, with BuVision through Atlantic, where he brought 4Batz, he has been working to break the rising star Sailorr, whose \u201cPOOKIE\u2019S REQUIEM\u201d reached No. 10 on Billboard<\/em>\u2019s Hot R&B Songs last year and who was named Billboard<\/em>\u2019s R&B Rookie of the Month<\/a> in February.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSailorr has one of the most incredible pens in the industry, and I\u2019m excited about the moment she\u2019s having,\u201d Thiam tells Billboard<\/em>. \u201cShe\u2019s done a great job understanding how to build her own world on her own, she has incredible taste and great instincts, and now it\u2019s about supporting her and allowing her growth to be organic between her and her fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThiam, who is based in Atlanta, had spent the past three years as executive vp of A&R at Columbia<\/a>, where he learned under the tutelage of Columbia CEO Ron Perry<\/strong>. \u201cI give him so much respect because nobody saw what I could be \u2014 LA Reid<\/strong> first, but then Ron years later, really honed in on my gifts,\u201d Thiam says. \u201cRon is kind of like me; we\u2019re both artists at heart. He not only ran a company, but he sold one, so he understood that dynamic. So being there for those years really educated me on how to run my own company.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGetting his start alongside his brother in the early 2000s, Thiam enjoyed a successful stint as an executive at Def Jam before starting his management odyssey, ultimately working with Brown through much of the 2010s and then helping shepherd Ye through the DONDA <\/em>period, before returning to the label world. Of his new deal with Atlantic, he says, \u201cElliot [Grainge]<\/strong> gave me the vision of where he was taking Atlantic and 10K, and I thought it was really impressive.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tHow SAILORR Forged Her Own Path to Stardom With Her Breakout Hit ‘Pookie’s\u00a0Requiem’\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve also seen the company that he\u2019s built with Zach [Friedman]<\/strong> and Tony [Talamo]<\/strong> over the years, and I\u2019ve always been impressed with their work ethic and how they\u2019ve been able to build something so small that became so big,\u201d Thiam adds. \u201cEvery time I was trying to sign an artist, they were at the table \u2014 they were really my only competition in closing artists. So I was like, if we join forces together, I can just imagine what that can be. So it just made sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHere, Thiam discusses his journey through the music business, his work with some of the most high-profile stars of the century and what keeps him optimistic about the music business moving forward. \u201cI look forward to change, I embrace it, I think it\u2019s necessary, and I also feel that regardless of what happens, nothing will ever be able to replace the core of what we do when it comes to music,\u201d he says. \u201cNothing will ever be able to change how you feel when you go see someone perform at a concert, or when you meet your favorite superstar, or when you listen to your favorite album. Will the business change? Of course; it always does. But I\u2019m all about the music, and that will never change. It\u2019s about how we adapt to not get left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019re based in Atlanta. What\u2019s your setup like there?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tOffices can feel, for me, like a trap; it\u2019s not creative at all. So when I decided I wanted to have my base in Atlanta, I was like, I need a house, not only to do business and have my crew in there talking about strategy, but also, if I\u2019m in the studio with an artist and we make a great song, I can walk next door into my living room or a conference room and talk about a video idea in real time. Oftentimes, when you work in a corporate structure, to do that takes so many layers of getting everyone on email, having meetings, discussing the single. Whereas with BuVision, if you\u2019ve got a good idea, everyone is there to talk about it. When you hear a good song and then can talk about a video and a marketing plan on the spot while the song is being made, that has always been my success.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Isaiah<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t15 Hip-Hop, African & R&B Artists to\u00a0Watch\u00a0in\u00a02025\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tYou started in this business working with your brother at Konvict, then worked at Def Jam, then with Kanye, Chris Brown, Rihanna. What\u2019d you learn each step of the way that led you to this point?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tWorking with my brother was a blessing because I was able to just be me; I didn\u2019t have to work through the trials and errors of having to fit in or work my way up. He allowed me to be 100 percent who I was. So when I met someone like a Rihanna, we clicked very well because I was very honest and real about my opinions, and she accepted it. Then when I met \u2019Ye in Hawaii, same thing, I was there for three days, and he was like, \u201cLA Reid, can he stay with me for a week or two?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tArtists that are stars, they are so used to everyone being yes men, and they can tell when you\u2019re saying things to make them feel good. So when you\u2019re honest and genuine in your approach and how you feel, those are the people they usually keep around them, because they don\u2019t have a lot of that.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhere did that confidence come from?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m the youngest boy out of four, so I\u2019ve always had to overachieve. And I truly believe in my heart that I\u2019m blessed, that it\u2019s not luck, it\u2019s truly a gift. And knowing that gives me the confidence to execute. Early on, my brother \u2018Kon was the first to give me that confidence, and then working with big artists and having success at a high level, when most of the time they were at their lowest, gave me confidence. Working with Rihanna when she had Rated R<\/em>, an album that wasn\u2019t her best one, and then I come along with LA Reid and Ester Dean<\/a> and we make Loud <\/em>and Talk That Talk<\/em> and people are like, \u201cOh, she\u2019s back!\u201d She had never left, but it was a grey area at a time. When I met Chris Brown, he was at a low, and I brought in \u201cLoyal\u201d and that just sparked the whole s\u2013t again. I worked with Kanye West when he was wearing the [MAGA] hat, and we did DONDA<\/em>. So always overachieving helped me with my confidence as well.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tThe 50 Best Albums of 2025 So Far (Staff\u00a0Picks)\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tWhy did you want to go into management?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tWhen I got to Def Jam, LA Reid was there, and then with the reorganization, he went to Epic. I didn\u2019t have a relationship with Lucian [Grainge], and I didn\u2019t want to be somewhere where no one knows me. That was when I met Chris Brown, and I started managing Chris.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI used to get so frustrated as an A&R, because I felt like I didn\u2019t have the power to see my vision through; I would make a record with an artist and then my job was done. But I felt like I was more valuable, that I could help with the marketing, help with the rollout. But when you work at a company, there are tiers: you do your job, you pass it to the next department and they do theirs, and on and on. So I decided I wanted to manage, because you\u2019re managing their whole career, not just the record side.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut I didn\u2019t realize you have to babysit someone, too, you know what I mean? [Laughs<\/em>] I gotta deal with this dude\u2019s personal life, too. And that\u2019s my brother, so it\u2019s all love, and that\u2019s a part of it, but you have to do all these other things that I felt was taking away a lot of my time. It\u2019s a very demanding job, a 24-hour job, and the one thing I didn\u2019t love about it was that it felt like, as a manager, you always made decisions based on your job. Because otherwise you would get fired. Do you tell the artist how you truly feel, or do you just say yes and keep the commission? And I didn\u2019t want to have to become the yes man. So I decided to do something else \u2014 until \u2019Ye called me.<\/p>\n

\n\tI got to Wyoming, he was working on DONDA<\/em>, and I was like, \u201cWe should do this, we should do that.\u201d He was like, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you just manage me?\u201d And Ye is the most persistent person in the world. So I was like, \u201cListen, I\u2019ll just manage the music side of your career while we\u2019re doing DONDA<\/em>\u201d \u2014 until he finds someone else. Because with \u2019Ye, as much as I love him, he fires you 10 times. And then he never fired me.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tEvery Song on Kanye West\u2019s \u2018Donda\u2019 Album, Ranked: Critic\u2019s\u00a0Pick\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tThen we kept working and had a lot of success. We did DONDA<\/em>, we did the stadium listenings in Atlanta, Chicago. And then it came back to what I was saying earlier \u2014 I just got tired of being a vessel. That was the first time in my career where I was like, \u201cI\u2019m tired of building someone else\u2019s empire.\u201d And it was time for me to focus on just me and what I wanted to be and what I wanted to build.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat did you learn from the management world?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tFrom managing Kanye and Chris Brown? Well, one, that I\u2019m f\u2014ing nuts. [Laughs<\/em>] You\u2019re talking about two guys who have a strong mindset of what they want, how they want it, when they want it. But I learned that it\u2019s damn near impossible to manage a superstar and build around it. That\u2019s why I give credit to Sal [Slaiby]<\/strong> \u2014 how do you manage The Weeknd<\/a> and also build a company? When I look at Future [The Prince]<\/strong>, who manages Drake<\/a>, he only manages Drake. Because at some point, the relationship between an artist and a manager is going to strain, because superstars want you to themselves, and if you\u2019re working with someone else, it\u2019s gonna start to feel like they\u2019re sharing with the other person. I went into it with big dreams of building my own company, and I realized early that that was not going to be possible. And I think that was also a factor of why I realized I didn\u2019t want to be in the management business in that capacity.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhy did you want to come to Atlantic?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI felt like my destiny was to be here, and I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate and respect and admire what Elliot and Zach and these guys have been able to do here. I\u2019ve just been impressed at how they move. These guys don\u2019t go to bed. They\u2019ll call me at four in the morning and just go, \u201cLet\u2019s go, let\u2019s kill, let\u2019s kill!\u201d I feel like we just have this alpha energy, kill everybody mentality. So I feel like I\u2019m around A-alikes. And I believe everything happens for a reason, because I came to Atlantic\/10K, and literally before I even put a desk in my office, we started having success.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tThe Rise of Elliot Grainge: A Brief Career Timeline of Atlantic Music Group\u2019s\u2026\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tWhat did Elliot say that sold you on the vision for the company?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI look at everything in life like sports: to win, it\u2019s not about one person, it\u2019s about the team. If you look at football, the free safety just roams; if you want the best out of Bu, you have to allow me to roam and do what I do. And Elliot was like, \u201cI just want you to be you. I know who you are, let\u2019s get it, let\u2019s talk about it. What do you need? How do you want your title to read?\u201d He gave me a blank sheet and was like, \u201cI want you to mark how you want this to work out for you and for us.\u201d And I did, and it was done.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tYou brought 4Batz over and you have Sailorr and Georgiana, too. How are things working in the new setup?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tSailorr is so important to me. All my artists are, but with her, Batz, Georgiana, I feel for the first time I\u2019ve been able to fully have my team in a place where we can do artist development. And it\u2019s been a great process here with the team at 10K and Atlantic, talking about storytelling. She\u2019s been great, she listens, she trusts me and the team and what we do, and so far, so good. I\u2019m excited for her future because I know how bad she wanted this.<\/p>\n

\n\tBatz had success early on and went through a phase of depression, because he didn\u2019t know how to handle success \u2014 no one can. He was successful so fast and so quick that he didn\u2019t know how to deal with what came with it. And even with me at his side, walking him through it, he had to go through it himself. And he did, and now he\u2019s back and he\u2019s strong and he\u2019s happy and back to doing what he does best. I used to say, \u201cListen, music aside, focus on the mental. We can always make a song.\u201d And he took his time, and he\u2019s back. I\u2019m excited.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd I\u2019m really excited about Elkan<\/a>, who produced Drake\u2019s \u201cNokia\u201d record. Us and Toibox, which is his company, and Atlantic Records, that will be our next thing. Get your popcorn ready.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tA New Era: Inside Warner Music Group As Elliot Grainge Prepares to Take Charge of\u00a0Atlantic\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tYou\u2019ve been doing this for over 20 years now. Over that time, the music business has changed significantly. How have you managed to stay on top of things?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tFrom when I first came into the game, there aren\u2019t too many people around that were around back then, you know? I\u2019ve just been able to adapt by educating myself on what was changing and not being stuck in my ways. I think oftentimes when you\u2019re stuck in your ways, you get old. What I do today is not what I did 10, 15 years ago. I keep myself young by adapting, educating myself and being around young kids. My whole staff is under 23 years old. The president of my company, Malik, is 23 years old. So I\u2019m around nothing but young kids, and I listen to them and educate myself, but more importantly, adapting with the times and not letting my old self dictate new thoughts. That\u2019s really helped me.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd more importantly than that, the way I was raised shaped my ears. Not to sound cocky, but you can\u2019t name too many people that can work on a Lady Gaga record, a Rihanna record, a Young Jeezy<\/a> record, then go do Watch The Throne<\/em>, then go do an R&B album with Chris Brown. Most people that do what I do are very one-dimensional. I was raised in an African household. My parents were African and they were poor, so I grew up in the streets, but then every summer I went to Africa. At the time, Africa was pre-internet, and all you heard was Hot 100 records. So it gave me the opportunity to have a pop ear, but also a street edge, and I mixed that up. That\u2019s always been my advantage and edge over others \u2014 I can do all genres really well, and most others can\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Aller \u00e0 la source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To the uninitiated, Abou \u201cBu\u201d Thiam is most known as Akon\u2019s younger brother, the subject of a line in the MC\u2019s 2008 Billboard Hot 100 hit \u201cI\u2019m So Paid\u201d: \u201cMy little brother Bu got that vision, baby.\u201d For those in the know, however, he\u2019s quietly become a very successful businessman in the music industry over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-170492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musique","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170492\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}