Anderson .Paak Manager Adrian Miller’s Top 5 “The Cipher” Q&A Gems: “I Just Try To Empower The Artist”

Written By Shawn Setaro

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[Adrian Miller, manager of Anderson .Paak and, prior to that, key player in the Los Angeles rap scene of the 1990s, recently sat down with hip-hop personality and SOHH correspondent Shawn Setaro on his popular “The Cipher” podcast. Listen to the full interview and check out five gems Adrian dropped during the Q&A.]

On his first exposure to hip-hop:

“It was probably 1978 when I heard my first hip-hop break and saw some guys popping at Jesse Owens Park [in Los Angeles] – at the time it was Sportsman Park. It blew me away and I was like, that’s what I want to do.”

On his early attempts at managing Tha Dogg Pound’s Daz Dillinger, who he discovered when the rapper was still in high school:

“I called myself managing Daz and his group, because Daz is from Tulsa [where Miller went to college]. But I wasn’t any good at that, and Daz was like, ‘I’m moving to L.A. to hang out with my cousin.’”

On his role in the L.A. rap scene of the early 90s:

This was an era. It was crazy because it was this kinetic energy of positivity, and it was our hippie stage. I had just gotten Freestyle Fellowship signed. I’m getting all these guys signed and I have no clue what I was doing. I’m not their manager, I’m not their A&R guy. But luckily for me, everybody saw the spirit that I had.”

On Cypress Hill’s early career:

“Right after [the success of “Jump Around,” produced by Cypress’ DJ Muggs] Cypress decided to stick their hands out and say, okay, we’re coming now. They wanted to be mysterious, they wanted to be exactly everything they were. Muggs systematically made that. They came out, and it took a minute to connect. But when it did, oh my God, it was like the truth.”

On his philosophy as a manager:

I just try to empower the artist. As a manager, if I empower the people I work with and for, they’re gonna be in a position of power. They can later say, he didn’t just sign me. He helped me develop my own business and brand, so that we can all grow collectively.”

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Written by Shawn Setaro

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