The Man Behind The Curtain: Real Stories from an Industry Insider

By Keith Lawson

What do Madonna, Diddy, TLC, Shaggy, Robert Townsend, All-4-One, Chante Moore and Bruno Mars all have in common? All of them have been part of the exciting three-decade journey in entertainment for Keith Lawson. After more than 30 years in the music and entertainment business, Keith Lawson has a unique perspective, as well as some compelling firsthand stories from behind the scenes with some of the biggest names in the industry.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Nov 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9781665752459

Keith Lawson

Keith Lawson is a 30 year veteran in the music and entertainment business. Currently Senior Vice President at BET Networks, he has worked with some of the biggest names in the business both on the TV and music side. His clients have earned Platinum records, Grammy awards and various other Billboard accolades. On the television side, he is an award winning Producer and content creator with over 25 awards including Tellys, Broadcast Design Awards, and various other Film and Video Awards. His story is one of hustle and triumph, growing up in lower class Baltimore City where he and his four siblings survived both domestic and financial hardships on their journey to adulthood. Keith is a gifted storyteller with unique insight into the entertainment industry that he shares in a funny, poignant, and entertaining way.

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Copyright © 2023 Keith Lawson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Archway Publishing

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Cover design credit: Wayne Lewis

Cover photo credit: Maya Darasaw, MadWorks Photography

ISBN: 978-1-6657-5244-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-5246-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-5245-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023920932

Archway Publishing rev. date: 11/07/2023

CONTENTS

Foreword

Chapter 1   The Funk Face

Chapter 2   Hide and Seek

Chapter 3   Clear Vision and a Brick

Chapter 4   The Maniacs

Chapter 5   Mr. Walker and The Grammy

Chapter 6   The Chante Moore Story

Chapter 7   Puffy Wants to Talk to You…

Chapter 8   Behind the Curtain with Ananda Lewis

Chapter 9   Planting the Seed

Chapter 10   When Robert Townsend Calls…

Chapter 11   Life in the Boondocks

Chapter 12   Shaggy and the Jamerican Plan

Chapter 13   Jackie Christie, The Original Basketball Wife

Chapter 14   Kindred The Family Soul

Chapter 15   Ancestry.com Anyone?

Chapter 16   Creeping with TLC

Chapter 17   Protect Ya Neck

Chapter 18   Two Steps Short Of Destiny

Epilogue

About the Author

FOREWORD

I dedicate this book to my mom, whose strong and steady support kept me moving forward even when I did not know where the road was leading. You encouraged me to dream and to imagine a life beyond my expectations.

In addition, I dedicate it to all the other people behind the curtain who keep the show moving without the applause or accolades. Keep striving for excellence, your time is coming. I dedicate it to my childhood friend Dwan Lucas, who was brave enough to have a hard conversation with me about how I was being perceived in the world. That tough conversation lit a spark that caused a chain reaction resulting in my total re-invention between high school and college. In the words of Taylor Swift, sometimes it’s easier to look directly into the sun than it is to look into the mirror. She held the mirror up for me to take a good look. I may have started as a caterpillar, but that day caused me to go into my chrysalis and emerge a butterfly. You never know how your actions can ultimately affect someone else. That’s why I try to lead with integrity and positivity. Sometimes I stumble, but I continue to strive to be a good role model, father, and mentor. As my boss and mentor Louis Carr says, being a Waymaker is about making whatever you do in life bigger than yourself. I like to think I have always done that, albeit without the appropriate words to describe it. I guess that is how I have been able to affect the lives and careers of so many people in the entertainment industry without needing to receive the immediate acknowledgement. But those who know, know. Many people have asked me why I continue to do this, even when I don’t benefit directly from my efforts. To those people I say, do what you love with excellence and the money will come. The universe has a design and a plan beyond my ability to comprehend, but I focus on being excellent in whatever part I am destined to play in it.

This book is a vicarious journey with me for over three decades in the entertainment industry. So, buckle up and enjoy the ride.

CHAPTER 1

THE FUNK FACE

M y lifelong relationship with music and entertainment started as a child in Baltimore’s inner city. I often reflect on how Baltimore is a myriad of different living experiences. From the scenic, tourist friendly areas like the Inner Harbor and other gentrified sections of the city and suburbs where the white middle class gather and thrive; to the rougher, more treacherous sections where I was raised, it’s a tale of two cities. For me, every day was more survived than lived, and the options for success seemed limited. The youngest of four siblings, my connection to the world of music and entertainment was always there, in the background. I often wondered how I ended up working in the entertainment business. From early on I was a S.T.E.M. kid. I was top of my class in math from as far back as I can remember, although my elementary school rival, Monica Young, would beg to differ. Once I reached junior high school, it seemed only natural that I go on to Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, the top science and technology school in the city. Although surviving the pitfalls and hurdles of life in inner city Baltimore presented obvious challenges, I never let that blur my vision for a future. I thought my path to a career in engineering was pre-ordained.

In the era of Doo Wop and street corner harmony, my cousins had a brief turn at fame with their doo wop /soul group, Wee Three. I still recall afternoons rushing to my grandmother’s house to catch a few minutes of their rehearsal. I was struck by the electricity of the environment. They were celebrities, at least in my eyes, and they were family. Hearing their single, Get on Board, being played on local radio stations was exciting, especially when the DJ would introduce it or Wee Three by name. Get on Board was a bonafide hit, and had been written by my uncle, Joe Jr. In fact, the song had a legitimate shot at reaching number #1 on the Billboard charts if not for some guy named Marvin Gaye beating them out. Sadly, Uncle Joe never wrote another hit since he spent most of his time behind bars for various petty crimes over the years. He was a small but intimidating character with a reputation in the neighborhood for being ruthless. But apparently even he wasn’t immune to the lure of the entertainment business. My brother Ricky was closer to my cousins in age, and always fancied himself the fourth member of the group, although he played no instruments nor sang particularly well. His only real contribution was breaking my cousin Claude’s bass once. How you break the neck of a bass guitar is still a mystery to me, but he managed to get it done. But when it was still in one piece, Claude played the bass, Jim-Jim played guitar, and Sammy played drums; but they all sang. It was a particular sound that was born out of the streets of urban Baltimore city and hinted of pain, and struggle, but also of unbridled creativity. It only makes sense, coming from the mind of Joe Jr., but it is amazing how something so beautiful and poetic can come from a place so dark and chaotic.

One day, my cousin Claude caught me sneaking into his room to mess with his bass guitar. As the youngest cousin, who had earned the superlative most likely to break something, I was expecting to incur the wrath of God for touching his sacred instrument. In fact, there was the distinct chance I would never be allowed to come over again! I was sure this was going to end badly. But instead, Claude recognized something that I wouldn’t for years to come. He saw that the draw of music and entertainment was already too strong for me to deny. So, instead of dragging me to Mama (my grandmother) to spill the beans, he instead picked up the bass and started teaching me a few things. I watched in awe as he effortlessly ran through the main bassline of Sly and The Family Stone’s 1970 hit If You Want Me to Stay. I loved how smoothly he slid through the changes. The bass guitar was a cool instrument when someone played it well, and Claude made it look effortless. I also found out that part of learning to play bass was developing your funk face. That’s the face you make when you are really in the groove playing the bass, at least that’s what Claude led me to believe. To this day, whenever I see someone really killing it on bass, I look for that face. And so far, it seems to be true. It might be revisionist history, but I swear I had that bassline down before I left that day. Claude made me promise not to sneak into his room to bother his things again, but he also promised that if I behaved, he would teach me a little something whenever he had time during my frequent visits to Mama’s house. I guess he should have made my brother make the same promise. Oh well…

Sadly, that is where my skill development on the bass ended. I dabbled around with the piano for a bit, but my access to instruments was very limited. I even taught myself to play piano with both hands. Our neighborhood recreation center was the gathering spot after school. The neighborhood kids socialized, played ping pong and pool and otherwise just hung out. The center was connected to my elementary school, and I would often arrive early for basketball practice so I could sneak into the school auditorium to play the piano. Until I got caught, that was my private practice studio. Once the administrators figured out what I was doing, they started locking the door to the auditorium, ending my exploration with the piano. However, I can still play the theme music to the Incredible Hulk or The Young & The Restless right now though if the need ever arises. LOL.

I can’t remember getting to spend many other moments with my cousin Claude or my other cousins beyond that day. He died way too soon. Life in inner city Baltimore was hard in the early 70’s. Crime, drugs, and later the AIDS epidemic was taking a major toll on the urban population. My family was particularly hard hit. After a certain point, all my male cousins and many of my female cousins on my father’s side had perished due to one of those three factors. And with them, it seemed like the music had died. Although to this day, whenever I hear Sly and The Family Stone, I can remember the