"It is the family that gives us a deep private sense of belonging. Here we first begin to have our 'self' defined for us."
Minister Howard Thurman (1899-1991)

How apropos that brothers Laney, Mark and C. Tricky Stewart are one of the most successful entrepreneurial families in the business of music. Through their company, RedZone Entertainment (founded by Mark & Tricky), they have been able to excel in a variety of areas such as music publishing, production, studio recording (Triangle Sound Studio), A&R and management.

Based in Atlanta, yet originally from Chicago, the brothers have been making their mark in the game since the early 90s, when the eldest, Laney, was composing commercial jingles for companies such as Bud Light, McDonalds, United Airlines and Coca Cola, and forming his own production in Los Angeles. During the early days of his professional career, Laney worked with the likes of Jam & Lewis, Babyface, Regina Belle, Tony Toni Tone, Chante Moore, and others. He is perhaps the visionary of the family and created the foundation that is now RedZone Entertainment. Did he purposely have such broad vision in mind? "I don't know if I was creating a vision," says Laney. "We all had the same dream. We all grew up wanting to do this. Music has always been part of our lives and our lifestyle. I kind of touched the goal first. Mark came in with his phase, and then Tricky came up quickly in the ranks. My philosophy was how about we were going to deal with things once the doors were opening."

Middle brother, Mark, is the operations guy and perhaps one of the most sought-after managers in the business—overseeing RedZone's day to day functions and its impressive roster of writers and artists such as The Dream, vocal producer Kuk Harrell, hit producer Jazze Pha, songwriters JB and Corron (known as The Movement), producer/songwriter Sean Hall and artist/songwriter/engineer Kelly Sheehan; as well as the careers of his brothers; which brings us to the youngest, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, essentially the music industry's go-to hit-maker.

Tricky, an accomplished drummer and keyboard player, cut his teeth during the mid-90s working closely with his mentors L.A. Reid and the late Louil Silas Jr. who provided him with the opportunity to write and produce for their respective LaFace and Silas recording artists. His early discography contains a number of chart-toppers such as JT Money's "Who Dat," Sole's "4,5,6," Mya's "Case of the Ex," and Britney Spears & Madonna's "Me Against the World," not to mention songs for Aaron Hall, Chante Moore, and Immature.
An impressive resumé as is, this would be only the beginning for Tricky and his brothers, who have turned RedZone Entertainment into a virtual hit-making machine, churning out smashes such as the ubiquitous "Umbrella" for Rihanna and other tunes from her multi-Platinum Good Girl Gone Bad album. There is the No. 1 Mariah Carey, "Touch My Body" single, Mary J. Blige's single, "Just Fine" and Usher's "Moving Mountains." Tricky and writer/artist the Dream have created one of the surprise debut albums of 2008, which includes the R&B smashes "Shawty Is a 10," and "I Luv Your Girl"; while also producing the single, "Leaving" for Jesse McCartney and the new LL Cool J single, "Baby." Newcomer Karina Pasian is another young beneficiary of the Stewart sound.

For all of the labels and artists requesting their services, the brothers, launched their 2412 Publishing Company, and have also been in business with peermusic publishing for over a decade, beginning with Laney who had sustained many relationships at the company. "They are a huge independent publishing company," notes Mark. "They weren't heavily into urban music. But they had an executive named Monti Olson who's now at Universal who took an interest in us. Peermusic is also a family-owned company (founded by Ralph S. Peer and subsequently run by his son Ralph Peer II), and the strong family ties was something that we could appreciate and were drawn to. We saw the possibility of great synergy. We are able to get a lot of things done through peer that I'm not necessarily sure we could've gotten done at one of the Majors. We have a lot of flexibility with peermusic."

San Kling, the VP of A&R for peermusic concurs, "Tricky, Mark and Laney have an incredible long-term working relationship with peermusic that I am thrilled to be a part of.  These guys are at the top of their game and I look forward to working with them on a number of upcoming exciting projects."
The projects continue to line up as Tricky and his brothers have recently secured production with Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson and Gym Class Heroes, whose new single with the Dream, titled "Cookie Jar," can be seen on YouTube and MTV.

When asked about the turning point success due to a smash record like "Umbrella," a humble and seemingly shy person like Tricky seems to take it in stride, saying, "It feels great! It's what you work hard to achieve. But honestly, I do pinch myself from time to time to make sure this is real. It's very exciting to see young artists like Rihanna and a song like 'Umbrella' do as well as it did. But I've also enjoyed working with artists like Lionel Richie and Sting, people I grew up listening to, those were very special moments for me, too."
In an era where the industry is full of uncertainty, especially when it comes to record sales, the success of artists like the Dream, and to some degree Rihanna would seem to exceed early expectations. Tricky believed the path for success was paved all along. "When you're being advanced money by companies, the expectation is always there," he says. "Whoever you're working with, somebody thought they could make some money off of your efforts, that's why they signed you. So, for an artist like the Dream, the expectations were always there."

Laney agrees, stating, "We have real expectations of everybody – an artist like Dream- we thought if he does all of the right things, he could be big. There are so many steps to take to get to this point [of success]; personality, for instance. Can the artist or writer handle success? Sometimes an artist gets to success too early and they flip out. It's so many booby traps that can happen - you hope things will work out. But that's why the percentages of people actually making it are slim. I also like to refer to a sports analogy, whether you're the Cowboys or the Lakers, the Super Bowl or the Championship is always the expectation whether you get there or not. But every time you get a number one, it's like winning a championship. This is what you're in the game for."

Working at such a high level and with so many artists, how do the guys deal with the various creative temperaments? According to Mark if the artist has the required strong work, then the process doesn't have to be difficult at all. As for the major superstars like Mariah, Mary, Beyonce, "They are straight up professional, we have found them a joy to work with," he says. "They lock in and focus. And Tricky in particular has a way with connecting with the artist—from a creative standpoint, things start to elevate from there."

Right away you get a sense of humility from the brothers when it comes to discussing their success. Unlike many of their peers placing songs on the charts today, you don't see a great deal of that high-profile flashiness with Tricky, Laney or Mark. "When we were coming up as teenagers, we didn't talk about driving Bentleys, fancy houses, the women and the nightlife – it wasn't about the money," says Mark. "It was about music. It was about accomplishment. I'm a music person, but I'm not creative like my brothers. It's always been about the art for Laney and Tricky. So many people come into the business and it's about the peripheral activity."

Even though the work is constant, and the guys are consistently on a grind, they do appear to be enjoying some of the fruits of their labors. When asked their personal favorite highlights when it came to working with an artist so far, Tricky reflects being on the road with Mary J. Blige, saying, "Doing a show in a different city, every night and Mary J. Blige performing, 'Just Fine' and seeing the audience respond the way they did is just dope. On a personal level to see that type of audience response is very gratifying."

"Mine wasn't so much artist-related," says Laney, "but the Grammy week festivities earlier this year. We had never gotten there at this level before. That Song of the Year nomination for 'Umbrella' was a big thing. That was a ceiling that we broke and hopefully we will get through again—Dream being a part of that as a writer on the record, and Tricky being my brother producing the track. The recognition was the best for me so far. Not to diminish everything else we've done, but that we big for us. We've had number ones, but never nominated for individual songs."

Brother Mark agrees, commenting, "Sitting at the show and hearing those nominees read, I don't think I was ever so nervous. Honestly, I was crazy disappointed when we didn't win, because I thought we had that one done. I didn't think there was a bigger record in the world than 'Umbrella.' At the same time, once I got through my disappointment, I kind of sat back and thought how crazy the whole experience was, because you can live your whole life and not have this moment. There was a lot of career validation for us—especially from our peers—due to the success of 'Umbrella' and the Grammy nominations."

So, what's an average day for a high-powered manager like Mark Stewart? Well, it changes depending on the mode the brothers are in. "When we had Dream on the Mary J. Blige, Jay –Z tour, my entire operations was on the road," says Mark. "Timberland was kind enough to lend us his studio bus. We had another bus just for the tour crew. So I had Tricky, the Dream, our staff and assistants on the road. We were working and we're mobile. Then there are other days when you're constantly on the phone. When you're working the single for an album, it's a ton of travel. The writing and production, you can do wherever you want. We try to move around so that they can remain creatively inspired. Sometimes we're on the West Coast, sometimes on the East."

But is it fun for you? We asked. "I have re-found my love for this business and figured out how to make it fun," says Mark. "My job is to turn what my brothers do creatively into money. But I also realized that as long as we're having fun the money will continue to come. Believe me, we all love what we do."

By David A. Mitchell