By A. Scott Galloway (Music Editor)

Michael Sterling is that rare breed of musician, mogul and humanitarian that is almost extinct in today's industry. As the CEO of his company the Michael Sterling Music Group (MSMG) as well as one of its star artists, the Miami native has a colorful history but insists on focusing on what the future holds rather than what he has already accomplished...and that's a lot.

Michael is a multi-instrumentalist who played bass in his first band in the second grade. By the age of 12, he was playing professionally in the salsa band of local great Ray Fernandez and later led his own R&B band Silver Platinum which had the club hit "Dance." Cracking the camp of Luther Campbell's infamous Luke Records, Michael became a go-to guy for the company as a writer, engineer and player for acts such as the 2 Live Crew, MC Shy D, JT Money, Poison Clan and DJ Magic Mike. Still later he joined the reggae band Inner Circle as lead guitarist, gracing is massive hit international smash "Bad Boys" (later used as the theme for the pioneering reality TV program Cops). His song "Holiday" was later co-opted into by rapper Trick Daddy into "Thug Holiday" while another composition "Lovers & Friends" was a smash for Lil John & The Eastsiders featuring Usher, winning both BMI and Billboard Awards. He scored another hit in 2006 with "Bedroom Boom" by the Yin Yang Twins featuring Avant from their CD, USA. He even cracked the movie realm as Music Supervisor for Fred Caruso's Surviving the Game.

A fervent student of music in its broadest perspective, Michael Sterling has been hawk-eyeing the industry ever since he could read and takes pride in claiming to have a PhD in CD liner notes.

He writes, produces, arranges, engineers and performs his music under the umbrellas of Darkside Entertainment/Publishing and Persevere Publishing, and retains ownership of his extensive catalog. His desire for knowledge is downright insatiable. Michael's heroes are many, including Berry Gordy, Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff, the late Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers (of The Chic Organization), Mtume & Reggie Lucas, Thom Bell, Jerry Hey, Jack Faith, Louis Johnson, Burt Bacharach, Michael Masser, Bobby Eli and Bunny Sigler.

And, like his heroes, he is bullish about giving back to the community, which he does through the organization TACOLCY (The Advisory Committee of Liberty City Youth – founded by singer/actor/activist Harry Belafonte). "My older brother Melvin (now deceased) played a major role in TACOLCY," Sterling states. "Whenever I came off the road, he would pounce on me saying, ‘You need to come see these kids and figure out what you can do for them!' As a company, MSMG doesn't just throw money at them. We get involved, especially with the young men at that crucial ‘boys t omen' age that really need to feel that someone cares about them. I try to show them by example - the only way. They can't just hear about you. They've got to se you to be about it. We've been blessed with success, so we've got to be the gatekeepers.

Now with MSMG, Michael Sterling is about to release his biggest and best album ever, Eyes Around My Heart, featuring the first single "If You Just Let Me Love You." And then there's his colorful roster of diversified new talents and a new movie on the table to boot. In the chat that follows, Michael Sterling discusses his plans and philosophies for them all. "We're trying to build a machine big enough to make some dreams come true," he proclaims!

Q: What was your first musical instrument and why?
A: I played bass and guitar. I have loads of heroes - no particular color or style of music. It's just that anytime I looked on stage the bassist and guitarist, they looked like the coolest cats up there.

Q: Did you always know you'd do music?
A: I think the best musicians make that decision early on because it requires so much dedication to do it. You can't do all that practice then think about studying physics! It won't take you long to figure out whether you have what it takes. The music business on a professional level is not very forgiving.

Q: What inspired you to learn so many facets of the industry?
A: Once I decided you're going to be a part of this industry, the old wise men taught me that in order to survive I had to learn how to do other stuff. What if a band has a bass player? That becomes a gig you can't get. The more things you know how to do, the more you have an opportunity to work...and eat. So I started learning how to do engineering, drums, keyboards - everything I could.

Q: What is the concept of Michael Sterling Music Group (MSMG)?
A: When you play in an orchestra, you never know what music you're going to play for an audience. You have to be prepared to do it all. So I'm never inclined to be a specialist. To me if somebody wants to buy it, we want to sell it - by deserving and gifted people.

MSMG is a spillover from my past businesses. We used to put out CDs under the New Records label and through Darkside Entertainment. One day my friend from Inner Circle, Roger Lewis, said (assumes a heavy Jamaican patois) "Sterl, hear me now! What you need to do now is put your name on this thing! It will give you more credibility." It made sense to me.

I have these standards about the way things need to be. I work really hard to polish my music to make certain it's a hit. Putting your name on something really makes it mean something. I observed David Geffen do that and Berry Gordy back in the day with his Gordy label. You have to be serious then! I took that plunge about four years ago. We're a work in progress, but I don't measure our success by sales alone. At MSMG, the thought process is that no matter what we release we're never trying to hustle assembly line hits. We're trying to make honest music that we hope will be received by people as songs that mean something to them. We just hope to sell enough so that we can continue to do it.

Q: Tell us about some of the exciting talent you've assembled for the company.
A: We have a cat from Holland named Brown Hill - a real soulful singer to the tenth power! You wouldn't even expect a cat from Holland putting it down the way he does. The production team, Soul Planet, turned us on to him. At the time I was trying to figure out where MSMG would make its European entrance. When I heard what Soul Planet was doing then heard Brown Hill, I knew Holland would be the place for us. When you hear this brutha, he's doing his thing. Brown's first single is "Unspoken Rule."

Next we have Leah McCrae (a.k.a. "Soul Kitten"), the daughter of singers George & Gwen McCrae (of mid-70s "Rock Your Baby" fame). She's also in Holland finishing her album. Her first single is called "Rain" and is out there in R&B and Dance versions.

We have Tessie who is kind of like our Whitney – a very classy singer. She is a powerful vocalist with a serious polish to her production. Her album is titled Variety and her single is titled "Tired" - a somebody done somebody wrong kind of song.

Then we have Strawberry Taylor who is like a cross between Mary J.Blige and Toni Braxton. Her first single is called "Givin' Up is Wrong" and features Betty Wright singing back-up!

We also have a rock singer named Trudy – a Latina who will release her debut in Spanish and English versions - a kick ass album! Her first single is "Arde en llamas (Heart in Flames)."

We have the rapper/producer Supa who's just dropping now with a club banger called "VIP."

Then there's Swindle who I like to call our blue-eyed soul rapper! He's got flavor like that. He can mix it up. Peeps will have a good time with him. His single is called "Hotness."

We also have Faze, a male vocal trio (a la After 7 or H-Town). Their material has a lot of romance, but some fire as well.

And we have DJ Mister Mix (of 2 Live Crew fame) - An MC and a DJ. His record is fun. One thing we talk about a lot is what happened to the fun. I believe there's a market out there for records that are simply fun.

I like to let everyone be as creative as they can. The only thing we make certain of in A&R is that there is a song there. Rappers need fly arrangements or else their audience can't understand what it is they want to rap about. But a singer needs songs. The song comes first! People will get a feel for the level of consistency and quality with our artists. At MSMG, nothing will ever sound like beats someone threw together. You will hear arrangements written to compliment the compositions...with the artist in mind.

Q: What about your album, Eyes Around My Heart? It's been about six years since your last one.
A: When I did Right Now in 2002, I really wasn't in game shape at all. At the time, I was on the road as MD for Blu Cantrell. I hadn't made a record in a minute, so I was a bit distracted. So for my new record, I took my time to make it as if I might never make another record. When you're a young knucklehead you think for sure I'll be doing another one...until you witness a tragedy like Gerald Levert's passing. You discover tomorrow is not promised to any of us. So I really went to war with this record - got some songs that won't be easy to get off your mind. My heart and soul is in it. This new album had so much material that we have to release it in two volumes.

With me it's always about love first. But I also write songs where I have something to say. I have one song called "70s Love." Then there are some fun things. As an arranger, my records have lots of ideas. I have some with synthesizers and drum machines when I think "synthetic" is what the song called for. I have some with live band, some with live strings. I like to try records in different ways...just because I want to hear it.

Q: You come from the world of players. Do you foresee signing any bands or jazz artists?
A: There is one act we're looking at that we may sign that's a band with a female singer, but it's a stretch. As much as you and I love bands, it has to be something the people in general can relate to. Jazz-wise, my good friend John Lee (a former Blue Note and Columbia records bassist/band co-leader with drummer Gerry Brown) has talked to me about starting a jazz division – possible doing a big band album or something with the legendary saxophonist James Moody (now in his '80s).

I'm also looking at a very talented young country artist – a black girl who writes her own material and sings. She's very special, but we're still in talks though. She really needs to be somewhere that really knows the country market well.

Q: Is your upcoming movie music-oriented?
A: Our move is called Almost Related, directed by Marcus Aurelius. It's got action and a little comedy, shot in Thailand and the Philippines. And I must say we did put together a fly soundtrack for it – several songs placed all the way through it. Marcus is doing some final editing and remixing on the picture after some feedback we got from a few film festivals.

Q: Do you ever stop, sit back and take in all that you've accomplished?
A: (laughs) This is a very big building I work in. Over the years, I've gotten a bunch of gold and platinum plaques, but NONE of them are in this building. I'm not nearly as interested in what I have done as I am in what I am doing. There's a time for that...and normally it's when you're done! When I retire and sit my old ass down, that's when I'll reflect. Right now, we're pushing forward.