Meet Shayla J.: CEO/Founder Most Def Music Label

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shayla J. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shayla, what do you attribute your success to?
I believe the most important factor behind my success and brand would have to be having a willing team to help the business thrive. For the longest time, I had problems trusting people to do things as I would have them done and it made getting tasks done a lot harder for me. As I began to expand as far as new clients, events, and projects, I realized that I couldn’t do everything by myself. For the past year and a half, I’ve had the pleasure of slowly building me a team of dedicated and driven individuals to help not only contribute to my dream and goals for my label, but also learn and grow within their own goals and aspirations by watching and working along side of me. It took a while for me to understand the role that I hold and understanding that there is nothing wrong with help and needing people.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am the CEO of my own independent record label, Most Def Music, LLC. For the past two years, I have been building the foundation of my label so that we are more than capable of supporting any artists we choose to sign on. The goal for my label is to not only house and break raw talent into mainstream, but develop and support independent artists along the way. What sets me apart from others is that it’s rare you see a woman taking on such a role, and at such a young age especially in the music industry. I honestly feel challenged everyday with my intent to move different and provide new opportunities to fresh face artists. I may not be as far as I would like to be in my business, but remembering I am still in the beginning phases reminds me that I have done great thus far. It has never been an easy journey. When you are trying to build something you want to be so successful from the ground up, you tend to have a lot of mixed emotions along the way. Only the strong survive that’s all I can really say, lol. Along the way, I have learned that it’s okay to mess up and try again. It is more than okay to be assertive about what you want from your business and the people you want to represent it. There is no business without a boss and you have to be comfortable with the decisions you face and the outcomes. I think what I want the world to know most is that I’m coming. Just know I am on my way and don’t forget I said it here first.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well in Atlanta, there are a lot of places to be especially Thursday – Sunday. Lol. I would take my bestie out to the best restaurants some of my faves happen to be Breakfast at Barneys, Milk and Honey, The Optimist (if she’s into oysters) and Sugar Factory. I would take her to visit places like the Trap Museum, The Aquarium, and a host of clubs and bars that I like to hang at.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my team. Although I’m still building, you guys have been phenomenal over the past year. From the Artists, to the managers, to the PR team, and my songwriters. It has been nothing short of an experience working with every last one of you and I would choose no other team to go along this journey with. I also owe it to my friends who have been the biggest support system since the beginning and knowing my passion for what it is I am trying to build and the legacy that I am trying to create. I thank everybody who has ever sought to support my label, our events, and anything else that I’ve done.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/mostdefmusic