Atlanta based recording company Marquis Boone Enterprises LLC, CEO/Founder Marquis Boone has been named a “Top 20 Power Player of 2016” in Gospel music by publication Root Magazine for the 2nd consecutive year. Root Magazine states, “His [Boone] innate gift of finding new talent and using millennial tools to do so, is what sets him apart from the rest.” Boone’s Number 15 ranking on the list is celebrated due to the success of his label artists Bri (Briana Babineaux), Casey J. and newcomers Kelontae Gavin and C. West which he also serves as manager to all artists.
21-year old Urban inspirational singer Bri has become one of the most buzzed about singers on social media and counts superstars like Rhianna, Brandy and Drake among her nearly 480,000 Instagram fans. Bri started 2016 with an impromptu New Year’s praise video which garnered over 500,000 Youtube views. She released her debut album Keys To My Heart which spawned two Billboard Top 15 singles “I’ll Be The One” and “Holy Spirit.” Additionally, her outward joy can be felt on songs “Love You Forever” and “Jacob’s Song” which helped her land at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart, #138 on the Billboard Top 200 and #9 on the Independent Albums chart. Bri is also nominated for three Stellar Awards this year in the categories of New Artist of the Year, Albertina Walker Female Vocalist of the Year and Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year.
2016 began with Boone’s artist Casey J winning the coveted Stellar Award for New Artist of the Year. As manager, Boone solidified the deal securing Casey J’s participation on the 53-city Festival of Praise Tour, featuring Fred Hammond, Karen Clark Sheard, Hezekiah Walker, Israel Houghton and Regina Belle. Casey J’s rousing second single, the spiritual anthem “I’m Yours” reached #1 on March 14, 2016 and maintained that spot for four consecutive weeks ending out the year as one of the Top 5 most played Gospel songs in 2016 according to Billboard Magazine’s “Year-End” chart.
To increase the visibility of his artists Bri, Casey J. and newcomers Kelontae Gavin and C. West, Boone decided to launch his New Artists on the Block tour in March 2016, which he funded, selling-out all seven cities. The tour earned him a major New York Times write-up revolving around his company and Bri’s meteoric rise to fame.
This year, Boone will continue to duplicate the same approach as he did with Casey J. and Bri for his two recent label signees Kelontae Gavin and C. West.
Gavin is a live-wire 17 year old prodigy who in 2014, when he was just 14, was filmed singing the Rev. Paul Jones’s “I Won’t Complain” by a lunch lady in his school cafeteria which to date is closely reaching 1 million You Tube views. Gavin released his national debut single “Higher” (written by his mother) late last year. The song is produced by GRAMMY winning musician Myron Butler. Gavin will record a live album in his hometown of Pringletown, South Carolina this year. C. West, an acoustic gospel-soul guitarist with a Lenny Kravitz vibe is the winner of Boone’s inaugural 2015 “DISCOVERED” showcase that featured over two dozen artists vying for a demo deal with Marquis Boone Enterprises. The singer is set to release new material this year.
About Marquis Boone Enterprises:
Founded in 2013 at the age of 26, budding industry executive Marquis Boone started Atlanta-based Marquis Boone Enterprises, LLC (MBE). MBE rapidly began to launch into various different business ventures which gained recognition for its innovative marketing ideas, hard work ethic, eye for talent, and discovering Casey J, then-19 year-old Briana “Bri” Babineaux, YouTube sensation Kelontae Gavin and acoustic gospel-soul guitarist C. West. Marquis Boone Enterprises, LLC is a multifaceted full service entertainment and media company that holds endeavors in publishing, music, television, management, and philanthropy. To find out more about Marquis Boone, MBE and its artists, visit www.marquisboone.com.
