Meet: Askia Fountain

There are few executives in the music industry linked to icons that not only transcend decade, but genre and cultural boundaries. What you will find is a short list of names responsible for the numerous artists we’ve heard write and perform our favorite songs. It is this consistent scouting of extraordinary and timeless talent that characterizes great industry executives—a quality Askia Fountain is widely known for possessing.

Timeless is a word Mississippi-born and Chicago-raised Fountain knows all too well. Now, the founder and CEO of Timeless Music Management, he has discovered and developed the talents and careers of Grammy-nominated songwriters and producers as well as some of the industry’s most sought after artists.

Before his ascent to CEO of his own company, Fountain held many coveted positions in the industry. At just 17 years old, and still in high school, Fountain’s knack for talent discovery was noticed and he was named Director of A&R and Promotions for family company Mercenary Entertainment. Mercenary is known for being the company behind one of the biggest commercial campaigns in advertising history in “Always Coca Cola” for Coca-Cola, Inc.; the same campaign that launched the career of actor/singer Tyrese Gibson. This served as Fountain’s training ground, where he worked rigorously on learning how to develop and break the company roster as well as meet company deliverables.

In 2001, Kevin Evans, former president of RCA Records, and then head of Urban Music for A&M Records asked Fountain to be his Director of A&R at his own imprint, Evans Entertainment. Here, Fountain scouted and developed talent, reviewed songs for new artists, and served as liaison between executives and clients in the coordination and evaluation of projects. Soon after in 2003, Hip-Hop mogul Russell Simmons offered Fountain a position in New York City at Russell Simmons Music Group (RSMG). Under the guidance of Tony Austin, Fountain worked at RSMG on several projects including, the Waist Deep movie soundtrack; legendary rapper, Rev Run of Run DMC; female R&B group, Black Buddafly; and newcomer, Short Dawg (currently signed to Young Money).

Returning to Atlanta in 2007, Fountain took on a position overseeing A&R and Publishing for Compound Entertainment, a production company owned by Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, Ne-Yo. During his time there, Compound Entertainment became home to many successful writers and producers including Bei Maejor, Sam Hook, Corporal, Shanell of Young Money, and Clinton Sparks. One of Fountain’s most notable accomplishments is being instrumental in discovering and signing producer Chuck Harmony, who’s produced hits for Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Ne-Yo, Chrisette Michelle, Keri Hilson and Fantasia to name a few.

In 2010, Fountain took a leap of faith and left Compound Entertainment at the height of success to start his own company, Timeless Music Management, a full-service management firm dedicated to developing aspiring artists and garnering placements for songwriters and producers. The roster includes Grammy Award-winning songwriter, Nate Walka (“Blame It”/ Jamie Foxx, “Say Ahh”/ Trey Songz), Grammy Award-winning producer Young Yonny (“Say Ahh”/ Trey Songz, “Currency”/ Trina featuring Lil Wayne & Rick Ross), Redd Stylez (“Climax”/ Usher, “Sex Ain’t Better Than Love “Trey Songz) among others.

In a brief amount of time, Timeless Entertainment has already cultivated the who’s who behind today’s best records, and is sure to be a staple in the music business for a longtime coming. Fountain’s leadership and talent development have created a hit-making machine that has earned him the respect of many of his peers. Moreover, Timeless Entertainment recently entered the film industry, after it began managing a young director by the name of Theshay West and developing film and television opportunities. It’s a given that soon, Timeless, as a company, will have a firm and timeless grip on all things entertainment.

ASKIA FOUNTAIN | PRODUCTION PLACEMENTS & CREDITS
*Songs in bold indicate single releases

Nate Walka|
• Jamie Foxx – “Blame It”
• Trey Songz – “Say Ahh”; “What I Be On”
• Jesse McCartney – “Have it All”
• Pitbull feat. Jarvis – “Rep Your City”
• Alesha Dixon – “Drummer Boy“
• N-Dubz – “Scream My Name”
• Kid Cudi feat. Kanye West & Common – “Make Her Say“
• Bizarre (D12) feat. Tech N9ne – “Believer”
• MGK, Mat Musto, Kyle Lucas, & Nate Walka – “Over Being Sober“
• Far East Movement -”Jello“; “Live My Life (feat. Justin Bieber)“
• Cobra Starship – “Middle Finger“

Redd Stylez|
• Usher – “Climax“
• Trey Songz – “Jupiter Love”; “Sex Ain’t Better Than Love“
• Teen Top – “Supa Luv”

Young Yonny|
• Trey Songz – “Say Ahh”
• Ginuwine feat. Trina – “Batteries”
• Jesse McCartney – “Have It All”
• Pleasure P feat. Lil Jon – “One Mo Drink”
• Soulja Boy ft. Trey Songz – “Hey Cutie”
• Trina ft. Lil Wayne & Rick Ross – “Currency”
• Mario – “Bermuda”
• Mya – “Running Back” (ft. Iyaz); “Mess Up My Hair”; “Earthquake” (ft. Trina); “Mr. Incredible”; & “Love Me Some You” (ft. Marques Houston)

Cedric “DaBenchWarma” Smith
Credits
• Tyrese – “Nothin On You”
• Flo-rida – “Turnaround 54321”
• Soulja Boy ft. Trey Songz – “Hey Cutie”
• Ice Cube – “Nothin Like LA”
• Trina Ft. Diddy & Keri Hilson – “Million Dollar Girl”
Production Credits:
• Big Sean – “Big Nut Bust”
• Young Twinn – “Freakshow”; “Crazy and Engineering”
• and MTV Barbarellas,
Engineering Credits:
• Diddy Dirty Money – “Last Train to Paris”
• Donnie Klang – “ Rolling Stone”
• Pitbull – “Rebelution”
• Rick Ross – “Port of Miami”

LT Moe
Production Credits
• Algebra – “No Joke”
• Ludacris ft. Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg & Katt Williams – “Good Relationships”
• Murphy Lee Feat Day 26 – “Mad At Me”
• F.L.Y. – “Across the Globe”
• Willy Northpole – “Vegas Lights”
• Lil Scrappy – “Chop It Up”; “Bet”; “Onna Roll”; Wall Money (ft. 2 Chainz and OJ Da Juiceman)
• Ghostface Killa ft. Adrienne Bailon – “I’ll Be That”
• Playaz Circle ft. Cee-Lo Green & Sunni Patterson – “Ghetto”
• Kandi Burress – “How Could You… Feel My Pain”
Executive Producer Credits:
• “The Plague CO.” EP

Penup Dolls
Songwriting Credits
• Mya – “Mess Up My Hair”; “Mr. Incredible”; and “Earthquake“
• Melanie Fiona – “Watch Me Work”

For more info on Askia

http://www.massappealrecords.com

https://www.instagram.com/askiaf