The South by Southwest® Music Conference and Festival (SXSW®) has announced its second Keynote Speaker James A. Prince of Rap-A-Lot Records. Prince's Keynote conversation with Rap-A-Lot artist Bun B will take place Thursday, March 17, at 11:00 a.m. in Ballroom D of the Austin Convention Center.
Prince is the founder and CEO of Rap-A-Lot Records and is the pioneering spirit behind the Houston-based, multi-million dollar record label. Founded in 1986, he started Rap-A-Lot in part as an incentive to keep a group of neighborhood teenagers in school and off the streets of Houston’s notorious 5th Ward. His desire to help these youth stay in school launched what would eventually become the platinum-selling group Geto Boys. The creation of Rap-A-Lot and the Geto Boys was the beginning of the ascent of southern Hip-Hop.
The label produced numerous hit albums and singles, accumulated over two-dozen Gold and Platinum records that include artists like the Geto Boys, Scarface, Do or Die, Big Mike, Bun B, Tela, Devin the Dude, Zero and many more artists.
Prince has negotiated numerous distribution deals for Rap-A-Lot with Virgin Records, EMI, Asylum (Warner), Fontana (Universal) and most recently Red (Sony). More recently, he partnered with his son, Jas Prince, to discover Hip-Hop superstar Drake and took him from performing on MySpace to being recognizable musical artist of this generation.
Prince will be interviewed by rapper Bun B, who got his start as half of the iconic southern rap duo UGK alongside the late Pimp C. Bun has gone on to build a fruitful solo career, most recently releasing Trill OG: The Epilogue on Rap-A-Lot in 2013. Bun B has made forays into areas outside of music, most notably as a guest lecturer at Rice University and the release of Bun B’s Rap Coloring Book in 2013.
Prince’s Keynote is in addition to Tony Visconti's previously announced appearance. More will be announced in the near future. These Keynotes will be a highlight among the many conference sessions designed to offer registrants unique learning and networking opportunities.
Read More: SXSW Announces Visconti as First Keynote Speaker
For more information on conference sessions, please go here.
For more information, please visit sxsw.com.
