RESPECT. Interview: Wayno Plans His Triangle Offense Management Around Brand-Building

Wayne “Wayno” Clark has been a student of the game on the music scene for well over 17 years and has earned quite the reputation as one of the elite veterans in the hip-hop game. Wayno plays from the heart with detail and confidence, an open minded mentor with determination to coach his team to victory. He has finally paid his dues and is in a position to share his experiences and his wisdom with newcomers to the music industry.

Wayno helped managed the career of rising hip-hop star Dave East as well as other producers and other upcoming artists through his Triangle Offense management. Wayno has been sharing his experience, gems and extending his influence through music industry veterans throughout his Instagram via an hour-long live stream Q&A titled “Wayno’s Free Throws” every Tuesday and Thursday since September. With more plays to execute, Wayno sees growth in his foundation and more determination to give back with invaluable information and insight about the music industry.

Below, RESPECT. had the chance to speak to Wayno, who got in-depth on a variety of topics: his relationships, his business and — perhaps most of all — invaluable lessons learned from within the industry.

RESPECT.: How did you get started in the music industry from your first beginnings with it?

Wayno: My first beginning was around like 2000-2001. I had got a job in the mail room delivering mail. I delivered mail in the industry to like Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella and all of that. I used to help certain people with fan clubs after work. Specifically this one fan club called “Fan Fam,” that was Jay-Z’s fan club. I used to help them out after work with like the shipping and stuff. Eventually, I had got fired from the mail room and I asked them for an internship and I got the internship at Roc-A-Fella Records. That was like my first introduction.

RESPECT.: How old were you at the time?

Wayno: I think was about around like 17 or 18 years old.

RESPECT.: You got in there early. How did you get the opportunity to work in the same building as these major labels?

Wayno: Yeah, as far as working in the same building…at the time e-mails and all that still exist but it’s not what it is today. So like mail was still a really big thing. People still subscribed to magazines at this time, all of that. Every corporate building usually has a mail room. I just ended up in the mail room in the building that housed the top record-labels which was Def Jam, Universal at the time Roc-A-Fella, and Murder Inc. was in there, Tuff Gong which is Bob Marley‘s family label, Bloodline which is DMX‘s label ya mean, Desert Storm’s eventually, you know. They was all in one building at one time.

RESPECT.: You definitely got your chance to get your experience out the gate, early. So, working with Jay and working with Bloodline and DMX, what was that experience like just being around the older artist and just gaining your hands-on, moving around, and getting your feet wet?

Wayno: Well, At that time I still hadn’t work with any of them. It took years for that. I still hadn’t worked with anybody. I was an intern. I just made myself available for any and everything that I was needed for. I just made myself accessible and whatever was required of me I did. You know what I mean. I did that for a bit, and eventually that landed me a job working at Roc-A-Fella Records.

RESPECT.: That’s crazy. That was with no experience working your way up. As far as that how did that influence you to really go full-time with the music?

Wayno: I mean at the time, I had dropped out of school so I didn’t really have a thing. You know what I mean. Like a lot people who go to school don’t know what they’re going to do after they get out of college. I didn’t really have something that I know I had to do. I had a skill so I knew that I liked music. I’ve liked always liked music since I was like five years old as far back as I can remember. Like me being four or five years old. I always liked music, specifically rap music like listening to Run DMC and Public Enemy, all those of people growing. You know Roc-A-Fella and all of those things. Once I got to the mail room, it lit a fire under me because I was curious about working in music. Once I got curious, I just said I’m going to do whatever its gonna take for me to get in it and I just got in it.

RESPECT.: With your experiences, I’ve noticed your social media and your point of view of things. Seeing how new artists are in their whole approach to the industry, how do you feel you should build and maintain relationships with the people around you?

Wayno: You’ve got to take time and it’s kind of like entry-level. I’ve been in the music industry for a long time but the thing is like even for me being in the music industry and it is just not music but just entertainment period, it’s a lot of people I feel don’t know. The way for younger guys and newer guys trying to get in and build relationships and maintain them is just be genuine in your approach. Nobody likes to be approach negatively, you know so you just have to make sure you are speaking to people properly and you present yourself correctly. Once you gain the access and once you start getting engagement from people just hit them up. Like for me what I used to do and even to this point before I started my management company, I had a lot of relationships but what I would do is I would just hit people to see how they are doing and I didn’t do it just to try to gain anything from music. I was just like if I got your number I would text you and I would be like “Hey how you doing?”. I still do that to this day. There is dudes that don’t answer my text messages that’s big in the game and I got their number but eventually they will and I mean. I still treat it as if I’m new in it. There is never enough as you really got to go for what you want and just be persistent without being disrespectful. Sometimes being persistent can lead to you being annoying. It is just being respectful.

RESPECT.: How do you feel about your drive in the game? As hard as you work in the game you don’t have to let everyone know what your doing but still letting them know it’s competition and survival of the fittest at the end of the day.

Wayno: I feel like that to an extent because it is competition but thing about it any idea that I have, a person can steal my entire idea but they can’t deliver it the way I’m going to deliver it. You know what I mean so it is like for me obviously I don’t really get caught up in what every one else is doing. I stay to myself, like I mean i’m not an introvert. I speak to people and I am a friendly person but I’m just really more concern with what I have going on rather than whatever one else got going. Just stay consistent with that. I have office, right. I don’t get a check to go to my office. Nobody pays me to go to my office. So, everyday it costs money for me to go to my office. So every day i’ll go to my office just so I can work on more ideas and you know brainstorm and come up with things because I’m always putting myself in a position to just do more. When it comes to the competition thing. You’ve got to compete with yourself. Like compete with the last version of you. Like for me I always compete with the last thing I’ve done. Like, ok once I get something done and people are really excited about it. That’s cool but now i’m on to something else. While every body is so caught up on that i’m on to something else. That’s how I deal with the aspect of that.

RESPECT.: So while making the transition from entry-level and having your own, being in the position to coach the game, what made you want to pursue management and start your company Triangle Offense?

Wayno: The reason I pursued management was because I was out of music for a bit. I was just working regular jobs and I had some children. When I wanted to get  back into it nobody would give me a job. Because the thing is in music you know whether you are an artist or you’re producer, or an A&R or a stylist. You’re only as hot as the last thing you’ve done. So like Everything I had done was years ago. I wanted a job as an A&R and nobody would give it to me. Actually, my producer Buda from the duo Buda-N-Grandz that I manage. Buda had asked me to manage him and at the time I was reluctant because I was a bit afraid to have somebody’s career in my hands.What I ended up doing was I just tried to start pairing him with artist and pair them with artist and get work done. So I got into management kind of out of sense of desperation, ya mean. I wanted to get back into music and nobody was giving me a shot so I had to go make a shot for myself.

RESPECT.: Right. So with you managing the career of producer Buda-N-Grandz and the different artist that you have on your roster. Dave East is one of the most known at this point. Where do you see the production and the management going from this point? How do you feel being the coach, do you put your same artist in a similar situations, reflecting back and being motivated by your story?

Wayno: Well honestly, with Dave specifically with Dave, we transitioned a few things so I still work on his team but I just handle different duties, so it’s like management is a very small part of the game. It is a lot of different positions, it is a lot of a different spots. When it comes to what I am being for my company, Triangle Offense is bigger than music in a sense. Triangle Offense we just did a full ad campaign for Sneaker Villa. I got a illustrator that he created art and we did a whole ad campaign called, What’s Your Draw? for Sneaker Villa. I’m stepping into the lane more of like… I wouldn’t even say a lane specifically that comes to mind. I just do everything that comes to mind. There is things that i’m working that I never thought I would ever work on in life. I just want to create things and I want to share things. I want to make things happen and I think I have an ability to do it. As far as the management , management is a good thing but like I mentioned early i’m challenging myself . It is like I am competing with the management Wayno now like “Ok, Wayno you did management and you did it at high level and you did it successfully but what is your next thing? It can’t be more management. I know I can do it so it like i’m stepping into to this space of becoming an entrepreneur and working in advertising, marketing, branding and curating relationships there to build for brands for years to come. That is more on the side of what i’m trying to do now.

RESPECT.: It sounds like you don’t sleep at all, for real [laughs].

Wayno.: Oh nah, I definitely get sleep.

RESPECT.: Being in that position, what is it like? How could you can explain it?

Wayno: When it comes to responsibility there’s no bigger job than being a parent and I am a parent like for real. That was like a fear of mine, like becoming a parent. Not a fear like it but it is a responsibility but that is a big responsibility for responsibility for a child and a child that’s your own and take care of them and nurture them. Being in the position that I am now it is not as hard because I got a job that I can never leave with being a parent. I’m just more in the space that it is a good feeling. I like the fact that people depend on me and look to me for answers and look to me to accomplish things or help them accomplish things or help them accomplish things. I embrace it I really love it because I wasn’t always the leader. I never was the leader growing up. I was the follower and everybody is follower to a certain extent. I learn how to lead by following good and bad people. Now that I am a leader I just take it very seriously. I’m very diligent in what it is I do and I take time, I educate myself on things I want to be a part of, and I just go from there. It’s a great feeling to be able to learn that’s first and foremost and to share knowledge. That’s the whole purpose for Free Throw’s thing. It’s just me sharing knowledge of the things that I learned over the years.

RESPECT.: Definitely, even with the ‘Free Throw’s’, you just started that and you’re giving back to the artist and giving them advice to take advantage (how should they go about their approach to the industry, whether it is the day-to-day work, etc.). In this internet age, you have a studio on your phone, your tour dates, and people are watching you and they’re engaging. What could the artist do to be more proactive and move in a way where you don’t have to be 18 years old out-the-gate and make a name for your self? You can be 29 or start in your 30’s and still succeed…how could they handle their business more efficiently?

Wayno: Well, I mean to me Free Throw’s it is for people who want to be in the music industry but it’s just  advice for anybody who is willing to listen. Honestly, you made a really good point about being to able to have access to all of these things. It just about embracing it. For me i’m not critical of 20 year olds because I don’t generalize them because I was 20 year old at one point of time in my life. I know what it feels like to not be listened to and be misunderstood. The thing is you that just have to embrace what things are and we don’t always control the climate and the nature of our business. When things become a certain way you just got to figure out how to fit yourself in the mold. You know you just have to figure out how to fit yourself in the mold and that’s for the most part is what I try to do. My advice to anybody who is trying to get into the game at a young or old age is just to stay consistent. It is not about your age really it is not about your age because could say well “Oh, your 34. Don’t nobody wanna listen to a 34 year old rap.” Other 34 year olds rap might listen and it is just as many 34 year olds on this planet as it is 24 year olds or 14 year olds. The biggest thing is just staying consistent, staying persistent, and just being genuine in your approach. If you don’t do anything with your heart not involved it’s not going to work. If you are in a relationship with a woman or a man or whatever you are into and you don’t have your heart in it, it’s not going to work. If you are parent and you’re not loving a child from your heart it’s not going to work. If you have a profession and you’re not passionate about it, it’s not going to work. You’ll just be doing it just to get by and once you figure that out it’ll just be on to the next thing to get by and it’ll always be that unless you do it with it your heart. Your heart doesn’t have anything to do with a dollar amount.

We’re back at 6pm this evening , online mentoring for free! #WaynosFreeThrows bring 2 people along with you!

A post shared by @wayno119 on Oct 24, 2017 at 6:31am PDT

RESPECT.: Where do you wanna go now that you have the chips lined out? Where do you see the next 5 years and the next 10 years from now? How do you wanna play it?

Wayno: Well honestly, I think about the next five years because in five years I will be 40 years old, but I think about the next two years and the next three. I think in a little but closer in proximity. I do think in the next 10 years but honestly it is just a step-by-step game for me. In the next like five, I’m trying to get into film. I trying to learn film and creation of story lines and like really get into that because I grew up on film. I was a big and I still am a big Spike Lee fan growing up. There’s so many directors that I watch. As a kid I just watch movies, film, and television and I didn’t really know anything about these things I just enjoyed it. So my thing is that I want to make things that people enjoy whether it’s clothing, music, or it’s product, anything. I’m trying to work on books now. I’m working on Children’s books, coffee table books, and biographies. I’m working on all type of things but I just want to share stuff with people that they can appreciate and all of it comes from my heart. Everything I’m gonna do in the next two to five years people are going to appreciate because they know it comes from a genuine place.

RESPECT.: What Does RESPECT. mean to you?

Wayno: Respect is the highest power. It is one of the highest powers. Respect means everything to me. I actually have a tattoo on my neck that says R.O.M. it stands for respect to me. To me, respect supersedes anything, any material because without respect then we are lost. Without respect we have nothing. You can have all the money in the world but if nobody respects or you don’t respect yourself then what is it worth.

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