1501 Certified Ent. Founder Carl Crawford Talks Discovering Meg Thee Stallion, Working With J. Prince & Bringing Houston to ATL

By: 1501 Certified Ent

1501 Certified Records founder and CEO Carl Crawford, has transitioned from Major League Baseball to the music business in a major way. His love for music and the city of Houston, Texas prompted him to found his own label providing new opportunities for local acts in town. Having discovered and signed Meghan Thee Stallion, his raw passion for discovering and breaking new artist is unmatched. To show the city of Atlanta what type of talent is coming out of Houston, Crawford and his roster of artists including HOT GIRL Meg, Railey Rose, D Raww, and Kona Lisa, are taking over the city this week!

I caught up with the music tycoon for a candid interview, as he openly discusses transitioning from the MLB to the music business. Check it out below.

Carl Crawford Interview

RESPECT: What prompted your transition from the MLB to the music industry?

Carl Crawford: It wasn’t that smooth but you know I came up with people who were in a place where they had a blueprints out of Houston to kind of look from already. So I called someone that I knew an we followed some of the same ingredients from the old people and it was able to make the transition a little bit smoother but it was still rocky at times.

RESPECT: Why did you feel like creating 1501 Ent was necessary for the city of Houston?

Carl Crawford: I thought it was important to have it in the city on Houston because that is where all the talent I knew was there. Our city was kind of in a slump going down a little bit and I know the history of our culture in Houston and I wanted to bring it back to the forefront. I knew that putting a label in Houston would help thing move quicker and faster. Being that I am from Houston I feel like it would pretty dope to start something in Houston and put Houstonians on and so for and so for.

RESPECT: How did you go about signing Meghan Thee Stallion and what has life been like ever since?

Carl Crawford: We just you know had a blueprint of artist we wanted to sign, rappers and r&b singers so we just had a list of things we wanted for the company before we even started it. A girl rapper was one of them. We tried a few people out and looked at a few people and then one day I was scrolling on instagram and saw her. I thought she was dope so I told one of my employees to go out and get her. He ended up knowing a person that was close to her and they brought her to us and we met. Things clicked well from the first day.

It is more like people believe more in me now versus when I was just starting. It was like another athlete trying to do music again. You always hear those horror stories about how things went wrong but now I have access to certain people I never had access to before so I get to learn something new outside of baseball. It really is a good feeling to be able to do something different that you want to do and be good at it

RESPECT: As you have signed other new artists to your label, what do you look for when scouting new talent?

Carl Crawford: The numbers is always the first thing and kind of like that it factor and whether or not they can rap good is what I look for. I also look for a certain look some times but not all of the time and whether or not that person has that superstar quality that gives you goosebumps when you hear them rapping.

RESPECT: What is the nature of you and J. Prince’s relationship and the consulting venture you all have partnered on?

Carl Crawford: He is there to help me get through and teach me how to move a certain way in the music business. As I am new to the music business easily things can happen to where I can end up doing the wrong thing so he is there to help me get better from a distance I can be in this business without dealing with all the crazy stuff that sometimes comes along.

RESPECT: What does it mean for you to bring the city of Houston to Atl for the 1501 Ent Atl takeover?

Carl Crawford: Everybody knows that Atlanta is the spot for everybody that is trying to make it in the music business. If you can make Atlanta like it, it seems like the other places seem to catch on and follow. We understand the market here and it has a big influence on the culture and we just want to bring people here so they can get familiar with my artists faces and their music. We just want to plant a few seeds to grow and that was pretty much that was our strategy behind us coming here. You have to come to Atlanta that is what everyone knows

RESPECT: How do you plan to continue spreading your influence in the music business?

Carl Crawford: Just doing well and setting a good example. Doing whatever it takes to just be positive because that feeds off on everybody. Of course I do the Houston stuff with kids but for the most part we just want to set a good example, do well, be successful and show people that we make a difference and go from there. We definitely want to have huge impact on our community. I understand how influential this music stuff is so it is very important to set the right example and people will notice.

Be sure to follow the official Instagram page for 1501 Certified Entertainment to see how Houston plans to take over the music business!