Just saying his name conjures up images of high-flying feats on the basketball court that have inspired every player who has taken to the court in the last 40 years. NBA Hall of Famer Earl “The Pearl” Monroe may be known for basketball, but his amazing life is so much more. In 1996 he was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in the history of the game and has been a commentator at the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden. He’s done everything from working in corporate America to serving on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Health. He’s also has been a spokesperson for causes that matter to him. He has an Honorary Doctorate from Manhattanville College. He’s a Peabody Award winning producer for the ESPN documentary, Black Magic and there is even a possible feature film in the works. His life has always been entertaining and entertainment is his life. It’s not some cliché about an athlete who’s trying to venture into new waters. Earl Monroe has always been close to entertainment, through music and other outlets, and now he’s putting his best moves (thus the name of the label—Reverse Spin) in the game to shape the careers of artists he believes in and wants to have the same opportunities that he did. Earl Monroe, who has been known as Black Jesus, Black Magic, Magic and of course, “The Pearl,” which stuck because it sounded good to the commentators who loved its rhyme and it caught people’s ears, is a real renaissance man. He likes to have his hands on the pulse of all things entertainment and discovering some new talent made him realize that he had to step back into the music industry. Reverse Spin Records is indeed a return to the business of selling records and creating talent for Monroe, who founded Pretty Pearl Records in the early 1980’s, when he released projects from several artists, including Curtis Hairston, who had a #1 hit (“I Want You All Tonight”) in 1984. Monroe’s connection to music goes back much further than that. “Reverse Spin Records is a re-visitation of things I’ve always done. My father used to sing and dance with “The Empress of the Blues” Bessie Smith. (R&B Pioneer) Solomon Burke was always coming through our house (‘I don’t know if he’s a cousin or not, but I’ve heard that’). As a kid, I was always charging 5 cents for people to come and see him.” Even though he was immersed in music at home and in the air of Philadelphia, basketball got his attention and made him a household name. But while he played the game, he entertained other careers. Earl did comedy shows at Baltimore’s Lyric Theatre with greats like Pigmeat Markham. He managed The Aleem Twins, who played with the legendary Jimi Hendrix. He did promotions for Spring Records artists Millie Jackson, Joe Simon and The Fatback Band. He produced the off-Broadway musical ‘Bones’ (with stars Loretta Devine, S. Epatha Merkerson, Robert Townsend and Queen Esther Morrow); he even introduced Moms Mabley at one of her last shows and did the same for the great Duke Ellington at Avery Fisher Hall in New York. Earl is a man who loves the art of business and who is using him name to create opportunities for artists he believes in to have the chance to be heard. “Reverse Spin Records came about because I felt like it was time. When our deal with Electra Records ended, I was still determined to be in the entertainment industry and felt strongly about developing artists who have that something special that the world deserves to hear”. After relocating to New Jersey, Monroe got the entertainment/music bug again and a meeting of happenstance introduced him to CHINABLAK. “I met CHINABLAK as a rapper. We liked the rap and her style, but when I heard the song ‘NO LOVE GOD,’ it got to me.” ChinaBlak, had the vocal styling of a musical cross-breeding of Missy Elliott and Macy Gray, with Lauryn Hill riding shotgun. Monroe pushed for China to work on her singing and rapping together and her songs, which spilled from her life experiences, made Monroe want to put ChinaBlak on a world stage. “We put her with a great producer (KING, who worked with Bad Boy artists Cheri Dennis and others) and we developed a sound that was so strong that it begged to be heard”. Because the industry has changed so much in the last decade and Monroe was worried that the labels wouldn’t respect ChinaBlak’s artistry, he put his money where his belief was and founded Reverse Spin Records. “With her alternative style and sound, I needed to get behind it in a different way. The stations were only playing a few songs. As an independent, it’s hard but we have great material. We have a sound for her that’s unique with strong lyrics. I’m behind her all the way!” Along with ChinaBlak, CIARA CORR joins the Reverse Spin roster. The friend of one of the producers invited Ciara to the studio and she just hung around, listening to the music and helping out. “I knew her story (of foster care and struggle), but she was still making it. She started working at the studio while she was also there developing her craft. One of the first songs that struck a chord with me is ‘Struggle is my necklace,’ a story she tells with such pain and openness, but it is successful and open; THAT song really made us feel like she was going to be a strong artist.” Monroe continues “There are some very credible artists here. We have true artists. China is the epitome of a true artist—writing, performing, presence and Ciara is learning and living so deeply in her artistry.” The Reverse Spin Roster is still growing (including the First Gentleman of the label, a talented new-style rapper AVIATOR, who does his thing in the vein of Lupe Fiasco and even Kanye West, spitting from a broader base in hip-hop. The label is still open to new talent and is looking for artists, people who have their own style and way of being that might not be understood or supported by the majors. With Reverse Spin Records, Earl Monroe is going to do for the game of music what he did for basketball. He’s going to put his own spin on it!
