Mathew Knowles

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Mathew Knowles
Born (1951-01-09) January 9, 1951 (age 62)
Occupations Businessman, music manager, record producer
Years active 1975–present
Labels Music World
Associated acts Destiny's Child
Beyoncé Knowles
Solange Knowles

Mathew Knowles (born January 9, 1951)[1] is an American music executive, businessman, record producer, and manager.[2] He is the father of Beyoncé Knowles and Solange Knowles and former manager of Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson and Destiny's Child.

Contents

Career [edit]

Music executive [edit]

Before Knowles became a star maker in the music business, he had distinguished himself by a career in sales of office and medical equipment. Knowles moved to Houston in 1976 and began working for the Xerox Corporation, with whom he enjoyed a successful ten-year tenure, primarily as part of an specialist unit in the medical systems sales division. Knowles was the number-one medical systems sales rep for three of the four years he worked in that division. When Xerox closed its medical systems division Knowles was working as a CT/MRI sales specialist, selling diagnostic imaging equipment to hospitals and health facilities—and for two other major medical equipment companies, as well. He also worked in the area of neurosurgical sales, representing a wide range of devices and solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders. In 1992 Knowles left his career in corporate and medical sales to devote full-time attention to his growing music company.

Manager and producer [edit]

Mathew Knowles was the manager of Destiny's Child and has worked as either a producer or an executive producer on many of the group's projects. Under Music World Artist Management, Destiny's Child became a global phenomenon records and collecting nearly 200 awards, including GRAMMY Awards, World Music Awards, American Music Awards, MTV Awards (United States, Europe, and Asia), Billboard Awards, BET Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and countless others. Billboard magazine ranked the group as one of the Greatest Trios of All Time and, in 2008, inducted them into the All Time Hot 100 Artists. Destiny's Child was named on Billboard magazine’s Top 10 Artists of the Decade (2000–2009) and, as a solo artist, Beyoncé was crowned Billboard’s number one Artist of the Decade—Female (2000–2009) and number 4 Top Artist of the Decade (2000–2009). During that time, Knowles also launched and managed the solo careers of the other members of Destiny's Child, Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland.

In addition to his work in music, Knowles is also one of the executive producers of the 2009 thriller Obsessed, which stars his eldest daughter Beyoncé. He has also ventured into television. Knowles executive produced and is featured in two international reality series: UK’s top-rated show, Chancers, and the new series Breaking From Above, a six-episode program based on the British girl group From Above and their struggles to stay on top. The series airs on MTV International.

Record label [edit]

Knowles founded Music World Entertainment in 1992. MWE is one of the world’s leading music and entertainment conglomerates, with record sales exceeding 300 million worldwide. Its worldwide platforms include record label ventures; management services for recording artists and producers; artist development services; endorsement and partnership deals, performance and event facilities; a master catalog series; film and television ventures; licensed merchandise products; and investment and property holdings. Knowles established several recording imprints under Music World Music, including Music World Gospel, Music World Kids, and Music World Country/Compadre. The label has produced many artists such as Beyoncé Knowles, Solange Knowles, From Above, Sunshine Anderson, Trin-i-tee 5:7, The Pastor Rudy Experience, and J. Xavier.

Knowles also established joint ventures with Sony Music, Interscope/Geffen, Fontana/Universal, Integrity Africa, Fontana International, and Sony Brazil. In addition, Knowles has negotiated mega-endorsement deals and strategic partnerships with Fortune 50, 100, and 500 corporations across various industries, including Wal-Mart, BET, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, ESSENCE Communications, American Express, L’Oreal, General Mills, Verizon, Pepsico (Pepsi), McDonald’s, Nintendo, Giorgio Armani (Emporio Armani Diamonds), DirecTV, Chesebrough-Ponds (Vaseline), Ocean Pacific, Soft Sheen-Carson, Crystal Geyser, Samantha Thavasa, and others.

In 2002 Knowles founded Spirit Rising Music, which is now Music World Gospel, as a faith-based record and management company under Music World Music. Music World Gospel is the largest owned and operated African American Gospel label in the world. Music World Gospel features a roster of award-winning recording artists, joint ventures and special projects including Trin-i-tee 5:7, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Brian Courtney Wilson, Micah Stampley, Juanita Bynum, Le'Andria Johnson, Amber Bullock, Andrea Helms, and Elder Goldwire, as well as ESSENCE Gospel, Ultimate Gospel, the Most Powerful Voices, The Gospel Superfest, Spirit Rising, and The Pastor Rudy Experience brand compilations CDs. In 2007, through Music World Music, Knowles acquired the country music catalogue Compadre, which includes recordings of GRAMMY award-winning artists and unique country music compilations featuring artists such as country singer and cultural icon Johnny Cash, as well as Billy Joe Shaver, James McMurty, Trent Willmon, and Kate Campbell, among others. Knowles also launched the family-oriented music imprint, Music World Kids. The label has released youth projects that include Baby Jamz, Krazy Kuzins, Kid's Rap Radio, and the Music World Kids CD 5-pack. The venture also has released music from Nickelodeon’s popular cartoon series, Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!.

Personal life [edit]

Born in 1952 and raised in Gadsden, Alabama[1], Knowles is a 1974 graduate of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he earned both a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. While studying at Fisk he held membership in a number of student and social organizations, among them the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Eta Beta chapter at UT Chattanooga. He received a Doctor of Humane Letters from Fisk at the University’s 2008 Commencement Ceremony. Knowles holds a professorship at Texas Southern University, where he teaches a course on the entertainment industry in the School of Communications. Knowles is the recipient of the Century Award of Excellence (1911–2011) from the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. He also received the 2011 Living Legends Foundation Award and was named the "2007 International Executive of the Year" by the Greater Houston Partnership. Knowles is an active and longtime voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and serves on its GRAMMY Board Committee. In 2011, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Gospel Music Association.

Knowles was married to stylist and House of Dereon owner Tina Knowles in 1980. Together, they had two daughters, R&B singers Beyoncé and Solange Knowles, and two grandchildren, Daniel Julez Smith, Jr. and Blue Ivy Carter.[3] On November 11, 2009, Tina Knowles filed for divorce after several reports about Mathew's affair with actress Alexsandra Wright had surfaced. The reports went as far as claiming that Wright was pregnant with Knowles' child. After Wright's son Nixon was born, she requested a paternity test from Knowles, who had admitted to having an affair with her. The paternity test was positive and Knowles was ordered to pay child support to Nixon and Wright.[4] Mathew and Tina Knowles' divorce was final as of December 2011 ending their 31-year marriage.

References [edit]

  1. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C4xSPGLNUA
  2. ^ Norment, Lynn (September 2001). "THE UNTOLD STORY OF HOW Tina & Mathew Knowles Created The Destiny's Child Gold Mine – Interview". Ebony. FindArticles.com. Retrieved 4 March 2010. 
  3. ^ Beyonce Knowles | Beyonce Knowles' Dad Sings To Blue Ivy | Contactmusic
  4. ^ Bachelor, Blane (March 25, 2010). "BUZZ: Paternity Test Confirms Beyoncé's Dad a Dad Again". People. 

Additional sources [edit]

External links [edit]

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