In late July, Soul Rebel Media collaborated with HipHopDX.com for Generation Next. The Brooklyn showcase pulled from DX’s three-plus years of DXnexts to bring about a stage where today and tomorrow’s leaders of the culture could rock together. The evening will filmed, and has been appearing in vignettes, showing the rest of the world.

The man behind the product was New York’s Mic Sean. A music industry veteran and right-hand to HOT 97’s Peter Rosenberg, Sean balances his ability to stay profitable in event-booking with a deep love and respect for the culture. As live performances become increasingly important to new and established artists, meet Generation Next’s Mic Sean, a master of the medium.

It’s All The Way Live: “I’ve been producing live urban events for over a decade now. That, along with working with Peter Rosenberg, has afforded me the opportunity to hear a lot of artists before the masses. Noting the number of talented artists I regularly come across and the very few quality outlets available to them, I identified an opportunity to marry the traditional music showcase with the Internet to create a unique multimedia platform for buzz worthy emerging artists from across the nation.

I also saw the necessity of doing a show like Generation Next, in fact a week after we launched Generation Next the BBC reported that the UK music industry has reported a 5% increase due in large part to the UK artists’ willingness to hit the road and the understanding that the live show directly correlates to album sales (BBC article). Of course it should be noted that a lot of the shows UK artists are doing are actually in the US but there’s something to be learned there. And many emerging artists, such as those featured at Generation Next, understand this and are following suit.

Years ago, music-listening was a communal experience. I remember sitting around a boombox at lunch in high school listening to HOT 97 and DJ Clue mixtapes. But with recent technological advances, music listening has become an individual sport. People wearing earbuds while jogging, working, driving… my thought is that its necessary for music to become experiential again to become more profitable. Music needs to be more than a soundtrack to the individual experience which will give it greater value. Hence, Generation Next, a live experience that introduces the market to the future of the industry and for those not in attendance they can get the experience via the webisode series, ‘Generation Next Presents…’.”

It Was All A Dream: “I was born and raised in Queens, New York. I studied violin, piano, music theory and chorus at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music as a kid. I heard [Method Man’s] Tical, [Redman‘s] Dare Iz A Darkside and [Notorious B.I.G.’s] Ready To Die in seventh grade and it changed my life. By 13 I was deejaying and rapping, by the end of High School I was performing at clubs all over New York City like CBGB’s, Speed and Spiral and hosting a weekly youth open mic at the famed Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

At 17, I enrolled at the University of Maryland and started planning and promoting concerts and parties. I brought Kid Capri, Talib Kweli, Ghostface [Killah], Kanye West, John Legend, Memphis Bleek, Nappy Roots, Camp Lo and others out to Maryland. By the time I graduated I was appointed Concerts Director and had a six-figure university funded budget to do shows. As a senior, I worked at Universal Music in New York on Mondays and Fridays while taking a full course load at UMD Tuesdays through Thursday and preparing for the LSAT.

After getting my marketing degree at UMD, I went to Howard Law School. While there I worked at Radio One, toured the east coast with DJ Vadim and began developing talent and laying the groundwork for my company Soul Rebel NYC. During law school I began consulting Peter Rosenberg and a month after graduation I returned to NYC and joined Peter as a co-host of ‘Real Late with Peter Rosenberg’ on HOT 97.

In addition to Generation Next and working with Peter, I practice Law here in New York City, manage singer Tiara Wiles, consult various artists and event producers and produce ‘Noisemakers with Peter Rosenberg’ which has been featured in the New York Times, XXL magazine, Village Voice and on various websites and blogs.”

Pulling From DXnext For July’s Showcase: “The DXnext artists featured at the first installment of Generation Next represent a cross section of the future of Hip Hop. TiRon, Game Rebellion, J. Ferb, The Kid Daytona, Skyzoo and The ILLZ are all unique in their own right and show great promise. They, along with the other Generation Next artists, Sugar Junkie, Invincible, Cashe, each deliver high-quality content at a prolific pace and embrace what’s necessary to progress in today’s music industry which is matching a unique perspective, true talent and hustle with a multimedia approach.

What was also critical to their selection to perform at Generation Next, was that they all had a presence online. Each at different stages of exposure but nevertheless a presence. Also, after speaking with each artist it was clear that they all understood the vision of Generation Next and were willing to work hard to contribute by releasing timely content released around the launch of Generation Next.”

Supporting New Hip Hop Despite Varying Styles: “It says the culture is looking for something new and fresh and my aim is to deliver that with Generation Next by curating a cohesive show featuring these unique artists. The crazy thing is, that as different as the artists at Generation Next seem, the experience of seeing them all together is profound. It truly leaves you with a positive outlook for the industry seeing all that diverse talent on the same stage.”

The Webisodes: “The webisode series completes the experience for those who were in attendance and introduces the experience to those who weren’t. Additionally, I teamed up with filmmaker Kristopher Rey-Talley to produce the series and we’ve put a premium on high-quality visuals and taking a cinematic approach. ‘Generation Next Presents…’ gives you an opportunity to look these artists right in the eyes and see their passion and conviction.

There’ll be eight episodes, each three-to-five minutes in length and released weekly through the end of October. Like The ILLZ said in episode 1, the webisodes are “the understanding”. Stay tuned for the progression.”

Starting with The ILLZ: “Besides being an all around good dude, The ILLZ is a great talent and like I said about the other Generation Next artists he understands what it takes to progress in the music industry. He’s constantly hustling, always performing and always putting out new content. I also didn’t want to start off profiling an artist that was well known nor an artist that was a total unknown. The ILLZ is in that middle area where if you pay attention to the blogs and frequent music showcases you’ve heard of him, but if you only listen to what’s on the radio you may wonder why not. Watching ‘Generation Next Presents…’ will hopefully be entertaining as well as a discovery of new talent.”

Visit Mic Sean’s Generation Next site here, and follow him on Twitter (@MicSeanNYC)