Jason Geter, the Brains Behind T.I.’s Brand Hustle

During the course of his career, Clifford “T.I.” Harris has had many ups and downs. Throughout it all, the man that has held everything together is the hip-hop star’s manager and business partner, Jason Geter. As the co-CEO of Grand Hustle, co-owner of AKOO Clothing, owner of the Strivers Row clothing line and Grand Hustle TV/Films as well as manager of several artists–hustle is all Geter knows. In the wake of T.I.’s successful reality show with wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris, T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle, BlackEnterprise.com sat down with Geter to discuss how he got into the business, the difficulties he’s faced managing T.I.’s brand while he was incarcerated and what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.

When did you realize you wanted to go into the business side of the music industry?

When I was really young. I grew up in New York so I was always around artists, seeing artists living in my neighborhood and coming through my neighborhood. I was always a fan of the culture. It was always something I loved naturally. When I was in 9th grade a guy came to my school and he was the A&R for Uptown Records. I didn’t know about that side of the business I just knew about the artist side. I heard his story and him saying you can make a good living doing what you love and not being an artist. It was intriguing. I started investigating and researching. Once I got my internship [at Arista Records] I definitely knew I wanted to be a part of the business. I said, “If people were making a good living doing what they love to do without coming to work in a suit, then I want to do that.” My mom was a part of corporate America so I saw the affect racism had on her–she was stressed. I knew I didn’t want to go down that lane.

So how did your relationship with T.I. form?

We met when he was 18-years-old and was just a rapper named T.I.P. living in his mother’s house. We went to the studio and put together a demo tape. I got him the first record deal. We’ve been together literally since before he was T.I. He had to change his name to T.I. [from T.I.P.] once he got the deal. There’s definitely loyalty with our friendship. We have a great relationship based on honesty.

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I multitask. Everything I do on that level is all relative to one another. Music, fashion, film… they’re all in the same realm. I don’t have to go too far out of my course of my direction to do either job in a sense. It all goes hand in hand. It definitely makes it a lot easier and it makes it more doable. It also helps that I love what I do. You got to love it or you’re not going to be able to do it. You’re not going to be successful at it because it’s so much work and so much time is taken out of your life. If you don’t love it you’re not going to be down to put that work in.

Is that philosophy a driving behind your clothing line Striver’s Row?

It’s a project that I’ve been working on for three years now. It’s an American heritage clothing line and history is definitely [something] we’re very influenced by. We study different moments in history and get inspiration for our collection. A lot of Black history is used to influence Striver’s Row. I’m proud to say I’m doing a collaboration with the movie Red Tails that’s coming up. I’ll actually be doing a Tuskegee Airmen collection. I make product out of US, Japan and Hong Kong. There’s stores in America, stores in Japan right now, I have my own shop in Atlanta. It’s a baby and it’s growing. It’s definitely exciting.

What’s a typical day like for Jason Geter?

A lot of emails and a lot of conference calls [laughs]. I’m juggling between managing T.I.’s career and the record label. Then, I manage [other acts] on the label. I’m constantly talking, arranging, planning and strategizing different parts of the business for those acts. At the same time I’m getting calls talking about movies and scripts and trying to develop projects. Then I may flip to Akoo. We have marketing calls and different things to talk about on that end. Then Strivers Row, which is like my little baby. I’m approaching Strivers Row as if it’s an artist I’m bringing up from zero. From factories to marketing, product placement, design concepts and ideas, I’m very hands on.

Let’s talk about your role as a manager. What’s it like being the man behind and alongside a superstar such as T.I.?

It’s a lot of work. More than anything it’s great to see we started from zero and had this dream and we’ve definitely accomplished a lot of goals. We’ve seen our dream come to reality. It’s constant work so it’s not like I’m sitting back and reflecting too much because you’re always in the moment of running the business. You’re only as good as your last hit so you’re always chasing that next thing, that next moment.

Was it hard to run the business and keep the brand in good standing when T.I. was incarcerated?

Sure, it’s the music business. People will forget and remember at the drop of a hat. When he was away a lot of people were like, “Hey, get back to me when your guy’s back.” From that standpoint there were challenges. Luckily we still had B.o.B. doing his thing, waving the flag and working. I had to do what I could do in supporting him. I spent a lot of time working on Akoo, which made nearly $20 million in sales this past year. I also focused on Striver’s Row, as well as the other acts I work with.

What business tips would you give to anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur in the music business?

The music industry is not what it used to be. The business is shrinking. There’s only three companies left, three record companies that is, on a major level. Do your research, get an internship and get a real understanding of what’s going on before you throw your eggs in one basket. Make sure it’s something that you really want to do. Make sure it’s something you can really have a future at, and that you’re not just trying to do it because it may seem like it’s glamorous.

If you’re going to be an entrepreneur you have to work. That means that you’re the boss. That means you got to eat what you kill. A lot of people aren’t really built for that. A lot of people are better off going into an office, doing their assignment and excelling in that atmosphere as opposed to being by yourself and having to go figure it out. You have to know what kind of person you are more than anything.