Dino Delvaille

In the last 15 years, Hip Hop has evolved as a style of music and culture, and has spread outside the blocks of New York and sets of Los Angeles, once the dominant breeding grounds of the greatest MCs. For most A&R executives in the music industry, these two regions of the nation were guaranteed destinations for talent search.

New regions have been discovered in recent years by A&R execs that dared to enter unknown territories. One such A&R executive is Jamaican born, Dino Delvaille. Since graduating with a degree in African American Studies from Williams College (MA), in 1992, Dino has delivered to the world some of the most influential and successful acts in the recording industry. As, Senior VP of A&R at Sony Urban Music, a newly merged division of Sony BMG Entertainment's Urban arm of Columbia Records and Epic Records, Dino represents platinum acts such as Lil' Flip from Houston, Xzibit from Los Angeles, and Three 6 Mafia from Memphis. ÝA frequent traveler, Dino recognized the demand for artists that looked and sounded like the young people he saw, not only in New York, but in the South and Midwest as well.

Before joining Sony Urban Music in 2003, Dino worked at Universal Records where he was responsible for signing and working with the New Orleans label Cash Money Records, whose artists include Juvenile (multi-platinum), Hot Boys (multi-platinum), Baby (platinum), and Big Tymers (Platinum). Since their signing, New Orleans and the surrounding area has been one of the most popular Hip Hop regions in the country. Dino expanded Cash Money's reach by making records with different artists outside New Orleans. Dino states, "When they first came into the business, they were very reluctant to make records with other people. I had to work hard to get them to open up to making records with Puffy, Cam'ron, and The Clipse."

Prior to his work at Universal Records, Dino began his career as a young A&R executive at Pay Day/Polygram Records in 1993, during an era dominated by New York and Tri-state area MCs. During his time at PayDay, Dino displayed his talent for finding marquee acts by signing Jeru Da Damaja, Group Home, WC and the Mad Circle, and an MC known today as J Hova, S. Carter, or simply Jay-Z, who signed a single deal through Dino.

Dino Devaille has clearly contributed to Hip Hop by tapping into goldmines of all regions. Whether an artist is from New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, or Houston, Dino's name is surely lodged in their mental rolodex.