Daily Inspiration: Meet Andrae Brown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrae Brown.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I Started writing poetry at age 7, and I began writing songs at age 11, and moved on to start recording songs and making beats at age 16. In 2002 we started a 5 man rapper/producer super group called “Tha Merchantz” with myself and Grammy award winning producer “Cardo Got Wings” younger brother Ryan Latour made all of our beats, and all 5 of us rapped at the time. We disbanded in 2009 after doing roughly 38 live shows and releasing two group albums In a 2 year span, gaining headway,and getting a deal offer from Wu Tang Clans management company Protect Ya Neck. Streetwise continued performing live, writing and recording songs, and making beats. Refining his craft, and building his understanding of the music industry, and music publishing. At that point Streetwise started searching for sync licensing opportunities, endorsements and other ways to build revenue with his music. “These were a few of the ways I grew as I expanded my musical talent, knowledge and notoriety.” Streetwise 5280 became a music publisher and writer with P.R.O. BMI, and started registering his songs to collect royalties around 2012. “I learned the correct process to be able to maximize and receive royalty payments from the music i had released.” He used the knowledge he gained early to further refine his process so that he could consistently build a fan base, and generate income off of his music. A struggle with the law and alcoholism in 2014 resulted in a hiatus in music making for Streetwise. But the death of his best friend in 2017 prompted him to get sober, and focus on music as a creative outlet and way to express his life experiences. Shortly after, Streetwise started writing again, recording songs, and making beats. 2019 He started recording his first solo album at YGAM studios in Denver (Yung Amsterdam Studios) and came across some very talented young musicians. Two of which asked him to manage them based on conversations he was having with them in between recording sessions. Conversations about music publishing, what Performing Rights Organizations are and how to collect royalties on their music. So they created a 3 man production company called Culinary Boyz LLC. Streetwise made over 300 high quality beats in 2020. They began making beats for a large portion of the local Denver Music Scene and also a couple major label placements they got soon thereafter. The company grew quickly and they ended up signing 4 artists and Streetwise began shopping their music and beats around for major label placement, sync licensing, and record deals. Streetwise Secured two of those artists with record deals on a trip to California in 2020, and 3 major label beat placements in the same time frame, made him realize his skillset was best suited for management. So in January of 2021 Streetwise started Elite Artist Management Group Ltd. A multi-faceted music publishing, consulting, and management firm. Specializing in artist development and education. He has since got major label features for my artists such as Sauce Walka, Sada Baby, Saucewood Winning, Sauce Gohan, EBK Yung Joc, BOE Sosa, 1800Big Sad, and more. As well as recording and publishing deals for two of his top performing artists, one with jim jones vamp lyfe records/Record Breakerz USA, and one with Warner music group. “I established a strong presence as a manager and music publisher both locally and nationally.” After being diagnosed with congenital (genetic) heart failure in May of 2022 and being in the ICU for over a month. Streetwise had to face yet another serious obstacle. One that nearly took his life and landed me on the heart transplant list. With the right combination of medication and change in diet, He was released in August of 2022 and on the road to recovery. “I decided at that point the value of recording music was high in that if I was to die from heart failure my music would be a catalogue of my life’s experiences my kids could look back on and listen to, they would be able to hear my voice, and gain insight to my life and experiences.” So in November 2023 Streetwise began going to the studio once a week and by Novemeber of 2024 he looked up and was surprised to see that he had recorded 236+ songs in one year. Since then he has released 4 solo albums, 2 beats only albums, and a collab album with his artist and first cousin Joshua “PosterChild” Johnson. To date Streetwise and artists he has produced for and manages are responsible for more than 60 million streams on all platforms. As well as 5 million+ plays on YouTube, with over 300 high quality music videos, 2 major label deals and a slew of major label features and placements under their belts. Streetwise has shown growth even with his own music totaling 4 million streams since 2023. When asked what’s next? Streetwise answered, “I have recently finished 2 ebooks on music publishing and artist career growth and I am completing a masterclass series on building residual income with music. So in 2026 our mission is growth and expansion. Im excited to see what the year has in store for us.”

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We have had many obstacles and challenges over the years from my first group disbanding due to ego driven arguments, to issues with the law and addiction to alcohol, the death of my best friend, and more.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Music producer, music publisher, recording artist, consultant, artist manager. I would say im most proud of the work i have done for my artists. Ive helped 4 artists get major label deals. Ive helped more than 10 artists publish their music correctly, to recieve residual royalties and income from their music and i have helped my artist build relationships and get features from many established major label artists.

Any big plans?
Plan on teaching a master class on music publishing, artist rights, and building passive income off of your music, releasing 2 ebooks and 2 apps ive been working on. Opening a recording studio chain in colorado and the surrounding areas. And hitting 50 million streams as a collective

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://Www.instagram.com/realstreetwise5280
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/streetwise5280
• Soundcloud: https://Soundcloud.com/streetwise5280