NFL veteran, Asante Samuel — former New England Patriot (where he won two Superbowls), Philadelphia Eagle, and Atlanta Falcon — clearly has a knack for winning on the field. Now, he’s discussing his very impressive off-field activities that includes a record label named Deep Side Entertainment and an amazing foundation dedicated to single moms. Check it out.
First of all, congratulations on the storied career. But, before we get into the now, what was your first job?
My first job was landscaping. Landscaping with my coach.
How was the transition from Pro-Athlete to Record Label Executive?
It’s kind of like a turn on/off type thing. So, football season –and you know you have a staff and you have people around you to help you – so, during football season I focus on football you put all your effort into football. And off-season, you kind of switch gears. You become the entrepreneur/businessman. So you handle it like that, and then once football starts, I put [the business] in the hands of my brother and my staff around me to help carry it on.
Now, would you say that the grind needed to elevate the presence or status of the label and what it represents mirrors the grind needed to become the athlete that you are?
Yeah I think it’s the same type of effort that you have to put in towards it. But the rap game and music game is a little different, you know. You got a lot of politics and stuff like that. So you can have the greatest rapper out, or one of the greatest movements out, but you kind of have to be able to fight and bob and weave through the politics of it to actually get in where you fit in. So, the grind is pretty much the same, but it’s just a little more political in the rap game.
How did the concept of having a music label come about?
Just me and a lot of my friends — A lot of my friends or people I grew up with either been incarcerated a few times for numerous years or are just living the street life so it was my way of giving back and trying to help them get their lives together.
Who are some of the artists that you’re working on that we can look forward to?
We started out with a group called Goons United by the New School (G.U.N.S. for short) and then we ventured off to solo artists with Young AC aka Ferrari Young. Each mixtape [with Young A.C.] started from the first Ferrari ever built to the second, third and leads from there.
Now, Hip Hop has grown into various sub-genres. What can we expect from Young A.C.?
He likes to harmonize a little bit. He can make gangsta music – He’s very versatile. He’s not just one category, he can do a lot of different things – He can write music for people, R & B, auto tune, so he’s very versatile.
Explain your passion behind “Bring it Home Single Moms” and it’s significance to our culture.
You know, most of us young African American we grew up in single parent homes which is mostly being raised by your mother. Mostly all of my friends – everybody I grew up with – we all were in the same situation, raised by our mother, and you know it’s one of those things where, when I made it to the professional level I realized how much easier it would’ve been if my mother would’ve had some assistance, help to better her children’s lives or her life. So that’s what made me help or made me come up with the foundation/organization, Bring It Home Single Moms. It’s just about empowering the parents and helping them understand the benefits of life and stuff that can help them out that they didn’t know about.
How has growing up in a single mother household affected you?
I think the good and the bad is that I’ve probably seen a lot of things that I shouldn’t have. But at the same time, I things that have helped me and made me a better person and made me the man I am today. That’s the synopsis of it all. I became the man of the house at a young age and it made me a strong willed man at an early age. It helped me out in life when I became an adult. So, there it is.
-Jamaal Fisher (@jamaalfisher)
