In this episode of Testimony: A Musician’s Story I interview artist manager-party promoter-booking agent-label president, Erinn Knight. Erinn was born on the south side of Atlanta, GA. If you know Erinn, then you know she is an ATL enthusiast! ATL has the highest number of black entrepreneurs per capita in the world, and she grew up seeing a lot of successful black people, so she attributes her ability to dream big to her city. “I come from the dopest city in the world,” said Knight.
“ATL is the first place ever I felt fully accepted and loved. Bless my parents but I never felt that in my home life,” she revealed. Knight grew up in a two-parent household, as a pastor’s kid. As a PK she felt as though her identity was restricted. Her identity wasn’t her own, her parents wanted her to present herself oneway, and the church community put their expectations on her, “People put the hopes of their children onto PKs. They want you to influence other kids and you too, are a kid,” Knight said.
The older Erninn got the more her mom allowed her to be herself, but she said it was always a struggle. And to this day, she believes her parents don’t totally understand her career, “When you are a visionary you are never going to be able to explain yourself to people,” she concluded.
There are several instances in her life where Erinn recommitted to her relationship with Christ. When sharing her Christian testimony she highlights the ages 16, 19, 21, and a time most recently during the pandemic. “It’s impossible to really believe something if you only believe it at face value the first time you hear it. If your doing anything aside from deconstructing it consistently, you might as well be blindly following something that could be misleading,” Knight shared. Furthermore, she believes “To be a black Christian there is no way I can just take it by face value… Christianity has been so influenced by imperialism, colonization, and white supremacy… The first ten iterations of the gospel were through white lenses… It’s about learning where the church started, and what the truth of the Bible says about me.”
In the Christian Hip Hop music business industry, the name Erinn Knight brings clout. She is not only The Woman, but she is That Person! This is interesting because she comes from the rock/punk world, and she had to google the acronym CHH. The Vans Warped Tour is where she spent years learning and developing her skill sets. She did a brief stint in film, and then discovered the music of rapper-singer Kaleb Mitchell, by way of singer Xavier Omar’s SoundCloud account. Knight and Kaleb developed a relationship on social media, that led to weekly phone calls with the then 16-year-old and his dad. This is where trust was built. Once Kaleb was 18 years old she became his manager. Kaleb and Erinn shared a couple of full-circle moments with the artist Xavier Omar, FKA SPZRKT. The first song she and Kaleb dropped on her new record label Build Your Own Dreams (which she is the president of), featured Xavier Omar. And the first music festival she organized, the Holy Smoke Festival, Xavier and Kaleb performed at.
Prior to managing artists, starting a label, and throwing a festival, Erinn and her team started the booking agency INVT Only. Originally they worked with Kaleb Mitchell, Wande, nobigdyl., and WHATUPRG. Now they work with 12 artists.
Knight isn’t quick to work with someone. She prefers to walk with them for a year and make sure all parties involved can provide value, and it has to make sense. “The reason why anyone fails is because of the business infrastructure. Not because they are not talented. I try to help people avoid pitfalls and from signing bad deals. I try to help them find their pathway through without having to give up their masters, or with someone who doesn’t have their best interest [in mind],” said Knight.
Knight doesn’t work exclusively with Christian hip hop artists, nor does she work exclusively in music. Erinn manages southside ATL rapper Scotty ATL, and BYOD is the brand manager of his premier gold grill company, Grillz by Scotty. BYOD recently has gotten into merchandise management as well, where they do the manufacturing, fulfilling, design, and customer service of the clients’ merch.
How does God’s presence help her navigate the Christian hip hop music business industry? “I definitely see His hand working in me and through me in the music scene. Especially, the amount of influence that He has given me, not only in the Christian scene, but the Atlanta scene, and being able to maneuver worldwide. I’ve seen a lot of favor. Musically, He is helping me to go where ever I need to go and helping me to make sure I stay grounded.”
