 Raw Deal Records was founded in the spare bedroom of
Executive Producer, T.C. Payton's home in 1993. He purchased
studio-recording equipment and opened the doors to anyone who had a dream of
becoming a recording superstar and needed a demo tape to get them started.
Raw Deal offered them no frills recording for reasonable studio time rates
and no strings attached. You came in, recorded as long as you wanted and
walked away with your tape, one step closer to your dream. While this proved
to be a lucrative business, it wasn't exactly fulfilling for T.C. for he
dreamed of being at the helm of an independent recording label that produced
the kind of music that molded his upbringing. He loved music that flowed,
that had a funky finesse; the kind of music that never went out of style and
would sound good years from now. He began researching the industry and found
that no one else was looking back for the future and that became his
mission. He began to listen in on some of the recording sessions, looking
for the artist whose voice and style would help him to establish Raw Deal
Records.
 At that time, Dr. Dre's the Chronic was ruling the
airwaves, so T.C. and his crew decided to test the waters. The first project
produced on the Raw Deal Records' label was a gangster rap album that sold
less than 10,000 copies at local Independent Music Retailers and out of the
trunks of cars in club parking lots. While most people would have lost their
strength and certainty because of the dismal sales, this was used as a
learning experience. This was a new game; he was the new player that needed
to test his skills.
Now nearly seven years later with many lessons learned,
many successful projects have come to life. T.C. along with a team of
multi-talented artists, energetic music producers and professional staff
have come together to create many projects that has helped T.C. return to
his original vision. Raw Deal Records is well on its way to becoming,
successfully, the independent recording label dedicated to bringing quality
music to the airwaves. |
