The average 21-year old is excited to purchase alcohol. The typical 22-year old may experience some anxiety as life-after-college nears. However, at the age of twenty four, the producer, artist and CEO of Chief Execs Entertainment, Demetrius Howard (aka “Sinatra”, aka “SupaNatra”) is well past average and far from typical. His peers may have been enjoying their young adulthood, but this Columbus, Ohio resident was honing his productions skills and refining his artistic and professional business plans. Nowadays, the only thing that can match this young entrepreneur’s business acumen is his musical production. According to TheCypherColumbus.com: “While most hip-hop fans can listen to a song and instantly recognize a Neptunes, Timbaland, or Mannie Fresh beat, Sinatra is one producer you can’t pin down.”
For Sinatra, becoming a local all-star was a good start, but now he is targeting exposure on a major level. He has produced mixtape projects for numerous artists and his production is featured on over a dozen mixtape projects throughout Ohio. He released “The Golden Child” Street Album in May 2007 to rave reviews. In July 2007, his self-produced track entitled “Restless” (featuring Jim Jones) was featured on HipHopGame.com. Never one to rest on accolades, he has recently has worked with Willie the Kid, Freeway, Chubbie Baby, and has production on Juelz Santana’s upcoming album.
Making strides at an early age is in his blood. Born in Akron, Ohio, his mother gave birth to him at the age of 14. With a grandmother battling an addiction, the pair moved to Columbus to seek a better life. Both the emotion in Sinatra’s music and his relentless business acumen can be viewed as reflections of two extremes: his biological father being shot and killed in 2002 and his mother successfully graduating from college. Sinatra prides himself on being “ahead of the class and ahead of the curve”. He has been making beats since age 13 and started writing rhymes at the age of 15. With two young parents, his musical upbringing was molded by what many call the “Golden Era” of hip hop, citing A Tribe Called Quest, Native Tongues and Nas as major influences. Inspired by the role Michael ‘5000’ Watts played in Houston’s developing scene, the producer/rapper/CEO aims to do the same in Columbus. “I want to be the first person who really is responsible for Columbus having a general respect as far as music is concerned.” Fresh off the release of the collaborative project “Black Tuesday” with rapper/spoken word poet Searius Add, Sinatra is moving full-steam ahead with projects with DJ Holiday (Gucci Mane’s DJ) and DJ Drama (BTB2) in the works. Given his already budding track record and promising learning curve, he is well on his way.
