This 30-something mom, decked out in a
black, short-sleeved mini dress by nicole
Miller and Louis vuitton handbag, seems
cooler than most. her husband's family
owns the St. Louis Cardinals, she has her
Ph.D. in Psychology and education, and
worked as a professor for many years. even
more intriguing about the subject, is that
she founded her own record company, notifi
Records, the only independent label out of
St. Louis that has also launched an artist
[fact check]. She even owns her recording
studio, and is St. Louis' leading female
executive music industry player.
ira Dewitt, originally from istanbul, has
resided in St. Louis for 14 years. The baseball
aspect of her life is mainly her husband's
responsibility. She, however has an immense
love for music and desired to start a career
in the field. after teaching many years at a
local university, she worked for fyi Public
Relations, a full-service firm specializing in
entertainment, fashion, and found generally
on the cusp of all things "pop culture." fyi is
also nelly's PR company.
ira co-founded fly Moves Productions with
the owners of Phat Buddha Productions,
and has signed two rappers to major labels
from these ventures. not to be mistaken as a
newcomer, ira paid
her dues before she was
able to successfully start notifi Records.
her first act signed to notifi is platinum-
selling artist, Ginuwine. She met Ginuwine
through mutual friends and was able to offer
him an attractive deal, signing bonus and
incentives. "a Man's Thoughts," Ginuwine's
sixth release, debuted at #1 on the R&B
charts, a huge accomplishment, not bad for
a St. Louis-based independent label run by a
woman from istanbul.
When asked about her plans for notifi, ira
replied that she plans on sticking with R&B,
but may eventually dabble in hip hop. not a
big fan of rap, ira won't totally rule hip-hop
out as a genre to record, market and develop.
Ginuwine's second single, "Trouble," was
recently released and has many features,
in addition to a St. Louis remix with Chingy,
Jibbs, Ms. B, and Potzee. notifi made certain
to seize the opportunity to work with the
many talented local artists featured on the
track. ira is also in the process of negotiating
Ginuwine's international deal, and preparing
for a video shoot which will reunite the artist
with his early co-collaborators Missy elliot
and Timberland.
notifi has designs beyond Ginuwine, a
couple of notable examples being ira's new
artists, BoS and L. BoS is a hip-hop/urban
crossover group while L is a solo neo hip-
hop/R&B fusion artist in the vein of Chris
Brown meets Drake, and the label is very
excited about presenting both acts. ira and
When you
do something
everyday
its hard
not to
make it
personal
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