DM Entertainment has big hip-hop dreams for Des Moines

Albert Winfrey IV, left, and Steve Wilson of DM Entertainment aim to bring a slew of major hip-hop acts to Des Moines. (Credit: Amy O'Shaughnessy/Special to Metromix)

Young Jeezy

Hundreds were at 7 Flags Event Center for the late-night...

The music scene in Des Moines is growing, but there’s one genre – hip-hop – that hasn't quite broken out. DM Entertainment plans to change that.

DM Entertainment is Steve Wilson and Albert Winfrey IV, a pair of locals with national connections. We talked with them recently about their new promotions venture, their plans to bring hip-hop to the forefront of the local music scene – and what they call the biggest hip-hop show in Iowa's history.

So tell us about DM Entertainment.

Albert: We got together pretty recently – in April, right before the Young Jeezy show we promoted.

Steve: I got Albert’s info off a flyer. I called him on a whim; we met at Courtside on University and East 14th, sat down and talked, and things clicked. That night we took off for Davenport, did promo for Jeezy, and that was that.

What were you doing before that?

Albert: I grew up on the east side of Des Moines. I went to college at Ellsworth in Iowa Falls. I came back in '05, and that’s when I got into the entertainment business full-time. I threw my first concert in Omaha then. I worked with a lot of artists – Young Jeezy, Tony! Toni! Toné!, KRISTA.

Steve: I was doing interviews with artists – I went to school in Colorado. I worked with Paul Wall, Liquid Assassin, Kutt Calhoun, Drastek, Black Pegasus – a lot of big indie hip-hop artists. I moved here for a job, but I quit my day job back in April. I’m a full-timer now too.

So what do you have planned?

Albert: Lots! September 6, we’ve got Paul Wall coming in to People’s Court. Liquid Assassin and Drastek are in that show, too. And we’re having a charity event the day before the show at Martin Luther King Park. It’s from noon to 4. We’re going to have free hot dogs and lemonade, face painting – it’s all for the kids and the community, we’re really proud of that. Paul Wall confirmed he’s coming to that. And we’re getting ready for the KOD Tour, which is going to be October 2 at the 7 Flags Events Center in Clive. Tech N9ne is heading that up. Krizz Kaliko, Kutt Calhoun, Big Scoob, Slaughter House, Stevie Stone, Glasses Malone – they’re coming, too. Drastek is opening, and so is F.O., a local hip-hop artist. We’re doing the promo, and we’re organizing the space.

Steve: To my knowledge, it’s the biggest hip-hop show in Iowa history. We’re excited. We’re doing the concert video, too. That’s a big part of what we’ve done in the past. We’re also producing an album right now: Drastek. He’s out of Durango, Colorado. He’s recording the album here in Des Moines – Yukmouth from the Luniz is on one track, and La Coka Nostra is on another – they’re a supergroup, the guys from House of Pain plus Slaine and Ill Bill.

What does “KOD” stand for?

Steve: (Laughs) I don’t know! Tech N9ne is having a contest for people to guess what it means. He hasn’t announced the prize yet, but you can go to therealtechn9ne.ning.com and enter the contest.

 
So how do people find out more about DM Entertainment?

Steve: Lots of ways. We have a YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/user/datmfsteve. And if you send an email to dm.entertainment007@gmail.com, we’ll put you on the mailing list. We’re setting that up and a Web site right now. We’re also on MySpace, at www.myspace.com/thedmentertainment.