Petersburg, Florida, Carl Johnson, better known to the entertainment world as “Big Cee Jay, the Tastemaker” took the industry by the reigns early on and never looked back! As an Original Tastemaker and hustler, Big Cee Jay knew that failure was not an option and decided to take success in his own hands by opening up his very own retail music store which garnered much success with the community, le
aders and aspiring talent. The buzz and traffic of the store grew so much that he, along with his best friend Nate Howard, opened a second location in Atlanta, Georgia. As the store’s popularity grew, so did the number of emcees and entertainers gracing its location, seeking guidance from the man himself. Giving advice daily to aspiring artists on how to better promote and shop their music to attain maximum exposure, with his advice actually paying off for those seeking it, he finally gave into his calling, thus founding Step Out of Line Promotions which specializes in artist promotion and management. Johnson won GTP’s own Mover and Shaker of The Year in 2005. Not to be out done by his peers he came back and won Gainesville Music Summit’s Manager of The Year 2007. But Big Cee Jay wasn’t done there he came back and won Go Getter of The Year 2008 at Bigga Rankin’s Diamond Awards. Fast forward 2010 and Big Cee Jay has been nominated for the third time at The SEA Awards. This time he’s nominated for Industry Player of the Year 2010. Some of his clients have included formal Universal platinum selling artist Mul-Ty (Management)Sega Boys(A&R), Blood Raw(Director of Promotion/A&R), Khia(Promotion), Jacki-O(Management), Haitian Fresh(Promotion), Shyzte and Da Commissioner(Management). Through his expertise and industry knowledge, he has earned his credibility from successfully wearing various hats such as A&R, Director of Promotion, Management and more. In fact, his persistence and business acumen helped enable his client, Blood Raw, to accomplish what many artists only hope to: that is getting signed to a division of Def Jam Recordings under Corporate Thugz Ent. Says Johnson, “Seeing an artist make it and knowing that you were a part of that reason is the best thing about what I do.”
While his ultimate goal is to make as big of a difference in the industry as he can, He has giving St.Pete its first two music conference ever (Bay Area Music Conference). Big Cee Jay has had the chance to be a panelist at other music conferences like TJS DJS Tastemakers. At that time he was well known for his mixtapes and was on the panel with Pitbull, Jason Jeter of Grand Hustle and Tech, Manager of Pitbull. He can currently be found focusing on the careers of Shyzte and the longevity of Da Commissioner and Understand Me Entertainment, as well as executing the much-anticipated “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life” Award Show that pays homage to blue collar djs that help to break records of talented thirsty artists. Seven years in and he has already carved his place in the industry and he won’t stop the grind anytime soon, so anyone following his progress better put on running shoes! Past Panel
TJsDJs Tastemakers Only // Dirty South Record Pool // F**k A A&R Seminar Pt. 1 and 2 // Orlando Hip Hop Awards Conference // Pittsburg Hip Hop Conference
