DEVYNE STEPHENS 

HE IS: The CEO of 10-year-old Upfront Megatainment, an Atlanta company devoted to finding and developing new urban music acts

THE EMPIRE: Several entities fall under Upfront’s umbrella: There’s a record label, management and film production companies, a dance agency, an artist development facility, an event space, and a charity.

PLAYING HIS POSITION: At 15, the College Park native followed his father and uncle—who were in a gospel act called The Stephens Brothers—into the music business when his dance crew signed to LaFace Records.Though the group disbanded, Stephens remained at the label helping to groom its artists, including Outkast, Usher, and Toni Braxton. “Watching them [Antonio ‘L.A.’ Reid and Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds] run their company and helping them develop their talent [inspired me] to start my own,” says Stephens, who’s in his 30s.“That’s how I came up with the name Upfront, which means no longer playing the back.”
— Jessica Dufresne
Photography by Leo Marshall

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