It was a chance meeting with a member of a gangsta rap crew from Long Island that changed Glenn Bolton’s name…and his life.

“I was going by the name of “Doctor On,” and this guy said, ‘that name is crap. You’re going to call yourself “Daddy-O” and he immediately when into this rhyme I still remember.”

D to the A, double D-Y-O

I go by the name of MC Daddy-O

And this is something that you must be told

You couldn’t touch me with a sureshot pole

Daddy-O, rhymes galore

MC Daddy-O came back for more y’all

The rapper also told Bolton something important he needed to hear at that time of his life.

“He told me I had talent. He didn’t want me to end up on the street corner selling drugs. That’s the thing about the hood. There are a lot of knuckleheads but if one of us has potential, they’re going to help us anyway they can. That’s what that guy did for me. He gave me confidence.”

Growing up in Brooklyn, Bolton got straight A’s in school but never considered any career other than music. His house was filled with it. Mostly jazz, urban and soul records, but also pop and rock. Local bands played every weekend and his older sister dragged him along to listen. He loved every minute of it.

Hip-Hop started in the late 1970s in the Bronx, and its culture spread quickly to all parts of New York City. “Daddy-O” became a member of the pioneer hip-hop group “Stetsasonic.” After they disbanded in 1991, he continued as a rapper, and also became a hip-hop record producer.

Always evolving and wanting to know more about the business, he became an A&R (Artists and Repertoire) executive for MCA Records and then Motown Records, working with artists like Mary J. Blige, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Queen Latifah, among others.

“I’m still an A&R person at heart. I’m a sucker for a great song and a great singer. I can look and know quickly whether there’s something there, whether it can be developed or whether you should just quit and become an attorney.”

His genuine desire to discover talent has stayed with him and pushed him in new directions.

“I caught the digital bug over a decade ago and I still apply my A&R skills to working with new talent, whether it’s a programmer or a graphic artist. I never look at young people as a threat. I want to learn from them. I listen to them and I hope they learn from me the lessons of hip-hop: tenacity, passion and family.”

“Daddy-O” says that he had a light bulb moment when he read the book “Blue Ocean Strategy,” which describes how companies should create “blue oceans” of uncontested market space.

“I came up as a rapper. There was nothing like it before we came along. We saw a space and moved into it. That’s the trick – and the challenge – for the future. Finding the space that is not there.”

+ + +

Rosemary Taylor is a member of the awesome TEDxPeachtree content team. She is a professional writer and digital content strategist.