Andrew Wyatt (far left) and Raymond Biltz (left) are part of the Kent hip-hop scene and members of the group Trinity Two. Their friends and fellow artists, Mike Shay (far right) and Eddie Jones (right), are members of the group Paper Mates.

Credit: Ben Breier

Andrew Wyatt, MC for Trinity Two, is not content just making music.

Wyatt, also known as Ajay W, started a record label, Lyrical Poets Entertainment, with the hopes of expanding the hip-hop scene in Kent.

Local rap artist Blitz already has gained some notoriety for the city, but Wyatt said there is enough talent and interest brewing to put Kent on the map as a hip-hop city.

“OK, so Blitz put his foot in the door,” Wyatt said, “we want to kick the door open.”

The process of creating the record label was easy, he said. Wyatt, a 23-year-old Ravenna resident, copyrighted all his music through the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, got a business license and found companies that would distribute his records – no prior experience or college degree necessary. He got most of the information he needed off the Internet.

“If you look at what is basically on the commercial labels, just in the hip hop genre, and look at the content of the music – it’s cars, drugs, drinking and hos,” Wyatt said. “I’m not going to fit what they want. Since I’m not going to fit their standards then I might as well find out what it takes to get my music to that level.”

Wyatt now is producing for his labelmates in a recording studio he built in his house.

As for the talent on his label, Wyatt did not have to look much farther than his next door neighbors. Known as the Paper Mates, MCs Mike Shay and Eddie Jones are equally important to running the label.

“We’re all one big group and everyone makes music with each other,” Wyatt said. “But then we all branch off and do our own projects.”

Wyatt and Raymond Biltz, the other half of Trinity Two, met Shay and Jones while attending Kent Roosevelt High School. They said the school was small enough that everyone who made music knew each other.

“We used to skip school to make music,” Jones said. “Now we have stepped up to the forefront really and just said OK, we’re really going to try to do this.”

For his stage shows, Wyatt tries to get as many local performers involved as possible. He said this is the best way to get artists motivated and to hopefully find more talent to record.

“We want to leave the door open for other people,” he said. “We’re trying to do this because we like music, but also we’re doing this to help out each other.”

He also tries to keep the price of the shows down. With many of the groups still honing their acts, the shows are either free or just a few dollars for the public.

“Everyone right now is still in the process,” Shay said. “There’s probably seven or eight different hip-hop groups all doing their own thing, trying to put out albums. So it’s going to be really interesting when every group has albums to offer.”

Running a music label is an expensive venture, Wyatt said. Despite having hardly any earnings, the members of Trinity Two and the Paper Mates are looking forward to the future. The Paper Mates are finishing an album that should be out by spring and are planning to join Trinity Two for a tour of the Midwest.

“It’s a hustle,” Wyatt said of the business. “As long as you keep pushing your music and your shit sells, sooner or later we could have CDs in California.”

Contact ALL correspondent Sean Ammerman at [email protected].