Rakeem Jones: Fayetteville entertainment promoter in the family business

On July 2, 1962, Sam Walton cut the ribbon on the first-ever Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas. According to the store’s official website, the Walton family owned 24 stores by 1967, which brought in $12.7 million.

Today, Walmart is one of the world’s largest retailers. However, it started with Sam Walton’s vision for a new business model. Most importantly, Sam created an avenue for the Walton family to establish generational wealth. Today, the Walmart brand is a publicly traded company. At its core, Walmart is a family-owned business owned and operated by the Walton family.

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In Fayetteville, Lamont “L” Clark and the Clark family have established themselves as the premier name for entertainment and nightlife. L Clark’s childhood dream was to own and operate a nightclub.

Being around clubs as a youth, Clark had aspirations to become a promoter. However, the Clark family entertainment empire predates L. His uncle, Freddie, or “Unk”, has been a major player in the Fayetteville entertainment industry for years.

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Through Unk’s work, L and his brothers were able to establish their roles in the family business. In 1999, Unk booked comedian D.L. Hughley for a show at the Crown Coliseum. L seized the opportunity to set up an afterparty at the Pavilion nightclub.

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However, the party did not produce the anticipated results. L revised his method and rented out the Pavilion again for an event titled “Mrs. Claus and her Elves” on Christmas. The success of the event led to the opportunity to have parties on Thursday nights.

Those Thursdays helped L and the family secure a Saturday night spot at the Odyssey nightclub. However, L still wanted to own and operate his own space.

In 2001, he went into business with the owner of the Pavilion and opened Club Palace (now Mansion Cabaret) on Bragg Boulevard. Club Palace was known for having the best parties, such as First Sundays.

Clark, a veteran, would have flyers circulated on Fort Bragg. Due to the success of Club Palace, L and the Clarks opened a venue on Raeford Road named Carolina Live (formerly the Red Roper). The opening of Carolina Live brought in national music acts.

The first national act to perform in Carolina Live was Atlanta rap legend Pastor Troy. From there, Carolina Live was established as a performance venue that hosted a number of high profile music acts.

In addition, Clark was able to keep his “ear to the streets” and establish relationships in the music industry. His uncle, Freddie, was instrumental in the success of Empire Records signee KStylis, whose songs still play in nightclubs all over the United States.

Another member of the Clark family, Wayne (or Wayno), his cousin, worked at Jay-Z’s Rocafella Records in the early 2000s and now serves as the VP of A&R at Atlanta based music powerhouse, Quality Control Music, home of popular acts such as Migos and Lil Baby.

L had no interest in getting into the music industry. However, he recognized a void that needed to be filled. Though Fayetteville is the home of top-tier musicians J. Cole and Morray, there is no established entity that provides a platform designed to help artists grow.

Enter Way 2 Real Records. Established by Unk Clark and his partner, Way 2 Real Records serves as a hub for artists to grow and develop without going to Atlanta or Charlotte. L works in the Recruitment and Artist Development department. As a club owner, he has experienced some of the obstacles presented in the music industry and wants to pass on the knowledge gained from those experiences.

He doesn’t want to just sign artists, he wants to educate them on the monetization of their art. The first signee is Fayetteville artist Mr. Red Carpet. Mr. Red Carpet’s new single “Oh Ok” has been gaining an immense amount of traction throughout the region and online.

Along with Mr. Red Carpet, Lamont and the Clark family continue to provide a platform and opportunities for artists to grow.

A chance to perform

On Saturday, independent artists will have the opportunity to perform alongside national acts Kodak Black, Rubi Rose, Nardo Wick and Finesse 2 Tymes at the Crown Coliseum for the Super Gremlin Tour. The event is hosted by national recording artist Chrisean Rock.

However, it does not stop there. L plans to open a brick-and-mortar building that will serve as a resource hub for artist development and education. Furthermore, he wants to develop a compilation of the 10 biggest artists in the city.

“It’s a hustle. Treat your hustle like a business," says L, the 48-year-old Pine Forest graduate and owner of Superior Automotive Group, located at 1933 Pamalee Drive. "B able to put in the time, equity, andsweat. Always keep God first.”

Salute to L, the Clark family, and every activist getting active. Peace

Rakeem “Keem” Jones is a community advocate and father of three from the Shaw Road/Bonnie Doone area of Fayetteville. He can be reached at keemj45@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Rakeem Jones: Fayetteville entertainment promoter in the family business