Richard “Rich Dollaz” Trowers, 31, is a music record executive who is founder and CEO of Dollaz Unlimited – a talent management, consulting, and marketing firm. Trowers has played a pivotal role in the careers of Cassie, Danity Kane, Ryan Leslie, and Yung Joc, just to name a few. But, he’s no overnight success himself. Trowers started at the bottom working as an intern for Bad Boy Entertainment, and rose to the top as senior vice president of Radio Promotions at Next Selection; a record label started by singer/producer/songwriter, Ryan Leslie. Using his educational background and experiences to move forward in the music industry, Trowers has a “work smarter not harder than the next person” mentality and he has gained the respect of many in the music industry.
Richard Trowers was born and raised in New York City, with familial roots in the south. Although bred in the 135th and Lenox area of Harlem, Trowers spent much of his time between New York and Atlanta, Georgia as a child. Trowers attended the famed and affluent Dalton High School on the Upper Eastside of Manhattan. Upon graduation, he traveled south once again to attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. While studying psychology and sociology at Vanderbilt, Trowers also took classes at Fisk University—a historically black college (HBCU) also located in Nashville—to experience all of what a HBCU had to offer. He joined Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, studied hard, played basketball, and for fun, took part in extracurricular, on-campus activities during his four years in college. About his college years, Trowers says:
“I wanted to get the black college experience…And I don’t regret it at all. I loved my college years. If I had to do it all over again, I would do it exactly the same.”
But, after graduation Rich did not follow the straight-laced career path of psychology by getting a Master’s degree or teaching. He chose a different path altogether, much to his mother’s chagrin: working in the music industry. With an educational background that rivals that of most rich kids, Trowers’ mother sacrificed so that her son had the very best. He understood that his mother perceived the music industry as superficial, but he decided what was best for him despite her apprehension. For most it may seem like a drastic change from what he studied in school, but Rich followed his own path and views his education and knowledge of psychology and sociology to his advantage in the music industry.
“I still apply it to my day to day, when I deal with people. Music is a people business, managing is a people business, so what you are doing is learning people and you’re basing how you make your next move on how you interpret them to move. So it makes life a lot easier, to be honest with you. And even though I am not in psychology per say, I’m definitely in psychology and sociology.”
Although Rich has always had a passion for music, he had aspirations of one day playing in the NBA, but he decided after graduation that he would not focus on an unrealistic dream. And as it turns out, Rich relocated to Memphis for a short time and worked at a J.W. Marriott hotel until his fraternity brother called with an opportunity that Rich could not pass on.
“I played basketball in college, so I always wanted to go to the NBA. But, once you graduate from school, you’re like ‘Ok, what if the NBA is not banging on my door? Um, let me try something (else).’ I didn’t want to be that dude who was 30 or 35 years old still chasing the NBA dream when it wasn’t really realistic. I got a call from my frat brother that Puff was looking for an assistant. And he was working for a company called Blueflame and his name was Emmitt Dennis and he was the VP at Blueflame. It was a marketing company that was – at that time – doing Puff’s marketing and promotions. So they gave me a call and said, ‘Yo, you know what? You might want to come home and take a look at some of these opportunities up here at Bad Boy. Puff is looking for an assistant, and we can get you an interview and get you in the door. Is this something that you may be interested in? We think that you’d be good for it. You have the make-up. Once again, you pledged and Bad Boy is definitely a pledge process. And your psychology background is something that you could use in this field, because it’s something where you have to deal with people on a day to day. And you might just understand what they are thinking and their thought process, that’ll help you benefit.’ So, I was like, ‘Oh what the hell with it! I’m going to go home.’ And that’s what I did. I came home, I did the interview, was going to be Puff’s assistant until I met a guy named Sean Prez who said ‘If you want longevity in this industry, you may not want to go that route, like you may want to look at doing something different. The life expectancy for Puff’s assistant is very, very short and I don’t really know what happens when people do that. If you think of yourself as an assistant then you will always be an assistant.’ And at that time, Sean Prez was the um – well, still is – the senior VP of promotions. And he was like ‘I’m gonna speak to Puff and I want you to come work for me over in the promotions department. I think that it would benefit you more and it will create a sense of longevity in this game for you.’ So, that’s what I did. I trusted him; I took him up on it and next thing you know I was with Sean Prez working in Bad Boy promotions department.”
Rich returned to his hometown in 2003, and became an ambitious and determined intern at Bad Boy Records under the guidance of Sean “Diddy” Combs, Sean Prez, Kevin Liles, Harve Pierre and Gwen Niles. Hungry to learn the lessons being taught to him, Rich adapted the work ethic and the “sleep is forbidden” mantra of his mentors.
“It was about the hard work and everything that they were doing and Bad Boy was like a staple in the music industry at that time. So, it was full of guys and people that you looked up to when you doing the music. It was like being apart of that time, and being able to say that ‘I was learning from them and everyday I was getting my tutoring, and everything was coming based on the things that they were doing with me and molding me into the person that I’ve become.’ It was just an opportunity for me to really just work with some of the best guys in the industry. Some of the hardest working, most successful people in the industry, and I always look back at that time like it was a great time for me at Bad Boy. Bad Boy is where you learn not to sleep. Bad Boy is where you learn you work all day and all night. And don’t take ‘no’ for an answer and get it done if by all means necessary. I can definitely attribute everything to that specifically back to Bad Boy. I don’t think anybody works the way that Bad Boy works. Like nobody really does it the way that Bad Boy does…or did it!”
Once he adapted their work ethic, he was put through various tests similar to the pledging process that he went through in college. His mentors led by example, but they also did not limit the young, driven intern. They allowed Rich to create his own journey within the company. In that environment, he was able to crossover into other departments and was urged to soak up everything he could from anyone he came in contact with.
“There was a time period where you were just – it was all about just getting it done. At Bad Boy, it’s not about resources. They don’t provide you with those resources. And that’s a great thing in learning because at that time you’re learning how to get things done with little of nothing. You have to do it yourself; you have to figure it out. And I equate that to pledging, because when you pledge the big brothers weren’t going to make it easy for you. They weren’t going to say, ‘Ok well, here’s Kappa’ and just walk into it. It’s something that you had to earn; something you had to work towards and you had to at some point – it was like a rite of passage – you had to almost do what was done before you in order to be accepted into it. And that’s the way Bad Boy was. Bad Boy was like ‘We’re not gonna make it easy for you. We’re gonna make it difficult for you so go out and get your grind on and do it the right way. Do it like we did it. And then we’ll take you in and make you a brother and then you’ll become one of us.’ Create your own journey. See, the great thing about that is that they don’t tell you want you can’t do. Like at Bad Boy, I did everything. That’s why I’m able to do what I’m doing now. Like they didn’t say ‘You work in promotions, so don’t walk over to the marketing side. You work in promotions, so don’t walk over to talk to Phil Robinson to talk about Puff’s management.’ So, at Bad Boy you were able to go into all different facets of music: marketing, promotions, etc, and learn something. And then be able to apply it later on. So, they weren’t telling me what not to do, they were just telling me to do everything. Like if you’re done here at 6 o’clock, you need to walk around over to Tracy Wayburn to see what she has for you to do until 10 o’clock. At 10 o’clock, you need to go find Puff because he’s going to be in the studio. And then once you find Puff in the studio, and y’all hang out in the studio to 2, 3, 4 (in the morning); then he’s gonna want to go to the club at some point. And that’s how Bad Boy operates.”
It was at this time that Trowers was given his industry name “Rich Dollaz” by Bad Boy Records founder, Sean “Diddy” Combs because the producer/rapper saw something special in Trowers. Quite a conundrum during his “fake it to make it” intern days, but Trowers owned it as only he could. And now, he is living up to that name.
“When I was given the name ‘Rich Dollaz’, I wasn’t rich obviously. Well, my name is Rich so I’ll always be Rich. But, ‘Rich Dollaz’ was a name that Puff gave me because I had a little more pizzazz than Richard Trowers. So, he was like ‘I’m gonna call you Rich Dollaz.’ It’s more personal than Richie Rich. And then if you know anything about Richie Rich, you know he has this dog named Dollaz. So, that’s really where the name comes from. Um, at that time, it was almost like an oxy – well it was an oxymoron that you were a broke intern and you’re calling yourself ‘Rich Dollaz,’ so it was kinda weird. As time goes along, they had the faith in me to anoint me. At that time it was a sign of the times because they had the confidence and the where with all to be like ‘Ok, he’s gonna be alright. We see what this dude is doing out there and we like what he’s doing, and he’s going to be alright. So, you know, there’s a possibility that he could very well be Rich Dollaz and it could really mean something in regards to (his) income and (his) status and how (he) came up in the game.’ So, that is where Rich Dollaz comes from.”
Trowers spent five years at Bad Boy learning and working the system, promoting and “breaking” records for various artists, and soaking up everything he possibly could to succeed in the cutthroat, tough music industry he chose a career in. With everything he learned, he credits Bad Boy and its machine. Richard Trowers was transforming into Rich Dollaz, and he soon became known as a “ferocious record breaker” to many in the industry. His secret? Whether those in the industry like him or not, they respected him. Trowers has built relationships because of his staunch and – at times – stubborn persistence and tenacious drive.
“Once again, going back to my days at Bad Boy – I’m going to keep harping on that because I think it was so important. You built relationships with people. When you are working records, people are often – it’s annoying because you’re calling them and you want them to play your record on the radio. You’re like ‘Play my record, play my record, play my record.’ So DJs – sometimes they don’t want to because they have other stuff that they want to play that they like more. But, the more you reach out to them, the more they respect your work ethic. So, I think that the secret to breaking records is basically one of two things. One is gaining respect from your peers, to when you call they answer the phone for you and they respect you when you’re on the phone. Two: to build good relationships and that means that don’t just call a person and be like “Yo, what up man, I got a record for you.” You know if I know that DJ Clue is at Ones (One Manhattan in NYC) on Tuesday nights. Then, I might go to Ones on Tuesday night and have a drink with Clue and talk to Clue. And support what Clue’s doing. You know, or you’re from Detroit, so if I know Donny Q is at the club on Saturday night or G Rawls or one of those dudes are at the club, then I might go support them. I might take a trip out there and hang out with them, and that’s creating a relationship and building a relationship. So now when I pick up the phone, we don’t just talk about records, we talk about the things that we did when I was in Detroit. You know what I mean, or we talk about the things that were done when I was in New York. And then when they came to New York, they know that New York is my city. Like I run New York, they know to call me. They know to call me when they come to New York if they want to have a good time. So, that is how you build a relationship to make it so it becomes almost a friendship. That’s where the psychology of it comes in; it’s not so much the job or what you do for a living and you get paid to do it. But it becomes like you’re dealing with your friends and their understanding that this is your job and they want to help you. And they respect you. And even the guys who don’t like you – funny story – I met DJ Envy. A few years ago, I met Envy. And Envy – I used to get on his f***in’ nerves. He used to be like, ‘Yo, dawg, you’re so annoying!’ But, that’s the DJ! And I would just be like ‘Yo Envy, play my record. Yo Envy, play my record. Yo Envy, play my record. Yo Envy, play my record.’ And he’d say, ‘Yo dawg, LEAVE-ME-ALONE! Man, I’ll play it when I play it.’ And I’m say, ‘No! You can’t play it when you want to play it, because I need to be here when you play it. But, I gotta go to three other clubs tonight! So, you got to play my record now because I gotta go!’ So he’d be like, ‘Yo man, you know what, I’m playing the record.’ But years later – about four years later, Envy saw me in the club one night and said, ‘Yo, I got this artist and his name is Red Café. I want you to help me with Red Café. I know if you go hard the way you go hard at me for your artist, then I know you will go hard like that for Red Café.’ And that’s success. I’m always going to win. So even when people at first don’t like you, they have to respect your work ethic and what you do. And that’s when later on down the line, you might be able to get money together. It’s one of those things where they respect your craft. And that’s what it’s all about. It’s almost like an obligation. It’s not about a budget or anything else. It’s about me having a relationship with you and reaching out, and you knowing that I would do the same thing for you. So if you call me one day like, ‘Yo Rich, I don’t have any money but I got my artist, and I need to get him some spins at Hot 97 or JLB (or whatever radio station that you want). Can you help me out?’ You know that I’m going to help you. The same way, if I call you and I’m like, ‘Yo dawg, I need you to help me out with my record. I got a new Olivia record, or I got a new Krys Ivory, or new a Ryan Leslie record…’ You’re going to be like, ‘I got you Rich because at the end of the day, you go hard and I gotta respect that because I want to see you win.’ And that comes from building a relationship with people.”
After his tenure at Bad Boy, Trowers was approached with an opportunity by Ryan Leslie, a friend with whom he had worked with while he was interning at Bad Boy. Leslie, who also worked at Bad Boy Records as a songwriter/producer was embarking on a solo singing career of his own. So, the two teamed up forming an unstoppable pair independent of Bad Boy. Leslie would press the records and Trowers would break them. Their first hit single together came in 2005 with Cassie’s “Me & U.” Over the next few years, Leslie would hand off tracks and Trowers would take them to radio stations and clubs around the country breaking them. Songs that Trowers broke include: “Show Stopper” by Danity Kane, “Diamond Girl” by Ryan Leslie, “Last Night” by Diddy featuring Keyshia Cole, “It’s Going Down” by Yung Joc, “I Love You” by Cheri Dennis, “Hood Figga” by Gorilla Zoe and “Hot Tonite” by New Edition. In 2008, Leslie approached Trowers with an offer to join Next Selection full-time as its senior vice president of radio promotions.
“Basically, I was working with Ryan. I mean, all this basically came from me and Ryan Leslie’s relationship. That’s my guy! So, when we were both at Bad Boy, Ryan was the hitman producer and I was doing the promo thing. We were both on the grind. Ryan wasn’t – you know, he was doing his thing, but he wasn’t where he wanted to be as an artist or where he wanted to be as a producer. I think he wanted to get out and do his own thing. So, we linked up. It was one of those things where he was like, ‘Yo, let’s build this little thing together. We had this thing called Next Selection over here, um, we’re going to go some artists. And I’m going to make it so you don’t have to be the promo guy who works artists forever.’ I broke Danity Kane, I broke Yung Joc, I broke Gorilla Zoe, I broke all of that for the Bad Boy system. But, nothing reciprocal came from that other than my paycheck. And I didn’t want to be the guy who worked at the label and was known only for breaking records. I wanted to do it on my own. That’s why when Ryan said, ‘I produced this Cheri Dennis record called ‘I Love You’ and I want to put it out but Bad Boy is not supporting it. So, let’s me and you put it out. This will create a name for me as a producer and it’ll also create a name for you as a record that you broke outside of the system.’ So, then we had a girl named Cassie, who was the first artist on Next Selection. Ryan was like, ‘Yo! I have this bangin’ idea for Cassie. She’s crazy! You know, we don’t have a label right now, but this record is insane! Let’s put it out!’ These are the things that helped me become Rich Dollaz. And that’s what helped Ryan Leslie become Ryan Leslie. It’s crazy that I’ve worked and broke Ryan Leslie’s first number one record. Cassie’s “Me & U” was his first number one. Then, we came right back with a girl who was signed to Bad Boy for eight years, and had no success on the label to having her one of the hottest chicks in the country at that time, is Cheri Dennis. Everybody loved “I Love You.” And I took Cheri from being signed at Bad Boy to the forefront of the Bad Boy machine. We did that independently away from Bad Boy and what it does is it creates a reputation. And it creates something that you’ve done it on your own. So now, when doing that, I’ve taken that to the next level where I no longer want to work in the system. I will consult and do independent work for anybody, but I no longer want to be a part of a system that I don’t have anything invested in.”
His hard work was being noticed by many. Trowers’ work spoke for itself due to all of his accomplishments and the radio hits was breaking. The streets were talking, and the music charts were too. And whether his peers loved or hated him, he was respected by all because he demanded it.
“When I started this thing I didn’t care. When I started this whole thing in the music industry, I knew I wasn’t trying to be a person who was dwelling on security for an extended period of time. I needed to be out there doing what I did. So, my model at that time was, “I don’t care if you hate me, like me, or indifferent towards me, as long as you know me I will always win in the end. I will always win.” Because if you know me and you follow me then you will know that my work ethic is impeccable and you’ll have to respect me. And long as you respect me in this industry then we can always get money together. You don’t have to be my best friend, but understand that I am the best at what I do. It works both ways. Even if you hate me, you understand that I’m the best person for the job. So, if you want to win, then we need to be in bed together. And the same way, if you’re my best friend and you want me to succeed and you want me to get rich, then you can also give me an account knowing that –or send an artist to me knowing that it’s going to be done the right way. And you don’t have to worry about people coming back looking at you like, “Damn! You recommended Rich and it’s horrible!” Or even if you are indifferent towards me and you go around and google Rich Dollaz, you going to see my work and it speaks for itself. So, at the end of the day, I put myself up against anybody in the game in regards to what I’ve done and how much I’ve done and the amount of time I’ve done it in.”
Yet Trowers did not stop there proving that he is much more than a ‘ferocious record breaker.’ He also formed Dollaz Unlimited, a talent management, consulting, and marketing firm. Trowers is launching and guiding the careers of pop songtress Krys Ivory and R&B singer Olivia, along with hip-hop artists Corey Gunz and Unladylike. Leslie is also one of his artists who just dropped his second studio album this week called “Transition.” With approachable and relatable indie artists, who he is more comfortable managing because he can create the right situation that he has better control over to lead them all into mega-stardom. Trowers known as the “Chief Rocka” at Dollaz Unlimited implements his ‘Dollaz Blueprint’ to lead his team and to manage his artists more effectively.
“Dollaz Unlimited is my management company; it’s my promotions and marketing company. My partner is Jason Wiley; he’s a senior VP over at Jive Records. He does urban marketing at Jive. I have Nomad. Antoine Reed, who’s obviously my guy who does all my club stuff. And I have Kathy (Liautaud), who does all my online and my PR. So, we’ve created a little situation now where we’re starting to get artists and people are coming to us to guide their careers and do things like that. Because of what we’ve already shown what we can do. And obviously Ryan is apart of this whole equation, because Next Selection is like my home and Ryan is my artist. So, I can add Ryan to that equation. Ryan has an album coming out in November called “Transition.” It’ll be the second Ryan Leslie album; it’s going to be crazy! You know, people slept on the first one and the second album is going to be even better; it’s crazy! Um, Krys Ivory has a record out right now called “Next To Ya.” We’re working on that album and we’re looking for her to have a release date in February or March. Olivia is coming back! Just signed to the team. So, we’re looking for Olivia to come back in February as well. She has a new single which is called “Take It Off” and they all right now are just getting started on radio. Unladylike is signed to Def Jam, and we’ve got a Corey who’s still searching right now. Um, getting everything situated, you know, the deals are rolling in. So, it’s just a matter of – now, just doing your own legwork and getting the best possible situation and a home for your artists that you think it’s where they can succeed. Even though it’s not about the money with me, it’s about longevity, like it’s always been about longevity. It’s not about just going, sneaking, and getting a deal real quick and coming out with an album and then failing and then being right back where you are. I want to go and get something where I know that we’ll be benefitting for years to come and doing this thing for a long time. And then we’re going to give you good music, we’re going to give you hard work, we’re going to give you interactivity in terms of dealing with the websites and being able to talk to them. I’m going to have approachable artists who are going to want to go out here and do what they need to do and do work on their part. And that’s the work that I’m doing on my end. And that’s the recipe for success right there. You know, what else is there? Dollaz Blueprint is go hard, don’t sleep, always realize that there is always someone else coming up behind you. Until you get to a place where you are comfortable, then there’s no such thing as taking time off. That’s my blueprint.”
Trowers is on his way in becoming the next media mogul powerhouse. Utilizing the Internet, social networking outlets, blogs and interactive online magazines such as XI, and growing with how the industry changes over the years is how he plans to maintain in the industry. And with no signs of slowing down anytime soon, Trowers continues to forge ahead in order to reach that next level of success.
“I haven’t had a vacation in six years and don’t want one because I ain’t where I want to be. If I go to my bank account right now, it looks better than it looked in 2003, but it’s not what I want it to look in 2012. And I’m slightly a bit obsessive compulsive with mine, and that even sometimes translates into sociopathic behavior in regards to ALWAYS-HAVING-TO-WIN at ALL-COSTS! So, with that being said, I don’t know that I will ever be comfortable. So, I’ll probably die trying, because I don’t know if I have a hundred million dollars in the bank if that’s going to be enough for me to be like, ‘Ok, Rich, you can slow down now and go away to Antigua for six weeks and sip margaritas.’ I don’t know if that will ever happen. Always striving for something better.”
Trowers will win, no matter what. He credits his educational background, training by some of the industry’s most revered, and his upbringing. His mother, who has since come around after seeing Trowers’ success in an industry she didn’t particularly care for, is proud of her son’s achievements and supports him unequivocally. With Trowers at the forefront and a top-notch management team by his side, Trowers is confident they will lead his artist roster into mega-stardom. And his tenacity and persistence will ensure that he wins because anything less will go against everything he has learned over the years. Trowers is destined to win, and will be respected while doing so, whether you like it or not.
This dude is a fake! He has lied to friends and co-workers for years about everything from his age to where he lives. He’s about 10 years older then he says he is, he has three kids that he doesn’t even claim and he beats women. He sure fooled you into thinking he was a good guy!