Serial entrepreneur, bails bond and R&B singer Lafayette Taylor is like no other creative in the business. Not only is he a native born Alaskan, but he is also the first black man to own his own bails bonds company while pursuing music full time. Investing in himself and things that are generating him several streams of income is how he plans to create generational wealth for he and his family.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Taylor for a candid conversation discussing music, entrepreneurship, and working with R&B legends. Check it out below.
Lafayette Taylor Interview
Who is Lafayette Taylor?
A child of God put here on earth to help others. I am also a CEO, artist, and writer born in Fairbanks, Alaska October 22nd.
Where does your love for music come from as I understand you come from a musical family? Do you care to share more about your upbringing?
My love for music came from my mom and dad playing R&B music all the time, and every man in my family was a drummer. I got into concert band as a drummer, moved onto symphonic band, began my own Jazz band, and then played music throughout school. My love for singing started in 6th grade, when I was cornered by some girls during recess to sing for them. I saw the joy in their face, and at that point I knew I wanted to make music because of how I could make people feel.
How did you become a bail bondsman, and private investigator? and how do you find the time to create music at such a high frequency balancing so much?
I moved to Houston, and my cousin and I were touring looking for singers for a group we wanted to put together. With that being said, someone approached my cousin for some help to open up their bail bonds company, so we both helped in 2018. I would work from 9:00 AM to 12:00 AM making $100 a week. I always was a good salesman, so selling other things helped me pay to $250+ per week. In October 2018, we were going to leave the business, and someone missed court so my cousin asked me if I wanted to be a bounty hunter and make extra money for arresting this person. So I said “heck yeah”. After that, I told him if I stay here in Houston I want to have my own company, in which I currently am the youngest and 1st black man to own a bail bonds company. I believe I was successful because of my ability to listen, learn, and apply.
Music is my passion and I just had to do it. Everyday I think about music in some capacity.
Being from Alaska, what inspired your move to Houston, and what are some ways you have success since relocating? What is the biggest difference between Alaska and Houston musically and culturally?
A business opportunity led me to moving to Houston. Success of bridging people together, and being the youngest and first black bail bondsman putting out music, is how I go throughout life, just being able to put others in positions to win.
Alaska is easier to find and have friends, but Houston there is no snow. There is more of a scene to elevate in Houston. Musically, there are more opportunities in Houston. There were more people that hone their talent in Alaska, because there was nothing else to do but focus on your craft and there is a lot of untapped talent in Alaska.
What was it like being a part of a group and what made you go solo?
It felt like a brotherhood. If I was ever able to be in a group again, I would. I like everyone being in sync and harmony. Timing and Age. It was time to focus on myself as an individual. Then my previous business partner, Shakeatha Davis and I opened up Davis-Taylor A&R Development Center. She pushed me to try and work on myself, and when Major League Beats came into my life. I finally had someone in my corner being real and being honest in Houston.
What are some of your career goals you hope to achieve?
A major goal of mine has always been to Set up a hub for Houston, which I have done with 1 SoundVibe. Getting into the Top 100 R&B charts as a solo artist and a writer is definitely high up on the list. As a business owner, I want to open several businesses, which I am currently in the process of developing. Being able to know that my mom does not want for anything is very important to me as well as being a child of God.
Can you talk about the work you are doing with 90’s legends H-Town and Shai?
It’s a blessing to do work with legends that I always looked up to. I am actually working on some singles for H-Town currently. I am also working on some remixes and singles with Garfield from Shai. Building relationships and helping them with their music productions has been a an honor. Anyway I can help, I do my part.
When can we expect a full body of work from you?
i will be releasing a full project later this year called, Lafayette Anferney Taylor: The Writer’s Journey. I am currently in the process of creating different platforms under the 1SoundVibe Connection. This is a platform for artists to release their music exclusively, gain opportunities as entrepreneurs, and building a hub for the film industry out of my current studio 1soundVibe Studios. I want to build that bridge of educating artists on how to promote their music, and cover themselves. Basically how to turn their hustle into a business.
Press play below to stream Lafayette Taylor’s latest single “Friday Night”.
