Erik Hicks

Erik Hicks' career is distinguished by over 30 years of success as a businessman and entertainment professional. His experience in branding strategies, marketing, artist management, business development, and consulting/advising has served his clients and business partners in resplendent fashion. The multi-faceted Erik "E Smooth" Hicks is a musical genius who is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer who has written and produced songs for some of the most legendary artists in the world, such as his favorite singer of all-time, multi-Grammy and Pulitzer Prize Winning, and the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Aretha Franklin (Rose Is Still a Rose album); multi-Grammy Award Winning and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Curtis Mayfield (New World Order album) and Bootsy Collins (Ground Zero featuring Bootsy Collins EP); and multi-Grammy Award Winning singer Regina Belle (Believe in Me album), to name a few. In fact, Erik has been memorialized in the book, All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul, for his songwriting and production of Regina Belle's Grammy-nominated album Believe in Me, where Erik co-wrote, produced, and arranged 8 of the 11 songs on the album. The book's author is quoted as saying that Erik has given Belle "the strongest rhythmic push her music has ever had." Erik was also privileged to participate in the Hip-O Records, a Universal Music Company, tribute album to his civil rights hero. The album was entitled, Living the Dream: A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Various artists on the album include legends such as Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, Patti LaBelle, and Regina Belle to name a few. Some of the notable additional writers and producers include Super Producer Teddy Riley, Kurt Franklin, and Lionel Richie. The album included excerpts from the "I Have A Dream" speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK). But two of the greatest highlights in Erik's life were 1) him being one of the last people to have the distinctive pleasure to sing a duet with one of his musical heroes, Curtis Mayfield, on the song "Oh So Beautiful," which unbeknownst to Erik was selected to be the song played during the closing credits of VH1's Legends Television Series "Curtis Mayfield" episode, which was narrated by legendary singer, songwriter, actor Kris Kristofferson; and 2) him being a producer on the Grammy-nominated song "Back to Living Again" featuring the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin; both songs being on Curtis Mayfield's New World Order album. Additionally, one of Erik's proudest moments, was when he was honored by being chosen to produce one of his still-favorite songs by Regina Belle, "Teach Me How To Live" that was co-written by Bruce Roberts and Junior Miles, the pseudonym used by business, entertainment, and media mogul Edgar Bronfman Jr., who had then just recently expanded the Seagram Company into the entertainment business through the acquisition of PolyGram, MCA, and Universal Pictures. And now come full circle, Erik was deeply touched and honored when he was unexpectedly asked by Grammy Award Winning Violinist Miri Ben-Ari to write the hook and sing lead & all of the choir background vocals on the song "Symphony of Brotherhood Rise". Feeling and understanding the magnitude of this moment, Erik reached out to Grammy Award Winning International Super Star Flo Rida requesting that he join him in this historical undertaking. The song featuring the trio alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a magical musical masterpiece delivered to a society yearning for harmony, empowerment, and good news. Miri, Flo Rida, and Erik debuted "Symphony of Brotherhood Rise" during their interview on Rolling Stone on Twitch, on January 14, 2022, the same day the song was released. It is not only a song that brings together different worlds: R&B, hip-hop, gospel, violin, and the iconic MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech, but it is the song that Erik is most proud. Entertainment Professional As a teenager, Erik started his first independent record label in 1987. The subsequent year, Erik released his debut EP. In 1989, Erik met Jeff Clanagan, former CEO of Codeblack Entertainment, and current President of actor and business mogul, Kevin Hart's Laugh Out Loud Network. In 1990, Jeff started his own independent record label and signed to this label the rap duo, in which Erik was co-writer, co-producer, and one-half of the group, Ground Zero featuring the legendary musical icon Bootsy Collins. Their EP, Future of the Funk, was released in 1991, with the first single, "Lettin Ya Know," receiving national radio airplay. Erik and the group's interviews, music videos, and live performances were seen on Yo! MTV Raps, BET's Video Soul, BET's Rap City, BET's Teen Summit, and Dance Party USA, to name a few. Soon thereafter, Erik became the protégé, co-producer/writer, and advisor to Super Producer and Emmy Award Winning Narada Michael Walden. Narada has written and produced 57 Billboard® number one hit singles, which include 6 of the 7 number one hit singles for the late Whitney Houston alone. Also early in his career, Erik discovered an unknown aspiring model from Pasadena, whom he mentored and transformed into a musical artist, and gave the name "Dena Cali". Never one to be discouraged by naysayers, Erik determined and perseverant took the bull by the horns when no major record label would sign Dena Cali, and thus he created his own new independent label just to sign her, and began producing multiple tracks for her debut album, in which he also served as executive producer. This album included her first single, "I'm Your Girl" which Erik wrote and produced. "I'm Your Girl" climbed all the way to #2 on the Billboard® "Hot Rap Singles(TM)" chart and also reached #21 on the Billboard® "Hot 100 Singles Sales(TM)" chart. In addition, it reached #6 on the Billboard® "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Single Sales(TM)" chart. Some of the artists that Erik featured on the album were legends such as Rap Pioneer, MC Lyte; DJ Spinderella, DJ of the multi-platinum, Grammy Award Winning rap duo, Salt-N-Pepa; and Kurupt, one-half of the multi-platinum duo, Tha Dogg Pound, to name a few. Erik has previously managed and advised a plethora of musical artists and groups, including one of his favorite R&B groups of all time, the legendary multi-platinum group Guy, where he managed Aaron Hall and Damion Hall on their last released album, Guy III which reached #5 on Billboard® "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums(TM)" chart and reached #13 on "Billboard® 200" Albums. Moreover, Erik is an avid art collector and manages multi-faceted, intuitive 25+ year gifted artist, Joanna Ciampa, who has garnered awards for her phenomenal artwork and interior design. In fact, Erik also draws and paints, and is a new-age digital artist in his own right. Erik collaborated with world-renowned street artist Super Buddha on the "Global Unity" NFT, which features an original music score and vocals, both produced, arranged, and musically composed by Erik. Ironically the first time Erik drew anything as a child, it was not a stick figure, but the Starship Enterprise. Erik has always been light years ahead of his time. Furthermore, Erik also Executive Produced alongside Business Mogul and Entertainment Superstar Nick Cannon, and Charles "Frisco Chuck" Kelley, the Nick Cannon & Ncredible Gang's first E-NFT album entitled SucStress released on November 16, 2021. Businessman Erik's many business interests are vast and diverse. To begin, Erik is one of the Co-Founders of Emmersive Entertainment, Inc., a technology company specializing in virtual reality, augmented reality, NFTs, and animation, alongside his business partners, Co-Founder David J. Kovacs, who is a serial entrepreneur, business & tech mogul, and the Co-Founder of First Contact Entertainment, a leading virtual reality game company that includes Call of Duty veterans; and Co-Founder Flo Rida the multi-platinum, Grammy Award Winning rapper, singer-songwriter, and business mogul, who has sold over 100 million singles worldwide. Erik is also Flo Rida's business advisor. Emmersive Entertainment, Inc.'s Board of Directors is chaired by serial entrepreneur and business & tech mogul, Dr. Carr Bettis, who is also the Executive Chairman of AudioEye (NASDAQ: AEYE) and serves on the Board of Directors of First Contact Entertainment. Emmersive Entertainment has been seen on CBS This Morning, and featured on 60 Minutes+, which is streaming on Paramount+. Laurie Segall is the host and Karen Ye the producer. The Emmersive Entertainment segment was Episode 18 and was Part 2 of a 2-part series. Part 1 aired and featured Beeple who made history with his NFT selling for over $69 Million. Part 2, the Emmersive Entertainment segment was entitled "NFTs & The Metaverse Part 2: A New World" and opened with Emmersive's avatar/creation of Laurie Segall and addressed how Emmersive Entertainment is ushering in the future with their ground-breaking technology coupled with Microsoft motion picture cameras. In addition, in August 2021, Emmersive Entertainment was featured in a Forbes magazine article entitled "The Future Is Here With Emmersive Entertainments NFT Music Streaming Platform." Erik, along with his other co-founders, was featured in the article. Emmersive Entertainment's streaming platform was the first platform to stream a NFT album, with the album making history by selling 1 million copies in less than 1 minute. Erik was also amazed that after having worked with Bootsy Collins over 30 years ago, he was able to see the evolution and everlasting effects of Bootsy into the NFT world, when he released the NFT of the song "Music4Climate Justice" on November 4, 2021, on Emmersive Entertainment's streaming platform. This was a mindboggling experience for Erik to still be connected to Bootsy Collins, the P-Funk master himself, after 3+ decades. Erik is a partner at M2Jets Aviation Group, a leading Private Jet Charter and Sales Company, and head of their Sports and Entertainment division. Additionally, Erik is the Chief Strategy Officer and a Board Member of Dolce Foglia, a full-service flavoring house dedicated to helping businesses create unforgettable products, and committed to providing customized, high-quality flavors as crafted by Mr. Ed Vanderloo, Dolce's Chief Flavoring Officer and part owner, whose career highlights include working as Principal Flavorist for Pepsicola; Vice-President, Flavor Development at Pfizer; Director, Flavor Development and Applications for Sanofi Bio Industries; and Senior Flavorist for International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) to name a few. Erik is also Co-Founder, Chairman, Co-CEO, and Chief Brand Officer of House of Ultimate Brands, alongside Dolce Foglia's CEO Stephen Cobos. House of Ultimate Brands has a joint partnership with Dolce Foglia focusing on their luxury and proprietary interests, as well as celebrity partnerships. Erik is a partner in the clothing line F.L.Y Kimonos. Celebrities such as multi-Grammy Award Winning entertainment mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs, multi-Grammy Award Winning recording artist Anderson .Paak, and multi-Grammy Award Winning recording artist Erykah Badu, to name a few, have been seen wearing the F.L.Y Kimonos. Erik previously was a Principal at Gravitas Global Advisors, a New York based financial firm and hedge fund. Before becoming a Principal, he sat on the Advisory Board of Gravitas. Erik also formerly served as an advisor and consultant for Calling Vault, a cellular service company that provides consumers a gated community portal to privacy, security, safety, flexibility, convenience, and data retention for their cellular communication life and lifestyle. Producer/Writer/Director Erik is an Executive Producer on the sci-fi film Karn Evil 9, being adapted by Daniel H. Wilson the author of the New York Times best-selling sci-fi book Robopocalypse; the film Running with Lions directed by David Twohy (co-writer and director of the Riddick franchise); and the AMC TV series Gang Leader for a Day, which is an adaptation of Sudhir Venkatesh's New York Times best-selling book and memoir. He is also an Executive Producer on several new and upcoming Radar Pictures films/TV series. Additionally, Erik has written multiple screenplays, which he will also produce, alongside Interscope Records Co-Founder and Radar Pictures CEO Ted Field. Mr. Field has produced over 80 movies that have generated over $9 billion in worldwide revenue, including such hits as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle; Jumanji: The Next Level; The Last Samurai; and Runaway Bride. The first such original screenplay that Erik has written and will Executive Produce alongside Mr. Field, is I Have Dominion, an epic sci-fi, fantasy thriller. Erik is also the Writer, Director, Producer, and Executive Producer of the original screenplay Tempted by Satan, a supernatural, psychological thriller. In his newest ventures, Erik is one of the Executive Producers of the forthcoming Flo Rida Documentary. And Erik is also an Executive Producer of the highly anticipated TV Series, Da Bassment, the true drama told through the eyes of the legendary musical genius DeVante Swing of the R&B super group Jodeci. Manager/Dealmaker/Visionary And if all of this wasn't enough, Erik has a plethora of clients and various companies that he currently manages and advises, all under his watchful and meticulous eye.