Steve Stoute

Steve Stoute was born in 1970 in Queens Village, Queens, New York City. He attended five colleges in two years before dropping out.⁠[1][2]

Stoute entered the music business in the late 1980s as a roadie for the rap duo Kid ’n Play, then managed producers including Steve Keitt and the Trackmasters (Poke & Tone), managed Nas for five years and worked with Mary J. Blige; he executive-produced Blige’s album Share My World and was a key executive on the Men in Black soundtrack.⁠[1][3]

He served as Sony Music’s president of urban music, where he signed 50 Cent, and later as executive vice president at Interscope Geffen A&M, and has described Jimmy Iovine as a mentor.⁠[1][2]

In 2004 Stoute left the record industry and founded the branding and advertising company Translation, giving up a $2.5 million label salary for $150,000 in his first year in advertising. Explaining why he left Interscope, he said, “I wanted to build Translation inside of Interscope and I couldn’t do it.”⁠[1][2][4]

On the company’s name, he said, “I could translate culture for Fortune 500 companies because they didn’t understand.” Translation’s clients and projects included McDonald’sMcDonald’sMcDonald’s is a publicly traded restaurant company headquartered in Chicago, known for hamburgers, fries, drive-thrus and its franchise network. Its origins lie in the restaurant opened by Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1940; Ray Kroc expanded franchising from 1955. It operates across more than 100 countries, with the great majority of restaurants run by independent operators.Open the full entry, Anheuser-Busch and State Farm, the partnership between Justin Timberlake and McDonald’s, Jay-ZJAY-ZJAY-Z (born Shawn Corey Carter) is an American rapper, record executive and entrepreneur. He released his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996, served as president of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007, and in 2008 founded the entertainment company Roc Nation, which he chairs. He led the purchase of the streaming service Tidal and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. In October 2026 the NFL named him headliner of the February 2027 Super Bowl halftime show.Open the full entry and Budweiser’s Made in America Festival, and a Reebok shoe deal with Jay-Z and 50 Cent.⁠[2][5][4][1]

Translation’s work also includes McDonald’s 2004 “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle, written with Pusha T, and the Emmy-nominated 2020 Beats by DreBeatsBeats is an audio brand founded by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, offering headphones, earphones and speakers. Apple acquired Beats Electronics and Beats Music in 2014.Open the full entry advertisement “You Love Me.”⁠[3]

In 2011 Stoute published the book The Tanning of America, which was later adapted into a four-part VH1 documentary.⁠[1]

In 2016 Stoute was named Ad Age’s executive of the year.⁠[1]

On November 15, 2017, Stoute unveiled UnitedMasters, a music distribution and brand-partnership company that lets artists keep full ownership of their master recordings and connects them with fans through brand deals; its $70 million Series A round that year was led by AlphabetAlphabetAlphabet is an American technology holding company formed in 2015 through a restructuring of Google, whose businesses include Google as well as companies in autonomous driving, life sciences, and early-stage technology investment. The group reports its businesses as Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets.Open the full entry, with Andreessen HorowitzAndreessen HorowitzAndreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. It invests from the seed stage through the growth stage and provides operational support to its portfolio companies.Open the full entry and 21st Century Fox participating.⁠[1][4]

Stoute conceived UnitedMasters, and Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben HorowitzBen HorowitzBen Horowitz is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist and business author who co-founded Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) with Marc Andreessen in 2009. He previously led Loudcloud’s transition into Opsware and its 2007 sale to Hewlett-Packard. His writing and investing address startup management, organizational culture and the relationship between technology and cultural industries.Open the full entry joined to help with the technology, the two recruiting an engineering team from Facebook, Dropbox and Pandora; Andreessen Horowitz invested and Horowitz joined the company’s board.⁠[5]

In 2021 UnitedMasters closed a Series C round led by Andreessen Horowitz at a $550 million valuation; as of November 2021 the platform had 1.3 million independent artists.⁠[3][1]

Speaking about innovation in 2021, Stoute said, “When you come up with an idea that’s truly something new and innovative, most people aren’t going to see it.”⁠[3]

In 2023 Stoute was included on Variety’s “50 Greatest Hip-Hop Execs of All Time” list.⁠[1]

On September 20, 2026, Andreessen Horowitz released the episode “Nas, Grandmaster Caz, Steve Stoute & Ben Horowitz on Paying Hip-Hop’s Pioneers Their Due,” published on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry as “Why the People Who Built Hip-Hop Ended Up With Nothing.” Hosted by a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz and general partner Erik TorenbergErik TorenbergErik Torenberg is a tech entrepreneur, investor, and podcast host who is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where he invests and is responsible for marketing and the ecosystem network. He was the first employee of Product Hunt and founded or co-founded On Deck, Village Global, and Turpentine, long combining founder communities, expert content, and early-stage investing.Open the full entry, it featured Stoute with rapper Nas and hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Caz; the episode page introduces Stoute as the founder of Translation and UnitedMasters.⁠[6][7]

The discussion covered the origins of the Paid in Full Foundation, whose mission is to recognize and support hip-hop’s pioneers; why simply giving artists money was not enough; the Hip Hop Grandmaster Awards, which pair financial support with recognition; hip-hop’s influence beyond music on language, fashion and major brands; and why many pioneers captured so little of the value they created.⁠[6]

UnitedMasters Inc., which includes the distribution business and Translation, has more than 350 employees and offices in Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Artists working with it include Brent Faiyaz, Lil Tecca, NLE Choppa and BigXthaPlug; BigXthaPlug’s single “All the Way” with Bailey Zimmerman debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first UnitedMasters record to reach the mainstream top 10.⁠[1]

UnitedMasters: Official website: https://unitedmasters.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[4]