1970 – 2019
Media Pioneer, Hip Hop Legend
I am one of the lucky ones who had the chance to tell Todd face to face how much he has influenced me in the field of multi-media.
His path was my path and fortunately the work that he did with that ground breaking and important Hip Hop video show on MTV was a visual training ground for many of my endeavors past and present.
Much like VJ Ralph Mcdaniels of the iconic Music Video Box, BET’s Rap City and Spencer Thornton’s Pump it Up! Yo MTV Raps lead by Ted Demme, Todd 1, Ed Lover and Dr. Dre and Fab 5 Freddy was a major influence for the culture and aspiring media enthusiasts – especially people of color.
So while the passing of Todd 1 is a tough pill to swallow, a celebration is in order for a serious trailblazer!
Until we do it again, rest well Fam!
“We will never forget!”
LaMar Stephens
Founder Rap Entertainment, LLC
TODD -1
BIO
Todd 1 is ready to take on the new millennium and prove to the entertainment world that his early success was no flash in the pan. From MTV to BET to ABC to Source All Access (Nationally Syndicated) to Interscope Presents the Next Episode (on Showtime), the multi-talented producer has paid his dues and the payoff is set for the year 2004. Born Todd Brown, the Brooklyn native showed early promise during his school years and definitely stood out amongst the crowd. He lists early rap stars KRS-One and LL Cool J as major musical influences and by age 16, he had begun to rap professionally. But although he desired a music career, Todd went off to college.
While studying Cable and Corporate Communications, Todd got his first taste of Television production. He took everything from `Speech’ to `Remote TV Production’ to `Physics of Music’. One day a fellow student came into class wearing a suit and told him about an internship interview that he was going to. He gave him the phone number and his call led to an internship with a growing company called MTV.
Rising from intern to production assistant to associate producer, Todd knew that he found his niche. He quickly bonded with Ted Demme, who took him on as his apprentice. During this time, the music world was revving its engines and the rise of prominent hip-hop and R&B groups were beginning to take over the charts. The show, MTV’s ‘Fade to Black’ (which would later spawn the hit show ‘MTV Jams’) achieved strong ratings with Todd himself as the offbeat host, proved to be a real learning experience. Having worked with such premiere artists as Babyface, Janet Jackson, Shaquille O’Neal, TLC and Queen Latifah, it was a short time before he received the call to work at BET. Although he spent less than two years there, BET proved to be another stepping stone for the passionate Todd-1.
After a brief stint setting up the foundation for a Mike Tyson record label, Todd hooked up with friend and NBA star Derrick Coleman to form 44 Ways entertainment. Described it as a `full-service entertainment conglomerate which will catered to Music, Television and Film’ Todd-1 had his plate full running the day to day operations. 2 years later, Todd returned to his roots as a Producer of Hip Hop Television shows taking on the post of Supervising Producer at the nationally syndicated show – “Source All Access”. It was during the hiatus of this show that he wrote his first screenplay entitled “Money Boys”.
