In past 15 years Corey Smyth has earned a reputation as one of the most enterprising, dedicated and visionary young executives in the entertainment industry. His business savvy, keen marketing sense and aggressive hands-on approach to his projects has helped to make many of the artists and entertainers he’s worked with household names. From television to the web to concerts to albums, Corey has been the strong, behind-the-scenes force that has made various projects successful.

Corey began Blacksmith Management in 1991 during his years at Morehouse College. Using his earnings from the sale of a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card, this New York native began guiding the career of a young group; Ya’ll So Stupid, signed to super-producer Dallas Austin’s label Rowdy Records. Though the group disbanded, in 1994, Corey and the group’s producer Spearhead X formed a production company through Tommy Boy Records—one of the most respected Hip Hop labels of the time. Tommy Boy is known for artists such as Queen Latifah, Digital Underground, and De La Soul. It was Corey’s meeting with De La Soul that would bring attention to the Blacksmith name.

In 1996, Corey began managing De La Soul, putting out the group’s fourth successful full-length album Stakes Is High. This opportunity led to the management of a young, Brooklyn rapper named Mos Def. It was during this time that the acclaimed duo Black Star would form, comprised of Mos Def and fellow Brooklyn talent, Talib Kweli. The duo would put out their first album, Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star, on Rawkus Records in 1998. This same year, Corey began managing the career of singer/songwriter Res leading to her signing with MCA in 1999.

Spitkicker, Inc. was co-founded by Corey in 2003. Originally a monumental hip hop tour, the event combined social activism and artistry. The tour would go on to expand into a website, newsletter and syndicated radio show on XM Satellite Radio. 2003 was also the year comedian Dave Chappelle premiered his comedy series Chappelle’s Show with Corey as the Music Supervisor and Talent Coordinator. Corey brought in musical acts including Common, John Legend, Kanye West and The Roots throughout all three seasons of the hit series. His industry relationships and knowledge of good musical direction is why he and Dave decided to produce Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, a documentary film of musical collaborations and performances directed by Michel Gondry and released in March of 2006.

2006 is a landmark year for Corey and Blacksmith. In January of 2006, Corey and Talib Kweli inked a deal with Warner Bros. Records to distribute, market, and promote for their label Blacksmith Music Corp. The current roster of Talib Kweli, Jean Grae, and Strong Arm Steady is evidence of Blacksmith leading the movement of bringing quality music to the mass markets. De La Soul in Apple Computer advertisements, Res as the voice of Wrigley’s Eclipse gum, Kweli as the voice of the lead character Trane for the game Marc Ecko’s Getting Up video game as well as the face of Big Ten Basketball; these are just some of the ways Corey has been able to build the careers of his artists. “Nothing that I work with is about a quick hit. It’s about really planning something for it to exist on its own.”