Meet PNTHN, The Emerging Rap Collective Out of San Marcos

Hamze

How did you become the manager?

I started off taking pictures of the guys, and eventually became the manager through some typa osmosis. The more time I spent around them, the more interested we all became in working together. They had asked me to be a manager months back but I was trying to move back to new york and be a journalist. I’m off that now. I had been a finalist for like, nine jobs and never made the cut, until I realized I didn’t want any of these jobs in the first place. We were all at a party when planning a photo shoot turned into discussing me being a manager. The strides we’ve made since then have been really incredible and I know this future is brighter than any other path I could’ve taken. PNTHN was one of my biggest inspirations in 2017 and being able to be a part of it and take it to the next level is an honor. They still be pissing me off for the fun of it but it’s all love.

Is being an artist manager something you always wanted to do?

I’ve never really considered being an artist manager in the past because I’m an artist myself. That was always, and still is, the dream — to be able to create art without limitations. Despite being a manager, it’s not all business; everyone in PNTHN contributes beyond their supposed “role” and I’m always tossing out creative feedback and ideas. Management is cool, though. I wanna see these dudes win, and my experience and my personality makes me good at my job. I know a bunch of random shit that really comes in handy. I want everyone to eat. It’s a lot of responsibility, but i’ve never believed in a group of people more. The only reason I’m managing now is cause I bought a $90 film camera and took pictures of rappers for a little while. That brought me into a new community and showed me what else I could offer beyond what I had imagined.

Do you eventually want to be able to manager other groups/artists?

I think about this sometimes, but really, I expect PNTHN to be a one and done as far as management goes. I’m fully committed to them and expect us to be around a long ass time. In the future, though, I think my goals for artist management would be giving kids with potential a chance to be heard and to reach the next level. Too many geniuses get lost to circumstance. PNTHN was lucky to find each other in order to elevate all our brilliance collectively, and I wanna offer that opportunity to young people in the future. You can give a 16 year old a nice studio and watch them create the next great american classic. TDE is a huge inspiration for me — what they’ve built is incredible. I just want to see people’s dreams come true. That’s really important. Too many of us get cast aside for wanting more than what we’re offered, and that shit is discouraging. I wanna make the impossible a reality for artists my age and younger who are willing to make the sacrifices.