http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=55390&ran=58956 The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, Va.) June 12, 2003 Thursday Final Edition HEADLINE: STEVE FRANCIS, RAP MOGUL?; ROCKETS GUARD MAKES A JUMP START INTO THE MUSIC BUSINESS BYLINE: Ed Miller, The Virginian-pilot DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH Allen Iverson, Deion Sanders and Shaquille O'Neal have cut albums. Rapper Jay-Z has a line of athletic shoes, the fastest sellers in Reebok history. For the hip-hop generation, the line between sports and entertainment has blurred. As anyone who has ever watched five minutes of an MTV "Rock N' Jock" special can attest, many athletes want to be entertainers, and many entertainers fancy themselves athletes. Into this crossover culture comes Steve Francis, high-flying guard for the NBA's Houston Rockets. Francis has no interest in stepping behind a microphone, which, given the performances of Messrs. Iverson, Sanders and O'Neal, is probably a good thing. His interest in the music business is strictly entrepreneurial. "I'm looking to be a big player, one day," Francis said Wednesday. "Whether it happens overnight, or years from now." If it happens, Francis can say he got his start in Hampton Roads. He was in the area Wednesday on the first stop of a promotional tour for his new record label, Isoh Entertainment. Accompanying Francis was his label's first artist, a 17-year-old singer from Houston named T'Neq. Francis rates music as a second love, behind basketball, and says it helps him relax. "Some people play golf," he said. "I like music." Francis planned to hold a talent contest to find his first artist, but then his limo driver met T'Neq's mother and one thing led to another. Francis heard T'Neq sing, and his search was over. Francis said he heard Hampton Roads was a good market, with the Dirty South All-Star Summer Jam tour stopping in Virginia Beach, and decided this was as good a place as any to begin promoting his new find. Her album debuts Aug. 19. On Wednesday, Francis and T'Neq, in matching sunglasses, made the rounds starting the day at Brandon Middle School and ending it at A.J. Gators sports bar in downtown Norfolk. In between, they popped in at a handful of local restaurants, at Military Circle Mall, radio station "Hot" 102.1, and in the late afternoon, at the Boys & Girls Club on Competitor Court in Virginia Beach. The club hosts the "Youth Creations" outreach program, which encourages children to express themselves through visual and performing arts. Derrick Bunch, a sophomore at Ocean Lakes High, did just that. As he waited for Francis to arrive, Bunch hung a pair of posters outside the boys club gym. One of them featured basketball goals and musical notes. The other was more direct. "Attention!" it said. "Come chill with Steve Francis from the Houston Rockets." More than 100 kids came out, including DeJuan Baskerville, a Landstown Middle School student. He held a Steve Francis jersey, one he'd scrimped and saved for, and he said Francis is his favorite NBA point guard. If Francis would sign his jersey, Baskerville said he'd never sell it. "This is a one-in-a-lifetime chance," he said. "It's not going to happen all the time, an NBA star showing up at the Boys & Girls Club." Francis entered with an entourage of a half-dozen and shook hands with a thrilled Baskerville along the way. He and T'Neq watched as several members of the "Youth Creations" performed, topped off by the Step team that recently took first place at the AFR'AM Fest in Norfolk. Francis took the microphone and thanked the kids for performing. Then he introduced T'Neq. "We wanted to give y'all a chance to see here early, before things really pick up," Francis said. T'Neq belted out a ballad from her upcoming album, signed some autographs, then she and Francis and company slipped into a long black limo. On to the next stop. *** "Isoh" Entertainment? Insert joke here.
Uh...shouldn't this guy be working on his game? I hope it doesn't suck as much as his "we are one" clothing company. Although I hear it does a lot of nice charity work.
somebody has to say it... maybe Mr. Francis should concentrate on basketball just a lil bit more. i wish steve had kobe' work ethic... maybe not his attitude, but Kobe has an amazing offseason work ethic plus it's not like Stevie is hurting in the money dept... big contract, endorsements...
hmmm.. i wonder if i could send him a demo tape.. lol . anyways, i wish stevie the best of luck to his recording company. but he gotta have his attention on his game rather than this "side-dish". if he still want to be called franchise, he gotta live up to his game and b like yall said, have kobe's passion and hardwork for the game!
get off steve's case. should you guys be thinking about work rather than posting on these boards? Using your logic life would be quite dull. Go Steve!!! (well as long as he never tries to cut a track himself)
I wish I could find the articles, but Francis has quite the grueling offseason workout schedule himself. Is he not allowed to have a hobbie? He can't play basketball for 24 hours a day.
geez...someone is trying to do something that will help him after his playing days are over and you guys are just jumping on him. cut him some slack. he deserves some non-basketball time as well.
good grief man. does he have to get jumped on for everything. every player in history has hobbies. hmm, maybe jordan should have taken a little time off gambling to work on his game. the good players know what they need to do and steve is known as a gym rat.
Yeah, go figure. The guy has a private chef who prepares all his low-sodium, low-fat meals. He works out an average of 6 hours every day include two of those in the weight room. The guy is known for being the first one in the gym during offseason workouts (7am) and the last one to leave (sometimes 9pm). SHAME ON HIM for taking time off from basketball to do something he loves. Next thing you know, he'll be taking one or two of the hours in his day that weren't spent working out, playing basketball or studying tape to build a business he can have when he retires instead of working out some more. Pathetic.
I'm sure your bosses are at home thinking "if that guy would just work more and learn more about his work instead of posting on bbs'es all day..." But of course all you guys are at home right now thinking of ways to improve yourself at work, right?
Good for Stevie, at least he's not out smackin' his wife around or getting in bar room fights. I wish he would sign only Houston talent. A high profile record label in Htown would be great, especially after that South Park Mexican nonsense...
I cant believe some people want this guy to work harder to play better. HE' A FREAKIN ALL-STAR AND ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE GAME AT HIS POSITION. If you really want to rag on somebody to work harder to improve there game during the offseason, why dont you try raging on Eddie Griffin? Leave Francis alone, he DESERVES his time off.
Oh one more thing, atleast Francis practice's on improving his game unlike another certain NBA rapper we all know of who doesnt like to PRACTICE............we talkin' bout practice..................we aint talkin bout the game........we talkin bout PRACTICE! You should know who I'm talkin' bout.
" 'Isoh' Records"? I wonder if Stevie knows that stands for "International Society of Olympic Historians."
