SICKAMORE
aka randall jesse medford
Practically anyone can put out a hit record, but creating a groundbreaking body of workis no easy task. It takes an extraordinary artist, producers, and sometimes songwriters too. It also takes a special individual to stay by the artist’s side and maneuver the many moving parts from inception to conception without breaking a sweat. This challenging and selfless role is one that only the most passionate and dedicated dare to tackle. Sickamore is one those individuals.
Trinidadian-born Randall “Sickamore” Medford is more than just an A&R — he’s a maverick. For the past decade, he’s become widely recognized and championed as the new generation’s favorite A&R, developing some of today’s most groundbreaking artists while yielding gold and platinum sales and global notoriety. But this type of success
doesn’t happen overnight.
For Sickamore, such success has followed a lifelong dedication to the art of rap and hip-hop culture. Growing up in Brooklyn during the genre’s golden age, he quickly delved into the scene with a watchful eye and ear. As his interest blossomed into adoration and deep appreciation, he saw an opportunity to stake his claim in a world he knew without a doubt that he belonged in. At the age of 16, Sickamore began to curate and sell instrumental hip-hop mixtapes on Canal Street in Manhattan. Naturally, people took notice of his talent, intrigued by this hustle-minded kid boldly rubbing shoulders to make his name as a mixtape DJ. Five years later, in 2006, this venture landed him his first-ever A&R gig with Atlantic Records, at just 21 years old.
Transitioning from the streets to label suites, Sickamore pivoted once again in 2008. This time, he used his profound awareness of the new and next to launch The Famous Firm, an independent artist development company through which he managed the now-iconic female rapper Nicki Minaj, among many others. Nearly four years into business, Sickamore found himself burned out by the industry and fearful that he had peaked too early. It would take a return to the basics of artists and repertoire to find his footing once again.
Since, Sickamore has commanded high-ranking positions at several prestigious record companies. In 2012, he returned to the major label side of things, proving his A&R smarts at Def Jam Records with the success of YG (My Krazy Life, Still Brazy, and Stay Dangerous) and Jeremih (“Don’t Tell ‘Em” and “Planes.”) Just two years later, he was personally recruited by legendary music executive L.A. Reid to join Epic Records, where he helped craft the prolific career of new age hip-hop heavyweight Travis Scott, whose first three studio albums (Rodeo, Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight, and ASTROWORLD) all hold certified platinum status. ASTROWORLD received a Grammy nomination for best rap album in 2019, and its chart-topping single “SICKO MODE” (Scott’s first US Billboard Hot 100 #1, as well as the first hip hop song ever to spend over 30 weeks in the top 10) was nominated for best rap song.
Now Senior Vice President of A&R and Creative Director at Interscope Records, Sickamore oversees the recording careers of the label’s many dynamic acts, including emerging talent such as Sheck Wes (“Mo Bamba”) and Ama Lou. With his finger still on the pulse of the ever-evolving industry, he is currently assisting Travis Scott in building Cactus Jack Records, as well as working on his own boutique imprint, Sick Projects, a creative house whose first signee is the 21 year-old singer, producer, and engineering prodigy Jayla Darden. But in addition to his A&R man savvy, Sickamore is actively pushing hip-hop culture in various capacities with the mission of teaching the fundamentals of artist discovery and development and empowering the creative superstars of tomorrow. He has spoken about creative processes at Harvard University, NYU’s Clive Davis School of Music, the Parsons School of Art and Design, Stanford University, Berklee College of Music, the UCLA, and the USC. In his spare time, Sickamore taught himself photography and has adopted this medium as his personal creative venture. His striking black-and-white portraits and stills have been showcased at Art Basel Miami, Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, and in a collaborative exhibition with KidSuper at Manhattan Wreck. As a man of integrity who believes that if you can master yourself, you can master the world, Sickamore prides himself on never getting lost in the business and forever remaining amulti-hyphenated creative in permanent beta.
PODCASTS
RapRadar • YesJulz • Hey, Cool Job!
Kavasations • What A Time To Be Online
Waste of Time w/ ItsTheReal
CONTACT
Sick@Sickamore.co
Instagram + Twitter + LinkedIn
Site by Stefi Mar