Third World Don lands major deal with Capitol Records

Jamaica-born producer-turned-rapper Michael Barnett Jr, once known as Mike Beatz, has made significant strides in the development of his music career.

Adding to his status as a platinum-selling producer, Barnett has secured a recording deal with Capitol Records. Barnett told THE STAR the deal was finalised in February, and was concluded after an intense bidding war among major international record labels.

After graduating St George's College, Barnett migrated to the United States in pursuit of his music career.

His efforts have led him to meet and work with top-selling artistes, including Lil Wayne, and Kanye West, and even earned him a platinum record in 2010 as a part of a music group called Wizard Sleeve.

REBRANDED IMAGE

Now, the artiste has rebranded his image from Mike Beatz to Third World Don.

"Basically for the last year, I was working independently, building a buzz, and there turned out to be this whole bidding war. I picked the best one for my situation," he said. Capitol Records operates as a division of the Capitol Music Group, an American front line umbrella label owned by Universal Music Group which is considered one of the 'big three' record labels, along with Sony Music and Warner Music Group.

Artistes currently signed to Capitol Records include Paul McCartney, Katy Perry, Beck and Sam Smith.

Just a few months after securing the deal, Barnett has begun the campaign for his budding career as a recording artiste. Recently, he released the visuals for his first single, Ray Charles.

Barnett said he plans to visit Jamaica in July, where he intends to do some promotion. Barnett's debut album as Third World Don will be called Trouble in Paradise. Though the album is complete, the artiste does not have a release date in mind.

"We just kinda testing the waters and putting some music out there, and building anticipation first," he said.