I want to know what’s going on behind the scenes. We were out on the road, and certain things were not going the way they should. It worked out that we would become business partners. We clicked very well. She’s like a sister I never had. We’re an extension of each other, and think so much alike. Where I’m weak, she’s strong. She’s helped me a lot to understand not to believe the hype, and to be prepared for things.
Urban Grandstand Digital: It goes to show, too, that we as a people can really work together.
Andre Pitre: We can…
Urban Grandstand Digital: People feel like we can’t, but we definitely can!
Andre Pitre: It’s up to us. It’s amazing how much power we have. It’s amazing what we can do. If you look at anything in entertainment, you see someone in color doing it. Producing, football, basketball, owning your own franchise, we can do whatever we put our minds to. We come into this world naturally hustling. We have to do ten times more than the average person born into wealth. The one thing as blacks we must do is save money, so our kids' kids' kids come into something. They don’t have to fight as much because we’ve left something aside for them to build and continue instead of starting from scratch. That’s another reason we started this production company. We wanted to show that you don’t have to go to LA and New York. Houston is just as big, and there’s an opportunity. It’s people like us coming together and showing you can do the same thing.
Urban Grandstand Digital: I can appreciate you saying that people don’t have to leave the city to achieve these things. That was our principle with our company. Cleveland is big enough that you don’t have to leave here.
Andre Pitre: You can make your city the next Hollywood. You just have to be willing to stay there and make it happen. The reason these other cities like LA are the way they are is because you have people born and bred, and they made it possible. They pushed it and made it drive. It’s like we get there to the edge and then say let me go over here to where everybody else is. I believe that once it comes through, I’m opening the doors for people, like what Tyler Perry is doing. He opened the doors for others like myself, and others who have dreams of doing it themselves. It’s possible. With God, anything is possible. That’s something we’ve been doing. The music is about to take off. I’m working on a major project right now, and I’m excited about that. I’m building an incredible team. This is something that’s like a life-long dream coming to fruition. I’ve been through ups and downs in this music game, but it has prepared me for what’s coming. I’ve always said “much is given, much is required”. I asked for big things at a young age, but now I understand that you ask for it but you ain’t just going to get it. You have to go through some things to truly appreciate owning your own company.
Urban Grandstand: I’ve seen people in this industry go through so much before they finally made it.
Andre Pitre: Right…
Urban Grandstand Digital: Now we're especially talking today because of your music. “Come On Baby” has been doing pretty well so far. I know it hit iTunes earlier this year. Tell everyone about this single, the process of putting it together, and the direction you’re heading now?
44