Bayer Mack: Difference between revisions

|birth_place = [[Murfreesboro, Tennessee]], USAUnited States

|occupation = {{hlist|Music executive|music producer|journalist|film producer|film director|publisher}}

| works = ''[[The Czar of Black Hollywood]]'' <br/>''[[In the Hour of Chaos]]''<br/>''[[Profiles of African-American Success]]''<br/>''[[No Lye: An American Beauty Story]]'' <br/> ''[[Black Seeds: The History of Africans in America]]''

'''Bayer Leevince Mack''' (born August 26, 1972) is an American [[record executive]] and music journalistfilmmaker. He is best known as the publisher of the late-1990s, early-2000s urban entertainment website ''HOT 104.com'', the founder of [[Block Starz Music]] and the director of ''[[The Czar of Black Hollywood]]''.

==Early yearslife and education==

Mack attended Central Middle School (now Central Magnet School) and [[Oakland High School (Tennessee)|Oakland High School]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allhighschools.com/alumni-search/oakland-high-school/bayer-mack/3202640 |title= Bayer Mack, Oakland High School, Murfreesboro, TN |publisher=AllHighSchools.com |date=1991-04-08 |access-date=2018-06-11}}</ref> He is an [[alumnus]] of [[Middle Tennessee State University]] where he majored in [[Journalismjournalism]] and wrote for the school's editorially independent, student-run newspaper, ''Sidelines''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mack |first=Bayer Levince |date=1991-03-11 |title=Club owner's remarks distasteful, uncalled for |url=http://cdm15838.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/sidelines/id/18997 |work=Sidelines |page=5 |access-date=2018-06-14}}</ref>

Mack relocated to Louisville, Kentucky in the mid-1990s and founded the [[dot-com company]] Infinity-Digital. His website HOT 104.com gained notoriety after a story it published about the shooting death of [[Tyisha Miller]] by police officers in Riverside, CA went viral.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hot104.com:80/020400.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817091151/http://hot104.com/020400.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2000-08-17 |title=www.hot104.com >>> Articles >>> The "New" HOT 104.com |publisher=Hot104.com |date=2000-02-04 |access-date=2018-06-11 }}</ref> In 1999, Mack signed an affiliate contract with the [[Advertising network|AKA.com Hip-Hop Network]] created by [[Loud Records]] founder [[Steve Rifkind]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Wong |first=Celine |date=February 2000 |title=Site Bite: AKA.com, The Hip Hop Network |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5CcEAAAAMBAJ&q=aka.com&pg=PA154 |magazine=VIBE |location=New York |publisher=Miller Publishing Group LLC |access-date=2018-06-11}}</ref> In addition to Hip-Hop reviews, chart analysis, entertainment news, MP3 downloads and African-American swimsuit models, Mack routinely published [[editorial]]s that touched on hot-button issues, like ineffective African-American leadership and [[Sexual violence#Women|sexual violence]] against women.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://hot104.com/030100.html |title=Archivedwww.hot104.com >>> Articles >>> The Problem With Black copyLeadership |access-date=2018-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010108173700/http://hot104.com/030100.html |archive-date=2001-01-08 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> and [[Sexual violence#Women|sexual violence]] against women.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hot104.com/feature/all_about_eve011502.htm |title=ArchivedHOT 104 >> Columns >> All About copyEve |access-date=2018-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021020185030/http://www.hot104.com/feature/all_about_eve011502.htm |archive-date=2002-10-20 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> HOT 104.com also covered several police shootings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hot104.com:80/626001026a.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817090619/http://hot104.com/626001026a.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2000-08-17 |title=HOT 104.com Breaking News: Louisville Police Kill Again |publisher=Hot104.com |date=2000-06-26 |access-date=2018-06-11 }}</ref>

Mack became the marketing manager of a German hip-hop website called ''YoRaps.com'' in 2008.{{cncitation needed|date=August 2021}} Later that year, he and the site's owner, Kai Denninger, formed an [[netlabel|online record label]] called Block Starz Music to promote free mixtapes by the independent and unsigned artists featured in YoRaps' “Next 2 Blow” section, like [[Rasheeda]]. The label's early association with [[Wiz Khalifa]] helped boost the company's profile and attracted other artists. In a 2010 interview with Chicago's 88.9 FM (WIIT) ''Fusion'' radio show, Mack said his “ongoing love for the music” and desire to stay connected to the industry prompted him to develop Block Starz Music's regionally themed [[compilation album]] series, which introduced new artists like [[Machine Gun Kelly (rapper)|Machine Gun Kelly]]. The label is noted for developing [[YouTube]] stars, like [[Lega-C]].{{cn|date=August 2021}}

Mack made his directorial debut in 2014 with the documentary film ''Oscar Micheaux: [[The Czar of Black Hollywood]]''. He self-financed the project and released it independently through his production studio, Block Starz Music Television. In an April 2014 interview with ''[[The Washington Times]]'', Mack said he was inspired to produce a film about [[Oscar Micheaux]]'s life because it mirrored his own.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wetzstein |first=Cheryl |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/30/black-side-of-silver-screen-filmmaker-oscar-michea/ |title=Black side of silver screen: Filmmaker Oscar Micheaux paved his own path to Hollywood |newspaper=Washington Times |date=2014-04-30 |access-date=2014-08-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Wetzstein |first=Cheryl |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/30/love-of-history-spurred-rap-mogul-bayer-l-mack-to-/ |title=Love of history spurred rap mogul Bayer L. Mack to make Micheaux documentary |newspaper=Washington Times |date=2014-04-30 |access-date=2014-08-25}}</ref> The film was nominated for "Best Independent Documentary" at the 2015 Black Reel Awards.{{cn|date=August 2021}} Mack is also executive producer of the [[web series]], ''[[Profiles of African-American Success]]''. In 2016, he wrote and directed the [[Martin Luther King Sr.]] documentary ''[[In the Hour of Chaos]]'', which takes a critical view of [[liberalism]]'s effect on the black civil rights movement. The film was named runner-up at the ''San Francisco Black Film Festival'' and was featured at San Francisco's [[de Young Museum]] as part of the Bay Area's "MLK Day of Revelations".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://deyoung.famsf.org/calendar/hour-chaos-untold-story-rev-martin-luther-king-sr-film-screening | title="In the Hour of Chaos: The Untold Story of Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr.", Film Screening | website=deyoung.famsf.org | access-date=2018-07-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://sfbff.org/wordpress/in-the-hour-of-chaos | title=San Francisco Black Film Festival >> June 15–18, 2017 >> In The Hour Of Chaos | publisher=SFBFF.org | access-date=2018-06-30 | archive-date=2020-08-06 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806165828/https://sfbff.org/wordpress/in-the-hour-of-chaos | url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2019, Mack wrote and directed a documentary film on the rise and decline of the black-owned ethnic beauty industry, called ''[[No Lye: An American Beauty Story]]''. The film premiered at the inaugural ''Visions of the Black Experience'' event presented by the [[Sarasota Film Festival]] at [[New College of Florida]] on December 5.{{cn|date=Augustcitation 2021}} ''No Lye'' won "Outstanding Independent Documentary" at the 2020 Black Reel Awards.{{cnneeded|date=August 2021}} Mack's film ''[[Black Seeds: The History of Africans in America]]'' won the "Best Feature Documentary" award and a $20,000 camera package from [[Panavision]] at the 2021 Denton Black Film Festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dentonbff.com/dbff-2021-winners/ |title=DBFF 2021 Winners |publisher=Denton Black Film Festival |date=2021-02-01 |access-date=2021-07-28}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |url=https://sarasotafilmfestivalwww.sarasotapost.com/sffsrq-scoop/2793-sarasota-film-festival-presents-visions-of-the-black-experience/ |title=SFFSarasota presentsFilm Festival Presents "Visions of the Black Experience" |publisher=Sarasota Film FestivalPost |date=2019-11-2730 |access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|archive-date=2019-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206095840/https://www.sarasotapost.com/srq-scoop/2793-sarasota-film-festival-presents-visions-of-the-black-experience |titleurl-status=Sarasotadead Film Festival Presents "Visions of the Black Experience" |publisher=Sarasota Post |date=2019-11-30 |access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/articles/2019/12/3/new-college-presents-visions-of-the-black-experience-film-series |title=New College to Host 'Visions of the Black Experience' Film Series |publisher=Sarasota Magazine | date=2019-12-03 |access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/entertainment/20191204/visions-of-black-experience-brings-inaugural-free-film-festival-to-sarasota |title=Visions of the Black Experience brings inaugural, free film festival to Sarasota |publisher=Herald Tribune | date=2019-12-04 |access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://power620.iheart.com/content/2019-12-04-no-lye-this-is-probably-the-best-film-on-the-history-of-black-hair-care/ |title=No Lye, This Is Probably The Best Film On The History Of Black Hair Care |publisher=Power 620 WHEN (Syracuse) | date=2019-12-04 |access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blackreelawards.com/the-great-eight-dolemite-is-dynomite/ |title=THE GREAT EIGHT . . . DOLEMITE IS DYNOMITE! |publisher=BlackReelAwards.com | date=2020-02-07 |access-date=2020-02-07}}</ref>

| 2021 || ''[[Black Seeds: The History of Africans in America]]'' || Documentary