Haitian American publicity guru Marie Driven says she is “driving” Caribbean musical talent mainstream.
“The hardest thing for artists on the come-up is gaining notoriety for their art,” the Brooklyn-based Driven, managing partner of PlaybookMG, told Caribbean Life.
“Now, add in foreign artists from the Caribbean, from another country, and you have additional problems of a language barrier, adjusting to mainstream culture, and learning how to broaden their vision worldwide to make a global impact,” she added.
This is where Driven said she enters the picture.
She said her expertise as a managing partner of Playbook Media Group, otherwise known as PlaybookMG, has produced many Caribbean stars throughout the past decades, with her “dedication and hard work.”
Driven said her resume and current rosters feature “an impressive and extensive amount of talent from the islands.”
That list includes: Remy Ma, Papoose; Kranium; celebrity stylist Kidear Youmans; Dancehall Queen Spice; Tara Wallace; Chef Patrick; Stevie J; Tony Sunshine; Future Fambo; Alexus Rose; QQ; Mr Lexx; Cham; Ricky Blaze; Peter Gunz; Wyclef Jean, Jr.; Reid; Marian Hall, previously known as Lady Saw; Kranium; and Mr. Vegas.
Driven said she has also “helped the islands with influencer-marketing,” stating that she “bridges the gap between influencers and companies in the islands on a daily and rapid rate.”
Entering a new decade, in 2020, Driven said she is also working “to continue bridging and closing the gap between the Caribbeans and mainstream culture.”
She said her intuition is serving her “greatly,” adding that she strives to achieve her goal “more every day.”
As the face of Playbook Media Group and co-founder of the company who got her started as a celebrity publicist, Driven said she is “a recognized player on the entertainment scene.”
She said she represents “what it means to have a pulse on popular culture while also narrowing in on establishing a presence in emerging markets.”
Playbook Media Group was formed in 2014 when Jean Jones and Driven joined forces in launching “modernized services for today’s entrepreneurial culture.”
Driven said they have “quite an impressive roster of current and former project affiliations, a high-profile account of publicity, from rappers, to record companies, to clothing lines.”
“Playbook MG acts as a platform for an audience reach somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 million people nationwide, and more than three times that globally and growing,” Driven said.
