The Untold Stories of Destiny’s Child, Marketing, Twenty Thousand Hours of Footage, & Raising Icons With MATHEW KNOWLES

“I believe Failure is an opportunity to grow not a reason to quit” – Mathew Knowles

It’s quite common for parents to believe that their children are superstars, but not many people can make a statement such as that and have the entire world back them up on it. Also, not many people can say they’ve managed the biggest girl group in history. However, Mathew Knowles has done both and so much more. From Destiny’s Child to Beyonce` and Solange’s solo career Mathew Knowles has played many roles in the music industry and 15 years after the DC split he’s setting the record straight, and occupying many lanes all while still managing to educate others who wish to be in the entertainment industry.

Recently, Mathew Knowles decided to go back down memory lane and release pre-Destiny’s Child group, Girls Tyme album and his 5th book, The Untold Stories of Destiny’s Child. Being that they were all at #1 on Itunes and other outlets in their respective categories it’s clear he still knows what the audience wants. But what makes now the perfect time for the release?

Knowles says, “From a business standpoint This is the perfect time of year. Everyone is out shopping for the holidays. But in the marketplace of how DC got started most aren’t accurate. Especially, after my medical scare, it’s important to tell my story accurate or history will have it wrong.” But for those of you wondering if this book will be biased to his views or opinions, and even bias toward Beyonce’s best interest as rumored by the media decades ago, Knowles says,

“Ten people that were there support these events. It’s based on facts, not emotion. I had a strategy for each young lady, but Beyonce` took the black eye from the public for why the group broke up.”

However, Destiny’s Child are not the only people he had plans for. In 2017, at the Annual Roots Picnic, Solange performed the theme song for Disney Channels, Proud Family. Which was just a reminder to how large of a catalog she has. Not to forget the theme song is Solange ft. Destiny’s Child. During our interview, Knowles reveals that he always wanted Solange to be apart of Destiny’s Child and hoped that her taking the lead on a project like this would be a nudge for her to join the group. Why Solange wasn’t a part of DC has always been a puzzling question for fans. I guess you’ll have to grab the book to see if your questions get answered. However, after the Grammy Awarded album, A Seat At The Table fans definitely appreciated and understood her solo journey. Knowles explained that Cranes In the Sky is his
favorite Solange song because “it’s powerful and real.”

On the note of talking favorite songs, Daddy is his favorite song by Beyonce`,but can you could blame him? And when it comes to Destiny’s Child, Survivor is his favorite. Knowles, says,

“ Survivor saved so many lives. All of the fan mail that was received for that song, it really helped people get through tough times, even things like cancer. We even received a letter from a fan that stated she was about to commit suicide and Survivor came on the radio and saved her life.”

However, out of the Girls Tyme songs, All About My Baby was his least favorite but most defining to their career as a group. “Although it wasn’t my favorite it was a song that defined a moment for the group because that was the song they lost with on Star Search. I wanted them to sing Sunshine but that wasn’t my call. After the show, I spoke with the host and he said Justin Timberlake, Brittany Spears, & Boys 2 Men all lost on this show and I listened to that. I believe Failure is an opportunity to grow not a reason to quit.”

Remaining dedicated after the loss and accruing a significant amount of marketing and sales knowledge from his time working at Xerox helped shape how the world would view Destiny’s Child. Knowles says,

“ It’s about meeting and knowing customer expectations and Destiny’s Child new their customers. Female and LGBT, and DC were loyal to them. We took an international approach not just target the urban or black population, we were in the branding business, not just records.”

However, music is not the only business that he minds. Some may not be aware but Knowles is also the Executive producer of Obsessed which stars Beyonce, and Idris Alba. He’s also had his hands in many other film projects. “We’ve done a lot and will certainly do more film work. We have 20,000 hours worth of content” says Knowles. He explained that some of his footage would be a documentary mirroring his book Racism From The Eyes Of A Child. But after declaring 2020 the year of Destiny’s Child we can bet that a boatload of footage documents the journey of Destiny’s Child, Beyonce & Solange. That’s a lot of footage to be responsible for but what’s even heavier is to be responsible for raising two iconic black women in the music industry. Teaching them the business side of things and just raising kids, in general, it’s a job on its own and any parent would agree. From Beyonce’ stating, she gets her business knowledge from her dad and looking at the career path of both his daughters, to say Tina and Mathew did well is an understatement. Knowles says, “I appreciate Beyonce` saying she gets some of her business savvy from me. That’s why I felt confident in not managing her & Solange any more. But don’t forget she does have a team, its a team effort. They grew up watching us, Tina played a major role in that as well. Tina and I lead a million-dollar beauty business, and I made six figures in sales. They had examples at home.

Parent involvement in the industry can be negative to your child if you don’t know the business. Also, we’re talking about the ’90s. Black women were still fighting for a voice and in some ways still are, record labels were segregated and crossing over was difficult.” Mathew Knowles has a lot of roles to play from being a college professor, author, business owner, dad, and many other things. So how does one balance?

“From the work perspective everything I’ve done has been in marketing & sales, I know my strengths, it makes it easier when I stay in my lane and having someone by your side that will help”. But looking back, Knowles says, “It was difficult because of travel and also when do you take the dad hat off?” Balance is something that we all aim to find in our life whether it’s at work or in relationships. However, in 2020 we’ll be reading the book and searching for a Destiny’s Child docuseries, movie, or the ultimate gift, a DC tour.

For More on Mathew Knowles: https://mathewknowles.com/