Steve Carless Reveals Music Industry Stories on ‘Won of One’ Podcast

Warner Records President of A&R Steve Carless recently revealed he and Blue Ivy convinced Beyoncé to like “Brown Skin Girl” and more, on the latest episode of “Won of One: A PLLRS Podcast.”

For over 20 years, Steven “Steve-O” Carless has been the A&R force behind heavyweights like Nipsey Hussle, Jeezy, YG, and 2 Chainz.

On the latest episode of “Won of One: A PLLRS Podcast,” the Grammy Award-winning executive shares with host Reginald Calixte the unseen work he did that shifted the culture, including a never-before-heard story about how he and Blue Ivy convinced Beyoncé to like the Grammy Award-winning song “Brown Skin Girl” from “The Lion King: The Gift.”

This episode promises to be a fascinating insight into the music industry.

According to Carless, while Beyoncé was working on “The Lion King: The Gift” album in 2019, Carless was tasked with pitching songs for the album. She repeatedly dismissed “Brown Skin Girl” when the acclaimed A&R submitted the demo version made by SAINt JHN and producer P2J.

Undeterred, Carless kept playing it for her at the behest of Beyoncé’s longtime A&R Mariel Gomerez.

“We keep playing the song, keep playing the song, and she’s like, ‘No, that’s not it. Stop playing me that shit,’ in so many words,” he stated.

Three weeks later, at a meeting with Beyonce, Disney execs, Jay-Z, and others involved in the soundtrack, Carless decided to play the song one last time: “Blue Ivy’s in the meeting. She starts singing the hook: ‘Your skin’s just like pearls. The best thing in the world.’ Now, [Beyonce’s] like, ‘Play it again.’ Now, we’re in the room for 15 minutes listening to this song,” he remembered.

“She’s like, ‘Alright, I like it. I’ll take it. It’s going to be the single.’”

Since Friday, the clip has gone viral, attracting over 1 million views across TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels.

During the chat, Carless spoke about his time interning at Pharrell’s StarkTrek record label, working as senior director of A&R at Def Jam, and helping Jeezy as the President of his CTE World Records. For one of the most insightful chats about the machinations of the music industry, check out Carless’s Won of One podcast episode.

Steve Carless on teaching Nipsey Hussle about the music industry early in his career:
After Nipsey left his Epic Records deal in 2010, the independent artist was eager to learn about navigating the music industry. After a chance meeting with Carless at the 2010 XXL Freshman cover, the pair struck up a bond that would help the Crenshaw rapper for years to come.

“One time we were talking, and he came up with some term I never heard of called ‘vertically integrated.’ He was explaining it to me. [I said], ‘Wow, if that’s the case, I’ll teach you radio promotions. He was like, ‘You would?’ [I told him], ‘I’ll show you one of the budgets.’ I gave him a budget, and he started calling me every day.”

Steve Carless on helping Jay-Z go viral for the first time:
In promotion of his album American Gangster, Jay-Z and his team tapped Carless and his Best of Both Offices company to help promote his street single during a time when online virality was just starting to emerge.

“[We were told], ‘I can give you this record. I can’t play you the album. I can’t play you the album. I can’t let you see the film. What can you do with this? We took that and shot a trailer for it,” he says. “We shot a trailer, tagged our Best of Both Offices on it, and had this kid Rik Cordero shoot it, and it set up this [“Blue Magic”] song he had with Pharrell. We put that out, and it went viral before viral was viral.”

“The blogs were big back then. Since we were promotions guys, we would seed all of that to the blogs. We got to give it to the streets first.”

“Won of One” shifts the format from group conversations to one-on-one storytelling, spotlighting the drive, resilience, and individuality required to win on one’s own.

Each episode explores the untold stories behind success, while underscoring the larger PLLRS theme: even the most independent paths are strengthened by collaboration, community, and those who help bring wins to life.

This unique format promises a more intimate and insightful experience for the listeners.

Check Out The Latest Episode!