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When I first got the call from my good friend Lynx Garcia that she had a scoop for me I got excited. It's not everyday that a very talented scribe (Lynx) turns over a story to yours truly - the competition. But as she said on the phone, "Ive this story was handmade for you brother... I know you'll do it justice."

When I first spoke to Ronnie Knotts, co-owner of the Starr Media Group, I explained to him that "off the record" always meant just that to me. I consider myself a man of integrity before a writer or journalist. And I found Knotts to be a man of pride and integrity... a rarity in a world that idolizes fake gangsters and drug dealers, but very rarely men of morals.

It's not easy to leave me speechless... But when Knotts told me what was said to him behind the closed doors of a major record label as he prepared to make a deal for his company it left me completely stunned. Even worse, I felt betrayed by the only culture I've ever truly identified with... the culture I've loved since a seven-year-old has cheated on me and left me heartbroken once again.

We've all seen the skits of white men in suits telling men of color to, "Be more gangster," or "Degrade more women."

But to know unequivocally that these kinds of directives are being placed on up-and-coming record label owners as part of the deal, prior to cutting a six-figure check, left me feeling more than just sick to my stomach... it made me feel stripped of my morality.

Now I understand how we got here...

Meet the man who stood up to the devil in disguise and lived to tell about it...

Ronnie, tell us a little something about your company, Starr Media Group.

Starr Media Group is the brainchild of me and my partner Andre Davis. We've been childhood friends for 30 years. I had a situation going on in California with an independent label along with Matt Hiest of The Presidentz. We did ok but the talent was too much for me to handle alone in a productive way, due to the fact that I really didn't have the business savvy at the time to carry it to the next level. So I reached out to my man who is literally a Picasso in business. He sought out the flaws that existed and improved upon them, mixed in some of our old school upbringing... and out of that came SMG.

I understand you were recently offered a deal with a label if you dumbed down your music and thugged out your artists. Can you share with us what was said behind closed doors?

I don't want to mention any names because the gentleman we met with is a heavyweight in the industry and we see no reason to sabotage our future endeavors. What I can say is that he wanted a more hardcore and violent type of music. Dre and I both have 13-year-old sons who love hip hop, so we had to ask ourselves if we were going to add to the brainwashing of our youth. We decided to stand like men and make the right decision. We chose to stand when most would sit down, shut up and take the check.

How do you find the strength to walk away from a deal on the table knowing you're virtually walking away from financial gain for your company and your artists?

Andre and I come from that era where your word is your bond. Jeopardizing that for our artists or jeopardizing our own integrity is never an option. The goal has always been to build this for our artists and pass it on to them, to give them something to have pride in and to grow with. When we started most of our artists were kids from adverse backgrounds, now they are the men and women of SMG and we expect them to carry themselves with pride and integrity so we are leading by example. Dre and I will eventually move into other media ventures with the SMG brand, but before that happens we have to make sure we leave this portion in good hands. So we are teaching the future leaders of this company that, "ALL MONEY AIN'T GOOD MONEY."

There is a book out in which the author writes that many of us find ourselves dancing for chicken. Do you think this is an accurate definition of what the culture has become? Of what the music industry has become?

As I said before Dre and I have been friends for 30 years, so we grew up as kids in this culture surrounded by hip hop while it was growing up from its infancy. We know a lot of the artists out today are doing it for a lot of different reasons, some right and some wrong. I think it's bad when you have theses veteran artist doing that which doesn't teach the youth in the game anything.

How do you prepare your artists for the long road ahead knowing the industry is designed to divide, conquer and degrade?

SMG is completely an in house operation even down to the A&R aspect. We keep our artists on heavy diet of hip hop knowledge and music so they know where they come from. We also teach them what the business is really about by introducing them to the essence of where it all began.

I understand your son; Joe Clark is an artist on your label. As his father how have you prepared him to bring something fresh to the game, as opposed to "chicken-noodle-rhyming" his way to fame and fortune?

Joe has grown up around hip hop his entire life so it's basically all he knows. I was never one to get into the chicken noodle thing. I always instilled in him that what he writes and performs is a piece of himself. When you go out you want to make a great first impression, you make sure your gear is fresh, your cut is fresh, and your kicks are fresh... it's the same with lyrics, you only have one chance to impress people so it always has to be right. We also focus heavily on the role of artist development. Most labels have cut back on this spending and eliminated these very important departments all together. But we feel in order to move forward you have to know where you have been. So in working with our artists we feel it is imperative that we challenge them to be the best that they can be. Our artists study the greats so that they can perfect their craft and one day be considered amongst the best who ever did it.

Do you think your company will be able to stay true to its beliefs and still breakthrough to the mainstream?

With out a question of a doubt we make great music here... real music, in its purest form, no tricks, no games, no buffoonery. So we will be around for a long time and because of that we will be able to fill a void that exists in the music industry today.

What's next for Starr Media Group?

At the moment we are pushing our new group - Trillogy - and their new single "I Got Dat". We are working in collaboration with record Promoters and the DJ Pool Coalitions to ensure that we break this record and introduce the world to one of the hottest new Hip Hop/R&B groups to hit the scene this year.

I myself am now a fan of the Starr Media Group. Not only for their musical talent but because they are one of the few who found the courage to actually do what's right in an industry where wrong gets you so damn paid.

I guess most in the industry believe getting paid means they stand for something...

They need to start reading the dictionary of the Starr Media Group...

Ivan Sanchez - Your Friendly Neighborhood Author