Connect
To Top

Meet Tyra “Tyralucia” Dennis of Music Mayhem

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyra “Tyralucia” Dennis.

Tyra, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I go by Tyralucia (pronounced Tie-ruh-lu-see-ya) and started playing piano at age three and singing at age five. I grew up in South Los Angeles with a musical family and went to an inner city high school that had a phenomenal performing arts program. Many of the students were extremely talented and we had a dope team of teachers and staff that fought daily to bring us “once in a lifetime” opportunities. These opportunities included but were not limited to shooting the very first Apple iPod commercial, recording with the legendary Ray Charles, playing alongside Herbie Hancock and Jackson Browne and even sitting in rehearsals with Alicia Keys and having dinner with Cedric The Entertainer.

After attending college, I noticed that there were many others in the same community that were just as talented, if not, more talented than what I was used to seeing but were not granted the same opportunities. In fact, it would seem as though they were not offered any opportunities similar to what myself and my peers experienced. Due to this, I decided to create Music Mayhem as a platform that would help elevate outstanding talent to the public and the entertainment industry. Under the Music Mayhem umbrella, our clients and teammates have been able to perform in front of 30k+ people in arenas, appear in motion pictures, receive publishing deals (with our assistance in negotiations), place records, travel the country doing musical theater, launch their own brands, become music educators and more. We pride ourselves on the work that we put out into the world as creatives, understanding our responsibility to humanity. It is our objective to always be the light for others while placing the light of others in a position for all to see (Matthew 5:15)

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Has the road been smooth, you ask? Absolutely not! There have been many challenges, some personal and others, professional. I will never forget working with a record company (which shall remain nameless) while being homeless and still being expected to deliver a high-quality product. No one knew what I was experiencing however, I also did not let it distract me from my goals. Was it challenging? Yes! Did I reach my goal? Yes! Many of the individuals that we work with (teammates and clients alike) have experienced something similar. They did not grow up with tons of money neither can they access it with ease but there are three things that they all in common and those are hope, determination and faith. These three things I share as well. I know that anything worth having will take work. I also recognize that if we give up too soon, we may never reach your goal. It is hope that keeps us working towards our goals, determination that reminds us to stand firm in our purpose and mission and faith that sends us the reminder that no matter how bad it gets, eventually, it always gets better.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Music Mayhem – what should we know?
Music Mayhem is a full-service entertainment firm that specializes in the following services (in no particular order): Consultation, Artist Development, Music Production, Artist Management, Concert Curation and Production.

We are known for developing grade A talent and positioning said talent to launch their careers. We are also known for our sound. The Music Mayhem sound it pretty big (I could show you better than I could tell you). Under our umbrella, we have a band (which consist of instrumentalist and vocalist), a collective (also consisting of instrumentalist and vocalist however, this group of folks compose music, whereas the band does not focus on composition), music students and clients that retain us for any of the services previously mentioned above.

One of my most proud moments is being able to make history in the ELCA at their National Youth Gathering in Houston, TX (2018) as the youngest and FIRST African American female House Band Leader. I was even more proud to bring some of my Music Mayhem bandmates with me onto this stage. Within in band, we had the first African American female drummer to hit this stage as well as some uniquely diverse musicians who walked into their true nature and call and really let their lights shine. That’s the thing that I think separates us. We don’t care about how good or bad of a musician you are (we can teach you what you need to know) but we care about your heart. We look at the type of person you are, how you treat others that can seemingly do nothing for you, what you do when you think that no-one is watching. Those are the things that we look at and fortunately, we have come across some amazing individuals that have integrity and live honest lives.

Fun Fact: All Music Mayhem team members and clients happen to be triple threats (meaning they can do three or more things on a professional level within in the performing arts). It’s not a requirement but it sort of happened that way.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There are tons of folks that mentored me into the woman that I am today. I’m afraid that if I start listing folks, I may forget someone (charge it to my head and not my heart) but here we go:

My mother – she supported and still supports every single thing that I do. That type of love is invaluable.

Darryl McCain aka Dad – who never stopped pushing me to keep going even when it looked disastrous. That lesson is indispensable.

Fernando Pullum – He was my high school music teacher. He taught me the business or being able to lead my friends. That is not an easy feat but it is something that I take pride in. I love working with my friends and it is important to me to maintain my relationships while building trust with them as a leader.

Mark Swinton – He was my high school drama teacher. He taught me how my big break comes when opportunity meets preparedness. This leads me to continue the study of my craft and to constantly strive to get better at it each and every day so that when opportunity knocks, I will be ready.

Carolyn Middleton – Who taught me to 1. Take risks and 2. That exploring the question often times brings more wisdom than having the answer. She was the most incredible high school English teacher that you could ever have.

Dame Crawford – leader of the dope LA based hip hop band, The Wylde Bunch, who taught me how to “cut air.” In other words, be CLEAR with how you lead. Make a decision and stick to it. Don’t waiver.

Brandon Rainey – CEO of CBG Arts in Inglewood, CA – who allowed me the opportunity to score my first musical from top to bottom at age 18. He put so much faith in me that he trusted me to lead his music department for ten years.

Max Gousse – Music Executive responsible for launching many careers of A list artist. He often time would take the time to speak with me and share his knowledge and insight. Those gems were priceless. Thank you because you did not have to do such a thing.

Charlene Maryland – Who offered me a place to stay when I had nowhere to go.

Donovan Wright, Paul Plata, Timothy White, Chuck The Heir, Garryl Bohanon, Umberto Di Finizio, Carley Nunn, Michael Lis, Aisha Gaillard, Anthony Eder, Estelita Jernigan, Carlton Roberts, Christian Marien, Shanay Marshall, Tom Hogel and Frankie Adkinson for always believing in me and never giving up on me or my vision. Thank you for trusting in it. My family, friends, clients and extended family for supporting all of my crazy ideas and business ventures to the best of their abilities.

Pricing:

  • PACKAGE 1 – starting at $700 RETAINER (MONTHLY) Package 1 gives you development in the areas of voice and movement, musicianship and ear training (It is recommended that voice lessons are consistent for a minimum of 16 weeks for best results). This package is strictly for perfecting that craft of the creative. This package is not meant to be viewed as the final product but more so the institutionalization of musical and artistic pedagogy
  • PACKAGE 2 – starting at $1100 RETAINER (MONTHLY) Package 2 is complete with all training and services from package 1 as well as the following: Songwriting, Multi-level photoshoots specifically geared towards creatives artistry, Interview techniques and promotions to raise creatives online presence. This package is for the creative that not only wants to perfect their craft but also wants to create an online presence that would ensure consistent relevancy and dynamic product promotion.
  • PACKAGE 3 – starting at $2100 RETAINER (MONTHLY) Package 3 is complete with all training and services from package 1, development services from package 2 as well as the following: 2 completed records, access to various media outlets, public relation assistance with promotion of completed records (included but not limited to interviews, red carpet access, blogs, etc…).
  • PACKAGE 4 – starting at $3500 RETAINER (MONTHLY) Package 4 is complete with all training and services from package 1, development services from package 2, music services from package 3 and the execution of a 5 song EP, complete with promotion (iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, etc…), music videos (2), live show bookings (Band/DJ), assistance with online record sales and more.
  • Voice Lessons: Lessons begin with a student evaluation. Based on where they are vocally and their vocal goals that they are trying to reach, we determine how much work they would need with their instructor. It’s $75.00/per hour (for ages 16 +) and $60.00/per hour (for ages 15 and younger), two hour a week (minimum). When you book more than one hour than the price goes down. See below: 2 hours a week: $125 (rather than $150) 3 hours a week: $200 (rather than $225) It is recommended that you do no more than 4 hours a week, or 3 hours a week depending on your vocal goals. Voice Lessons, are taught on an individual basis (unless client in a duo, trio or group for performative purposes). This means that the student receives one on one time with their instructor for an hour of singing fun. There is a rubric for this class, however, it varies depending on where the pupil begins and where they are trying to end.
  • Consultation: Consultation services are broken down into on site meetings (now offering virtual meetings due to the covid-19 global pandemic) varying on time and topic based on clients’ needs. Via our consultation service, we will assist you in bringing you vision for conception to tangibility. During consultation you will receive the MxM toolkit which includes but is not limited to the following: • Formation • Team building • Project management • Staffing • Budgeting • Methodology • Workshops • Calendar assistance for new concept, program, album, etc… • Production (live version of goal executed: i.e. concert, play, party, album, etc…) During retention of consultation services, client is assigned a personal account manager that will ensure execution of services during retainer terms. Prices for services are the following (prices may vary depending on clients need): 2 hours a week: $200 3 hours a week: $215 *It is recommended not to proceed beyond 3 weekly hours* Monthly retainer: $600 Includes the following: 4 weekly 3 hour meetings with account manager MxM Elevated Talent Tool Kit MxM Elevated Talent Tool Kit Services

Contact Info:

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in