MOGULS in the MAKING

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, May 1, 2002 by Whitney Joiner

Byline: WHITNEY JOINER

DEVIN LAZERINE, 18

It's Grammy night, and in a suburb about 30 miles north of Los Angeles, 18-year-old Devin Lazerine is transfixed by the television, homemade scorecard in hand. Betting on the nominees is a tradition shared by Devin and his 16-year-old brother, Cameron. Hyper-avid pop fans, they know the performers so well that no deviation from the norm goes unnoticed. When newcomer R&B diva Alicia Keys - who usually plays piano and sings - dances during her performance of "A Woman's Worth," they both sit up straight, surprised and a little excited: "Remember when we said that she'd never dance in a million years?" Devin reminds his brother.

But don't stop at Alicia Keys' stage persona. Ask Devin about the sales stats from Ashanti's debut CD (it just sold 503,000 copies), or for some insider gossip (Mariah Carey's publicist is known to be a bitch when it comes to getting interviews). He knows hip-hop - who produces whom, who belongs to what label - the way other teenage boys know box scores or Playstation cheat codes.

Tonight, Lazerine would rather be sitting in the Staples Center than his living room, but for the second year in a row, the Grammy press committee has refused him press credentials. It's little wonder that Rap-Up, Lazerine's year-old start-up, isn't on the guest list. The hip-hop fan magazine - featuring Q&As with the likes of Lil' Zane and glowing profiles of pop divas like Destiny's Child - made it to newsstands only once before Lazerine's partner in publishing, Illinois-based H&S Media, went bankrupt. The second issue is on hold as Lazerine searches for a new publisher.

With a modest 200,000 distribution, primarily in record and book stores, Rap-Up may not have commanded Grammy-committee attention, but it did stir the interest of a major publisher - Lazerine is talking with Time Inc.'s Teen People about the possibility of publishing Rap-Up as a Teen People insert.

Closing a magazine deal may seem colossal in this economic climate, especially to someone barely old enough to drive to the meetings. But to this entrepreneur, Rap-Up represents more than the desire to see his name on a masthead. Asked about iconic inspiration, he doesn't rattle off Ludacris or Ja Rule; instead, he singles out J Records head Clive Davis and Def Jam founder Russell Simmons. Lazerine doesn't want to be a hip-hop star; he wants to be a hip-hop mogul. And the publishing industry is his first stop.

beanie beginnings

At 13 years old, Lazerine taught himself HTML and started a Web site for Beanie Babies, www.Beanie411.com. "I was bored one day," he says, embarrassed to be outed as a former Beanie Baby enthusiast. "I had a collection and I thought I'd sell them."

It might not have been the coolest pastime, but it made money: Over a two-year period, Lazerine says he amassed about $6,000 in ad revenue. Not too shabby for a 15-year-old looking to make a few investments and trade up to a better computer. It's the only paycheck he's ever earned. Lazerine opted out of summer jobs and part time work in order to concentrate on Web ambitions and magazine projects.

Bored with Beanie Babies at 15, Lazerine launched Rap-Up.com, a site featuring hip-hop news culled from other sources. Simultaneously, Lazerine e-mailed publishing companies - Primedia, Sterling/Macfadden, Hearst and H&S - and pitched the Web concept as a new magazine. (A national magazine was the next step after a Web site, he reasoned, so why not get a head start.) His only response came from H&S Media chief Harvey Wasserman.

"He had a concept that we were kind of thinking about ourselves," says Bob Baker, the former H&S executive vice president who published titles like Mary Kate & Ashley and Teen Style. "We felt like there were a number of rap titles out there, but none that treated rap music as a fan magazine."

H&S agreed to launch Rap-Up as an ad-free bimonthly in the summer of 2001, and handed Devin, then 16, free rein over the edit. "We truly treated him as an editor in chief," says Baker, "because that formula had worked for us in the past. When we looked at different niche markets, we'd find an expert in that marketplace and bring them on board. This is a kid who knows what he's doing. We wanted his ideas, his networking skills."

What kind of networking skills could a 16-year-old possibly possess? "He's fearless," says Baker. "He'll call anyone. That's why doors open for him, because he's persistent. [Devin] could be knocked down a hundred times and he's right back up with a smile on his face."

Lazerine ran the editorial side of Rap-Up from his bedroom, e-mailing with freelancers he found by posting ads on media job sites. He made no mentioned of his age and avoided the phone, afraid his voice would give him away. "I thought they might be, like, who is this kid telling me to write stories about stuff?" He assigned Q&As with Lil' Romeo and 3LW; commissioned profiles on Beanie Sigel and OutKast; and worked up sections like a "Street Speak" glossary ("peep this = check this out").