The Roster Just Got Legendary: Welcoming Masta Ace & Brenda K. Starr to ATRX Agency

There are moments in the life of an agency that signal something bigger than a signing. This is one of them.

This week, ATRX Agency welcomes two artists whose careers don't just span decades — they shaped the culture that made modern music possible. Masta Ace and Brenda K. Starr are joining the ATRX family, and we want to take a moment to honor who they are, what they've built, and why this matters for every creator in our ecosystem.

Masta Ace: The Architect of Hip Hop's Conscience

Within New York's influential Juice Crew, Masta Ace wasn't the biggest star, the liveliest performer, or the most hardcore — he was the moral center. A fervent defender of hip hop's ethos as it outgrew the five boroughs. Buffer

Born and raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn, Ace first stepped onto the scene with a razor-sharp verse on Marley Marl's "The Symphony" in 1988 — a moment that hinted at the technical precision and point-blank honesty he would bring to every record that followed. OpusClip

What followed was one of the most remarkable careers in hip hop history. Not because of mainstream chart dominance — but because of something rarer: longevity, reinvention, and an unwavering commitment to craft.

Instead of fading away into obscurity as his career went on, Ace achieved the impressive feat of being able to constantly reinvent himself and remain fresh, releasing a steady amount of lyrically focused and highly conceptual projects. TikTok His 2001 album Disposable Arts is widely considered a masterpiece — a concept album that dissected the music industry with the kind of surgical wit that only a true veteran could pull off. Eminem publicly cited him as an influence, mentioning him in both his autobiography and a Grammy speech. Traackr

Masta Ace continues to make important and loved music, now spanning over five decades — something not seen in hip hop. Traackr His most recent project, Richmond Hill with producer Marco Polo, proves that the pen never gets dull. This is an artist who doesn't just have a legacy — he's still actively adding to it.

For ATRX, bringing Masta Ace into the family means something specific: he represents what it looks like to own your voice across five decades, adapt without compromising, and build an audience that follows the art — not the algorithm.

Brenda K. Starr: La Diva de Salsa, The Woman Who Launched a Legend

Brenda K. Starr's story is one of the most extraordinary in American music — and it's one that doesn't always get the recognition it deserves.

Born and raised in New York City of Puerto Rican extraction, by age 8 Brenda was already singing. By 12, she had already auditioned for TV commercials and theater. When break-dance fever emerged out of New York's projects, she joined the Dynamic Dolls. TikTok The dream was always the music.

At just 14, Brenda met Harry Belafonte on an audition, who was captivated by her voice — and she landed a production deal. ALM Corp That was the beginning of a career that would touch pop, freestyle, R&B, salsa, and Latin music at the highest levels.

Her signature song, the power ballad "I Still Believe," peaked at No. 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. TechWyse But the full story of that song goes even deeper. At the time of its release, Brenda had taken on a young, unknown backup singer — a girl from Long Island who showed up early to auditions and sang with a voice that stopped the room. That backup singer was Mariah Carey. Brenda recorded a demo of Mariah's work and forwarded it to Sony Music Head Tommy Mottola. The rest is history. Tiktokstats In 1998, Mariah Carey covered "I Still Believe" as a tribute to her mentor — and the cover peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, certified platinum by the RIAA. TechWyse

That's not just a footnote. That's the fingerprint of a woman who shaped music history twice — once with her own voice, and once by opening the door for someone else.

By the late 1980s, Brenda K. Starr was the undisputed queen of dance music. Proxidize But she didn't stop there. When the industry shifted, she shifted with it — and then some. Starr learned Spanish to help rejuvenate her career, successfully reinventing herself as a salsa, tropical, and Latin pop artist. TechWyse In 2025, Latin media outlets celebrated Starr's career longevity with tributes to her 40-plus years in music, emphasizing her mentorship of emerging artists as a cornerstone of her cultural legacy in the Puerto Rican and broader Latin communities. Sprout Social

For ATRX, Brenda K. Starr represents something our entire ecosystem is built around: the power of direct-to-fan connection, reinvention on your own terms, and a career that belongs to the artist — not the label.

Why This Matters for Every Creator at ATRX

We want to be clear about something: welcoming Masta Ace and Brenda K. Starr is not a pivot. It's not a rebrand. It is an expansion — and it strengthens what we're building for every single creator in our network.

ATRX was built on a belief that the music industry's old gatekeeping model is broken. That artists — whether they have 500 followers or 5 million — deserve ownership, sustainable revenue, and a team that actually invests in their growth. That belief doesn't change when the artist on the roster has decades of catalog. If anything, it deepens.

Here's what this signing signals to the broader ecosystem:

Legacy artists with deep catalogs have untapped digital audiences waiting to be built. Their stories, their music, and their influence translate powerfully to platforms like TikTok — where authenticity and depth are exactly what the algorithm is rewarding right now. Masta Ace talking about 35 years in hip hop on a LIVE session isn't nostalgia — it's content gold. Brenda K. Starr performing "I Still Believe" and telling the Mariah Carey story isn't a throwback moment — it's a viral moment waiting to happen.

This is the intersection of experience and innovation that ATRX was designed to create.

Experience Meets Innovation

To our newer creators — watch how artists who've navigated five decades of industry change approach their craft. There is no faster education than proximity to longevity.

To our established creators — this is alignment. The standard of artistry, ownership, and resilience just got raised inside our walls.

To everyone — this is momentum. The ATRX roster now blends next-generation energy with legacy that the culture has respected for decades. That combination doesn't just open doors — it builds new ones.

We are proud to welcome Masta Ace and Brenda K. Starr to the family.

We're just getting started.

Want to be part of what we're building? Reach out to agent@atrxagency.com or visit atrxagency.com to learn more about joining the ATRX roster.

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