A Small Windsor Record Label Has Big Plans

By Felicia Patterson

A group of Windsor music artists have created a record label and are working to promote and expand their company.

A record label called Validated Entertainment was founded by Dewey Knight, 26, in 2007. He received a business license in 2015, making the company legitimate. Knight and his cousin Dalton Bellmore, 25, formed their own group called Validated Entertainment. Knight and Bellmore call themselves Black Kryptik Knight and Bmore.

“I sparked him up, I gave him passion to get back into rapping.” Said Bellmore. “He kind of set my mind and changed it to think out of the box instead of being stuck. He enlightened me.”

Knight and Bellmore have invested in equipment and now run a recording studio out of Knight’s residence.

Knight grew up listening to artists such as 2PAC and Biggie Smalls who he says were influential. Growing up, he sang in the church choir, played a number of musical instruments and performed in elementary school talent shows. Knight says he knew his artistic abilities were more than average in the third grade when he was disqualified from the talent show for being too young, but his teacher convinced other school officials to let him perform anyways.

Knight says he is willing to collaborate with other artists in the city but is focusing on the promotion of Validated Entertainment first.

“Windsor hip hop is about unity. We’re focused on self because it’s hard to rely on other people,” said Knight.

Growing up, Bellmore was influenced by the hip hop culture of that era, especially artists like Bone Thugz N’ Harmony. It wasn’t until age 17 that he started writing and rapping. He plans on taking his career to the next level by expanding his fan base to Detroit and Toronto.

“I’ve always been passionate about music,” said Bellmore.

Knight has executive skills and big plans for his company’s future. Validated Entertainment also has another branch called Cash Dat Kush Entertainment.

“I’m the producer in Validated Entertainment. I’m the one recording everybody, edits the songs, puts effects on everything and I play keyboard,” said Knight. “I’m trying to recruit singers and stuff, but it’s not really my focus. My focus is to get Village Grove known out there under Validated Entertainment.

Other company goals include developing a clothing line and hosting events.

The duo have performed at a number of local venues including Players Sports Club and the Walkerville Theatre. Bellmore says he has performed around 20 times at different venues in Windsor, London and Detroit.

“Sometimes we make a profit on ticket sales. We’re looking more into getting grants so that we can make money off the shows that we do,” said Knight.

Validated Entertainment has released many songs and music videos available on YouTube, Bandcamp and Soundcloud.