After dueting with Lady Gaga, R. Kelly is shaking up his management.
Spies at Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party said they were shocked to be introduced to the singer’s “new management,” Devyne Stephens of Atlanta-based UpFront Megatainment, who modestly bills himself on his Web site as a “music mogul, entertainer, life-style specialist, extraordinary business man and a total visionary.”
Sources said Kelly’s fired Coran Capshaw’s Red Light Management — the world’s biggest indie music firm with clients Alicia Keys, Miley Cyrus and Dave Matthews — which took Kelly under its wing just last year.
“Kelly hit the management jackpot when he signed with Capshaw’s company,” said an industry insider. “Leaving Red Light for Stephens would be like quitting the Houston Rockets — or the Yankees — to play for a high-school coach in Podunk. Red Light is furious that Stephens would poach their client. And the company’s considering legal action.”
But another source said Stephens was added to Kelly’s team “months ago,” and that Kelly hasn’t left Red Light yet. Meantime, Kelly’s “gone underground . . . he’s in a bunker and hasn’t been returning calls.”