Lyrical: The Eye Behind the Artist

There is something fitting about meeting Beleshia “Lyrical” McCulley in a room surrounded by Chicago music history. Inside Overflow Coffee, framed records line the exposed brick walls. Each one recalls the artists and institutions that helped shape the city’s sound.

Dressed in burgundy, with gold hoops catching the light, Lyrical looks at ease in the setting. Much of her career has unfolded behind the scenes, where people recognize talent, develop careers, and make decisions long before the public sees the results.

For more than twenty years, McCulley has worked as an artist manager, entrepreneur, and advocate. Her professional history includes Lil Durk, Tink, and Ravyn Lenae. Through Lyrical Eyes Management and Three Twenty Three Music Group Inc., she has expanded her reach beyond traditional artist management.

Yet the most revealing part of her story is not the list of artists connected to her name. It is the perspective she gained while helping build careers and learning to protect her own interests.

“I’m blessed. I’m fulfilled. I’m happy,” she says when asked about this season of her life. The answer is simple, but it carries the confidence of someone who understands the cost of experience. Her introduction to the music industry began not with professional ambition, but with motherhood.

Where Love Became Leadership

Long before she became a music executive, Lyrical was a Chicago mother balancing work, family, and everyday responsibilities. She held management positions at State Farm and McDonald’s and gained experience at AT&T. Music was already part of her life through singing and connections to gospel performers.

However, her daughter Ashley Banks inspired the decision that changed her career. Ashley wanted to pursue music, and McCulley wanted to help her.

“I don’t know nothing about the music business, but I know you my child,” she recalls. That determination became the foundation of an education no classroom could provide.

As she learned how the industry worked, Lyrical developed relationships and discovered new opportunities. Soon, other artists began looking to her for guidance. What started as a mother’s commitment grew into a professional calling.

At one point, she recalls managing thirteen artists. The responsibility demanded more than enthusiasm or belief in their talent. Contracts, communication, accountability, and difficult decisions became part of her daily work.

Each experience taught her something new about the industry and her role within it. Looking back, she describes herself as more aware, educated, and appreciative of the business she once entered with little knowledge.

“I’m not green anymore,” she says.

Those words reveal how much her perspective has changed. Professional growth often brings mistakes, disappointment, and difficult lessons. For Lyrical, experience taught her that believing in someone’s potential is only the beginning. Protecting that potential requires knowledge, boundaries, and the courage to make unpopular decisions.

Beleshia “Lyrical” McCulley reflects on the journey from supporting her daughter’s musical ambitions to becoming a respected Chicago music executive during her exclusive interview with Avehre at Overflow Coffee.

Recognizing What Others Could Not Yet See

Chicago has never lacked musical talent. Still, identifying artists who can build lasting careers requires more than following trends or measuring popularity.

Throughout her career, Lyrical has worked with emerging performers who later reached audiences far beyond the city. Her management history includes Lil Durk, Tink, and Ravyn Lenae.

The work also extends into visual production and creative development. From 2013 to 2018, she managed A ZAE Production during a period of growing influence for Chicago’s music-video culture.

These experiences helped shape her understanding of how artists and creative professionals build sustainable careers.

When asked what she recognized in certain artists before the wider industry took notice, Lyrical does not mention streaming numbers or social media engagement.

“It’s not the person that is boisterous and wants to be seen or heard,” she explains.

Instead, she looks for individuality, confidence, and something that cannot easily be manufactured.

“I think I noticed with them they just were different.”

The Power of Artist Development

That instinct shaped her approach to artist development. Beyond professional guidance, Lyrical understood the importance of encouragement. Young artists often need someone who can recognize their potential before they fully recognize it themselves.

“I knew what life to speak into them then. And I didn’t even know that I was speaking life,” she reflects.

Her observation reveals a side of management that rarely appears in contracts or business plans. A conversation can change how an artist sees the future. Encouragement can help build the confidence needed to face an industry full of expectations and rejection.

For Lyrical, discovering talent has never been the final goal. The real work begins with development, discipline, and preparation. An artist must learn how to sustain a career after the excitement of discovery fades.

That belief has grown stronger as she has witnessed the distance between artistic promise and professional readiness.

The Business Behind the Dream

Lyrical speaks plainly about the realities of the music industry. She describes it as “10% music, 90% political,” an assessment shaped by years of relationships, negotiations, and professional decisions.

Her point is not that music lacks importance. Rather, talent alone cannot explain what determines an artist’s success.

Creative ability may open doors, but artists must also understand contracts, business relationships, and the people making decisions around them. Without that knowledge, even promising careers can become vulnerable.

Her advice challenges one of the industry’s most common assumptions.

“You do not need a manager until you have a book of business to manage,” she says.

The statement carries weight coming from someone who has spent much of her career managing artists. Lyrical believes management should serve a clear purpose. A manager should help organize, protect, and expand an artist’s business, not simply provide an impressive title.

Accountability is equally important to Lyrical’s approach. Artists must listen, accept criticism, and recognize that development requires more than talent. Managers carry their own responsibilities, including offering honest guidance rather than agreeing with every decision.

Being a “yes person” has never been her approach. Genuine support sometimes requires difficult conversations, especially when an artist’s long-term interests are at risk.

“Common sense needs to be in place,” she says.

Her philosophy reflects years of practical experience. In an industry where access can look like expertise, sound judgment remains essential.

When Ownership Changes the Conversation

Through Three Twenty Three Music Group Inc., Lyrical expanded her role beyond traditional management. During our interview, she discusses signing Ravyn Lenae and helping guide the professional developments that led toward the artist’s relationship with Atlantic Records.

She also reflects on experiences involving Tink and Timbaland. Those memories highlight the challenges that arise when creative goals meet business interests and questions of control.

According to Lyrical, these experiences changed how she understood ownership.

“What I learned about ownership was that it’s exactly what it is, it’s ownership. It protects the owner.”

The music industry often celebrates independence and control. Yet those words mean little without clear agreements and a firm understanding of rights. Ownership can create opportunity, but the details determine who receives its protection.

Lyrical knows those lessons can come at a personal cost.

“I made it with a lot of scars on my back,” she says.

The statement captures the weight of years spent developing artists, building relationships, and learning how business decisions affect everyone involved.

Those experiences have made her more careful about the partnerships she enters and the responsibilities she accepts. They have also strengthened her belief in business education.

Talent can create an opportunity. Knowledge helps an artist understand its value.

Chicago, Legacy, and the Responsibility to Build

Later in our conversation, we step outside Overflow Coffee. The discussion moves from Lyrical’s career to the city that shaped it.

Chicago has produced generations of influential musicians, producers, songwriters, and executives. Yet the city’s creative impact has not always come with the business support emerging artists need.

Lyrical believes experienced professionals must do more than celebrate Chicago’s accomplishments. They must prepare the next generation for the opportunities and challenges ahead.

“We have a responsibility to do correct business. We have a responsibility to teach business,” she says.

Education and accountability sit at the center of her message. Managers should remain involved in decisions that affect their clients. Artists should understand their agreements, responsibilities, and professional options.

As a member of the Recording Academy’s Chicago Chapter Board, Lyrical also contributes to broader industry conversations. Still, she does not see her work as complete.

“I wanna do more,” she says.

Her ambition reflects a desire to strengthen Chicago’s creative community. She wants experienced professionals to share knowledge, build meaningful relationships, and help artists create sustainable careers.

“I want people to win,” she adds.

For Lyrical, winning means more than reaching a larger audience or signing a major-label deal. It means understanding the business well enough to make informed decisions and maintain success over time.

The Legacy She Wants to Leave

When our conversation turns to personal legacy, Lyrical’s priorities become even clearer. I ask what she hopes the industry will remember about her beyond the artists she has managed.

“She cared. She cared.”

Those four words reveal the heart of her story. Lyrical hopes people remember an executive who tried, gave her best, and cared about those who trusted her.

Yet she draws an important distinction between genuine concern and unconditional agreement. Supporting someone does not mean accepting every decision or remaining in every situation.

Her response brings the conversation back to the mother who first entered the industry because she believed in her daughter. Experience changed how Lyrical approaches business, but it did not erase the instinct that started her journey.

Today, that same care comes with stronger boundaries. She understands the importance of honest advice and recognizes that protecting others must never require abandoning herself.

The Next Chapter Belongs to Her

As our conversation approaches its conclusion, a series of rapid-fire questions reveals Lyrical’s priorities. Between talent and work ethic, she chooses work ethic. Artist development wins over discovery, while independence takes priority over a major-label affiliation.

Asked to identify a professional red flag, she points to an inability to listen. Her advice about what every artist should understand is equally direct: “It’s your business.”

She also names Lil Durk’s “L’s Anthem” as a Chicago record that immediately takes her back. Lyrical recalls helping break the song, a memory that connects her professional history to the city’s musical growth.

After more than two decades helping shape artists’ careers, Beleshia “Lyrical” McCulley is embracing a new priority: peace, personal freedom, and the ability to choose what comes next.

Choosing Peace

Then I ask her to choose her most valuable currency today: relationships, time, or peace.

“Peace.”

For someone who has spent years managing expectations and helping others pursue their ambitions, the answer feels significant. Peace represents something different from the achievements that once defined professional success.

Today, it means having the freedom to make decisions without sacrificing personal well-being. Equally important is knowing which opportunities deserve her time and when walking away is the wiser choice.

When asked to complete the sentence The next chapter of Lyrical is…, she responds, “To live freely with no regrets.”

The answer brings our conversation full circle. Lyrical entered the music industry because she wanted to help her daughter. Over the years, she developed artists, built businesses, navigated difficult relationships, and learned the importance of ownership.

Along the way, she discovered that her own future deserves the same care she has given others.

The Woman Behind the Work

Back inside Overflow Coffee, the records on the walls represent songs and careers that have become part of Chicago’s musical history. Lyrical’s journey offers another perspective on that history. It reminds us of the people who recognize talent, guide its development, and carry responsibilities the public rarely sees.

The names on her résumé tell only part of the story. Equally important are the conversations that shaped young artists, the decisions that protected their interests, and the lessons she continues to share. Together, those experiences reveal a career built on more than professional recognition.

For Beleshia “Lyrical” McCulley, the next chapter is not simply about discovering who might become a star. It is about embracing the woman she has become.

Beleshia “Lyrical” McCulley with Avehre, Executive Director of Media & Culture at The Hype Magazine, following their exclusive conversation at Overflow Coffee in Chicago. Photo: ACT Photography.

Her eye helped her recognize the artist. Experience taught her how to protect the business. Now, her next chapter is about honoring the woman behind both.

 

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