Mike Herard

Mike "Heron" Herard is New York based songwriter, producer and talent manager, primarily in the hip hop music genre. He is a vice president of Artists and Repertoire (A&R) for Shady Records. Additionally, Herard is a producer and co-owner at Hydra Entertainment, and the founder of BeatHustle, a music platform and management company.

Throughout his career, he has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, including Joell Ortiz, Cool & Dre, Murda Beatz, Metro Boomin, DJ Premier, Royce 5'9, helping launch the career of rap artists and groups such as Conway the Machine, Griselda and Slaughterhouse.

Early life and career During his childhood, Herard's family relocated from Haiti to New York and settled in Elmhurst, Queens.

One of Herard's notable accomplishments was his production of the song "H-O-S-T-Y-L-E" for Screwball's debut album Y2K: The Album, released under Hydra Records.

In 2000, at the age of 25, Herard started working for Rawkus Records, a music label, where he assumed responsibility for handling Lamont Coleman, a.k.a Big L's album, The Big Picture. In the aftermath of Big L's untimely death, Herard collaborated with Donald Phinazee, the late artist's brother, to preserve his legacy. Together, they obtained the publishing rights to Big L's debut album, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, and worked with another partner to manage the rights and ensure Sony royalty payments were made to the artist's family.

Since 2013, Herard has held the position of vice president of Artists and Repertoire (A&R) at Shady Records, the record label founded by rapper Eminem.

Talent Management While working for Shady records, Herard also started managing as a side hustle. He manages hip hop artists such as Robert "G Koop” Mandell, AntMan Wonder, Joell Ortiz, As a manager, Herard noticed the problem of artists not being credited and paid properly for their work. The company aims to produce music while coordinating with all parties, seeking the necessary permissions for sample music used, and making sure all artists are duly credited and paid what is due.

Discography Solo albums

Mike Heron, Ghetto Pros - Hydra Beats Volume 10 (LP, 1997)

Credits

Screwball – "H-O-S-T-Y-L-E" (Tommy Boy 1999) Big L – "Flamboyant" (Rawkus, 2000) Screwball – "Y2K" (Tommy Boy, 2000) Big Pun – "Brave In the Heart" (Loud Records, 2001) Kool G Rap – "My Life" from the album The Giancana Story (Koch Records, Rawkus, 2002)