Former ICCO president Maxim Behar premieres his hip-hop song about PR in New York |31 October 2023
Maxim Behar, globally renowned PR expert and former president of the World PR Organisation ICCO, made his debut on the music scene with his first single ‘PR We Are’.
For the creation of the song, Behar collaborated with Bulgarian rap legend Big Sha, his son Lil Sha, and the American country singer Sarah Harralson from Nashville. The song premiered simultaneously last Tuesday on Hot 21 Radio in New York and BG Radio in Sofia.
“Almost by chance we met in the studio with Big Sha and his son, and we made the song in just a few hours,” says Behar. “To our surprise, it quickly gained fans and after we sent it to several radio stations in the US, where Big Sha lives with his family, the influential Hot 21 reacted instantly and suggested that the promotion be with them first. However, I decided that I had to have a Bulgarian partner for this and our friends at BG Radio were very happy to join us.”
The song ‘PR We Are’, written by Lil Sha and Maxim Behar, is dedicated to the PR business, which Maxim has been involved in for 30 years and achieved numerous global successes. It is the world's first and only song about the PR industry.
The addition of Sarah Harralson's tender vocals to the single was a result of a spontaneous meeting with Behar at a Sofia pub, where a demo version of the song was presented to her. She immediately expressed interest in the song and agreed to join the project. Harralson is a popular American country singer, celebrated for multiple chart-topping albums and the honour of being nominated for four Grammy Awards in this year's prestigious ceremony.
“Naturally, we were quite surprised – a rap song performed by Maxim Behar, who we all know in Bulgaria in a completely different role. We liked the song and the idea behind it very much – it was written by Bulgarians, performed by Bulgarians and we did not hesitate for a second to partner in this project,” said Nikolay Ianchovichin, managing director at BG Radio.
Big Sha and his son Lil Sha have been living in Chicago, USA, for the past decade where Lil Sha has established himself on the local R&B and rap markets and has already written music for famous American rap singers. Their recent tour in Bulgaria with their group Gumeni Glavi culminated in a successful concert in London in front of Bulgarian and British audiences.
“It was very exciting to be involved in this project. For me Maxim has always been a role model of how one should work and how one should behave in society, but now we have been able to see his professionalism in action. He really is world class in everything he does. I'm sure the song will be a spectacular success in the international charts," said Mihail Mihaylov, known by the nickname Big Sha and for his cult hip-hop songs from the early 1990s.
Maxim Behar plans to continue his music career alongside his main PR business, where he was recognised as the ‘Best PR Professional in Europe’ for 2022 by the influential PR Week magazine. He has also published two books this year, received a state award from the President of Lithuania, and completed numerous successful business projects with his company M3 Communications Group, Inc.
The single ‘PR We Are’ can be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, and over 100 other global music platforms.
The video for the song, produced by Kristian Nedelchev in the studio of M3 Communications Group, Inc., is also now live on YouTube.
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