A long-lost Mariah Carey demo tape from the late 1980s—considered a crucial step in the superstar’s journey to signing her first record deal—is officially going under the hammer next month.
According to Rolling Stone, the ultra-rare seven-track cassette has been unearthed from the personal archive of famed producer DJ Arthur Baker. The tape is believed to have played a role in Carey securing her first contract, a moment she later reflected on in her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey.
Carey wrote about scraping together money, negotiating studio time, and recording early songs she hoped would change her life. Those recordings are now heading to auction with Wax Poetics.
The cassette contains early versions of tracks co-written with singer-songwriter Brenda K. Starr, some of which later formed the core of Carey’s 1990 breakthrough self-titled debut album—among them “Vision of Love,” the chart-topping “Someday,” and “Alone in Love,” one of the first songs she ever penned.
Arthur Baker said he was immediately struck by Carey’s talent when he first heard the tape. “Her voice still stands out, and the songs still stand out,” he told Rolling Stone. “Some songs have aged incredibly well. It still sounds incredibly fresh.”
Baker recalled meeting a 19-year-old Carey at a late-’80s industry Christmas party and receiving the tape shortly after. “I stick the cassette in and the first three songs are all hits,” he said. “I’m thinking, it’s Madonna meets Whitney. This is it. I’ve discovered gold.”
Music lore suggests Carey gave the same demo to then–Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola that same night. Mottola reportedly listened to it in his car, was blown away, and raced back to the party—only to find she had already left. He spent two weeks searching for her while competing labels also tried to sign her. Carey finally joined Columbia in 1988, the start of a career that would redefine pop and R&B.
The auction lot includes the cassette, a certificate of authenticity, archival notes, and contextual documentation from Baker’s collection and the Wax Poetics archive team.
Wax Poetics CEO Alex Bruh described the tape as “one of the most sought-after items we have come across,” estimating it could sell for as much as $20,000. “It captures the exact moment an era-defining artist was emerging, before the world knew her name,” he said.
Bidding opens on December 2 at 3 p.m. ET and runs until December 11.
The story of Mariah’s ascent continues to echo across modern pop, and this demo is a time capsule from the moment a superstar began taking shape.
