Podcasts about Rocawear

In the latest installment of 'Business Growth Talks', host Mark Hayward explores the phenomenal rise of Jay Z, from his grassroots in Brooklyn to his unparalleled success in both the music industry and his varied business ventures. The episode delves into Jay Z's humble beginnings, struggles, and his elevation to a cultural, musical, and business icon, raising the debate about whether he might be considered the world's biggest musician.Through this captivating episode, listeners will embark on a journey through Jay Z's early life, his musical success with albums like 'Reasonable Doubt' and 'The Black Album', and his transformation into an astute businessman. The episode carefully examines his diverse business interests, spanning from clothing line Rocawear to entertainment company Roc Nation, and his socially-conscious endeavors.Key Takeaways:Jay Z's rise from Brooklyn to becoming hip hop's first billionaire showcases his talent, entrepreneurial vision, and strategic business mindset.His significant cultural impact extends beyond music sales, reflecting through his advocacy for social justice and his role as a cultural icon.Jay Z's business acumen is highlighted by his ventures into fashion, luxury goods, streaming service Tidal, and the founding of Roc Nation.His personal life, including his relationship with Beyoncé, has been a point of intrigue and has contributed to his status as a power couple in the music industry.The debate around Jay Z being the biggest musician depends on various criteria including album sales, cultural significance, and financial success.Support the showDo you want to be a guest on multiple podcasts as a service go to:www.podcastintroduction.comFind more details about the podcast and my coaching business on:www.businessgrowthtalks.comDo you want to be a podcaster? Sign up onwww.abmpodcastcourse.co.ukFind me onLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-hayw...Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/markjhayward​

Jayson Buford is a writer and a lifelong New Yorker, a diehard Knicks and Yankees fan, and someone who has been searching for Rocawear jackets to bring back into the mainstream. His work can be found in Rolling Stone, Stereogum, Byline, GQ, Vulture, Pitchfork and more. Jayson's Substack is filled with basketball, and hiphop where I hope one day he gets his own show to chat about this. I met at Jumbo's Clown Room and also Harvard and Stone. Two Los Angeles institutions where when you first start off as an indie performer you can only go up from here. A product of the roaches in them ashtrays. Please welcome Jayson Buford to Wear Many Hats. instagram.com/jaybuf ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/wearmanyhatswmh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/rashadrastam⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠rashadrastam.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wearmanyhats.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This is the breakdown on Roc-A-Fella Records. Founded in 1995 by the trio of Shawn “Jay Z” Carter (the talent), Damon “Dame” Dash (the promoter), and Kareem “Biggs” Burke (the silent partner), it became one of hip-hop's most iconic labels.The label took time to develop. Jay's debut album, Reasonable Doubt, is now seen as a certified classic, but took time to get that recognition. It wasn't until 1997 when Def Jam acquired a 50 percent stake in the label and The Roc went to that next level.Roc-A-Fella then created Rocawear, Roc Films, and went on an unprecedented arena tour across the country — rare for rappers at the time. Other artists like Cam'Ron, Kanye West, Beanie Sigel, and Freeway joined the squad.. Despite the success, the founders grew apart, which led to its infamous split. To break it all down, I was joined by my friend and Jay Z biographer, Zack O'Malley Greenburg. Here's what we covered:1:20 Roc-A-Fella origin story7:21 Reasonable Doubt09:43 Friendly rivalry with Bad Boy Records12:43 50-50 deal with Def Jam15:59 How Roc-A-Fella's deal compared to others18:59 The Hard Knock Life Tour's impact 28:32 Expanding the brand beyond Jay Z 30:32 Why Dame and Jay's split was inevitable38:59 Artists taking sides44:21 Best Roc-a-Fella signing?45:22 Best business move?48:27 Dark Horse move?53:02 Missed opportunity? 59:07 Will Dame and Jay ever make up?1:00:45 Who won the most from Roc-a-Fella? Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Overcast | Amazon | Google Podcasts | Pocket Casts | RSSHost: Dan Runcie, @RuncieDan, trapital.coGuests: Zack O'Malley Greenburg, @zogblogThis episode is brought to you by Norby, your digital marketing Swiss army knife. Get started for free with a free 2-week trial (no credit card needed) AND get 50% off for 3 months after that. Start your free trial todayThis episode is sponsored by DICE. Learn more about why artists, venues, and promoters love to partner with DICE for their ticketing needs. Visit dice.fmEnjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapitalTrapital is home for the business of music, media and culture. Learn more by reading Trapital's free memo.TRANSCRIPT[00:00:00] Zack Greenburg: I think it was really good for hip hop, and I don't think it was ever going to turn violent, but I think again, there was just this kind of like national paranoia around hip hop and, there is, you know, in waves.I think it was just a, good reminder that you can have like a spirited dispute and, it's okay and it's entertainment, you know? and it's, nothing that anybody needs to be afraid of. So, you know, of course like credit to Jay and Nas for resolving it amicably, yeah, I mean just, to have that end, you know, like very amicably I think was just so good for everybody involved. And then, you know, I think it's really fun to watch, Jay and Nas as their relationship has evolved And, you know, Nas was sort of always like the one who was sort of behind, when it came to the business of things.[00:00:46] Dan Runcie Intro: Hey, welcome to the Trapital Podcast. I'm your host and the founder of Trapital, Dan Runcie. This podcast is your place to gain insights from executives in music, media, entertainment, and more who are taking hip hop culture to the next level.[00:01:13] Dan Runcie Guest Intro: This episode is a rewind. We're going back in the clock to the late nineties, early two thousands, and we are revisiting one of. The most iconic record labels at the time, the one and only Roc-A-Fella Records. Roc-A-Fella Records, is the record label started by Jay-Z Dame Dash, Big Burke, and went on to be one of the most iconic hip hop record labels and hip hop brands, and that's a key thing from this conversation.I was joined by my friend Zach O'Malley Greenberg. He wrote Empire State of Mind, a biography on Jay-Z, and he also wrote Three Kings that broke down Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, and Diddy's Business Moves. So he was a perfect person to have this conversation with. We talked about the highs of this record label, the lows, some of the best business moves where Jay-Z and Dame didn't see eye to eye, some of the dark horse business moves that they made.What was the best signing from Roc-A-Fella Records? Missed opportunities and more. If you enjoy the episodes we did on Cash Money and Interscope, this one will be right up your alley and we already know what it is when we're talking about Jay, Dave, and Big. So let's dive into it. Hope you enjoy it.[00:02:17] Dan Runcie: All right. We are back to do another breakdown on one of the most iconic record labels, the one and only Roc-A-Fella records, and I'm joined by someone who wrote the book on one of the most influential people behind this record label. Zack O'Malley Greenberg, welcome back, man.[00:02:33] Zack Greenburg: Thanks for having me on, Dan, as always.[00:02:36] Dan Runcie: Yeah, and with this one, I think it's good to start even before Roc-A-Fella records because this label was a long time coming and there were a number of things that Jay Dame and Biggs, the founders of this record label were involved before this. So set the stage. Where were we pre Roc-A-Fella launch.[00:02:55] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, so, you know, I think a lot of people forget, although Jay-Z is a billionaire now, a couple times over, back in the early nineties, he wasn't even sure that he could make it as a rapper full-time. So, you know, he'd appeared on a couple tracks with his mentor jazz. Oh, this great Golden Age rapper. He had popped up kind of here and there, but, you know, really he was finding that it was much more lucrative to be a hustler.And so he was increasingly making more and more trips outta town to New Jersey and Maryland and so forth doing his thing. And, you know, I think he really kind of saw music as a hobby at that point. so he, he did have, you know, a couple supporters, namely DJ Clark Kent, you know, one of these influential producers, at the time.And, you know, Clark Kent really believed in Jay when a lot of people did it. And so he kind of kept trying to convince him to give another shot, like he could do this as an actual profession, and finally convince him to sort of take this meeting with Damon Dash. So he thought that Jay-Z was this just like once in a generation talent, from the musical side, and that Dame was sort of this promotional mastermind.And then if the two forces kind of united, they could create something really special. So in my book, empire State of Mind, Clark Kent tells the story of how he convinced Jay and Dame to sort of meet up. And so Dame, of course is from Harlem, Jay's from Brooklyn. There's sort of like this New York City snobbery thing going on, you know, Manhattan folks kind of maybe look down sometimes on people from Brooklyn and so they get together and, Dame rolls in.He sees Jay's wearing a pair of Air Force 1s and he is like, okay, this guy's cool, you know, he has good taste in sneakers, so I, can do business with him. and that was kind of like, you know, the initial hurdle was, you know, overcome and off it went. And so they struck up this really productive partnership together where, you know, Dame would kind of, help Jay Z sell, you know, they would go around selling CDs outta the trunks of cars and stuff like that.they were trying to get a proper record deal. and they just didn't have, like, nobody was kinda like really into the whole jay thing at the time. And you know, if you think about the music that he was making, unreasonable Doubt, it's like very nuanced. you know, like a lot of words packed into not very many bars, you know, like the space and the rapidity of the, the flow was like kind of not what was happening at the time in the, you know, by this time like, getting toward the mid nineties.So, basically they decided to go and start their own, and they brought in green Bigs Burke, who was kind of a silent partner, you know, another formidable hustler in his own right. And, you know, so there was the, talent, the silent partner and, you know, the promotion guy.And you know, when their powers combined, they were Captain Planet or whatever they were Roc-A-Fella records.[00:05:42] Dan Runcie: And I think part of the thing with Jay-Z that made this unique was his age at this point as well, because by the time they start Roc-A-Fella, he's already in his mid twenties, which doesn't sound anything unusual now, but back then, the rappers that were blowing up were always teenagers.There were always early twenties. You think about Dr. Dre, everyone from NWA, you think about Nas when he dropped I Maddock or you look at LL Cool J. Everyone is a young cat. So for Jay to then drop his debut album when he is 26, Is an ancient man, a grandfather trying to get into this game?[00:06:19] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, I mean, it's like a 26 year old rookie in, you know, the NBA or in baseball or something.It's just like, you don't see it. I mean, al almost ever. And when it does happen, it's sort of like a journeyman, you know, like role player type but jay, you know, had just packed a lifetime worth of lyrics into this one album cuz he kind of viewed it as, you know, this was like a one and done, like a novelty thing.And, you know, he really fully anticipated, you know, kind of coming up from the underworld, dropping this gem of an album and then kind of like disappearing off into the ether, like Kaiser Souzai at the individual suspects. And that, I mean, that was actually his plan. you know, according to a lot of people who I talked to around the time.So, yeah, it was definitely not sort of the normal path, for creating an album. I mean, I think they thought that. You know, they could put out this album, it would do well and then, you know, maybe they would bring along other artists and he wouldn't have to be sort of at the forefront.Like he might just keep doing his thing on the hustling side or whatever. but obviously things turned out a little bit differently.[00:07:22] Dan Runcie: This album was also a bit of a slow burn from a success perspective. I know that many people now when they're debating the best Jay-Z albums, the best Roc-A-Fella albums.This one's always mentioned as well as a few others that we'll get into. But if you look at the commercial performance for this album, in the beginning, it was not that high. The same week that it came out, the Nutty Professor soundtrack sold more records than Reasonable Doubt. And around the same time, that summer, I'm pretty sure that Shaquille O'Neill's album, cuz he was putting out albums at the time, also sold more than Reasonable Doubt did.So extremely slow burn. And you mentioned something earlier about the hustle that I wanna tap into because this is one of the big value ads that Dame Dash had with this. He was relentless and we've all heard the stories. Many people that have met him have also seen what it's like upfront. A lot of it speaks to his success.But he was someone who was in many ways, notorious for going to the New York radio stations and giving them gifts, understanding, yes, this essentially is payola, but this is what everyone else is doing. This is what the people with the real money in the industry are doing. So he's leading into that as well.And you mentioned Kaiser Associates also makes me think about, there's one of the music videos that Jay had from in my Lifetime, volume one where, I forget which song it was, but the song essentially, you know, the music video essentially was a spoof, odd usual Suspects where he's impersonating the the Kevin Spacey, Kaiser Souzai character on it.Sorry for anyone that hasn't seen Usual Suspects for the spoilers I just dropped there. But there's so many things that I think tie in with that and just stay consistent with who he is at the time.[00:09:08] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, I think that whole album, you know, the aesthetic was very like, maybe not Kaiser Soze, but, you know, sort of like gangster movie sort of thing and, you know, all the album artwork, you know, it's him and like a fedora and black and white and all that kind of thing.and so, you know, I think that, he's been obsessed with mafia movies for like, his entire life and you don't hear it quite as much, you know, as more recent albums. But he was kind of like living this underworld life at the time. And so I think it really resonated with him and maybe in a way that, that it, it doesn't quite resonate now.[00:09:44] Dan Runcie: And I think too that was in a lot of ways the theme that we saw he did in the nineties. You definitely saw Big Do It, especially in the whole life after death era, right before he passed. And I think there were a few moments that gave him the initial bump. Even after having Reasonable Doubt drop.Jay himself was featured on the Nutty Professor soundtrack because he had the song with, Foxy Brown that was also on his album. And then he's on Fox's album, album a little bit later. Her debut, he's also on, what's the song that Jay oh, David Brooklyn's finest, on Jay's album.[00:10:18] Zack Greenburg: Going back to Callie was on there. Oh my God, what an album. Yeah. But yeah, that was not, I would say Jay-Z got the better end of the collabs. with, the Brooklyn's Finest. I mean, that is a classic. Clark Kent produce that one also. And, you know, that was kind of like, that was another funny story from the book, like, you know, that there was also a bit of a friendly rival, mean, like they were, there were buds and all like, Jay and, and Big, but there was like a little bit of a friendly rivalry between, Jay and Dame and Puff and Big, because I think, you know, like, so the Whole Bad Boy thing was more established, by the time that Roc-A-Fella Records came about, and so I think Puff was kind of like Dame Dash, like another dude from Harlem, are you trying to be me? Kind of thing, you know, and so in order to make that song happen, I think before Jay and Big were friends, Clark kept kind of tricked them into recording the song together. So he was in the session with Big, and then he accidentally played a tape of a track that he had that was just an amazing track and Big was like, that's great.I wanna get on that. and he was like, no, I'm saving it for somebody else. And things like, well, who the hell else are you saving it for? And he is like, my man, Jay, you know, he's amazing. He's a beast. and big's like, I don't who, what Jay who. and so finally like Clark Kent sort of like goded him into, unbeknownst to big, Clark Kent had arranged for like Jay and Dame to be in a car downstairs.And he was like, oh, I think he's actually just coming in. And so he went down and he brought him up and so like Jay went in and recorded his verses, I think right then and there. And he left spaces for Big to put his verses in. and when Big went in and he listened to it, he was like, oh my God, this guy's so good.I have to like, go home and really think about this, about what I'm gonna put in there in the spaces that he left for me. and I think after that they were really good friends. but you know, it's, that kind of like, good nature trickery, shall we say. that, you know, I think some of these circumstances happen when you got some egos in the building and, you wanna make some magic.And, you know, as I recall, you know, for the chorus, Jay and Big had like become fast friends and, so like, they're leaving the studio and Clark's like, you know, on the final day that Biggie came and recorded or whatever, and Clark's like, what should I do for the chorus? And they're like, just scratch something.And that, that was how it happened.[00:12:44] Dan Runcie: Classic. And that's such a New York story, and it's also such a 90s hip hop story in terms of how the industry worked. Having someone like, oh, so-and-so's just downstairs, they're gonna come up right now because you have 'em, man, how people worked. Things classic. And it speaks to where Jay was at the time too, because as we mentioned, reasonable doubt, slow bird took a while for it to get.The respect that it deserves. But then you go to 1997, he has, in my lifetime, and that album also Slow Burn and wasn't necessarily as highly regarded as Reasonable Doubt, but still had some songs. And you could tell that Jay was trying to navigate a few things, whether it was he had the flashy suit ever himself when he had the song Always Be My Sunshine.He's feeling that out. I mentioned he had the Kaiser Souzai spoof music video, but it really isn't until 1998 where things start to change. So a few things happen here. The album Volume Two, Hard Knock Life comes out. That song, Hard Knock Life changes everything for the trajectory of that label, and that's when they start the partnership with Def Jam.So let's talk about the Def Jam piece first. Can you talk a little bit about that one and break it down?[00:13:57] Zack Greenburg: Yeah. So. As I recall, you know, in early Roc-A-Fella they had struck this, distribution deal. I think it was with priority. and you know, reasonable doubt was they had already been selling it on their own, sort of informally out of the trunks of cars.And then priority, you know, was distributing it. But it was kind of a disaster. They weren't paying Jay on time and, or maybe at all, at some point. And so he just kind of went back to 'em and was like, you know, if you're not gonna be paying me, or paying me everything, you're not paying me on time or whatever.Just like give my master's back and get me out of it. and somehow that's what happened. So that freed him up to be able to take this deal with Def Jam, where Def Jam bought a piece of Roc-A-Fella records. but again, you know, because they were buying a piece of it and not signing him to a deal. you know, he continued to own, you know, considerably higher portion of his own copyrights and, you know, possess more of the cash that came in than he would've otherwise. but you know, he already had the success. They already had this apparatus set up, so he had like, you know, he had leverage in a negotiation and I think, you know, even though his second album I think was kind of a dud and he would always, like, he has said in interviews that that's his worst album and the one that he'd like to have back.you know, he had some, heat, you know, with reasonable doubt. And then kind of like coming off the heels of Biggie's death and, being sort of like the heir parent. it was tight with Puffy who produced the second album, you know, for better or worse. But, you know, I think that really gave them sort of the ability to get what they wanted at a Def Jam, which was like, I think part of the reason that first album didn't do so well, and I think it was until fairly recently, his worst selling album, until sort of the back catalog began to catch up. But, what they needed was distribution those days was really important. Like you, you needed, you know, you could have Damon Dash, like Haranging, people at rec, you know, at radio stations all you want.But in order to really have the kind of, you know, national scale, that you need to be a superstar, at least in those days, really wanted to do with the label. So that's what they did,[00:15:59] Dan Runcie: Right, you needed someone that could get 500,000 units to 7,000 distribution points, and there were barriers to entry in order to do that.And yeah, to your point, I don't care how many bottles of champagne you try to give to Hot 97, that's not gonna make that happen without it, right? The thing that I always think about with this ever though, is the terms of this deal, because at least what we've seen publicly was that Def Jam had taken a 50% stake.In Roc-A-Fella records, and it was for one and a half million dollars. And that number always stuck out to me a bit because if you look at some of the other deals that had happened in that era, you had masterpieces distribution deal that he had done with the same priority records that Roc-A-Fella had their deal with.But Master P obviously had a much more favorable distribution deal with splits in his favor. And then similarly, that same year, 1998 Cash money, does their distribution deal with Republic Records? Of course, Def Jam is a different unit and Roc-A-Fella was in a very different place. And we know that Jay-Z had always talked about ownership and it was important to him.But it's a interesting reflection of just where things looked at in the landscape because it's easy to look back in Jay's career in hindsight and think that, oh yeah, his first album was a classic and then Hard Knock Life comes and everything is just up and up. But there was still. hierarchy and there were other artists that were getting more favorable deals, more ownership for their music, for their record labels.And Roc-A-Fella still got something that was somewhat favorable, but still not at the same level of some of those other people in the mid to late 90s.[00:17:40] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, I mean, that's a really interesting point, right? I mean, Jay obviously is this brilliant businessman and, you know, Damon and bigs aren't too shabby either.And yet it was a good deal, but it wasn't, anything like, a cash money or no limit in terms of the splits, and what they were doing. So, yeah, I mean, I think to your point, you know, those other acts, had kind of like a more established operation, you know, Jay was one guy with one album that didn't sell very well, that was kind of critically acclaimed, you know, so it was like A bit more of a risk perhaps, on Def Jams parts, they weren't really risking that much capital on them. So, you know, I mean, and I guess I wonder if that initial deal had been more favorable for Roc-A-Fella, if they had managed, to have, you know, the kind of splits that Cash Money and No Limit had might they have stayed in business together longer? You know, in a way it's like if the pie that you have or like if the one big pie, and, you know, if you're a slice of the pie that you're sharing with your two business partners is that much smaller than it is, than, you know, let's say the Williams brothers were sharing a cash money, you know, maybe you feel, a lot more restless and, inclined to go elsewhere, but we can get to that later.[00:18:59] Dan Runcie: that's a good point too, because if Cash Money is still in business. And we know cuz we recorded that episode not too long ago, but Birdman and Slim are still getting tens of millions of dollars per year. It's essentially a cash cow asset that they have. Def Jam is still collecting for Roc-A-Fella, as is universal. And I know that Jay and Damon Bigs do have their splits, but it's not the same because they eventually did sell the other half of the record label to the parent company Def Jam. I think it was Island Def Jam at the time that that deal happened. But it changes the dynamics a lot. But with the story though, we are getting to the point where Roc-A-Fella is clearly on the way up.And I think there were a few things coming that did set things up for them. But one thing that I think was a big difference maker for them around 1999 was them wanting to go on tour and. Have their name out there. So 1999 they have the Hard Knock Life tour and at this time it was pretty rare for, all Hip Hop Act to have a nationwide arena tour that happened because at the time they had past shows or whether it was at Run DMC shows or other things in the late 80s, early 90s, and cause of violence and because of things like that, all these promoters and all these venue operators were so scared of hip hop.So you had Smoking Grooves and other festivals like that in the mid nineties where they always had to pair you with the R&B actor. They had to have two folks together. I know that Bad Boy had its, arena tours as well, but they always had the R&B acts that were there, so they needed to, they were really trying to do something different.But I think this is where Dame's Magic came to life because he was able to really control the narrative and be out in front with how they were making sure that violence wouldn't happen, whether they had their own security on top of whoever was there. They had the fruit of Islam that was at each of these shows standing there to have the, bodyguards there as present.When the reporters came into the trailers to see what they were doing on tour, there's this iconic video of Tie Tie and he has videos up and this VHS tapes up of, oh, you think we're just watching gangster flicks? No, here we got Goodwill Hunting right here. We got Brave Part, we got as good as it gets.Like we're here watching videos like anyone else. And with that and even, I think they did something that was either, either donating money or something as well cause in Colorado, because they had a show right around the same time that the Columbine shooting had happened there. So there were a few things they'd done there.And I think that tour in a lot of ways helped. Not just the Roc-A-Fella crew, but all the other folks that were associated with them that came along like Red and meth and Ja Rule and others. But then after that, we then saw the Up and Smoke tour. We saw Rough Riders and Cash Money go on tour. And I think that tour in a lot of ways helped propel them into that next level to continue to have a lot of that success.[00:22:06] Zack Greenburg: Totally. And you know, and I think it wasn't necessarily reflected in the bottom line. I mean, I don't remember what the gross was, but, you know, 18 million I think. Yeah. Like Taylor Swift probably grossed that in one show at,[00:22:20] Dan Runcie: I think he made that in two of the three nights at,[00:22:23] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, definitely, definitely over a weekend in the Meadowlands, but yeah, she probably had definitely, let's say, definitely crushed it in her like little weekend did in the Meadowlands. But you know, and so obviously if you're grossing $18 million. You're probably only taking home, you know, 10 of that after cost, maybe like, probably more like, you know, I don't know, seven or eight. and then you're dividing that up amongst however many people. There were a lot of people on that tour for like a fair amount of tour days, so it did not work out to a lot of sort of take home pay per show, but it really kind of opened the door. I think in the aftermath of the death of Tupac, Biggie and like all of this, you know, sort of, like moral panic around hip hop and violence and all of the, you know, whatever Tipper Gore stuff, you know, that this was sort of like a reminder that like, yes, hip hop Acts can go on tour and it's gonna be fine.And like that, you know, that had been done in the past and, run DMC and what have you. But, you know, NWA had gone on tour and, you know, had a big national tour. So there were other examples before, but I think people were like, kind of freaked out about hip hop in the national zeitgeist at the time, and this kind of really helped to kind of reset things. And, you know, opened the door for other rappers, but, you know, for Jay-Z himself down the line, you know, I mean, he's been a really prolific touring act and I think he's always been really clever, about it because, he's like, even now, like he can sell out arenas, but, you know, he's not like, I don't know, he sort of can't necessarily do, he can't sell out stadiums by himself, that's for sure. And there was a time when he couldn't sell out arenas by himself. and there's probably a time when he couldn't sell Amphitheaters by himself, but he always goes around, he brings somebody with him and he's got a really good kind of, level of self-evaluation and he's like, you know, he doesn't let his hubris get in the way of like, I can sell out whatever, whatever.unless he knows he can, you know, he, he's very accurate in that assessment. And if he can't make it, then he just brings somebody with him. He brings Eminem with them. you know, he goes out with Beyonce for the stadium tour. So, you know, Justin Timberlake with him. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly. So in a way, I think that tour was kind of the beginning of that.And, you know, how he could, see some synergies by mixing and matching with other artists[00:24:35] Dan Runcie: And that tour too Hard Knock Life tour. He showed signs of that awareness there. There's this iconic clip when Jay-Z was on the shop a couple years ago and he's talking about the show. This was shortly after DMX had passed away and Jay-Z was going on tour in each of these nights after X and X's shows, you know, he's taken off his shirt, he's doing prayers at the end.So you have people that are laughing, you have people that are crying, then people that are screaming and then they come out and they're like, oh, now you go like pointed to Jay-Z. And I mean, one Jay's storytelling of that is good. When we post this episode, we'll definitely share this clip in there, but two, it showed this awareness that people have spoke about of, and it's also what you're saying, even if he may not have always been the central act and another running thing that people have said over the years, what year was Jay-Z, the top guy in hip hop?And I think that is a very debatable thing, but it's the longevity and that's the thing that speaks to it. And how he's been able to stay through that over the years. And because he was always that core piece, like we said, price is probably one of the reasons that they didn't get a no limit or a cash money type deal.It really was just him. I think there was that one R&B album that Rocefella hadn't released in 1997, but didn't really go anywhere with that artist. So things didn't really pick up until late nineties, early two thousands. And you start to see more of the artists on Roc La Familia, and they're really able to spread their wings in that way.[00:26:10] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, I mean, another thing to remember, at the time, you know, especially, I think it was 98, 99, that was when, you know, Def Jam. So I think Def Jam had already taken a pretty significant, institutional investor, but, they were selling the company or like maybe the remainder of the company or most of the remainder of the company.There's this really, really big deal happening. and I forget which sort of, European entertainment conglomerate was it Bertlesman or It was like, was, something that's since been reconstituted or, or whatever. But the, the deal was gonna happen and you know, the deal was gonna be for whatever multiple of revenue, that Roc-A-Fella had or not Roc-A-Fella, that Def Jam had produced in the prior year.And so for the, I think it was the calendar year of 1999. And so, Lyor and Russell just like leaned really hard on Jay and DMX and they were like, we need you to put out like two albums in 12 months because we're just gonna get a multiple of that. And I don't remember the exact advances that, that were given, but you know, I'm sure it was considerable.And so, you know, they were able to put out like each of them two really killer albums in the span of like about 12 months each. which is like kind of unheard of these days, right? I mean, Jay-Z goes, is like five years between albums now and, I think that was, volume two and volume three for Jay-Z.And I think for DMX, it's dark and.[00:27:38] Dan Runcie: Dark as hell and hot and then flesh and my flesh blood. And then, and those were like, like, and then there was X was the third. Oh, then there was X.[00:27:45] Zack Greenburg: That's right, that's right. So those were like, like two, like for each of them to[00:27:49] Dan Runcie: a year and a half spare albums.[00:27:51] Zack Greenburg: I mean, yeah, back to back, you know, man, like to have that much, sort of creative energy to do it so quickly, and to have it sell so well, I mean, it is quite a feat and you know, and they, personally enriched Russell and Lyor and Rick Rubin, like, I would say quite substantially cuz it just drove up that multiple.And, yeah, I think a lot of people kind of forget, how critical they were, you know, to that process. But it probably also caught thinking like, Why am I working so hard to make somebody else, you know, I'm getting rich, but they're getting wealthy and, I think the gears are continuing to turn for him at that point and he's like, Hmm, how do I kind of get to be more in their position, right?[00:28:32] Dan Runcie: Cuz I think at this time, this is when you start seeing more of the Roc-A-Fella expansions in a few ways. First Dame is already thinking about ways to extend this brand. You see Roc films, Streets is watching comes out in the late nineties and then they put out a whole documentary about the Hard Knock life tour as well.And they start selling that as the DVD Rocawear comes out. And we're gonna do a whole episode about Rocawear eventually, but, you know, Rocawear itself. And then you also just start to see more and more product coming from Roc-A-Fella that isn't necessarily from Jay himself. And I was looking back from a timeline.And this is one of the unfortunate things about Roc-A-Fella, we're gonna get to this, but right around the time they split, you could argue that they were just continuing to go up and up and up with the releases every year. Like this is the 12 month stretch that they had where I think they had the highest products.Starting in February 20th, 2003, you had freeway drops, Philadelphia Freeway, Dipset Drops, diplomatic immunity. Joels has his debut album. Jay-Z drops the Black album, Memphis Bleak drops his, and then top of 2004 Ye drops College Dropout, Young Guns drops their debut. And that's all in a 12 month span.That's some no limit cash, money level of dropping albums. And so there's so many hits and so many memorable songs that they had during that stretch.[00:29:59] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, absolutely. And you know, I think that if, you know, we were talking earlier about the splits and so forth, but it's like, can you imagine. If they had the kind of splits to catch money it had, when you have all those albums coming out and, you know, yeah, I think it really would've changed things.Not only that, but you know, to own the masters of all those artists, which you probably would've in those days. you know, to have like a hundred percent or something close to it on all those artists with all those classics. you know, it would've been very hard to walk away from, you know, as they eventually ended up doing.[00:30:33] Dan Runcie: And I think what you mentioned earlier, probably alludes to this, right? Because if there's enough of the pie to these split between the three founders and everyone else, and they're the one accruing the assets from what they have, then maybe Jay and Dame are more likely to figure out their differences in a way to make things cook because it's working for everyone.But when you're still paying Def Jam in on top of that, or you're still paying island def jam in on top of that universal even more money, it's tough to justify that. And I think this is a good time to talk about the split. The infamous split between Jay-Z and Damon Dash. You could start to see that the two of them were going in different areas where Jay-Z was wanting to be really focused in on what he was doing from a music perspective, wanting to expand there and wanting to just do different creative things.But Dame had his own approach, and we talked a little bit about that with, the films and the sports and other things too. But he also wanted to do things his way. He was starting to get a little bit more spotlight. And then there's that infamous clip of them at Summer Jam 2001, where Dame Dash is in his full element.And Jay-Z's just like expressionless. And that clip is often looked at as like you knew from this moment. That these two just were necessarily gonna be at the same page because this is 2001, Jay-Z's are drop about to drop the blueprint, his masterpiece. And granted, you know, he could have just been in the zone or whatever, but it's definitely an unfortunate thing because granted, Jay-Z was able to reach further heights, but you never know what could have happened.You just look at how much Rocawear ended up selling for you. Look at the continued success, the momentum, and I think what it boils down to is to. People that had different philosophies where it makes it tough. Jay-Z was a bit more focused on wanting to be rich. He was willing to do partnerships with others if everyone could eat and have a piece of the pie. Granted, he still wanted ownership, but as you've written about before, he has his perceptions on underdog brands and how he could move like a private equity executive and make the right investments. And even the m and a deals he's continued to do today, his live nation deal is the element of this.But Dame was a bit more wanting to be king. He wanted to have his stamp on things. And I think you see that even now today with Dame Dash Studios, Dame Dash, this, like, it's very important for him to be able to have his kids and his other folks around him be able to work with him and be the boss, not necessarily wanting anyone to tell you what you can and can't do.And that infamous Breakfast Club interview that they had, I think it was 2015 when he's yelling at DJ Envy and Charlemagne about, well, they gotta report to whoever at Power 105 and that's their manager, that they're not a real boss, is an element of that whole dynamic. So it's frustrating that it happened, but it's also not surprising.[00:33:26] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, Jay has kind of adjusted his views on ownership and he said recently, I mean, he's sold some of his big brands, or sold half of it into, a JV with like LVMH or you know, or whatever. And he's very much of the mind of like, well, I, you know, 50% of like a billion is a lot more than a hundred percent of, you know, a couple hundred million, and I think Dave, that's[00:33:51] Dan Runcie: that you did with Kevin Hart, right?[00:33:53] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly right. So, and I don't remember the exact quote, but maybe you could, maybe you guys can pull it up, but I don't think Dame really ever got that. He was always like, well, I want a hundred percent, you know, and so, you know, he ended up with a hundred percent of like, whatever, you know, seven or eight figure amount that he ended up with.But he could have had, you know, 50% or 30% or something of like billions of many billions probably. But you know, just to kind of like, I think there was a precipitating moment that sort of like was the end of, Roc-A-Fella a s it was, a partnership between the three of them.But it really could have been anything. it was headed that way for a couple of years. And, you know, I think what it comes down to, is that, I don't know. I mean, I think that Jay also recognized that Dame was very, very valuable. The skillset was especially valuable in the come up.And, you know, like when you are not well known, you need somebody to go in and yell at somebody at the radio station. you know, but then when you get there, you need somebody to like not yell at certain people, you know? And, when you get to that next level, and sort of Dame, you know, didn't adjust, To that.And, Damon was sort of Damon or wherever he was. And it was great in one situation, not great in another situation. So I think the precipitating incident was basically when, you know, after this sale, which ironically Roc-A-Fella helped, boost, you know, the Def Jam sale. There was a reshuffling of executives, which is like so complicated.I'd have to go back to that chapter of my book to, to look at it. But the gist of it was the role of president at Def Jam, opened up and, it was offered to Jay-Z. And so, you know, Jay-Z, this is something that he had sort of, it's this like great prestige job. something that he'd always been wanting.And I don't think he wanted it, like, this is my dream job that I've always wanted. As much as it was like, if I can do this, be a CEO, this opens the door to so many other things. And it will really sort of entrench me as not being pigeonholed as an artist. And, it was a no-brainer and of course there was no way to do this without, stepping on Dame's toes.So, you know, there's this whole great drama, and I think, you know, the wheels started turning when Jay-Z was, you know, on, on a yacht in the south of France with like Beyonce and Jimmy Iovine and Bono or something and, kicking it. And, you know, there's some executives there. Some conversations were had, I think at the same time back home, Dame, like elevated camera on to VP level at Roc-A-Fella without consulting Jay.And it was this kind of like big scandal and when Jay-Z came home, he was like, no. And he kind of demoted him. So there was some awkwardness there. but you know, I think then that Jay kinda like accelerated his, push toward this CEO role, and when he got it, it's like, all right, you know, sorry Dave, I'm your boss now.I mean, because of course Def Jam was, but Roc-A-Fella, there was really. There was no way for it not to be structured like that. so, you know, when that went down, of course, like Dame immediately, you know, quit or left or whatever, and, there was a hot minute where he started the Damon Dash Music group within Universal, but, you know, then he kind of like kept doing the same thing and kind of yelling at the wrong people.And, and so that didn't really go anywhere. And, you know, the thing kind of fizzled out and Jay offered to, I think he wanted to give, at the time, he wanted to give, Biggs and Dame, like all of his preexisting masters in exchange for exclusive ownership of Reasonable Doubt. they said no. but of course, you know, I don't know that the Black album had gotten as big, is it?You know, I hadn't like really fully blossomed into what it, what it ultimately was at that time. And there's like all this other, so anyway, I mean, there's a lot of like trades being offered and you know, people sort of like, you know, it's like the guy in your family in football league, your fantasy baseball league.You kinda like overvalue his own players. Think I've made this analogy before, but, dude, come on. Like, you know, you're running back, just got injured and offering you my extra running back for this wide receiver who you're not even music anyway. it didn't really work out.Everybody got all pissed on each other, you know, at the end there's bad blood. so th there's this great moment that Dame talks about how, shortly after all this went down and they're like in the elevator at, I guess the Universal Museum, that Def Jam was housed in. and Roc-A-Fella had been housed in or something.And they're like bumping each other in the elevator and Dame is wearing a state property shirt and Jay C's like in the suit. And Dame's like, man, you know, things are really different now. Like, dude, you changed, you know? so, you know, I don't know if Jay changed so much as like Dame didn't change, you know?you could argue the problem was that Jay changed, but you could also argue that problem is that, that Dame didn't. And, you know, I mean, to some extent like power to him, you know, be you. but Jay, you know, in the way that I think you know, he's constantly changing. He's restless, he's always, everything is a chessboard.He's always evolving, you know, I think ultimately there was no way to stay locked into a partnership with someone who wasn't kind of willing to change with them.[00:38:59] Dan Runcie: One thing you mentioned there made me think about how they think about things and where they are from a strategic perspective, Dame is very much your early stage startup guy.He's great for the pre-seed era. He's great for when you're even in the seed stage, maybe even series A, but once you get to that series B, C, you're starting to get some higher level executives. You're getting more talent, you're gone to bigger things. You can't operate the same way and no different. How those organizations often need to rotate and think about leadership.That's essentially what in many ways was the opportunity there at Roc-A-Fella. And there's nothing wrong with being very successful at that pre precede seed stage. I don't think Roc-A-Fella would've got to that point if it weren't for Dame hustling in many absolutely ways, whether it was on tour radio, and I think a lot of his success traits have been carried through and things we've seen celebrated and leaders in tech and people that do things that don't scale that very much is Dame Dash. That next level, though, is where things did get a little bit tough because the label's clearly getting ready to go to that next level, and they just had their tensions there.The thing that was unique though, about their tensions is that the artists themselves that were on Roc-A-Fellas started picking sides in terms of who they wanted to be with, who they were gonna side with, Jay versus Dame, and as you mentioned, Dame was the one that had elevated Cameron, who was the leader of Dipset at the time, to that VP level.That then brings everyone from dipset under his umbrella, but Ye, who had just dropped the college dropout and he was the one that was always trying to make it. He then signs with Jay, he also has a very memorable interview on the Breakfast Club where they asked him about this, and Ye was the one that was like, me and Dame we're the same. We think the same. This is how we act and go about things but I could learn more from Jay. He knows how to talk to people and he uses Jay's iconic lines. He's like, Jay knows how to move in a room full of vultures. That's just how he is and sometimes I be talking and saying the wrong things, which is a very ironic thing.I don't know if Kanye himself would admit that now, cuz that very much is a self-serving prophecy. I do think that there's a lot of truth in that, and just how things ended up shaking out for both of them. You saw the moves that everyone continued to make, and even though ye has definitely been quite polarizing in the public spotlight, a lot of the moves that he continued to make, whether it was with Yeezy or with the partnerships he's had, I do think stemmed from how he looked up to his own big brother in Jay.[00:41:42] Zack Greenburg: Yeah. And he could have easily gone with Dame, right? I mean, you know, Jay wasn't so great to him early. Jay didn't believe in him as a rapper, he kind of wanted to keep him as a producer and Dame was, I think, the one who really advocated for Kanye as a rapper. but you know, I think Kanye, in his, you know, like more self-aware moments can say things like, oh, I think I could learn more from Jay.He brings something to table that I don't have, for Dame, I think the difference between Dame and Kanye is that they're very similar, in a lot of ways. But Dame isn't an artist. like, let's say a generationally talented artist. And so people will not put up with you if you're an executive. And you bring along those headaches in the way that they would put along, put up with you if you're a generational artist and you bring those headaches. And I think that was sort of like also, something that did Damon. And you know, in a way I think Damon Puff had a lot in common like they can just go in and kind of bulldoze their way into something.but Puff has that, that like other level where he can sort of like turn it up and down and, you know, to fit the situation. and is like more of a chameleon than Dame is. And Dame's just kind of dame all the time. so, you know, those are sort of the, personalized to play. But you know, like one person who gets lost in the shuffle here is Cameron.And because that was sort of the prime of his career that got like, entangled in this sort of higher level beef. but you know, you think about that album, come home with me and Hey man, like, I mean, Cam was really on fire, going into this whole situation. And then he got kind of like, I don't say like exactly lost in the shuffle, but almost lost in the shuffle.You know? and you just kind of wonder how his career would've gone, you know, let's say if, sort of he hadn't been like Dame's guy, you know, if what if he had gone to Def Jam? You know, what would that have looked like? could he have been on the level of somebody who signed? You know, like, I don't know.I mean, around that time, I think, Rick Ross signed a Def Jam, was it?[00:43:41] Dan Runcie: Ross, Jeezy, yeah.[00:43:43] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, like, you know, I think certainly has, you know, comparable ability, Tyler and those guys and, you know, I think both of them went on to have, You know, sort of like more longevity. but like, you know, I think, some of the Dipset classics and some of the solo stuff too, I mean, it's pretty unbeatable.So, you know, I just wonder, he's had a really good career, either way. But like, you know, I don't know that he ever like, broke through that next level, consistently, you know, to the point where he could just kind of stay there indefinitely. And, I wonder if he might have, if things had kind of gone differently in the Jay-Dame scenario,[00:44:21] Dan Runcie: The man had men wearing pink. He started his own fashion. Yeah. Unbelievable. Yeah, that's true. Unbelievable. With that, I think it's a good chance to hit through some of these categories, cuz I think you're jogging my memory the few things here. what do you think is the best signing that happened under Roc-A-Fella?[00:44:39] Zack Greenburg: Well, I guess you can't count Jay if he, you know, co-founded Right Label.But, you know, I'd say probably Kanye. it's hard to top that. And when, you know, when you think about those first few albums, you know, I mean, he brought an element into hip hop, into the mainstream that just wasn't there. and, you know, I don't think, you know, if you hadn't had Kanye, in the pink polo, and you know, talking about his feelings, like, I don't know if you get Drake right.I think that he kind of changed the discourse. he brought hiphop to the mainstream and then he also like brought a different sort of voice to hiphop, And it was fantastically lucrative, obviously, for everybody involved. So, yeah, I agree with Kanye, for sure.[00:45:22] Dan Runcie: Yeah, agreed. And then just given the longevity there, even into the early 2010s, still putting out records under the Roc-A-Fella Records umbrella that still went back to them.And longevity that lasted longer than most of the people that were assigned to that label. So I think it has to be him. Best Business Move made, I know we talked about a few of them, but what do you think is the best business move that to come from the Roc-A-Fella era?[00:45:47] Zack Greenburg: Hmm. I mean, it's funny now that we look at it, I mean, in a way, know, the deal itself that set up Roc-A-Fella was not, you know, it wasn't a bad deal, but it was not the best, move.It wasn't the best kind of financial arrangement. you know, I mean, Rocawear is kind of an offshoot. Maybe that's cheating, but I'm gonna go with Rocawear because I think in some ways they're like, well, we can't get a hundred percent of the money on this thing, so we're gonna create an adjacent brand that's like very clearly associated with it that we can really monetize fully.And you know, I mean they got paid, I mean that, that company was doing hundreds of millions in revenue and they sold it for hundreds of millions. So, you know, I think they made more off of Roca wear, than they ever made off of Roc-A-Fella. So I'll go with Rocawear, we can talk more about it when we do the full Roca too.[00:46:36] Dan Runcie: I know. Yeah. I'd Rocawear as well. I won't go into the company itself cuz Yeah. We'll get into that in the next one. But I do think the good thing about that was it was a precursor to how artists now are thinking about their own revenue, their own business models, right? How they're using streaming, how they're using anything else that gives them a platform.Use that to grow your audience, use that to grow the awareness while generating money for that, establish the base. So some of those other business units were likely more influential, thinking about them doing the deals with Def Jam and then them having the hard knock life tour. But I do think Rocawear was the best business thing to come through there for sure.[00:47:18] Zack Greenburg: And just a s like a subset of that. I think the philosophy that was embodied by Roca wear, you know, the idea of like, they wanted to go Roca wear started because they wanted to go. there, there was this Italian, knitwear brand. iceberg. And they like went to the iceberg offices and said, Hey, can you give us some free t-shirts or something for wrapping about your thing?And they're like, or no, I think they wanted an endorsement deal. They wanted some cash for an endorsement. and then the executives were like, we'll give you some free t-shirts. And, Dave was like, this is stupid. Let's go start our own thing. So, but I think that was really the beginning of, you know, like, I'm not gonna give, free publicity to other brands.I'm just gonna go start my own thing and rap about it. Like other rappers have done it. But, it became so pervasive for Jay-Z's mindset. It wasn't just like, I'm gonna do my own clothing line and I'm sorry, I'm gonna do my own champagne. I'm gonna do my own cognac. I'm gonna try to do my own car.I'm gonna try to do like a freaking video game, you know, he was involved in so many things that kind of sprung from that. so I think the implications were much broader than just, the clothing aspect.[00:48:28] Dan Runcie: Agreed. Next one here is the dark horse business move. So one that we actually haven't talked about, but I do think is one that Roc-A-Fella definitely lead into was the Jay-Z and Nas beef.The controversy that this was able to stem and start, I briefly mentioned Summer Jam 2001, but everything from then and just the drama from there, the two of them back and forth, Jay drop in takeover that, NAS drop in Ether, that whole back and forth was able to then create so much interest. They had all those beef DVDs that were g blowing up in the two thousands, I think largely came up cause of how they were able to reignite beef from essentially the biggest beef that hip hop had seen since Biggie and Tupac several years earlier.Yeah, it was huge and the level of. Bars that I think we're able to get the songs they're able to get back and forth. Just the impressiveness of Nas essentially taking on this whole entire unit by himself. People can debate whether or not who won and lost, whether you're looking specifically from a battle perspective versus who won in the long term.But we eventually see them come together on American gangster and they continue this f familiar relationship ever since. But I do think that this was the height of the time to really sell controversy. Obviously we saw 50 cent and others continue to do that too, you know, their own, putting their own flavor on as well.But I do think that Jay-Z and Nas Beef still was one of the little crown jewels that they had with this.[00:50:05] Zack Greenburg: Absolutely. And, you could tell that it was like there was real enmity there. but also, you know, the fact that it, it never turned violent, I think was just. I think it was really good for hip hop, and I don't think it was ever going to turn violent, but I think again, there was just this kind of like national paranoia around hip hop and, there is, you know, in waves.I think it was just a, good reminder that you can have like a spirited dispute and, it's okay and it's entertainment, you know? and it's, nothing that anybody needs to be afraid of. So, you know, of course like credit to Jay and Nas for resolving it amicably, but man, you know, like just being in New York and that time and like the Barbs going back and forth and man, I think that's the only time that, like a beef has gotten so nasty that, a rapper's mother has like, made him basically apologized for saying something mean, which, I think that was Jay-Z's response to Ether. I think Ether was sort of like the pinnacle of it and Jay-Z's response to it was like, not quite as good, like, how do you top ether? but I think Jay-Z's was just like, viscerally, like, you know, won't get too deep into it because if, Jay-Z had to like, call in to apologize for it, you know, I dunno if we can even talk about it on a podcast.But yeah, I mean just, to have that end, you know, like very amicably I think was just so good for everybody involved. And then, you know, I think it's really fun to watch, Jay and Nas as their relationship has evolved. And, you know, Nas was sort of always like the one who was sort of behind, when it came to the business of things.and then, you know, like he really was music first all the time. And, you know, I think some people thought that he would never really kind of blossom as a businessman, but then, you know, he became sort of the leader, within hip hop entering the venture capital world and, you know, created this great, Queensbridge Venture partners and, you know, invested early and just about every startup you can name and has had all kinds of fantastic exits.And, you know, I think it's so funny that Jay-Z then started MVP, you know, Marcy. So it, it's like definitely like a nod to Nas, you know, each of them naming their venture fund after the project where they grew up. So, I think that's super cool. And, you know, they still like drop these little subliminal, I don't know, like references, where you could tell they're kind of like tweaking each other, just like.You know, like sibling rivalry kind of thing. which is I think, really fun to watch. And, you know, I think that there's some friendly competition around deals and so forth these days. But it's just, it's so fascinating to like, watch the evolution from this real knockdown, drag out, very personal beef, that occurred, you know, to now like, sort of like comparing deal flow.And I think it speaks very positively toward like, the evolution of the business of hip hop.[00:53:03] Dan Runcie: Definitely. You think about things that they wrapped about in their most recent, songs that have been popular, right? Like Nas's song where he calls himself Cryptocurrency Scarface, or Yeah, yeah.Jay-Z. what was that line in God did with Khali where he is like, oh, we had cap tables, not that cap table, or something like that. I mean, he's clearly leading into that stuff. What do you think is the missed opportunity if of any, from Roc-A-Fella besides the split, cause I know we've talked about that, but there any other missed opportunities, especially from that 96 to 03, 04 range?[00:53:37] Zack Greenburg: I think it's Armadale Armadale, like, and you know, that kind of came to be, I think of anybody that was more Biggs's pet project, than Jay or Dame. Although, you know, Jay was kind of trying to make it happen. He would, he had it. If you recalled the MTV Unplugged album, which as actually might be my favorite Jay-Z album of all time. It's kind of cheating cause it's not a studio album, but, it's so good. He's backed up by the race anyway. He's like, some point he's like, I need to stop for some Armadale. I need an army break, you know, he was really trying to shout it out everywhere he could. But already when they started doing that, you know, they were on the outs I think.And, I think Jay-Z wasn't fully invested in it because why would he get fully invested in it? And then another thing that he was partners with Bigs and Damon, I don't think anything against Bigs, obviously. And I think they're totally cool now. And they've, been doing some stuff together more recently.but like, why would he go do that when he could just wait and then do something on his own? But, you know, I mean, Armadale could have been cRoc, right? if they'd done it right, there's no reason that it couldn't have been. I mean, it's the same formula. It's like European unknown, whatever.And then, you know, put it in videos, put it in songs, and, you make it, you know, whatever it's gonna be. And you know, we've seen what Jay has done with Deuce and Armando Biac, so we know he can do it. It's not only Puff who can do it, only a few people who can do it. Levelly can do it, but like Jay and Puff can do it and done it. And Jay could have done it with Armadale, just, you know, At the timing just didn't quite work out.[00:55:03] Dan Runcie: I think Armadale had one memorable shout out from the Jay-Z song. It was, excuse me, miss, right where he is talking about Armadale popping off. but that's also the same song. I think he gave Cristal a pretty big shout out there where he is like, it's not Cristal, it's Cristal, right? But then a couple years later, he is like, no like obviously we're done with Cristal because of, you know, comments, racist comments that the founder or the CEO had said at the time, my missed opportunity is one that highlights something that I think Jay-Z did well, but it probably could have done more of.And that's movie soundtracks. If you ask certain Jay-Z fans, I do think that they have American gangster as one of their top Jay-Z albums, as they should. It's a great album. I honestly think the album's probably even better than that movie is in particular points. But Jay-Z, so that movie, that soundtrack comes out 2007.He missed, I think an entire wave of times when movie soundtracks, in my opinion, were even, were just bigger deals than they are by even 2007 and even later on. And now I think it's very hit or miss that you could even get a soundtrack to that level. But especially during the Roc era. And I know that he had songs that were popular on the, but really being the mc behind an entire soundtrack in that type of way, I think could have been there probably could have been more opportunities to do something like that earlier on.[00:56:26] Zack Greenburg: Oh, I like that's a really deep cut.[00:56:28] Dan Runcie: So a few more things here on Roc-A-Fella, Well, we've seen just continued spats back and forth. Not necessarily jabs, but just comments back and forth between Jay and Dame. It's been nearly 20 years since this split. We've definitely seen more from Dame than Jay, and it's one of those things where it does become a bit sad to see and frustrating to see at times and not be expecting to be best of friends.We have seen Jay-Z say things that are quite complimentary. When he got inducted into the Roc and Roll Hall of Fame, he did shout out both him and Biggs and say, Hey, this wouldn't have happened without either of you, regardless of what had happened, you know, in our past. Gotta give you guys both shouts for that.But then we've also seen Dame say things during the years, and I think he's. Alternated on whether or not he's wanted to speak on them and stuff. But it's one of these things that is a bit frustrating to see because I think about it when I think about NBA players and how they've had issues over the years.Kobe and Shaq, of course, infamously, they continue to talk about each other for years and then eventually they came and they had that sit down chat on TBS, right? Where they're talking back and forth. If they and Dame ever did something like that, they don't even have to go do it on some platform. They could do it on their own thing.It would be box office. It would be great to be able to see that and just see how, then hear them talk things out. Because even another NBA thing, Kevin Garnet and Ray Allen of course said, had their infamous dispute because Ray Allen went to go join the Miami Heat. Kevin Garnet, very intense, hated that that was their rival.But then after Ray Allen had walked past him at the 75th anniversary thing last year, that's when KG was like, okay, what if Ray Allen passes the same way, passes away the same way that Kobe Bryant did? I would, yeah, be very upset with my

This episode is a two-parter. At the top, I talk about the news at Motown Records with Ethiopia Habtemariam stepping down from her role as CEO and Chairwoman. After that, I talked to Zack O'Malley Greenburg about Hip-Hop's wealthiest artists of 2022. After years of compiling the list for Forbes, Zack O'Malley Greenburg released the 2022 edition independently. This time around, he used insights from Columbia Business School to better grasp on the wealth of the industry's biggest moguls.Jay-Z tops the updated list with an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion. In second is the newly-minted billionaire Sean “Diddy” Combs. The rankings are rounded out by Ye ($500 million), Berner ($410 million), and Dr. Dre ($400 million). Zack joined me on the episode to discuss the rankings, and two artists in particular — Diddy and Berner. Diddy has a portfolio of diversified assets that include media, music, spirits, and now cannabis. Berner is the biggest surprise of the top 5 but has quietly built a cannabis empire with a large runway for further growth. Here's everything Zack and I covered on the show: [13:56] Zack's process behind putting the list together  [15:40] The newest billionaire on the list[16:41] The growth of Diddy's DeLeon tequila brand[29:02] Sean John's place in Diddy's portfolio [30:28] Diddy's latest moves in cannabis and possibly Twitter [32:45] The evolving business of REVOLT[36:19] Berner's “surprise” $410 million net worth[31:50] High potential for Berner's business[34:52] Berner's business success supersedes his music fame [39:50] Drake moving up the ranks [43:50] Girl Dad storiesZack's Hip-Hop's Wealthiest Artists list for 2022: https://zogblog.substack.com/p/hip-hops-wealthiest-artists-2022Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Overcast | Amazon | Google Podcasts | Pocket Casts | RSSHost: Dan Runcie, @RuncieDan, trapital.coGuests: Zack O'Malley Greenburg, @zogblog Download The Culture Report here: https://trapital.ck.page/a23b7a6a4a Sponsors: MoonPay is the leader in web3 infrastructure. They have partnered with Timbaland, Snoop Dogg, and many more. To learn more, visit moonpay.com/trapital Enjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapital Trapital is home for the business of hip-hop. Gain the latest insights from hip-hop's biggest players by reading Trapital's free weekly memo.TRANSCRIPTION[00:00:00] Dan Runcie: Hey, welcome to the Trapital Podcast. I'm your host and the founder of Trapital, Dan Runcie. This podcast is your place to gain insights from the executives in music, media, entertainment, and more who are taking hip hop culture to the next level.[00:00:23] Dan Runcie: Hey, today's episode is a two parter. The first part of the episode, we're gonna do a breakdown on one of the more recent news that happened in the music industry. Motown Records CEO and Chairwoman Ethiopia Habtemariam has stepped down and there is a lot to unpack there. So we're gonna talk about that. And in the second half of this episode, we're joined by my guy Zack O'Malley Greenburg, and we are gonna talk about the recent list that he put out, which is his hip hop's 2022 list for the wealthiest artist. He has some new announcements, some usual names, and we break it all down. But first, let's start with the news at Motown. So it was last week, shortly after Thanksgiving. Ethiopia and Universal, and Motown announced that she will be stepping down from her role. This is a role that she has officially had at this level for just over a year and a half. I think it was March, 2021 that the role was announced, but she's essentially been the face of Motown from a leadership perspective for over a decade now and when the move happened, I think that there were a fair amount of people I could understand that could have been caught off guard by it. But when I start asking around, asking a few people questions who I know understand the situation pretty well, it's quick to see that what's being pushed publicly isn't quite reflecting what's actually happening behind closed doors. But before we get to all that, let's talk about some of the wins that I think Motown and Ethiopia have accomplished over the past decade, because I think these stand out and they're really important. I look at the 2015 joint venture deal that she did with quality control music, as one of those deals that can ultimately help bring a record label from its days of resting on its laurels to being able to get a bit more current. We've seen this happen time and time again. You look at Interscope in the early nineties. Interscope was a legacy rock and roll label. Jimmy Iovine was trying to figure out the next thing and then boom. Here comes Suge Knight. Here comes Dr. Dre and Death Row records comes through. Not only does Death Row continue to rise up with the supportive Interscope, but you also see Interscope adopt a bit of that cool factor and really revive itself, and now Interscope is continuing to be one of the strongest record labels that we have. You also saw that a few years later happened with Republic records and with cash money signs. The deal that I've talked about plenty of times on this podcast, that 1998 distribution deal and that deal did a lot for Baby and Slim, but it arguably did even more for Republic Records, which now I believe it's in its fourth year in a row, the leading industry or the leading record label in the industry when it comes to overall market share. And I do think that what quality control and Motown were able to do, do deserve some similar praise. But the slight difference here is that Motown for a lot of its time and even more so as we continue to learn, was saddled under the Capitol Music Group umbrella and didn't really have the opportunity to standalone as a true record label that could run on its own and be a standalone entity. The same way that we see with Interscope, the same way that you see with Republic. And some of the other record labels that are under the Universal Music Group umbrella. When the news first announced though, there wasn't as much chatter about Ethiopia's departure. You think about the times that Def Jam has turned over CEOs. There are think pieces on think piece. You can't get people to stop talking and sharing their opinions, and some of them on base, but people sharing their opinions about what Def Jam did and didn't do wrong, but there wasn't as much here. You saw a little bit in piece that Gail Mitchell at Billboard had done where I think she did a good breakdown. You could definitely read between the lines a little bit of some of the things that necessarily weren't being said, but what I think we started to unpack and what we started to get a sense for was, even though Motown had increased its market share considerably under Ethiopia's tenure, I believe back in 2017, it was around 0.4%. And as of most recently from what Billboard reported in 2022, it's at 0.95%. And that's great, more than double. And you think about how much more recorded music has grown from 2017 to 2022 now as well, that's a pretty huge growth and that's nothing to shy away from. The thing is, record label executives and the music industry aren't just judged on market share. You're judged on how efficient you are with what you do to acquire that market share. You're also judged on your ability to score deals and your ability to do it in a way that's efficient. Everyone still has a PNL at the end of the day. But I think the slight difference for some of these companies is that because they sit under the Universal Music Group umbrella, you may not necessarily know what's really happening unless you have a really discerning eye and you can put two and two together. And if you look at some of the moves that Motown has made over the years, there have been a number of big signings. But have those big signings always necessarily led to the type of results? You know, someone like Universal CEO, Lucian Green wants to see from a record label that now would be standing alone and no longer under the Capitol Music Group umbrella. You look at an artist like Lil Baby, who you know, through quality control, is part of that Motown collective. But, you needed a few more artists at that level and you needed to get them at affordable rates. And I think the biggest win that we saw from Motown in recent years was they recently signed NBA Young Boy. This is about a year after he started working with his record label, but how much did it cost to get NBA Young Boy? He had just posted on Instagram, this is two months before this deal was made public. He had just posted on Instagram, this was in August, 2022, that he was a 60 million dollar dude. You're saying you're a 60 million dude. A lot of people thought that was a cash money deal. They thought that was probably what Baby and Slim offered, but you later find out that this is what was coming from Motown, and I don't know if that's the number or not, but you can just assume a few things. One, NBA Young Boy was someone that just got out of his deal at Atlantic Records and he's getting out of his deal. This is the second most streamed artist according to HITS Daily Double for year to date for 2022. But as we also know about streams, not all streams are necessarily weighted the same, and those YouTube streams may not necessarily lead to the same payouts that you may get from the digital streaming providers. Your Spotify, your Apple music, your titles, your Amazon, and so forth. So you have that. You also mix that in with NBA Young Boy's audience isn't necessarily the type to go buy up a bunch of vinyl. They're not the type to go buy up a bunch of digital copies or then necessarily sell out an arena. And it's great that he has those streams, but he has those streams because he is dropping an album every other month. It's not the same as Columbia having a big release from Harry Styles and then monetizing the shit out of that. Or Kendrick Lamar having a big release on Interscope, and then that continues to do numbers and numbers. It's not the same type of thing in that way. So I think, even if you were able to win a bidding war, which is great, obviously a number of labels would've wanted to get NBA Young Boy. There's a certain price to everything, and even though we may not know the specific details, we can put two and two together. There are also a few other recent signings that could be called a bit into question. There were signings of Diddy and Brandy, and these are names that I think a lot of people, especially millennials and Gen X folks grew up with, and they're gonna be people who have done quite a bit in the music industry, but they're at a different stage in their career. They're hot. Their years of earning meaningful revenue for a record label aren't necessarily where they are at this particular point in their careers. That's okay. But does the price that was paid to get them, justify that. And I think there's kind of an unsaid thing where if you're signing someone who is already well off, they are likely doing this for their own choice, then it may cost a little bit more than an equivalent artist who could produce just as much from a revenue side as what you may expect from Diddy or Brandy moving forward if they don't have that name and that cache. And to be frank, the stability to not do a deal unless it's gonna be lucrative enough for them. And then you also have artists like Smino and Vince Staples who are talented at rap, and they definitely had the moment where you thought things were rising up, but they don't move units like that. And then it brings you back to the broader piece of what's happening, specifically with the JV, with quality control music. And I think that you've seen a lot of success there. Little Baby is one of the most successful artists that we've seen, but I think you just needed a few more artists, even Migos. I think that Migos in some ways from a commercial standpoint, peaked with that first culture album that came out. Culture two wasn't able to hit the same heights and Culture three definitely wasn't either. None of the solo artists were necessarily able to do that, and unfortunately there was some, you know, conflict between the Migos themselves. Takeoff is no longer with us. There's just a lot that just didn't exactly line up. It's really tough, and it's even tough to share it this way because I think one of the reasons you didn't hear a lot of chatter and discussion about this is a lot of people really wanted to see Ethiopia succeed, myself included. We wanna be able to see these black executives continue to reach the highest ranks that they can because we also wanna be able to see the same, whether it's toon feat at Def Jam or other. But the way that things are presented externally and this effort to necessarily hide things may have you thinking that these executives have more control and influence than they actually do. And they weren't necessarily given the same level of influence or control that John Janick may get at Interscope or that the Lipmans may have at Republic. So we really have to be honest when we're reporting these things and what we're showing and what we're not, because it does a disservice not only to the industry about, you know, trying to hide these things because listen. This is a place where there's plenty of people that are talented. People learn from where they can come through and it doesn't, and it isn't gonna hurt people the way that you think that it is. And one of the reasons that these things often can be controlled this way, the music's industry's PR machine can be so strong and it can have you having this, you know, Misconceived perception, and while I think insiders do know, there's a lot of folks who are on the outside that will eventually rise to those ranks who just don't necessarily have a clear picture. And anytime that there's that big of a delta, that's how information just doesn't necessarily get itself to the right people at once. And we wanna make sure that we're doing everything we can to empower the folks in the next generation. And I know a lot of this is swimming uphill. This is an industry that is controlled by a lot of lawyers, and it's an industry that really thrives on the PR of how things spin, but been behind closed doors. It's a very different situation. In some ways it's almost a stark difference to something like tech where so much of the drama and decisions that happen within big tech are happening. You know, out in the open you could see things and while some of that, you know, can be to a fault, I do think it leads in some ways to some better discussions around what success can look like and what opportunities can look like. So I hope we can all use this as a reminder to make sure that we're being transparent as we can. When we call things out, it helps more. Think and be able to have the right discussions about what success looks like, and the more that we can report on what success benchmarks actually are, so that you're not just relying on an imperfect key performance indicator like market share, and you're actually reporting on. Efficiency. It's great that someone landed a deal, but how much should it cost to get that artist assigned? And will that payout turn out the way that you think that it is? And at the end of the day, this is about PNLs. Are you bringing in enough profit to offset any of the loss? And is there future belief and potential in your ability to get the buy in, do it in an efficient way, and keep driving the business? Quite the buzz after Thanksgiving. We'll see what the rest of the year brings. I think things will be pretty quiet until things head into January. But with that, let's turn things over to the next part of the episode. Here's my conversation with Zach O'Malley Greenberg about the wealthiest hip hop artists in 2022.[00:13:06] Dan Runcie: All right. We have Zach O'Malley Greenberg back with us, who recently released Hip Hop's wealthiest List for 2020. Your second year doing this independently, by the way. So shout outs to you on that. And it was great to see the results. We had some expectations, Jay-Z, number one, but there's two people I really wanna dive into with this conversation. Let me just run through the list first. So you have Jay-Z, number one, one and a half billion. Diddy to newly minted billionaire, 1 billion. You have third, Yey at five hundred million dollars. 4th, Berner, 410 million. And then we have Dr. Dre at 400 million. So let's start at the top. What was it like for you, not just releasing this independently, but being able to put it out and as you were putting it together, what were some of the stuff that stuck out to you?[00:13:56] Zack Greenburg: Yeah. You know, first of all, this list is probably the thing that I put the most effort into every year. At the end of the day, you see these numbers, you know, 1.5 billion, they get reported. And it was the same in my days at Forbes, as doing it independently. People take the number, everyone with it. And I think a lot of times people just assume it's like, ah, somebody's pulling them, out of wherever. But you know, I would say I put more time into those numbers, than I have put into some cover stories, you know, that are several pages long. So it's going through each of these, you know, these superstars and figuring out, you know, what's in their portfolio. What is each asset worth calling? People, you know, who have knowledge, whether it's, you know, within the camps of the stars themselves, or industry experts that are covering, you know, the booze business or the weed business or something like that. Finding ways of valuing these assets. And, you know, and I think the new thing for me, aside from doing it independently was, I've been taking courses at Columbia Business School this year. I'm part of a fellowship where I sort of do my first year of business, school light, and get to bounce around and learn some of these concepts that, you know, maybe, I didn't know before I got to sharpen them. And it's given me some new tools for looking at things like Diddy, Ciroc Partnership and, you know, ways to value things that are a little bit weird and not sort of like a run of the mill asset. So, yeah, you know, I mean I think the big takeaway, the big surprise is probably Berner being on the list, being ahead of Dr. Dre. Like you said, I think Diddy being a billionaire, finally, you know, Diddy would say that's not news. You know, you would say that he should be higher. I'm sure it's been really cool to take a look at it, you know, independently and with some of these new tools in my toolkit to come up with, I would say my most active list.[00:15:40] Dan Runcie: Yeah. Well, that's good to hear. And I wanna talk about Diddy first because I feel like. That's the one. I'll be honest, the news there surprised me a bit, not because I didn't think that Diddy was a billionaire, but more so because of how his business is and how things are structured. And it made me wonder, okay, how much has changed? Because I knew that Ciroc was the main thing that he had, that was the one of the largest drivers of his net. But you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that the sales had peaked around the mid 2010s and maybe there was a slight decline, but maybe, you might have more intel on that. And I know that revolt and I know that business there. And with Sean, Sean itself, I know he had sold it and bought it back. So I was a bit curious to see or maybe hear how much net worth changed as a result of something that had appreciated in value versus your calculations of how you'd be doing this now as opposed to maybe how you had done it years back?[00:16:41] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, I mean, so, you know, I think my methodology changed slightly. The breakdown isn't that much different. Ciroc is still the main component. You know, you could say safely, it's the slight majority of his 1 billion net worth. And it's a weird arrangement because he does not hold an equity stake. However, the deal is structured to emulate an equity stake because, you know, it wouldn't have worked as an equity stake cuz Ciroc is owned by Diageo, it's this giant public trade company. They couldn't really be like, Hey, here's, you know, a quarter of our company or something like that. There wasn't really anything to do with that. So it was more creating a framework around the Ciroc brand to function like an equity stake. So if Diageo were ever to sell Ciroc, Diddy would get, you know, let's say the proceeds after you back out the amount of money that Ciroc has put into the partnership. So, you know, it would be a lot. And there's no doubt that even if things have sort of flattened out a little, it's a multi-billion dollar brand. You know, I mean, if you look at something like Ketel One, you know, brands like that that have changed hands, you know, these are billion dollar brands and you know, Ciroc is I think number two behind Grey Goose. So it's up there. They're not gonna sell it, but if they did, you know, we're looking at a pretty big payday. So the question is how do you value something that isn't gonna get sold? And really, you know, you wanna really nerd out about it from sort of MBA type perspective. You know, thinking about valuing cash flow. That's, you know, one of the fundamentals of valuation in corporate finance and stuff like that. And, you know, there are formulas and without getting into like the, you know, sort of like more details of it where you can sort of enter assumptions into the formula and you can get a number. But basically what I did was I took the way I was doing it before I ran the numbers that way, and then I kind of did some pre cash analysis and kind of like average things out and any way you slice it, these Ciroc partnership is, you know, worth a little more than half of his, billion dollar valuation. The other things that, you know, I think perhaps I had been, you know, undercounted a little bit in the past or have appreciated. A lot since then, you know, revolt is still hanging around there. And that's another thing where the valuation could depend on you. Do you value it as, you know, sort of a, like a TV based entity, even though it's more digital? Do you value it as a news outlet? Do you value it as a tech startup? There are a bunch of different ways to look at it, but in any case, you know, he is the majority owner. Another thing that I think people sleep on is DeLeon tequila, that is really growing and he owns half of that. Actually. It's a 50-50 joint venture with the AIO and they're moving a hundred and something thousand cases a year now. Actually, you know, booze has done really well during the pandemic. You might imagine people, I don't know, I feel like we're back to, you know, some of our old ways of going out and doing things. People are drinking at home during the pandemic. So, you know, Ciroc and DeLeon didn't get hurt in the way that, let's say the live touring business did. So Diddy was pretty well slated there. And then you go through and he's got like a pretty immense art collection. He's got some real estate that's appreciated pretty rapidly over the past few years. You know, some of which he owns out, right? And, you know, you kind of add it all up. And, he's comfortably a billionaire. And yeah, I mean, if you notice like  you know, some folks when they hit that status or when they make the list or something, we'll kind of like to tweet about it. But, you know, I don't think I saw anything from Diddy because, you know, he's thought that he's a billionaire for, you know, years already. And, you know, maybe he was, but now I, I definitely think that he is and, I would expect, you know, to see other, let's say mainstream business outlets follow suit in, you know, kind of acknowledging what's definitely the attitude.[00:20:40] Dan Runcie: Yeah, appreciate the breakdown there and thinking about just like different categories there. If thinking about Ciroc itself, as you mentioned, maybe the sales flattened out a bit, but looking at revolts specifically, and I know that business has, you know, gone through some evolutions as well over the past few years, would it be safe to assume that the biggest valuation change here for Diddy's assets that maybe brought him to a billion is daily owned and some of the artwork in terms of like what's appreciated? If we assume that whether it's Ciroc or Revolt have flattened out a bit. Like would those be the ones you say that had put him over 1 billion? [00:21:21] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, you know, he was pretty close before, last time I did it before was, I think it was three years ago. I think he was at 740. You know, personally, you know, without getting too deep into it, I would've put 'em a little higher. But, you know, you get your files. I did. And that spar deal and you know, you gotta create a consensus. And I think, you know, and Forbes always says it, it would rather be conservative about valuations that it would rather understand an overstate, but you know, so that's part of it too. Yeah, I think there's definitely been an appreciation in the value of DeLeon the real estate, you know, there's a lot of startup stakes, and he's not doing it as, let's say publicly as, Nas or Jay-Z, but, you know, he definitely hops in as an angel in a lot of, a lot of startups that, that have done well. So, but, you know, yeah, I think DeLeon doesn't get the glory of Ciroc, but you know, it's a younger company. There's more room to grow. And not to be a shit, but it actually tastes really good. I've tasted other, you know, celebrity tequilas and they're not good, but it is a tasty booze, if I may say so myself. And I think the way that he launched it was that he found this sort of, you know, like a boutique brand that had already won some awards and then he kind of got in with Diageo and, and they boosted. To where it is now. So I really think that's probably like where you could see a lot more growth, if he's gonna start to try to challenge Jay-Z for that.[00:22:53] Dan Runcie: Why do you think that DLleon hasn't gotten that same amount of love that Ciroc has gotten, at least publicly?[00:23:00] Zack Greenburg: I think a lot of attention was focused on, you know, like Casamigos or some of the other really big brands and it hadn't quite gotten to that level with the same, you know, distribution and mind share. And, you know, frankly, I mean, I think Diddy has been devoting more energy to Ciroc, but you know, you're starting to see it, you know, it's a little bit less in your base kind of vibe with the brand. it's like more of a sipping thing, less of the shots at the club kind of thing. Although I'm sure, you know, you could sit either or do shots at either at the club. But I think it's just not around as much. I mean, I think the case volume on Ciroc is still like 10 times more than 10 times as high as DeLeon. So, you're just not gonna see it around as much. And I think that's why.[00:23:51] Dan Runcie: And the other thing too, that you mentioned is that DeLeon itself is actually a joint venture with Diageo, unlike Ciroc Partnership. So of course I know that the Ciroc partnership, now we're talking 15 plus years ago at this point when things kicked off and different positions, different leverage and relationships. So I wonder if the relationship is part of the reason why Diddy was able to have the type of ownership. Partnership with DeLeon that he may not have, at least in writing with Ciroc? [00:24:23] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, I think so. And I think that was part of his motivation, for how he structured DeLeon. He wanted to have that. Actual equity stake, you know, like ironclad 50-50 joint venture type thing, rather than an agreement that mimics a joint venture. So, you know, I think that the success of Ciroc definitely convinced Diageo like, all right,, we can do this with another brand. He's the guy. And, for my book, 3 Kings, I talked to some books over there and you know, I think I talked to the CEO at the time, and they couldn't have been more abusive about him. And of course, you know, like whatever, he's part of their team. Of course they're gonna say good things about him, but they were saying just like the attention to detail. Like he would, he would go to clubs and, you know, go to the bartender and be like, why is the Ciroc not on the top shelf? And what are you going to do? You're gonna be like, oh, sorry Mr. Coles gonna leave Joe here. You know, and they'll put it up on the top. I mean, it's sort of like a retail politics level of stuff. And you know, I always say that, that Diddy, you know, in a way, like you could argue. Who has had the most scheduled career and you know, who's the goat of, you know, on the business side. And you know, I think a lot of people would say Jay-Z, and they wouldn't be wrong. But, you know, I think Diddy in a way has done more with less because he hasn't been musically relevant in, you know, a really long time in that way. Still puts stuff out in whatever, but it's not like the anticipation that exists when Jay drops an album or even a verse on, you know, on a DJ Khaled song or something. And, you know, I always like to say that Diddy is kinda more like Richard Branson if he happened to just have had, you know, like a moment as like a big time rapper And you know, certainly as a producer, he's had ahead a lot of things. And not to diminish that, but he acknowledges himself. He says, I don't write rhymes, I write checks. And I think that's a strong student. I think it's especially impressive to see that he's done it without being particularly talented. [00:26:40] Dan Runcie: Yeah. I think that, His true line of being able to sell a lifestyle is what sets him apart in a lot of ways. He did it with his music. I think in a lot of ways. Bad Boys modeled after so much of what he learned at Uptown, and then you're able to transfer that lifestyle to, okay, this is the music that you listen to now. This is what you wear while you wear Sean John. This is what you drink while you're listening to this, right? Mm-hmm, you're gonna drink and this is the media that you're gonna watch. Now with the cannabis line that he just bought, this is what you're gonna smoke while you're enjoying this lifestyle too. Mm-hmm. And I think that a lot of those businesses have had varying success and we can go into that, but I do think that the ones that have been the most successful, Ciroc, Sean and the music, there's that tight connection and there's a key timing aspect that goes into all of it.[00:27:35] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, and it doesn't even need to be his music. Right? That is popular in order for the Ciroc Formula to work, it's the Ciroc Boys, it's DJ Khaled, Summer Watermelon, or whatever it is. You know, I think his ability to make those partnerships, to find other people you know, who are kind of doing now what he was doing then musically are, you know, I think that that's part of the formula and that's why it works so well. And you know, I mean, it's funny, like DJ Khaled, you know, something like Wild Thoughts was doing exactly what Diddy was doing a couple decades ago, right? He was taking a song from a couple decades, you know, one or two decades ago and putting, you know, some new voices, the modern voices on it. And it was a song that was great before and now it's got, you know, like more kind of a vibe to it and you know, goes off the chart, so I think Diddy is just very savvy with that kind of stuff, even if it's stuff. [00:28:31] Dan Runcie: Let's talk about Sean John for a bit, cause I'm curious how that factored into your methodology with everything, because as many people know, he started the brand over 20 years ago and well, in 2016 he sold the brand, then the brand was up in auction, and then he bought it for public number I saw was 7.6 million. So now he has that back as an asset. How did that piece of it factor in for you and just the journey overall of Sean? [00:29:02] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, and not much now. You know, I mean, I think what factored in more was, sort of like his cash pile. Like he sold it for. Like, whatever it was five years ago, something like that. I think he got, he got 30 million out, 40 million, something like that, that he then put into other things. And uh, you know, obviously without him it doesn't do well. And so he went bankrupt and I think it's really smart for him to buy it back. You know, who knows what he might end up doing with this, but, I think there's just,  you know, like a tremendous market for sort of like nineties nostalgia right now. You know, I think Sean John, or even a Rocawear, if they could have, I dunno, that's a little more complicated, but I think that, you know, if he's at the helm and his part as a lifestyle, Would never count him out. So, but yeah, as far as what it's worth right now, it's sort of more of a rounding error and overall number. But, you know, be interesting to see what comes.[00:30:04] Dan Runcie: And when you made your list around the same time, I believe that same week, there were two other announcements that came up. One was the cannabis company that he bought for, I believe it was 185 million. And the other one, I don't know if this one was a hundred percent confirmed, but did you see that thing floating around about him making an investment in Twitter along with Elon Musk's bid?[00:30:28] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, no, you know that was all after the numbers got finalized, so, you know, those weren't really factored into it. But you know, I mean, yeah, it all makes sense. It's all part of the lifestyle thing. It's all part of the Diddy empire, the Diddy MO, and you know, he's look, I mean, on the cannabis side, right? Like he's puff daddy, you know, like what are, what are you puffing? It's exactly, it makes sense. It's like part of the brand. And, you know, if he could do the same thing with cannabis leaders with vodka, Which is to say like, I mean, I don't know. I think when he started vodka was not, you know, it was not really seen as a stylish thing. It was more like, you do a shot to get drunk. I mean, I don't know, maybe that's physics. I was in college when that happened, and that's when, that's sort of the vibe on vodka. But he made it like the champagne of vodkas. He associated his lifestyle with it and similarly, I think with weed, it's like, you know, we're in this very nascent part of the canvas economy, you know, becoming legal and, and sort of how do you start to differentiate brands, you know, and when you have legalization you can have, you know, like. The champagne of weed, right? You can start to differentiate, you know, like what type of buzz you're gonna get because it's regulated and you can actually say like, this is the thing that has this much THC and it's gonna give you this kind of high, versus like, this is just gonna knock you on your ass. I think it's a great place for him to get into, but you know, at the same time it's like, It is a really hard place to do business still. And you know, it is not without risk. It, you know, because it is not federally legal yet. You have to do, you have to do most of your business in cash. You can't get loans in the same way, especially if you have a plant touching enterprise. You have to do all these, handle all these different state regulations, which are constantly changing and are subject to the whims of, you know, clinical races and you know, potentially gerrymandering, all kinds of stuff that has nothing to do with Diddy. So, you know, I think that's the tricky part. And you know, also not being a first mover in the way that somebody like Berner is. But at the same time, it's like, you know, he fills a different niche in the mark potentially than Berner does. [00:32:45] Dan Runcie: And yeah, no, that'll be fascinating to watch. Yeah. I think the thing about Revolt is a great concept in the vision, of course. Makes sense. Seeing how influential Diddy was with MTV and whether it's the voter die shirts that he would wear or some of the other programming, he leveraged it so well as a hip hop artist. So if you know you have that impact, why wouldn't you wanna go start your own company and go do the same? Right. I think some of the timing just became a little tough in that he started the cable network in 2013. People are already starting to cut the cord at that point. And then I know the company's transitioned much more into digital media, but even that, given that so much of it is social media based, relying on other platforms and their algorithms, I think we saw so many of those companies in that same timeframe, even the ones that were perceived as being successful, whether it's your Buzzfeed or your Huffington Post or your Complex, like all of those valuations came back down to earth. And you look at a company like Revolt, which I think was largely playing the same game, although I think they still make tons of great content and there are tons of great, brilliant people working there. I think that the digital media itself and where things transformed was a bit tough. Like let's say that Diddy had started let's say 2007 as opposed to 2013, I think we'd be having a very different conversation, [00:34:03] Zack Greenburg: You know, or 1997 , you know, I mean, yeah. I think it could be a whole different conversation and, you know, yeah. That's one of the smaller pieces of the empire, and I think, like you would say, he would make a certain argument about it and, you know, valuing it more like on the line of being a tech company. But it's hard to escape the fact that it, you know, it still. I would say yeah, like primarily a media outlet point and whether it's, you know, via cable or the internet or whatever, it's like these are not, like, these are kind of tricky places to be, but you know, it does make sense. There is a demand for that kind of stuff and it's a crowded marketplace, but, you know, he does have something different to offer and, you know, I think that there's a reason why it's still around and, you know, it'll be interesting to see how it goes, how it proceeds as we enter like the next phase of this sort of media shake up in a amount of time.[00:35:03] Dan Runcie: Yeah, definitely. And I think the other thing too, that I should have mentioned earlier is that given that this is a black owned media company, I know he's been vocal and Byron Allen and others have been vocal about advertisers not contributing the same level of money into black owned media companies that they would to, let's say, some of the Revolts competitors in the space that maybe started and run by white founders, white executives, but they're commanding more money from that perspective. So I think that's another tough thing there. But overall, like we said, this is a small piece of the overall pie. And yeah, it'd be interesting too. Especially the newer businesses, how many of them can continue that Ciroc magic, the bad boy flavor? And see? See where that lifestyle keeps going? Yeah. All right. Now let's talk about the other big one on the list, Berner. And based on the response that I saw from people sharing the list of people talking about it, this is the one that surprised a lot of people. But I know it didn't surprise you because you've been following this for a while. You've been talking to Berner, getting a better understanding of his business. So it'd be great to hear the breakdown because I think a lot of people out there may know Berner now more so for this product than they may actually know his music or anything else that he's done in hip hop up to now.[00:36:19] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, I think Berner is one of the most fascinating names on the list. Definitely the most surprising. But, you know, I've been following his work for a while and, you know, he is a master marketer and his whole journey about how he turned cookies, cannabis, You know, it is a billion dollar company and it's just a little tricky to value, but, it is a billion dollar company and the way he did it, you know, I would say it's a case study, but it's actually pretty hard to emulate. It is sort of like a singular way of doing things. So, you know, for the people who don't know the background, Bernard born in California and San Francisco grew up there, moved to Arizona as a teenager and, and would bring back good weed from California when, whenever, you know, would make trips back to his old stomping grounds. And that's how he kind of got his start. He moved back to San Francisco, during the early, you know, weed legalization gold. Worked at a dispensary and, you know, kind of popularized this Girl Scout cookie, strain of weed. And so his thing would, at the dispensary, he would, you know, they used to sell things. It was sort of like an index car with the name of the strain. It was very clinical. But he would sort of like do these doodles and cookies and, you know, these like bright colors and stuff. And, and it started to get some tension. He became, you know, Wiz Khalifa's weed man when he was in San Francisco. And on one occasion brought this fully butted six foot tall weed plant onto the stage at Khalifa's show. And, you know, I think it was sort of instrumental in that Khalifa had created the Khalifa kush and all this. And so Bernard ultimately parlayed this sort of underground, you know, weed connoisseur image that he had as both on the legal and illegal markets into this brand. Cookies started opening stores, created a clothing line that, you know, kind of goes along with it. But the thing that he did with the way he set up this company is pretty, pretty unusual and very hard to value, but I think is quite brilliant. He started striking these partnerships with dispensaries and, you know, essentially it was a licensing deal where he would get a cut of revenue. And then the other part of the deal is that he could also buy out any of these partners. At market rate, at a time in the future, you know, in the future to be determined. And you know, like some of these numbers are out there, but you know, I think the system-wide sales are close to half a billion dollars now. And he gets a cut of that. But you know, at any time he could decide to roll all you could raise money, roll all these partnerships up into one giant weed company that's, you know, making. You know that, that kind of revenue and, and suddenly, you know, all you need to do is you put a multiple on that and, and that'll tell you what the company would be. If he rolled it all up and bought everybody out. And I talked to Wall Street analysts about this and covered the space and they said, you know, yeah, you could put like a five x multiple on this, so that would mean it's you know, yeah, like about a $2 billion company. Then you have to factor in the cost of buying out all those partnerships. You know, long story short would probably be about half billion dollars because it is a very tricky business. In fact, you have to be very liquid when doing everything in cash. It's kind of complicated. People I talked to, you know, bankers and stuff, said, yeah, you would apply a private company discount due to the uncertainty of the market, things like that, that's operating in it, you know, you would knock 20, 30% off of that and you know, so that it brings it down to around a billion dollars and then Berner still owns about a third of it. And so there's the bulk of his fortune right there, you know, so his stake is probably worth around $300 million. This point, I figure. And I think that's pretty conservative. You know, you add in some other thing invested in the clothing line, which he owns, you know, a huge part of still, you know, some homes, cash stuff like. And you get to that 400, 2 million number.[00:40:27] Dan Runcie: Nice. Yeah, I've been seeing people wearing the cookies hoodies, walking around San Francisco, walking around other places. But definitely seeing the apparel thing push and I feel like he has one of those brands there are probably seeing even more of that stuff. I think it was a couple weeks ago I was driving by and I saw the store in Hate Ashbury neighborhood here at San Francisco. So yeah, no, definitely making moves. A few things there that stuck out. So he of course has his own standalone stores. As you mentioned, there's 55 of them across the country right now. And he also was selling them to other dispensaries. And I'm sure if and when weed does become legalized across the country, that will then just make things even easier from a distribution perspective from other places that he may be able to sell any otherwise. So in some ways the investment isn't just based on what's currently there or there's also a speculative nature. As this underlying product becomes more and more legal, there will be more opportunity to further sell this and further have its reach to different places. [00: 41:36] Zack Greenburg: Absolutely. And the clothing line also builds the value of the cannabis brand. And you know, if and when it is federally legalized, you gotta think. I mean, you know, this is one of the top brands in the business. And in fact, you know, there aren't really brands in this way in the cannabis space. There's strains, it's almost saying like in beer, you know, like, yeah, people like IPAs or people like those or whatever, but there isn't really like a Budweiser yet or a dogfish head, you know, or something like that. And, you know, to go back to Diddy, there's not really a champagne of weed. So, you know, I think that Berner has built up all this credibility in this space and, you know, if, when it goes legal, it's like to be one of the top weed brands in this space that is going to, you know, potentially rival or, you know, at least kind of start to eat into alcohol business. I mean, you know, 2 billion is not a large number for a company. There's a lot of potential for it to get a lot bigger and, you know, we can get into the whole. There's definitely a lot of arguments, pros and cons, about the benefits of THC and Cannabis General. And, you know, we will be here all day on that. But just from a business perspective, you know, it seems like we're headed toward legalization. Berner actually thinks that republicans are more likely to make federal legalization happen. He said, cause they're all about their paper. So I'm not saying who he's voting for anything. I don't. You know. it was an interesting perspective and, you know, like I think that he's really got kind of the key to where…..[00:43:15] Dan Runcie: One of the other things that sticks out to me about him is that he's someone who is much more known, at least on a general awareness perspective, for the business that he's built as opposed to the music. I feel like his music was a bit more of a regional thing and he puts out a ton of music, but it never hit the same levels as some of the other artists who are having nine figure net worths as well. And I feel like there's often this thought, and which I do believe generally is true, that the artists who tend to be the most successful with product sales and investing and some of the more lucrative business opportunities that artists have done, they're more likely to be the household names who have been releasing music and touring for decades than a lot of times it's because they're releasing products that are lending their names, so they're leveraging their influence to now sell things that have a larger stake in and can be bought time and time again. He's a little different though because he doesn't necessarily have that. I'm curious what you think about that piece of it, because I think so many of the hip hop cash lists over the years do have at least somewhat of a correlation as to who are the more well known artists or who are the more popular artists at the time, and not necessarily who is building the strongest business, you know, that is being worth the most, and that is not correlated with how much mainstream popularity that artists may have.[00:44:44] Zack Greenburg: Yeah, for sure. I mean the funny thing is when you look at it, he is the most prolific artist on the list. But, you know, he has the least name recognition as well, right? I mean, Jay-Z, Diddy, Kanye, Dr. Dre, none of them are putting out music at the pace with which Berner is putting out music. But everybody knows who they are and not everybody knows Berner. You know, I think you could almost argue like, well, are you really gonna put him, you know, on the list with these guys who have that much more name recognition? But you could also argue, should we really be treating, you know, Diddy as a rapper anymore than we should be? You know, treating Richard Branson, as I know Richard Branson didn't actually rap ever, but, you know, effectively Diddy is just focused on business at this point and you know, he puts out songs here and there. Music is an ancillary Berner also used. You know, the Music Chief boosts the weed business, but he's in the studio like all the time, more than any of these guys. Yeah, it's just kinda fun.[00:45:48] Dan Runcie: I think another person that maybe thought of a similar way, someone like Chamillionaire who had one really large hit, mm-hmm. But wasn't necessarily known for having classic after classic after classic album or touring the world in the same large ways as some of the other big names we did, but his investing journey is something that has been pretty well documented and I think as a result, he's definitely further than a lot of the other artists that came around the same time as him that may have had even more commercial success. So I feel like even though there is a lot of a correlation between who are the most well known artists and who are the wealthiest artists, he is someone else who is a bit similar in that Berner way of, hey, yeah, there may have a smaller overall impact from the music itself, but was able to wisely use that and then now leverage that into something where, you know, the artist is making more money from the business moves and more known for that now. [00:46:49] Zack Greenburg: Absolutely. I mean a great example of Chamillionaire and, you know, the work that he's been doing in the startup world. So at the same time, it's like if he hadn't had that one day hit, you know, would he have been able to get into, you know, the Silicon Valley kind of fear in the same way, you know, I don't know, but I think all it takes is one hit to be in the mix. And certainly like Burner never had that one hit, right? He just had a lot of, you know, really solid albums and stuff, but he was doing it in San Francisco. And I think, you know, in that way that you see somebody like Jamon Green getting really involved in the startup world, would he have been that guy if he were in, you know, like Cleveland or something? You know, I don't think so, but if you're in the mix, in the Bay Area, you're just gonna have access to a lot more opportunities, you know, in the startup world. And I think the startup world, cannabis world, you know, it. Kinda the epicenter. So in a funny way that the two have a lot of commonalities I think are familiar.[00:47:51] Dan Runcie: Yeah. This is good. I'm excited to see what next year's list looks like as well. And I know you may not be able to share publicly, but in order to get the five, you probably evaluated a few others. Are there any names creeping up, arising up that you think may make a  2023 appearance?[00:48:08] Zack Greenburg: I think, you know, Drake is creep enough, big new deal. You know, he doesn't have quite the same level of, you know, sort of like outside assets. Like he doesn't have, like a Ciroc or a cookie or what have you. And, you know, I think he does have this whiskey, Virginia Black, but it's like, never like still around, but it never really took off and it only tastes okay. It's okay. I don't think taste ultimately matters a lot of times with this stuff, but I'm kind of surprised that he wasn't able to like boost a little bit more. But I don't know. When I think Drake, I don't really think whiskey. Maybe that's just part of it. I mean, I could see him with more champagne maybe. [00:48:51] Dan Runcie: Yeah. I'm interested to see for him how this new deal he has and the music that he makes as a result ends up factoring in, because of course we know that music itself may not be the largest revenue stream for a lot of these artists. Drake has this huge deal with Universal and Republic now, and he's releasing music more frequently than ever, and we can assume that it's likely because he's getting better upside and margins for the music he's releasing. So if he keeps up at this, like two, three albums a year clip. I mean, the numbers are gonna speak for themselves. Last year he streamed more than all pre 1980 artists. Like it's gonna catch up. [00:49:29] Zack Greenburg: Yeah. Yeah. I think the other thing with net worth less as opposed to. Is that, you know, it's just harder to get on these lists if you are a big cash earner. Like if you are earning a lot on an annual basis, you know, things get factored into that, like taxes and cost of living and all that. And so, you know, you're getting these huge outlays, but you know, it's not in the same way that it was like going into this, this growing asset that can be valued. And in a way that's kind of like a quirk of the system because, you know, I'm valuing Berner's stake in cookies, you know, like it's not tax, right? Like  if he were to sell it and he were to get $300 million, you know, whatever, a third half of that would be gone to the government. But that's not baked into the formula until he sells it. So you know, this is how Bloomberg and Forbes do it. It's just kinda what it is. But, it means that if you are holding assets, you know, the taxes aren't taken out. Whereas if you're a cash earner, that gets deducted before it gets added to your cash pile. So, it just means Drake is more likely to be at the top of, you know, let's say top earning artist. And you know, it's a little harder for him to get to the top…[00:50:59] Dan Runcie: That's a great distinction. No, we'll definitely keep that in mind for next year. Do you think you'll do another top earners of the year list as well?[00:51:05] Zack Greenburg: I don't know. Maybe, we'll see how it goes. Being a new dad, and doing this full time program, you know, this fellowship at Columbia that I mention. It takes a lot of time. And you know, I don't wanna put out a list unless I have the time to really dig in and get the numbers right. But yeah, you never know. I got this one out. So, there could be more. More to come.[00:51:28] Dan Runcie: And I think on that note, just talking about dad life in general. Let's close things out there. So by the time this comes out, your daughter will be six months old and we can both share one funny thing that our kids did this past couple weeks. So I'll let you start.[00:51:44 ] Zack Greenburg: Oh, man. Well, I think the thing that's really most exciting is that she's laughing now and the thing that she mainly thinks is funny is when I'm laughing. So like, we'll get into this thing, I will make myself start laughing and then she'll go, ha ha. I go, ha. And, and it's very dorky, dad life. But, that is like one of my favorite things to do is have like, sort of a laugh off with Riley. So, yeah, I don't know, man. I pick her up from daycare every day and she just gives me this huge smile and I know that she's still really young, but I can tell that she's specifically recognizing me, you know, and that we have this bond already. That there's like a specific connection. I just had no idea that babies could sort of, like, differentiate people and start to have unique relationships in that way. And that, it's like the best part of my day every day. So… [00:52:41] Dan Runcie: That's awesome. That's awesome. Yeah. How about you? [00:52:42] Zack Greenburg: Yeah. How about you? [00:52:43] Dan Runcie: Yeah. I feel like there's something about that. Like yeah, the first couple of months I remember I would like, ask my wife, I'd be like, you think she recognizes us? Like, because she understands who we are. And I think over time there was like, yeah, no, we can get that in. Even things like now, The mirror is something that she is obsessed with. I'm sure you probably feel the same with Riley too. But yeah, the mirror. At first it was kind of looking at the mirror where there's like, okay, what is this screen? Who is that person that I'm seeing? But I think now it's like looking at us through the mirror and like seeing that it's us. And maybe she's starting to be like, oh well, I see them through this. Like she probably still isn't at the point where it's like, oh, I can see that's looking at me. But she'll look at that other person staring at her in the mirror and start smiling and stuff too. So I'm like, oh, that's cute. So yeah, man. Wild time's flying by. She'll be five months by the time this comes out. Wild man. [00:52:35] Zack Greenburg: Yeah. . Yeah. Yeah. We do a lot of like….[00:53:38] Dan Runcie: oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Where's that? Little, little peek-a-boo style games. [00:53:42] Zack Greenburg: Yeah. Yeah. In the mirror. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. We'll have to have our kids together sometime soon. I guess, you know, but of course babies, not so interactive with each other yet.[00:53:54] Dan Runcie: Yeah. No. We'll get there. That'll be fun. Zack. This is great, man. Good work as always. It was great to see the list and again. The fact that I think you got just as much coverage and buzz and recognition for this, doing it independently is a great sign. Not just for you, but I think in general for people that are always questioning, okay, you know, what's the power of what I do elsewhere versus individually. So great job on that and we'll definitely keep tabs on this coming years. But great work, man, as always. Appreciate that.[00:54:25] Zack Greenburg: Thanks man. Same to you.

Comedian and Long Islander Marie Faustin joins Greta in a shroud of mystery about her graduation year and age. They talk about Marie's strict upbringing while still managing to sneak away to drink Four Lokos, taking her class robot baby to church on a long weekend, and Marie apologizes for (allegedly) bullying her friend in high school. Plus... a Classmate's Corner that will make you want to grow *wings* and fly away.   Knock Knock! If you want the Guidance Counselor (Greta) to give you advice from your high school past, email seniorsuperlativespod@gmail.com with the subject line "Classmate's Corner" with a brief description of what you want to get off your chest from your youth! Who knows, maybe Greta and her next guest will read your submission and offer some sound guidance...     Watch this, and all episodes of, Senior Superlatives with Greta Titelman here.   Follow Greta:Twitter: @gertie_birdInstagram: @gertiebirdTikTok: @gertie_birdFollow The Show:Instagram: @seniorsuperlativespod Follow Marie: Instagram: @reeezyTiktok: @mareeezy Like the show? Rate Senior Superlatives on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review for Greta. Advertise on Senior Superlatives via Gumball.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

J.Crew. Eddie Bauer. Macy's. GAP. MTV. Miss Me Jeans. Rocawear. WE: Women's Entertainment. TLC. These are just a few of the places where you may have previously seen former professional model, Yolanda Stennett, Mrs. International 2021, who was also the first female in-stadium co-host for Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals. As the matriarch of her blended family, Yolanda is the devoted wife to her husband, Joevon and a proud mother and grandmother.  Together, Yolanda and Joevon have three children and two grandchildren with another grandson expected in January 2022.  Yolanda hails from a long line of military service men and women and is proud of her two oldest children who are continuing the legacy by actively serving in the U.S. Navy. "Mentoring: By Any Means Necessary" is a family affair in the Stennett family.  Yolanda has served her community as a youth mentor for over twenty years and currently serves as the Program Director for Daughters With a Purpose mentoring program, a position in which she is responsible for creating programming that will serve both the mentees and mentors within the organization. Mr. Stennett serves the community mentoring young scholars and athletes as a high school teacher, coaches varsity cross country and baseball, hosts free youth baseball camps and clinics in addition to being the head coach for the 2021 9U Youth World Series Champion, J&T Cages from Southern Maryland.  Yolanda is an advocate for STEM education, has earned six college degrees and has worked in the telecommunications construction industry since 1999.  Mrs. Stennett currently is the Washington, DC / Baltimore market program director for a nationwide firm that provides engineering and construction services for the four major wireless carriers in the United States.

Elote. Bunk Beds. Duke City Vindaloo.   Nathan Lund and Sam Tallent are Chubby Behemoth   Extra episodes at https://www.patreon.com/chubbybehemoth

In episode 47, Morgan Shapero shares how after over 20 years working as a designer in NYC, she relaunched her own brand Shapero in 2021 - and how that experience provides both freedom to design and do business her own way as well as new skills that help her in her day job. Morgan Shapero is an industry veteran, working as a fashion designer for over 16 years in New York. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Morgan learned to sew at a young age from her late grandmother. Upon graduating high school, she enrolled in a local fashion college, then transitioned to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. While earning her BS at FIT, Morgan won several industry awards including Women's Wear designer of the future from FGI (Fashion Group International), presented to her by Michael Kors. Morgan has worked for labels such as Jones New York, Rocawear and Calvin Klein. Before her career began in NYC, she launched her namesake line of cut and sew tops, sold in several Vancouver boutiques. After 22 years, Morgan has reignited that passion for sewing and creating with her own hands, re-launching SHAPERO in 2021. This new line is all about functional, feminine, comfortable pieces for all aspects of life. Morgan has also included childrenswear as part of her brand, using leftover scraps to create mini versions of her visions. In this episode, you'll learn: Why Morgan chose outerwear as her specialty The way Morgan approaches design at her fashion designer day job versus how she approaches design for her own brand Shapero How Shapero designs to make use of waste materials How Morgan captures design ideas and inspiration What Morgan's design process looks like How Morgan turns sourcing constraints into design features What prompted Morgan to restart Shapero in 2021 Why Shapero is mostly one-of-a-kind pieces Why patternmaking is such an important part of the process The things Morgan's learned from her day job as a designer over the last 20 years that has helped her in running Shapero How running her own brand has changed how Morgan approaches her day job work People and resources mentioned in this episode: Shapero website Shapero email Shapero Instagram

In this week's episode, Clay and Tanner work their way through a tierlist of Hip-Hop clothing brands. To clarify, they are discussing brands that are owned and operated by a Hip-Hop artist. Watch as they discuss brands like OVO, Golf Wang, Yeezy, Rocawear and many others, ultimately seeing where they fall in the rankings.Soul Serum:https://discord.gg/Ny3rjqshttp://www.twitter.com/souIserumhttp://www.instagram.com/soulserumhttp://www.soulserum.shop

Hosts Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings (of Earn Your Leisure fame) are granted exclusive access into the personal lives and businesses of young entrepreneurs and celebrity guests to answer a critical question: Are they working with assets… or liabilities? For the 7th episode of season 2, the guys chop it up with American entrepreneur and record executive Dame Dash, on him starting his own NFL and the importance of ownership for him, NFTs & the metaverse, importance of changing the system & controlling your own narrative, the start of Rocawear, Dame Dash Studios, fatherhood & more!

Mimi Plange's WebsiteMimi's InstagramMimi's Facebook Holly Shannon's WebsiteZero To Podcast on AmazonHolly Shannon, LinkedinHolly Shannon, InstagramHolly Shannon, ClubhouseMusic by Paco Hallak  

Today, in the Challenge Accepted. episode of our podcast, we have John Surdakowski, founder at Avex, Shogun Investor. John has seen has over 20 years of experience in building the web, from Web 1.0 and Flash animation to the explosion of mobile and e-commerce. In 2015 John started growing his freelance business into a boutique digital agency, with a focus on fashion, lifestyle and premium products. Avex has partnered with many major brands such as Hugo Boss, Rocawear, HBO, Sony Music, and many more. In 2019 Avex was invited to become a Shopify Plus Partner becoming an agency specialized in helping brands navigate the e-commerce space. Tune in!

To catch a live recording of this podcast, click the LinkTree tab below and Subscribe to my YouTube channel!   Join me today, as I chat with Juan Doyle: Founder of Brick90Avenue!   I'm Juan Doyle, founder and owner of Brick90Avenue. I was born and raised in Slidell, Louisiana. Lincoln Park being the section. Brick 90 came about in 2016 when I was looking to define myself and where I was from in a unique/creative way. The Brick part represents the neighborhood I'm from, 90 is the era that I was raised in and when urban fashion became a thing amongst minorities and the hip hop community (such as FUBU, Rocawear, Phat Farm, etc.). Avenue meaning that this is my lane of fashion, creativity and way of doing things (the direction that I'm going).   Random Juan IG  Brick90Ave IG   Brick90Ave Website   Brick90Ave Email   Keep Up With Me! The Bee Party Podcast LinkTree

Whattup doe! Welcome back to Baltimore County Forever Podcast. This week we have Aleem and Vic on the show. Be sure to checkout the visuals on Youtube to see Aleem’s ridiculous Rocawear set that was the big topic of discussion. We also talk about Kirk Franklin vs. his grown ass son,  Drake’s latest accomplishment on the charts, and Nas recently winning his 1st Grammy and which of his albums we think should have won in the past.  Tune in for these topics and more!! Instagram:   @BaltimoreCountyForeverPodcast - https://www.instagram.com/baltimorecountyforeverpodcast/?hl=en   @Aleemthedream - https://www.instagram.com/aleemthedreem/   @Norm_Regular - https://www.instagram.com/norm_regular/?hl=en   @Podpapi_huss - https://www.instagram.com/podpapi_huss/   @The_Laptop_Chronicles - https://www.instagram.com/the_laptop_chronicles/   @Shxt_Vegans_Eat - https://www.instagram.com/shxt_vegans_eat/   @Jobrsa - https://linktr.ee/jobrsa   Norm Regular Music:   https://normregular.bandcamp.com/album/describe-infinity   https://normregular.bandcamp.com/album/the-regular-show   https://soundcloud.com/normreg   https://music.apple.com/us/artist/norm-regular/1441211593   https://tidal.com/artist/10930064   Podren Family:   The Laptop Chronicles -   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-laptop-chronicles/id1448768494   “It’s Pridestined The Podcast”    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/itspridestined-the-podcast/id1358078197

Growing up in Philly, She would’ve never imagined her love of making trinkets and clothes  with her mom would lead to over 10 years as children’s clothing designer to packing up her life and moving back home to follow her passion. She shares how the guidance of her high school art teachers fed her big city dreams of moving to New York, and going to design school, her journey from from getting a peak behind the curtain at Rocawear at the peak of their success, to landing a job at American Eagle’s 77 kids as a designer.  BUT Shannon felt a pull home that would change her trajectory forever.  After cultivating a 10 year career as a designer, she decided to pack up, move back home with her parents, and her love of ceramics would inspire her to  expand YOWIE. With a fun and uniquely personal approach to e-commerce Shannon saw an opening to take her promising online shop, to brick and mortar. About Claima Stories with Bimma: Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner. Listen and Subscribe now.Subscribe: Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/claimastories/Twitter:https://www.twitter.com/claimastories

This week HOS$ and Jasmine talk about the time(s) they fell in love with one another. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/psychobabbledmv/message

emotional content ahead. the guys try to get back on track after a very emotional episode last week by discussing the "fight for $15", twitter flirts with building a (pay)wall, spotify taking on a niche market and jay z's newest partnership with lvmh. plus, some news from black hollywood. hold on to your pants. editor's note: jay z sold Rocawear in 2007 for $200M via Rolling Stone mayor pete 'lite' is jon ossoff (phew!) aston martin is an independently owned company ta-nehisi coats' book the water dancer is fiction, not non-fiction the intro track is 21 savage & metro boomin - runnin. additional music includes talib kweli - get by and art blakey & the jazz messengers - close your eyes. this podcast was produced and mixed in brooklyn. savagemodepod.com

The third episode features the illustrious Jay-Z. He founded Roc Nation, RoccaFella Records, RocaWear, Tidal and that's not even close to the full scope of his empire. Sean Carter, known as Jay-Z, Hov or Jigga has revolutionised what was ever thought possible for someone from Bedstuy, Brooklyn New York by becoming one of the world's coveted few black billionaires. A career that the likes of Nicki Minaj, Drake, Lil Wayne, Nipsey Hussle have modelled theirs after places Jay-Z at GOAT status not only in Hip Hop but in the music business as a whole. 

Z ikony hip-hopovej módy sa behom pár rokov stal módny odpad a za svoj legendárny brand sa dnes hanbí dokonca aj jeho zakladateľ. Kazeta F-tapes 34 je tu! Podpor nás na Patreone: patreon.com/ftapes Sleduj náš Instagram: kazety_ftapes

This week Kate and Bella talk to Gotham Chandna of Cloud 21 PR where he will share 8 Growth Hacking Tips for Independent Film Makers.Gotham Chandna is a Marketing & PR Savant. With over a decade of marketing and PR experience under his belt, Gotham is recognized as one of the top 100 Twitter users in PR. Passionate about indie and global cinema, he serves on the jury of Petit Cannes Film Festival and hosts workshops, roundtable sessions, panels and special events during the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. He is also the co-founder of The French Riviera Film Festival.In the past few years, he has worked on several dozen feature-length, short film, documentary, and web projects promoting and marketing at film festivals worldwide. His online contribution to blogs includes The Huffington Post, Engadget, Buzzfeed, Destination Luxury, Indie Entertainment Magazine and more.His work at Cloud 21 (PR & Marketing agency) includes several years of work in the entertainment and lifestyle verticals. Gotham has served on some key events and campaigns that include brands like Bang & Olufsen, Audi, LG Electronics, Uber, RocaWear, TEVA, People Water, BOdvar of Sweden, Artful Dodger, Nokia, and Sound City. Gotham is also the Founder and Curator of the very popular Gothamology, a website to curate all experiences related to Luxury, well-being, and Lifestyle. Gotham discusses:1. Location Location Location2. Online Presence should be up to date3. Festival Strategy4. Digital Ads5. Electronic Press Kit (EPK)6. Contest, Quizzes and Competitions7. Influencers8. Stand OUT!Links he mentions:www.namecheckr.comimdb.comwww.filmfestivals.comwww.tubemogul.comwww.issuu.comwww.rafflecopter.comGotham's website and Social Handles:cloud21.comfrenchrivierafilmfestival.comGothamology Instagram @GothamologyFrench Riviera Film Festival Instagram @frfilmfestivalIndie Film Making PR Instagram @indiefilmmarketingSPECIAL OFFER Submit your Short Film to French Riviera Film Festival and use promo code: FRFF2021 to receive a 20% discount on your film submission.

Gone are the days where a powder blue Rocawear suit and some fresh white Nikes signified the deep love a man had for his woman. Now it's Birkin this and Birkin that. Fellas are you buying your girl a Birkin Bag? Ladies....do you really want one? Does your man have to spoil you to prove his love for you? Tune in as we dive deep into this first world debate. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thepersonalspacepodcast1/support

"From Watching His Grandmother Sew To Becoming A World Renowned Fashion Designer" Join me on today's podcast episode # 327 where I talk with renowned fashion designer Christopher Bevans as he discusses his amazing career from working with Diddy, Kanye West, Damon Dash, and others, to creating his own fashion line DYNE.life and building an app for creatives Hallway.xyz. 

Dans cet épisode nous revenons sur les marques de vêtements qui ont habillé la culture des débuts à nos jours .    • L'histoire de Karl Kani et Dapper Dan, les pionniers.  • Les différentes marques, les plus marquantes.  • Les collaborations entre les marques et les acteurs de la culture.     _________________________________ Paroles Veritables Podcast, le podcast qui traite de la Musique, Culture et Lifestyle.  Par des passionnés, pour des passionnés.    #parolesveritables #montedanslescalator Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Topics: WTC Bombing, Urban Fashion, Dr. Dre, Menace II Society, Living Single (Bonus Artist: Luck) http://afropopremix.com/   https://www.vibe.com/2016/01/1993-the-year-hip-hop-and-rb-conquered-the-world "1993: The Year Hip-Hop And R&B Conquered The World" 1993 was a historically transformative period for hip-hop and rhythm and blues. When VIBE Magazine dropped its iconic black and white debut issue in September of 1993—featuring a ridiculously fresh faced Snoop Doggy Dogg gracing the landmark cover—it was yet another reminder how ubiquitous urban culture had become. 1993: Hip Hop Artist that released albums A Tribe Called Quest / Bone Thugs-n-Harmony / Cypress Hill / De La Soul / Digable Planets / Digital Underground / DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince / Eazy-E / Fat Joe / Geto Boys / Heavy D & the Boyz / Ice Cube / Ice-T / Insane Clown Posse / Jodeci / Jungle Brothers / Kid Rock / Kris Kross / KRS-One / LL Cool J / Luke / MC Lyte / Naughty by Nature / Onyx / Queen Latifah / Run-D.M.C. / Salt-n-Pepa / Shaquille O'Neal / Snoop Dogg / Tag Team / The Roots / Too Short / Tupac / Wu-Tang Clan / Yo-Yo Next recording: Sunday June, 28th 2020 Time: Decatur / Tulsa - 12 noon Denver - 11a California - 10a Topics: Social - World Trade Center bombing Social - Urban fashion Music - The Chronic, by Dr. Dre Movies - Menace II Society TV - Living Single 1. 1993 notes 2. Bill Clinton, President 3. Feb – Former tennis player Arthur Ashe, 49, dies of the AIDS virus in New York. Ashe was believed to have contracted the virus from a blood transfusion during a heart surgery ten years earlier. 4. Feb – World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a van bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over 1,000. 5. Feb – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, with a warrant to arrest leader David Koresh on federal firearms violations. Four agents and five Davidians die in the raid and a 51-day standoff begins. 6. Mar - ESPN holds the first ever ESPY Awards. 7. Apr – The Kuwaiti government claims to uncover an Iraqi assassination plot against former U.S. President George H. W. Bush shortly after his visit to Kuwait. Two Iraqi nationals confess to driving a car bomb into Kuwait on behalf of the Iraqi Intelligence Service. 8. Apr - Colorado Rockies becomes a baseball team 9. Jun - The final episode of Soul Train with Don Cornelius as host airs. 10. Jul – U.S. President Bill Clinton announces his 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy regarding homosexuals serving in the American military. 11. Sep – PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin shake hands in Washington D.C., after signing a peace accord. 12. Oct – A large scale battle erupts between U.S. forces and local militia in Mogadishu, Somalia; eighteen Americans and over 1,000 Somalis are killed. The assault was planned to include an air and ground phase. As the mission was ongoing, Somali forces shot down two American Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters using RPG-7s. A desperate defense of the downed helicopters began, which would become dramatized in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down. Fighting lasted through the night to defend the survivors of the crashes, including the insertion of two sniper commandos who would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. In the morning, a UNOSOM II armored convoy fought their way to the helicopters, incurring further casualties but eventually rescuing the survivors. 13. Nov – President Clinton signs the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act into law, requiring purchasers of handguns to pass a background check. 14. Open Comments: 15. Top 3 Pop Songs 16. #1. "I Will Always Love You" Whitney Houston 17. #2. "Whoomp! (There It Is)" Tag Team 18. #3. "Can't Help Falling in Love" UB40 19. Record of the Year: "I Will Always Love You", Whitney Houston 20. Album of the Year: The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album 21. Song of the Year: "A Whole New World" by Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle 22. Best New Artist: Toni Braxton 23. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female: Toni Braxton for "Another Sad Love Song" 24. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male: Ray Charles for "A Song for You" 25. Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group: Sade for "No Ordinary Love" 26. Best Rhythm & Blues Song: "That's the Way Love Goes" by Janet Jackson 27. Best Rap Solo Performance: Dr. Dre for "Let Me Ride" 28. Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: Digable Planets for "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" 29. Top 3 movies 30. #1. Jurassic Park 31. #2. Mrs. Doubtfire 32. #3. The Fugitive 33. Notables: CB4, Groundhog Day, The Crying Game, Falling Down, Indecent Proposal, Who's the Man?, Sleepless in Seattle, Poetic Justice, Carlito's Way, A Bronx Tale 34. Top 3 TV Shows 35. #1. 60 Minutes 36. #2. Home Improvement 37. #3. Seinfeld 38. Debuts: Living Single (Forgot to Mention "Martin" debut for 1992) 39. Economic Snapshots 40. Avg. Income: 31k (30k - previously) 41. New Home: 113k (122.5k) 42. Avg Rent: 532 (519) 43. New Car: 12.7k (16.9k) 44. Harvard: 23.5k (15.4k) 45. Movie Ticket: 4.14 (4.25) 46. Gas: 1.16 1.05 (1.05) 47. Stamp: .29 (.29) 48. Social Scene: WTC Bombing 49. A 1,200-pound bomb in a Ryder rental truck parked in a parking garage beneath the World Trade Center exploded. The explosion created a hole about 6 stories deep. An estimated 50,000 people were evacuated, yet only 6 people died. 50. Ramzi Yousef directed the organization and execution of the bombing. He said he did it to avenge the sufferings Palestinian people had endured at the hands of US-aided Israel. He is the nephew of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed - the accused mastermind of the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000 people and ultimately brought down the World Trade Center. 51. Timeline 52. February 26, 1993 - At 12:18 p.m. ET, a bomb explodes on the second subterranean level of Vista Hotel's public parking garage, below the 2 World Trade Center building. 53. February 28, 1993 - The FBI confirms that a bomb caused the explosion. In the wreckage, federal agents find shattered van parts with a vehicle identification number. 54. March 4, 1993 - Mohammad Salameh is arrested after he claims a refund on a rented van authorities believe carried the explosives. 6 More arrested over next 8 months. 55. March 29, 1993 - The World Trade Center re-opens. 56. August 25, 1993 - Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman (The Blind Sheik) an Egyptian cleric who emigrated to the United States, is indicted for involvement for in the terrorist plot. Some of the 1993 bombing suspects frequented the New Jersey mosque where he preached. 57. February 7, 1995 - Suspected WTC bombing mastermind Yousef is captured abroad by the FBI and State Department. 58. October 1995 - Abdel-Rahman is convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to life in prison. 59. January 8, 1998 - After being convicted, Yousef is sentenced to 240 years in prison for his role in organizing the bombing. "I am a terrorist and proud of it," he tells the court. He has been locked away in solitary confinement at the federal "Supermax" prison in Florence, Colorado, since 1998. 60. February 18, 2017 - Abdel-Rahman, the blind Egyptian-born cleric who inspired terrorist plots including the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, passes away in an American prison at the age of 78. 61. Question: What do you remember about this attack and/or the 9/11 attack? 62. Social Scene (2) Urban Wear / Street gear explosion 63. First generation of hip-hop acts dressed like the top RnB acts that influenced them: Classic Motown, Rick James, Michael Jackson, Prince, George Clinton, etc... 64. 1983: Run-DMC set a new standard in hip-hop fashion, choosing casual wear like adidas sneakers and Kangol hats over suits, fancy shoes and other expensive gear. They popularized, the B-Boy look of bucket hats, sneakers, and gold chains. 65. Mid 80's Dapper Dan, born Daniel Day, a haberdasher who would import bootlegged fabrics or screen-print logos onto luxury leather, then turn them into one-of-a-kind, street-inflected pieces. His boutique, operated from 1982–92 and is most associated with introducing high fashion (opposite Run-DMC's casual style) to the hip hop world, with high profile clients over the years including Eric B. & Rakim, Salt-N-Pepa, & LL Cool J. 66. 1984-1992: Tommy Hilfiger & Polo Ralph Lauren: Between 1984 and 1989, Ralph Lauren was king of the hip-hop culture. When Tommy Hilfiger was released in the early 1990s, both brands battled each other for the hearts of musicians and the attention of hip-hop fans around the world. In 1992, Grand Puba wrote lyrics for the Mary J. Blige’s song “What’s the 411?” and mentioned Hilfiger because that’s what he was repping at the time. Puba said he gave a shout-out to the brand because rap artists recognized “whatever’s fresh, whatever’s dope.” 67. 1990: Founded in 1989, Cross Colours was geared toward young African Americans to help promote pride in their ethnicity. Based on the principle of “clothes without prejudice,” Cross Colours is one of the most iconic brands to embrace hip-hop culture. In 1990, on the first season of the hit primetime television show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, lead actor Will Smith wore a series of boldly hued and geometric looks designed by the young Los Angeles–based urban apparel line. African American-owned, founded by Carl Jones and T.J. Walker, the brand quickly skyrocketed. Soon, it was being worn by almost every musical icon of the era. Snoop Dogg, Tupac, Run DMC, Dr. Dre, Lil Kim, Mary J. Blige, members of TLC, television show In Living Color, and Muhammad Ali. 68. 1993: With the mainstream success of hip-hop, street gear/urban wear sales exploded and legitimized "Urban" fashion as a legitimate niche for major retail outlets. 69. Notable brands: Pelle (1978), Karl Kani (1989), Phat Farm (1992), PNB Nation (1992), Fubu (1992), Ecko Unlimited (1993), Mecca (1994), Enyce (1996), Sean John (1998), Rocawear (1999) 70. Question: What old-school gear/style would you still rock today? 71. Music Scene: 72. Black Songs from the top 40 73. #1. "I Will Always Love You" Whitney Houston 74. #2. "Whoomp! (There It Is)" Tag Team 75. #4. "That's the Way Love Goes" Janet Jackson 76. #5. "Freak Me" Silk 77. #6. "Weak" SWV 78. #7."If I Ever Fall in Love" Shai 79. #8. "Dreamlover" Mariah Carey 80. #9. "Rump Shaker" Wreckx-n-Effect 81. #10. "Informer" Snow 82. #11. "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" Dr. Dre 83. #12. "In the Still of the Nite" Boyz II Men 84. #13. "Don't Walk Away" Jade 85. #14. "Knockin' da Boots" H-Town 86. #15. "Lately" Jodeci 87. #16. "Dazzey Duks" Duice 88. #17. "Show Me Love" Robin S. 89. #18. "A Whole New World" Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle 90. #19. "If" Janet Jackson 91. #20. "I'm So Into You" SWV 92. #21."Love Is" Vanessa Williams and Brian McKnight 93. #23. "I'll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me)" Exposé 94. #24. "Ditty" Paperboy 95. #25. "Rhythm Is a Dancer" Snap! 96. #29. "Right Here" SWV 97. #30. "I Have Nothing" Whitney Houston 98. #31. "Mr. Wendal" Arrested Development 99. #33. "Saving Forever for You" Shanice 100. #35. "If I Had No Loot" Tony! Toni! Toné! 101. #37. "Slam" Onyx 102. #38. "Looking Through Patient Eyes" P.M. Dawn 103. #39. "I'm Every Woman" Whitney Houston 104. #40. "Baby I'm Yours" Shai 105. Vote: 106. Number One RnB Albums 107. Jan The Bodyguard - Soundtrack / Whitney Houston 108. Feb The Chronic - Dr. Dre 109. Mar 19 Naughty III - Naughty by Nature 110. Mar Till Death Do Us Part - Geto Boys 111. Apr Loose Control - Silk 112. Apr 14 Shots to the Dome - LL Cool J 113. May Down with the King - Run-D.M.C. 114. May Fever for Da Flavor - H-Town 115. Jun janet. - Janet Jackson 116. June 26 Menace II Society - Soundtrack / Various artists 117. Aug Black Sunday - Cypress Hill 118. Sep The World Is Yours - Scarface 119. Sep Music Box - Mariah Carey 120. Oct Toni Braxton - Toni Braxton 121. Oct 187, He Wrote - Spice 1 122. Nov It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa - Eazy-E 123. Nov Get in Where You Fit In - Too Short 124. Nov Midnight Marauders - A Tribe Called Quest 125. Dec Shock of the Hour - MC Ren 126. Dec Doggystyle - Snoop Doggy Dogg 127. Dec Lethal Injection - Ice Cube 128. Vote: 129. Music Scene: The Chronic by Dr. Dre, (@age 28 yrs. old) 130. Bio: Dr Dre (Andre Romelle Young) is an American rapper, producer and entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Aftermath Entertainment. 131. His initial stint with music was as a DJ in the local club, The Eve After Dark. It was during this time that he took up the moniker Dr Dre that has lived with him all through. In 1984, Dre began his musical career as a member of the musical group, World Class Weckin’ Cru. The group soon dominated the electro-hop scene in the West Coast with their first single, ‘Surgery’ selling more than 50,000 copies within Compton alone. In 1986, he along with Eazy-E, Ice Cube and DJ Yella formed the local gangsta rap group N.W.A. (Niggaz for Life). N.W.A worked on the themes of urban crime and gang lifestyle. Their lyrics were harsh and overt, and brought to mainstream America the slice of ‘real’ life on streets. N.W.A’s debutant studio album, ‘Straight Outta Compton’ met with blockbuster success, selling more than 2 million copies. Its single, ‘Fuck Tha Police’ explored the tension between black youth and police officials. In 1991, the group released its second album, ‘Efil4zaggin’ before disbanding. In 1991, he co-founded Death Row Records with Sue Knight. In 1992, he released his first single, which served as the title track for the film ‘Deep Cover’. The single featured the debut of rapper Snoop Dogg as well. 132. In 1993, Dre made the big leap of his career with his maiden album, ‘The Chronic’. Its singles, ‘Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang’, ‘Let Me Ride’, ‘Fuck with Dre Day’ created a revolution in the music industry, making the album a cultural phenomenon. The album with its G-funk sound dominated the hip hop music for the early 1990s.Following success as a rapper, he switched to being a producer. He produced Snoop Dogg’s debut album, ‘Doggystyle’, Tupac Shakur’s work, ‘All Eyez on Me’ and several film songs. 133. In 1996, following contractual dispute, he left Death Row Records for good. Same year, he set up his own label, Aftermath Entertainment in connection with Interscope Records. 134. Audio clip 1 - Review 135. Audio clip 2 - Jimmy Iovine 136. Question: Are you tired of Ganster Rap? If so, when and why? 137. Movie Scene: Menace II Society 138. Audio Clip Trailer 139. Firmly established "Hood" films as commercially viable, just like fashion. 140. Question: which of the following is your favorite "hood" film? 141. Colors, 1988 / King Of New York, 1990 / Boyz N The Hood, 1991 / Juice, 1992 / New Jack City, 1992 / South Central, 1992 / Deep Cover 1992 / Menace II Society, 1993 / Poetic Justice, 1993 / Sugar Hill, 1993 / Strapped, 1993 / CB4*, 1993 142. Soon to come: Fresh (1994) / Above the Rim (1994) / Friday (1995) / Higher Learning (1995) / New Jersey Drive (1995) / Set It Off (1996) / Dead Presidents (1995) / Hoodlum (1997) / The Players Club (1998) / Belly (1998) / In Too Deep (1999) 143. TV Scene: Living Single, starring Queen Latifah (@ 23 yrs. old) 144. Audio clip Theme song 145. Queen Latifah is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, record producer and talk show host 146. Dana Elaine Owens was born on 18th March 1970 in Newark, New Jersey, to Lance and Rita Owens. Her father was in police services. Her parents got divorced when she was eight. She was raised by her mother in Baptist faith. Her mother played a catalyst role in her music career. She had an older brother, Lance Owens, who also worked in police service. He died in a motorbike accident in 1992. This motorbike was presented to him by Latifah. She attended Catholic School in Newark, New Jersey. During her high school days, she was part of girls’ basketball team. She began rapping during high school. She formed her first rap group ‘Ladies Fresh’ when she was in junior year. She met local DJ Mark James. He formed a group named ‘Flavor Unit’ of which Latifah was the original member. James made a demo record of Latifah's rap ‘Princess of the Posse’. This recording caught attention of ‘Tommy Boy Music’ who immediately signed Latifah. In 1988, this music company offered her first single, ‘Wrath of My Madness’. The song got a positive response and she got an opportunity of a European tour and to perform at the ‘Apollo Theater’. In 1989, when she was just 19 years old, Latifah released her first album, ‘All Hail to the Queen’, which went on to sell more than 1 million copies. 147. Queen invested her money in a small video store on the ground floor of her apartment. She elevated this business to turn it into a record production company. In 1991, when she was just 21 years old, she rolled out ‘Flavor Unit Records and Management Company’ in New Jersey in partnership with her old friend Shakim Compere. She became the CEO of this company. In the same year, she also tried her hands at acting. She debuted in inter-racial romance drama ‘Jungle Fever’. In 1992, she appeared in crime thriller ‘Juice’. 148. Soon she grabbed a leading role in the groundbreaking a sitcom ‘Living Single’. 149. By late 1993, her record company signed 17 rap groups. One of these groups, ‘Naughty by nature’, was extraordinarily successful. In the same year, this company released, album ‘Black Reign’. 150. audio clip - Friends vs Living Single 151. Question: Did Friends have any character that was better than Living Single? 152. Vote: Best/most important/favorite pop culture item from 1993?

INTERNETS! On this episode of The Premium Pete Show, Pete sits down with artist, NATUREL! Naturel speaks on his journey from interning at Triple 5 Soul to Art Director at Rocawear, the differences between working under Dame Dash vs. Jay Z, the trials and tribulations he's faced throughout his career, collabs with Nike + More. Kick Back, Relax + PRESS Play. CHEA!

Pel is a decorated military veteran turned entrepreneur and creative director focusing on art, fashion, and graphic design. Raised in Queens, New York, he received a degree in Computer Science. While serving as a United States Navy F-14 Avionics Tech, Pel worked on radar, navigation, and communication for fighter jets. After turning his career to his passion in art and fashion in 1997, Pel held various strategic director positions for apparel firms along with serving as a consultant as a logo designer for New York City Public Schools. In 2008, Pel founded PELNYC, a firm focused on bolstering the artist community and providing art and services to the art and fashion industries. Later, he founded 'Idea Pharmacy,' boutique apparel and graphics consulting firm. Today Pel consults and directs an outstanding team through his established companies providing art, design, fashion, and brand development expertise and support. His roster of clients' brands including Uniqlo, 10 Deep, Joseph Abboud, Azzuré, Sean John, Rocawear, Universal Music Group, RP55, Wax Poetics, Mighty Healthy, Entree, Reebok, Fila, Diamond Supply, Talkspace, Sony, Umbro, Starter, Jordan, Nike, and Kappa. He is also a subject in Netflix documentary Underdogs. The artistic visionary is frequently sought-after for his fine art and satirical cartoons. He has participated in Miami's 'Art Basel' and contributed a full-page monthly satirical cartoon in PENTHOUSE magazine based on his daily Instagram cartoons. His unique outlook is the common thread to his tightly knitted narrative. Whether through the use of a pen, marker, or paint, he has mastered the ability to have in-depth conversations with the viewer. In his own words, Pel describes his work as being "An ambidextrous painter that uses the news and pop culture as my brushes, and the world as paint… through which I have a conversation with the canvas of your mind." - In 2014, Hamilton Perkins founded Hamilton Perkins Collection, an independent brand, designing and producing unique and award winning bags and accessories from recycled materials. Hamilton Perkins Collection exists to create timeless limited edition bags made from recycled plastic water bottles, pineapple leaf fiber, and billboard vinyl. The result is that no two bags are ever the same. Our first design, the Earth Bag Premium, was created so that our customers would not only carry a bag that was stylish but carry a bag they could be proud of. We surveyed more than 1,000 consumers to obtain their thoughts and feedback for each component of the Earth Bag Premium, which soon became one of our most popular designs. Perkins was the winner of the Virginia Velocity Tour hosted by the Governor of Virginia, and the recipient of a HUD Community Development Block Grant. The non-profit B Lab honored Hamilton Perkins Collection as a "Best for the World Overall" B Corporation in 2017. Hamilton Perkins Collection has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Money Magazine, and The Washington Post. The brand is currently offered in nearly 100 leading department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

NEW EPISODE: Powder Blue Rocawear Suit White Nike Her!!! | RUN THE CLOCK OUT PODCAST #RTCO ⏰

This episode we had special guest actress, model, and stand up comedienne Wendy Stuart Kaplan.About Wendy Stuart Kaplan:WENDY STUART KAPLAN is one of the top fit models in New York City. Anexperienced “clothing technician” and a perfect size 8, she fits everything from outerwearto lingerie. Her client roster is as eclectic as her career including Eileen Fisher, RocaWear, London Fog Coats, Warnaco intimates and Christian Dior Swimwear.As an actress, print model, and stand up comedienne, Wendy has worked in film,television and theatre and has made appearances on many syndicated and daytime talkshows. Her fun personality and quick sense of humor made her a standout guest whethershe was modeling unusual wedding gowns on Geraldo or selling shoes on Speigel TV.Her ecclectic career also includes being voted Mrs. NY, going on to compete in theNational Mrs. America pageant.Wendy’s other interests include decorating and animals. Creating an oasis of countrystyle living, her NYC apartment has been featured in many national decoratingmagazines. Her original tips and creative ideas have made Wendy a sought after expertin country style.Wendy’s deep love for animals extends to maintaining her own petting Zoo in her NYCapartment. Her menagerie includes two angora rabbits, a chocolate colored longhairedChihuahua, various hamsters and fish and a vociferous cockatoo named Louise.Also residing with Wendy on the upper east side of Manhattan is her CommercialPhotographer husband, Alan and their 14-year-old daughter Kyle. The entire family hasa deep passion for travel but is especially fond of and has made many visits to thePeruvian Amazon.

Jessica Washick is a Senior Color Designer at Nike focusing on primarily on Air Force 1's for Men's Footwear. When she's not creating your favorite Nike AF1's (think interchangeable swooshes or double stacked eyestays) by day, she's a professional nail artist by night. Her instagram page gives us a glimpse into her thought process where jelly nails coincide with the AF1's jelly swoosh or her iridescent manicure cross over with the iridescent details on a sneaker. Both careers require meticulous attention to detail, and for Jessica, they draw inspiration from each other. The Parsons graduate boasts of an impressive resume where she's utilized her fashion design degree at Fossil, Rocawear, Marc Jacobs, Coach and more. During her seven year career at Coach, she began using nail art as a form of therapy from a bad break up and thus began her successful side hustle. Her website, U Don't Need a Man, U Need a Manicure was a hit success and she began taking freelance projects alongside her day job. Through a number of trial and error in her career, she breaks down how she landed her coveted role at Nike and balances her two careers today. Beyond her work, she stresses the importance of self-reflection and being able to "ask ourselves the hard questions", the value of finding a job that nourishes creativity and the often necessity to start over and take risks.  As always, thank you for tuning into HYPEBEAST Radio and Business of HYPE. Please don't forget to rate, comment and subscribe to our other shows MIC/LINE, The Anthropology, The HYPE Report and HYPETALKS. For more info: https://hypebeast.com/2020/2/jessica-washick-interview-business-of-hype-episode-66 Jessica Washick's Website: https://uneedamanicure.tumblr.com/ Jessica Washick's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicawashick/?hl=en --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/businessofhype/support

If you love the Amerikan Therapy Podcast send us a text and join us on the couch. Text us at +1 (202) 800-2355 and let us know what topics you want us to cover. Be ready because we might ask you to be a guest on the show. AFFION CROCKETT is one of the most versatile entertainers around, as an accomplished actor, writer, dancer, rapper, comedian, music producer, and director – his YouTube videos have become an internet sensation. Affion began his career as a dancer at age 10, winning breaking and popping contests with his older brother. Later on, he honed his impression skills by imitating anyone from his mother’s West Indian dialect or his schoolteacher’s southern drawl to the Scarface’s choppy Cuban accent. Soon after, Affion combined his dance and impressionist talents to develop his stand up act. After graduating from Fayetteville State University, with a bachelor’s degree in business, Affion set his sights on the entertainment industry. Affion was introduced to the world on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, demonstrating his crystal clear impressions and physical comedy, for which he was labeled the next Jim Carrey. He was also the break out star on MTV’s ‘Wild’n Out’ with Nick Cannon. He has appeared on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ ‘black-ish’, ‘The Comedians’ with Billy Crystal, and ‘The Guest Book’. Crockett also co-starred in the films, ‘Dance Flick’ with the Wayans Brothers, ‘Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins’ with Martin Lawrence, ‘Soul Men’ with Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac, ‘A Haunted House’ parts 1 & 2, ’50 Shades of Black’ alongside Marlon Wayans, and ‘The Wedding Ringer’ with Kevin Hart. Affion is also best known for his comedy niche with online sketch/parody videos garnering over 50 million views on YouTube. This caught the attention of Hip-Hop Mogul, Russell Simmons and resulted in the launch of an original online comedy series titled ‘Hustles with Russells’ starring the two. This also sparked multiple viral commercial campaigns. For one commercial Affion starred alongside Dr. Dre, and Lebron James, as well as one for Jay-Z’s clothing line Rocawear, where Affion impersonates Jay-Z and the French twin dancers Les Twins. Affion starred in and executive produced his own sketch comedy show for FOX called ‘In the Flow with Affion Crockett,’ which was also executive produced by Jamie Foxx. The series revealed a fresh take on pop culture with spoofs of movie trailers, commercials, TV shows, music videos, and celebrities. Affion released his first comedy rap album shortly thereafter titled WATCH THE CLONE, with spoofs of popular artists like Jay-Z, Kanye, Eminem, 2 Chainz and more. Available on iTunes and other platforms! Affion also headlines comedy clubs across the nation and just produced his first-ever hour-long stand-up special, Affion Crockett “Mirror II Society”. Affion resides in Los Angeles, California. In addition to his screen time, he is greatly involved in his production company, Lejan Entertainment, Inc.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/AMERIKANTHERAPY)

Rocawear was one of the most popular hip hop brands in the early 2000s. Founded by Jay Z and Dame Dash, this is the story of the rise and FALL of the most profitable brand in hip hop history. The year is 1999, a hip-hop "lifestyle" brand named Rocawear grew from an idea to a 7 figure business. Rocawear grew with licensing deals. In the year 2000 Rocawear signed a deal with Playstation2, to design clothing for the "Afro Thunder" character from the popular video game "Ready 2 Rumble." Soon after Rocawear began popping up in many places in the Media such as the 2001 Sate Property collection and on The most known artist in the world of hip hop Jay Z. In 2002 the brand racked up sales of about $120 million and in 2003 they grew to $300 million. The fall from grace began in 2004. Rumors about a feud between Dame Dash and Jay Z started when Jay Z Convinced Dame and Biggs to sell their shares of Rocafella to Def Jam. By September 2005 Dash was no longer willing to work with his partners, primarily Jay-Z a hip hop star. . At the time Rocawear had reached total sales of over $700 million worldwide. By 2006 the brand was at a decline. In 2007 Hov sold the Rocawear brand for $204 million to a brand management company called Iconix Group. Jay went on to start Rocnation operations and Dame went on to create Dame Dash Studios and Poppington. Dame Dash also appeared on the No Jumper podcast. His story aired on Trap Lord Ross. Things arent complex originals when it comes to marketing. ***If you’re not following me, subscribe now and hit the notification bell to be alerted when I post more business and finance related content. Category

Shontavia and Tonya are full this episode, full of Thanksgiving meals and full of excitement for all the possibilities in their entrepreneurial endeavors. Shontavia declares 2020 as her “Year of Vision” to reconnect with her entrepreneurial spirit as she prepares to launch The Shontavia Show™. Shontavia was also interviewed recently on NPR. Tonya, who is heading to San Fran to present a Practising Law Institute session on blockchain and patents, is also in launch mode to release her podcast and book series, Tech Intersect™. She was also featured recently in an NBCLX segment about inclusion in blockchain, Finally, the ladies celebrate the LIT Podcast appearing on the #PointersTop5 list for IP, law, business and brand protection podcasts on International Podcast Day. This episode might feel like the JAY-Z ep because the hosts cover two Hova-related intellectual property topics. An Australian woman created The Little Homie, a company and series of products that appropriates hip hop lyrics for books like “AB to JAY-Z”. Tonya talks about JAY-Z’s recent repurchasing of ROCAWEAR trademark rights for 15 million that he licensed for $204 million over a decade ago. The hosts offer teachable moments about why knowing and protecting the value of your intellectual property is essential to the success of your brand and business, both domestically and abroad. Then Tonya talks about the “juice jacking” dangers with malware-compromised USB charging ports and how to protect data from malware with data theft blockers. Finally, the hosts encourage you to do an audit of your own intellectual property to create strategies for the content you are creating. Create. Monetize. Protect. Repeat. They also tee up the possibility of an “IP for Brands” class for entrepreneurs. Interested in interning for the LIT Podcast? hi@litbraintrust.com. Trouble seeing the full-length show notes? Visit us at http://www.LITBraintrust.com and follow us @LITBraintrust.

Peter Rosenberg and Cipha Sounds have discussed Jay-Z the rapper, Jay-Z the MC, even Jay-Z the A&R. But what about Jay-Z the mogul? In this episode, the guys mean business as they dissect Jay's mogul moves like Rocawear, Roc Nation, Tidal, and his recent NFL deal. Sonos: Go to Sonos.com to learn more. Away: For $20 off a suitcase, visit AwayTravel.com/JUANEP and use promo code JUANEP at checkout. Boost: Visit BoostMobile.com or your nearest retailer for details. Glenlivet: Join the Glenlivet community for exclusive events and updates at TheGlenlivet.com.

Exclusively on Tidal and sponsored by Rocawear*.   @TheSAClubPOD on Twizzle   3DickMafia.com on Internizzle   TheSAClubPOD@Gmail.com on Electrizzle Mizzle   Razzle   Retwizzle   Refizzle for shizzle while we dribble down in VA   *Not really, but we are open to an all-velour collaboration collection and being behind a pay wall.

On this issue Jai Hov and Animal Brown break down the latest in fashion news including Travis Scott's promise, Off-White x IKEA collab and RocaWear attempting a comeback. As always the guys discuss their recent pickups and cop or drop. Hit is up at 629-777-5565 and leave us a fashion related comment or question.

Meet Bonsu Thompson. He can be represented by many adjectives, but “average” isn’t one of them. Throughout the Marketing and Editorial writer and producer's nearly 20 year career, he has commanded titles such as Editor-In- Chief of The Source, Creative Consultant for MTV2, Editorial Consultant for Vibe & Spin Media, SLAM magazine Senior Writer and Music Editor for XXL magazine. The cultural engineer’s vision, ideation and creativity in the marketing and branding space has satisfied powerhouse brands such as NIKE, Hennessy, Translation, Rocawear, Stoli and Beats By Dre, to name a few. Mr. Thompson has interviewed and written on some of the grandest names in entertainment––Music (Jay-Z, Clive Davis), Hollywood (Sanaa Lathan, Dan Akroyd), Sports (Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard), Fashion (Chanel Iman, Jessica White)––while outsourcing his pen to esteemed publications like Billboard, Penthouse and Details. It was Bonsu’s vivid pen, basset hound-reporting and riveting interview approach that lead to Rolling Stone anointing him their 2001 “Hot Interviewer.” Check out his latest project - Story ave - connect with him on IG @bonsudreamz . Connect with me at www.AwildaRivera.com —- SUCCESS MATH now available everywhere books are sold! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/winlife/support

Posh Spice, Victoria Beckhams, Vicky Adams... today we take a quote from her former music school principal: If Victoria hadn't had the lucky breaks she had and the people having faithin her to make her what she is, she probably would have been singing anddancing on a cruise liner.   Do we think this is true? Lets Stop – slow down – take a deep breath and respect the solo career of VictoriaCaroline Beckham._________________________________Shes one half of the most photographed couple in Britain, queen of the wags, inventor of the POB.Can't discuss her without her husband David Beckham. Met at a charity football match.Becks overcame his shyness, to peer from under his curtains and chat her up. They had their first baby Brooklyn in march of 1999 and were married in July, in a £424,000.(Although OK magazine paid £980000 so that’s a sweet profit). Which seems like a tight turnaround to fit into a dress. Geri wasn’t in attendance. Sporty and Baby wore white tuxedos. Scary wore black. Mel C hasthe worst haircut. They then brought their her first home, the £2.5million “Beckingham Palace”.o It has a mini chapelo Playground made of fake ancient runeso Mazeo Bbq areao And of course …. Professionally tailor football pitch (Don’t worry, there is also a recording studio) - 4 children in total: Brooklyn, 1999, Romeo, 2002, Cruz, 2005. 3 during this time (Harper wouldn’tarrive until 2011). Elton John and his partner, David Furnish are Godparents to Brooklyn and Romea, alongwith Elizabeth Hurley. The Beckhams suffered extreme mocking from Alistair McGowan as they imitated the two.One thing we can say about Victoria: She was not afraid of a trend. In fact, I don’t think she met oneshe didn’t like. Dramatically launched her music career in August 2000. Duet, she didn’t want to step outalone so she Truesteppered out with the garage tinged “Out of your mind” featuring DaneBowers. There was a real trend for the reply song – so we had Damons FuckYou, followed by Frankie Fuck you right back. Mario, I don’t wanna know. Followed by SholaAma, You already knew. And then this, a follow up to Truesteppers top 10 record “Bugging”. Replies were soooooo noughties but so were epic chart battles. This track was in a muchhyped race to no.1 with Spiller and Sophie Ellis Bextors “Groovejet”. Which narrowly beat itby 20,000 copies. This was a real fashion moment: The cut out pleather tops, the matrix video and my faveimage (the lip ring and extensions). This Victoria saying – Im a bad bitch. Question: Which solo spice single has the biggest first week sales? This with 180,000 copies.Lowest selling? Geri angels in chains or Mel B Day in your lfe Kidnap plots there was a fear and a plot and an investigation...... but CPS charges were droppedbecause main testimony cane from a serial fantasist who was paid by News Of The World journalistMazher Mahmoud (classic New of the world behaviour) Plan was to kidnap Victoria, with guns, and keep her in a house in Brixton. Police were incontact with Mahmoud but he refused to give them evidence or say who the victim was. They agreed an arrest date and only then did he provided details.... 3 hours before thearrest Because you can release details of a suspect after an arrest Turns out the guy selling the story was the gang leader and had set the whole thing upjust to sell the story! November 2002. Dropped 6 months laterBrooklyn and Romeo. Mother of two.5 million for her; if the children with her another 5.Told, then watched her husband play against Southampton and didn’t tell him until afterNot the first attempt on her life - rehearsals for Brit awards 2000. Red laser beam on her chest,signals a rifle bullet.Police found a door had been wedged openWhilst performing Victoria became convinced she had been shot, after hearing a series ofunexpected bangs, and stopped singing, clutching her stomach- She then took a solid year to “find her sound” and came back with the autobiographical “Notsuch an innocent girl” in September 2001.- Recently my Spotify has started throwing this onto my daily mix and shes right: Firstimpressions can be wrong, this is a tune! Good chorus, deep lyricaly content. Very deepmessage in the video: you had the white blonde good girl, and then the dark haired bad girlracing in some futuristic grand prix – effectively inventing the idea of quidditch – until theycrash and form one, Victoria beckham. Still a lot of leather in this video. We also discuss: - Her chart battle with Kylie Minogue Debut album, Not such an innocent girl, and a painful review by NME Two shelved albums - Come Together/Open your eyes - produced with Jay Z friend, Damon Dash Her best-selling autobiograpjy, Learning to Fly Her French language single Shady lyrics against Geri Halliwell in "Whatcha Talkin' Bout" Being dropped by Virgin Records Singing and sinking Telstar records The Rebecca Loos scandal and David Beckham affair rumours allegations of cheating Beginnings of her fashion empire, starting with walking the catwalk at London Fashion week in 200 wearing Burbery. Her fashion line with Jay Z owned Rocawear. Her line of Rocawear VB Jeans, her relationship with Roberto Cavalli and her second book, That extra half an inch Pulls all the gossip on her WAG look at Football World Cup.

Curious Cases are extensive & critical looks into people, crews & companies that are surrounded by lore & mystique. These are the best effort to unpack conjecture and form the most complete view of the case possible. Or die tryin'. Dame Dash was one of the founders of Roc-A-Fella Records, and credited with discovering and managing the talent of one of the most influential labels in rap history. He sold his stake in Roc-A-Fella to Def Jam in 2004 and his stake in Rocawear in 2005. And then what? Despite spats with the IRS and child support, Dame is regarded as one of the most brilliant minds and independent businessmen in Hip-Hop to this day. Guests: Miss Al Boogie, TW: twitter.com/missalboogie, IG: instagram.com/missalboogieMelton, IG: instagram.com/notmarinkdLet us know how you feel about our topic of discussion!TW: twitter.com/hklpodcast, IG: instagram.com/hklpodcastHosted & moderated by lion saul goodmanTW: twitter.com/rawrandthelike, IG: instagram.com/rawrandthelikeCo-hosted by THECAINMARKOTW: twitter.com/thecainmarko, IG: instagram.com/thecainmarkoExecutive produced by MikaTW: twitter.com/ft_mika, IG: instagram.com/ft_mika

Curious Cases are extensive and critical looks into people, crews and companies that are surrounded by lore and mystique. These are the best effort to unpack conjecture and form the most complete view of the case possible. Or die tryin'. Damon "Dame" Dash was one of the founders of Roc-A-Fella Records, and credited with discovering and managing the talent of one of the most influential labels in rap history. He sold his stake in Roc-A-Fella to Def Jam in 2004 and his stake in Rocawear in 2005. And then what? No one is sure. Despite spats with the IRS and child support, Dame is regarded as one of the most brilliant minds and independent businessmen in Hip-Hop to this day. Guests: Miss Al Boogie TW: twitter.com/missalboogie, IG: www.instagram.com/missalboogie Melton, IG: instagram.com/notmarinkd (STILL DON'T FORGET TO #CANCELMELTON) Powered by Classic Material NY IG: instagram.com/classicmaterialny Hosted & moderated by lion goodman TW: twitter.com/lionofbedstuy, IG: instagram.com/lionofbedstuy Co-hosted by THECAINMARKO TW: twitter.com/thecainmarko, IG: instagram.com/thecainmarko, SC: @thecainmarko Executive produced by Mika TW: twitter.com/ft_mika_, IG: instagram.com/ft_mika_ Visuals by Modern Marvel TW: twitter.com/SimplyDop3, IG: instagram.com/marvin_h, SC: @modern_marvel

Datari Turner started his career as a model. Some of his milestones include being the face of brands like Rocawear and Sean Jean. Turner was also the first African American Male to appear in an Abercrombie and Fitch Campaign. Today he is a super-producer for shows like Growing Up Hip Hop and Shut Up and Dribble.Hosted by: Ashley Covarrubias, La'Myia Good, and Rio Summers.The Model Experience PodcastReal Models.Reals Stories.Real Resources.Instagram:http://instagram.com/datariturnerhttps://www.instagram.com/themodelexperience/For more visithttps://www.themodelexperience.net/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nicole Najmah Abraham aka Najmah53 is a Spoken Word Artist, Public Speaker, Teaching Artist Mentor, Community Activist and Entrepreneur. Her body of work has gotten her invited to a variety of notable venues such as Yale, NYU, Lincoln Center, The United Nations, and more. Najmah is the 2018 Zanette Lewis Environmental and Social Justice Slam Champion(Yale). She has touched the stage nationally performing alongside Abiodun (of The Last Poets), Yasiin Bey, Taboo (of Black Eyed Peas), Rahzel of The ROOTS and more. As a Teaching Artist she has facilitated many workshops, lectures and programs for court-involved juveniles, youth inmates, teenagers, and adults. Her focus is on Poetry Therapy, Art as a catalyst for Non-Violence, Girl/Women Empowerment & Self-Esteem building. As an Activist, she has spoken/performed at protests against war, police brutality, systematic racism, and bullying. She has worked with political leaders, including NY State Senator Jesse Hamilton, in programs using art to push non-violence. As an entrepreneur, Najmah's digital media business, Najm Designs is known globally for Graphics/Websites, Marketing and Photography (www.najmdesignsny.com). Working with notable brands like Rocawear, Gap Inc., and being published in international publications such as Vogue Arabia, and Newsweek. She is the also Visual Marketing behind the International film production company, Halalywood, founded by Omar Regan. (www.halalywood.com). Najmah53's goal is to continue utilizing her talents to spread powerful messages that foster positive changes in her community. "If I remained silent and you remained silent, then who will teach the ignorant" -Ibn Taymiyyah This episode is brought to you by Be You I HD, LLC a transformational coaching company

Run That Sh*t Back HOF Podcast “The Blueprint” “For our 1st inductee into the Cooperstown of music podcast, we induct arguably the best work from the best rapper of our time, 2001’s “The Blueprint” from Jay-Z. Join me, Paul Smith, and a few other familiar voices as we dissect a hip hop masterpiece”

If you enjoyed last week's interview, then you're going to love this quick-fire round with Farai Simoyi! Farai Simoyi is an award-winning designer who embraced her entrepreneurial spirit. She has worked with Beyonce's 'House of Dereon,' Rocawear, Nicki Minaj, and Rachel Roy. But that wasn't where her heart and purpose were, she wanted to leave a legacy. Driven by her passion to give back, Farai went on to promote opportunities for her fellow African creatives. She has three ventures: her eponymous label - Farai, The Narativ, TNT Concept Store, and Bloom. Farai's dedication to her cause and her craft is awe-inspiring, but you have yet to see her bubbly wit and humor. Don't miss this rare glimpse into this amazing artist's thoughts and obsessions in this fun quick-fire segment - hint: lasagna and Oprah. IN THIS EPISODE: - What are the 3 words that best describe Farai - The first person she thinks of when she hears the word 'successful' - Her favourite book - Her favourite gift to give - The two people Farai wants to have dinner with and why - Farai's favourite time of day and meal - What's something that she can't go a day without - What's her life's theme song - A question that she wished more people asked her and each other - What Farai's 'I AM' statement is... - And so much more!

Jay-Z filed the case against the clothing company Iconix to delay an impending arbitration over trademark infringement claims related to his line of Roc Nation baseball caps. Iconix bought Jay-Z’s apparel brand Rocawear in 2007. Iconix first sued the mogul in Manhattan federal court last year, claiming a hat deal with Major League Baseball interfered with their licensing agreement. That case is ongoing. The research, commissioned by health insurers Vitality, which runs such a scheme in the UK, came as Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged the NHS to be at the forefront of a digital revolution in health. At the launch of the report on Wednesday, he said smartphones and wearable technology were key to helping people improve their own health. "If there is any one overriding theme of the digital revolution it's increased choice. And if you look at people's everyday behaviour they like personalisation and they use personalised services,” he told the event in London. "We must stay at the forefront of emerging technologies like digital medicines because their potential is so huge,” promising to improve NHS health checks to better identify early signs of dementia, stroke and heart disease.

Ayanna (@the_aya_brand) and Delaila (@missdelailac) got to catch up with Fatou Barry founder of PR Girl Manifesto and the digital mastermind behind other brands including Base Butter D'usse, Rocawear, Marc Ecko, & Combs Enterprise. She chats with us about her first official year as an entrepreneur and what that has entailed as well as learning to set boundaries and being realistic with what she can take on. Fatou's #ObessedWith are women who are being super transparent and open about their truths. She mentions Cheyenne (@AdamantlyAdler)who is very open about her anxiety and depression. We close the episode getting to know a little more about Fatou and some of her favorite people, places and things. Tune in to today's episode to get your fix and manifest the powers to accomplish your goals, whatever they may be. Follow, Comment, Like and Share via our social channels @noncorporategirl. Have something to share, a topic you want us to weigh on, someone you want to shout out? We love hearing from you so feel free to send us a note to noncorporategirls@gmail.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/non-corporate-girls/support

Melissa McGraw is a 20-year veteran in the fashion industry that has worked with brands including Calvin Klein, Cynthia Rowley, Joe’s Jeans, Harajuku, Lamb and Rocawear. Melissa had her world flipped upside down during the recession of 2009. Find out how she rewired her life to get back on her feet and grow her own business with Amazon as brand and SEO specialist with over 100,000 product listings under her belt. Action Steps to REWIRE: Step out of your comfort zone and know things will be okay. It is okay to take a risk and then think of your next plan of attack. Don’t put your fate into someone else’s hands. Have no fear and just go for it! Control your own destiny. Build the buzz around you and your business. Communicate your value within your marketplace. Check Out Melissa’s website: www.TheCreativePotential.com This episode is powered by: The Phoenix Fashion Week Freelance Team Phoenix Fashion Week: The leading fashion industry event in the Southwest. Fashion. Education. Community. Follow and like our IG @FashionRewired & @PHXFashionWeek

"Doubting yourself – you've already killed your dream before you've even begun" Farai Simoyi is an award-winning designer, who has worked with big name brands like Beyonce's 'House of Dereon', RocaWear, Nicki Minaj and Rachel Roy.  She now has her own eponymous label - Farai.   Farai started making clothes for fun as a little girl from scraps of fabrics from her aunt's store in Zimbabwe.  At that time she didn't really think about becoming a designer as a career.  In fact, when she went to university, she signed up to study psychology.  But in her sophomore year, she had an 'aha moment', which led to her changing her major to design.   She was hired by Beyonce's 'House of Dereon' soon after graduating, and then went on to work with various big name brands.  But she always had a burning desire to have her own line.  In 2011 she launched 'Farai' with a show at the prestigious New York Fashion Week.   In recent years Farai has really been driven by her desire to give back.  She knows all too well that young designers aren't often given the opportunities they deserve.  In 2017, she started 'The Narativ' as a place to nurture and support African brands looking to break into the international market.    She recently opened 'TNT Concept Store in New York so she can provide designers with a physical location to showcase their brands.     Farai is also deeply committed to supporting female entrepreneurs, and especially African creatives.  And so she recently partnered to launch 'Bloom', which is a platform that supports African female creative entrepreneurs.     LINKS Farai on Instagram Farai on Facebook Farai's label website The Narativ on Instagram The Narativ website T.N.T. Concept Store on Instagram T.N.T. Concept Store website 

For my second guest, I welcome Justice Hall, the man behind clothing brand The Fruit Mkt. The Fruit Mkt is a Plant inspired lifestyle brand developing nature inspired clothing, recipes and creative inspirations. In this episode he shares his story on receiving his BFA in Ohio from Columbus College of Art & Design in 2004, starting his own design firm specialising in Digital Art & Apparel, working with artists and brands such as Kanye West, Timberland Co., Converse, Nike, Rocawear to name but a few. But most importantly we talked about family life and finding peace, health and healing through connecting with nature and real living plant based foods. Subscribe to The Pod Lounge on Soundwise

Today on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome one half of the Young Gunz and State Property representer Neef Buck to the Upper West Side! And as a bonus for this bonus episode, another member of State Prop, Freeway stops by! Neef discusses the challenges and realities of growing up in West Philly and North Philly, meeting Young Chris, rapping around Philadelphia, getting the attention of Beanie Sigel's manager Stevie G, bringing Chris into the fold and creating Young Gunz, and cutting school to spit for Jay, Dame and Biggs, Puffy, Chris and Dave Lighty and others. Neef talks about not messing with the idea of State Property early on and eventually becoming family, putting in time at Baseline while everyone else would record, looking for every opportunity to jump on tracks, learning from being cut out of deals early and then diving into the business end of things via the Roc-a-Fella staff, and why he couldn't stay away from the streets. We get into stories about Jay, Dame, Biggs, Wayno, Shari Bryant, Emmanuelle, Lenny S, Big Face Gary, Kevin Hart, LeBron James, Ryan Press, Rocawear, studio budgets, Will Smith, Can't Stop, Won't Stop, getting chased by fans, how Philly became a second home to the Roc, his new release Forever Do Me 9, and so much more! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ari Marcopoulos joins Cookies to discuss the sins of the NCAA (3:45), his Supreme photoshoot with J.R. Smith (17:30), jock jams (25:10), the rising Raptors (30:25), new homes for LeBron James (42:13) and the messy Western Conference (56:42). Hosted by Ben Detrick, Jordan Redaelli and Andrew Kuo.

In ep, 24 Kayla and Ju discuss the parameters surrounding consent **TW, Ju told personal stories of harassment/assault** & we also talked about Beyonce's magical box braids. Also: shoutout to guys in Pepe Jeans.

Jessica Moultrie, a thriving entrepreneur in the millennial generation. Born and raised in New York City and not just a talent herself but she runs a successful Talent Management company, booking kids in all areas of the entertainment field. She has had her own show airing in France about her being a successful talent herself and running a successful talent company.Coming into the industry at 18yrs old booking big brands such as Hanes, Donna Karen, Rocawear, Champion (just to name a few)..she definitely knows what it takes to be on both sides of the camera. Jessica has been running her own talent management company for the past nine years. Due to it’s success she has been able to branch out in Atlanta, Miami and LA to offer her services. She also represents many celeb kids as well. Her resume continues to build with new projects in the works that will surely be taking her career to a whole new level.

Latesha Williams is the Co-Founder of Cards For All People, AKA the makers of Black Card Revoked, a card game many of us know and love. Cards for All People is a cultural casual gaming company that humorously celebrates the diverse subcultures of America. An accomplished sports & entertainment executive, Latesha is well networked and respected from her years of experience honed with companies such as Admiral’s Center, IMG, LeBron James / LRMR Marketing, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Rocawear.On this episode Latesha shares: Why working for Lebron James at LRMR Marketing was like working for a start-up What she did to figure out how to make her own card game How learning to get her legal ducks in a row made the launch of Black Card Revoked that much smoother How she zeroed in on her target market and got Black Card Revoked in front of the right influencers and publications How she’s been able to get orders fulfilled in a seamless manner Who you really need to target if you want your product in the hands of a celebrity And why we all need to rethink the myth of “security”   Listen on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher and Google Play Links mentioned on this episode: Viacom Summer Associate Program Cards for All People and Black Card Revoked Click here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): http://sidehustlepro.libsyn.com/rss Announcements Important Announcements: INSTAGRAM FOR SIDE HUSTLERS Join in on the Instagram for Side Hustlers challenge happening all this week (March 5-March 9). Over 3500 people have tuned in so far! Register here to make sure you receive the free workbook, daily emails AND the recorded replay. I don't want you to miss any of it.I'm breaking down: How to get more of the RIGHT followers on Instagram How and when to create JUICY content on the 'gram How to raise your visibility with the right hashtags How to do this all in less than 30 minutes a day SIDE HUSTLE PRO COMMUNITY Side Hustle Pro is now over 1300 members strong and the group is growing by hundreds each week. If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/mastermind Social Media Info Connect on Instagram: Side Hustle Pro – @sidehustlepro Black Card Revoked - @blackcardrevoked #SideHustlePro

"Damon Dash of Roc-A-Fella Records On Entrepreneurship" Join us as we listen to Roc-A-Fella and Rocawear founder Damon Dash as he speaks about entrepreneurship on the NYC morning radio show the Breakfast Club. Damon has a heated discussion with the hosts about why you should be your own boss and hustle for your last name. Great interview!

Support this podcast with a tip for as little as $1 an episode at www.patreon.com/jabari Josh Peas is a young entrepreneur. He manages the rising hip-hop star Casey Veggies and is an owner of the brand Peas & Carrots Intl. Peas and Carrots recently opened their flagship store in Los Angeles and I talked to Josh about growing up in LA, paving his own way in the music and fashion industry, and staying true to what makes his brand unique. "We saw FUBU, we saw Rocawear, we saw all these urban brands come through and merge music and fashion the right way…A lot of people didn't do that after them" - Josh Peas Highlights Growing up in Los Angeles and Casey Rapping in middle school Breaking in the fashion scene in LA Seeing Rocawear and FUBU create a blueprint on merging music and fashion and creating their own model with Peas & Carrots and Casey Veggies Opening the Peas & Carrots flagship store in West Hollywood Staying true to what makes their brand unique Comparing Peas & Carrots to Roc-A-Fella Finding creative inspiration and people being passionate Michael Hastings (the vocal journalist who opposed mass US surveillance operations and died "suspiciously") visiting the Peas & Carrots store Follow Josh: http://www.peasncarrotsintl.com/ www.twitter.com/JoshtonPeas www.instagram.com/JoshtonPeas https://www.facebook.com/PNCINTL Follow me: www.youtube.com/Jabari www.twitter.com/Jabari www.instagram.com/Jabari www.facebook.com/JabariLife Producer/Art Direction: Rodney Curl www.cargocollective.com/curl

This week we welcome Wordspit "The Illest" from East New York Brooklyn!  This Emcee Extraordinaire is relentless in his technique and pursuit to produce nothing but the real. He's performed on stages of all kind all over the world. Including America's Got Talent and Nationwide spots for Mcdonald's and Rocawear  He has been featured in top publications including The Source, DX Hip Hop, The New York Post and of course right here on NBR *Ijs. His passion is transparent and bold and he cannot be denied Tune in Monday August 12th at 9pm Est. to find out why Let's Go! Call: 323-443-7518 to listen by phone.

Christian Loubitin, Jimmy Choo, Versace, Prada, Rocawear, Fubu, Babyphat, Phat Farm... Why do these Italian Designers have more longevity than the African American Designers? Why do our youth and adults of all races, and almost everyone in the media gravitate to designers who don't contribute to our country's economics? Does urban fashion have an expiration date? Also, join us for Trippin' Thursday where we give YOU the listener an opportunity to free your mind and let loose.

Ms. Kamali attended Howard University's School of Communications. A trained dancer and student of the theater, Asha  was crowned Miss Howard University. Asha has starred in national commercial for K-Swiss, Papa Johns, and national print ads for RocaWear and K-Swiss.  She has received rave reviews for her performances in independent films.  Ms. Kamali has performed and choreographed for NBA's Washington Wizards Dance Team, Eric Benet, Mya, Destiny’s child, and Madonna to name a few.   She has choroegraphed for Atlantic Recording star, Keke Palmer, for her debut album, "So Uncool."  Her choreography is featured in the music video, "All my Girlz," which is featured on the soundtrack of LionsGate breakout film, "Akeelah and the Bee." Asha also casted and starred in the video. She also choreographed Palmer's second music video, "Keep it Movin." Asha has choreographed national tours for Palmer and the WNBA as well as for Disney. Asha is also one-third of the production company, Brown Paper Dolls. She is co-creator, co-writer, producer and starring in Brown Paper Dolls debut series, Milk and Honey also being executive produced by Idris Elba. http://milkandhoneyseries.com/

What Shannon has accomplished in a industry in 2 years is quite astonishing. Shannon will discuss how he has gone from modeling to acting in Tyler Perry, play "Madea's Big Happy Family. Call in to speak to Shannon LIVE on 02/17/11 @ 11am EST CALL: 323-784-9635CONNECT WITH SHANNON K.O. WILLIAMS www.facebook.com/home.php#!/TheKoExperiencewww.twitter.com/#!/KOWILLIAMS1www.iamshannonwilliams.com

Join us for a wonderful Beauty conversation with Kat Aragon. Kathy (Kat) Aragon is a licensed freelance makeup artist and hairstylist repped by Artists by Timothy Priano in NY. She works for the CNN Network as a makeup artist and hairstylist and is a presenter and educator for The Powder Group. Some of her clients include CNN, NFL, MTV, Comedy Central, HBO, New York Magazine, Delta Sky, Glamour, In Touch, In Style, Shape, Cosmo Girl!, O Magazine, People, Real Simple, Bon Apetit, Working Mother, Virginia Living, DC Modern Luxury, Washington Life, Capitol File Magazine, and many more. She also works with clients such as American Express, Choice Hotels, NFL Players, Rocawear and Amtrak to name a few. Her job also entails working on high profile and celebrity clientele. She is also the co- founder of fashion photography studio, Studio400, along with her husband, photographer Luis Aragon and partners. For a more complete resume feel free to visit her site at www.kathyaragon.com.

Spring is here and it's a season where the past, present and future is shedding and unfolding all around you. It's time to regroup and do a major spring cleaning. Purging your emotional baggage as well as your actual material baggage. We talk a lot about how to spring your wardrobe forward. My hot mom fashionista friend, Bonnie Zarabi stopped by my house and almost passed out at the amount of STUFF I had in prep for my move. She helped me SIMPLIFY my mindset around what's essential for my wardrobe and what to let go of. My impeccably stylish sister Valerie chimes in and shares some pearls on how to look and feel good in 15 minutes or less.  Pearl: GET OUT AND TAKE IN - get out of the house and into nature, getting out old wardrobe to take in the new. ABOUT OUR GUESTS: Bonnie Zarabi - Never one to be seen without her high heels and Chanel Bag, Miss Bonnie brings the FAB to the life of a busy suburban mom slash events planner, philanthropist, real estate manager, trained lawyer and mediator. Valerie - aside from being the coolest, funniest & stylish person I know and the girly girl of the family, she has a lifelong passion for fashion and is a fashion industry professional having graduated from FIT and worked as a rep for fashion talent, high end fashion retail market on both the buying and selling side and in the children's, women's and accessories market, including stints at Henri Bendel and Rocawear.  She currently consults independent labels and upcoming brands. Now, let's get stringing.      

**PLEASE NOTE this is the COMPLETE reposted version INCLUDING Sharon - 42 mins approx** Daptone is Soul Excitement! Agent J shoots the 45 ish with Neil Sugarman, Binky Griptite, Tommy TNT Brenneck and Gabe Roth aka Daptone producer supremo Bosco Mann - chattin about vinyl, Jay Z and Rocawear watches... then Ms Sharon Jones herself drops in. Feel the funk. Recorded at the Mint Lounge, Manchester at Friends and Family, 11 April 2008. Originally broadcast 13 April 2008 on Unity Radio (www.unityradio.fm)