Message to Artpreneurs
How Hip-Hop Got Started
Where did Hip-Hop get its start? Hustlers standing on the street biding their time in between “deals”, whether they were braving the cold of winter or enduring the heat of summer, these entrepreneurs began “talking” about their lives through the use of rhyming prose, and as with anything in the hood eventually someone took it to the next level. Another aspiring entrepreneur decides to put some music to his prose, and his boys decide to “chorus” in on his story and thus “Rap Music” is born. Passer-bys liked what they heard and came back regularly to hear it again, and then another entrepreneur decides to put together a contest to see who sounded the best and thus “Spit Boxing” was born. These spit boxing tournaments generated so much interest and revenue, another entrepreneur decided to record this music and sell it to the rest of the population who could not see these “Entertainers” live. If these lyrists had merely put their rhyming prose on paper and published it in book form, would they still be charged with the down fall of humanity? Instead of persecuting these individuals on these unfounded allegations, let’s look at what good they have done for their peers, society, and Corporate America.
The world of Hip-Hop has created a new wave of entrepreneurs; it has given hope to people who had no hope. Conventional employment was not to be had for most of the individuals who began the Hip-Hop movement nor were their families well to do, so they did what they could to make money and were entrepreneurs in the purest sense of the word. They created their own “job” by hustling their product(s) on the street, and each entrepreneur expanded on the basic idea of another much the same as Corporate America does today. Then rappers merged with R&B singers and created Hip-Hop, much the same as conventional corporate mergers
Today’s Hip-Hop moguls have expanded their companies to include clothing, shoes, perfumes and cologne, accessories, charitable foundations, movies, alcoholic beverages, record companies, and more. They offer employment opportunities to individuals that conventional Corporate America does not consider employable, and those who do not wish to work in the traditional corporate world. While most people believe that most Hip-Hop individuals are street thugs with little or no education, quite a few of them are educated and function as accountants, business managers, lawyers, and personal assistants. Society today needs to realize that the structure and image of traditional Corporate America has changed much as the people who run those corporations.
Let’s examine the merits of the traditional street rapper, which will further be referred to as the Artpreneur (an Artist as an Entrepreneur). Artpreneurs have to function as sole proprietors of their corporation whose only product is their talent. As sole proprietors, these business owners have to function as production managers, marketing mangers, promotion managers, sales managers, contract negotiators, finance managers, office managers, inventory controllers, administrative assistants, etc.
The Artpreneur has to produce and package their product, which is their talent. Once the product is ready for sale, they have market the product or get the word out about the product. Along with the marketing comes the promotion of the product so that they can develop a clientele. The promotion of the product leads to the roles of business manager, contract negotiator, and finance manager. The Artpreneur has to determine where to market and promote their product, and determine the price to be paid for the product in order for them to make a profit. If the promotion of the product occurs in another “Corporation’s Conference Room”, the price of admission and how the proceeds are to be distributed must be negotiated. As product is sold, the Artpreneur must keep track of inventory and determine when more product must be produced to meet their sales quota.
As their businesses took off, these entrepreneurs moved off the streets into Mobile Offices (their cars), and began traveling to different cities with their product. They then had to increase their business knowledge and skills as they became travel agents as well as being promoters, producers, and performers in local clubs and other venues. As they accomplish these feats, the belief that these “Hip-Hoppers” are not educated is shown to be nothing but a myth. There is no way they could have succeeded in “The Game” without knowledge or business savvy. As they became known to the entertainment world, they began producing more and more product, and had to increase the number of “employees” to meet the demands of their business thus “Street Teams” were born. Now these Artpreneurs have to manage their staff and a payroll in order to further their business goals of becoming a major player in the game. The Street Teams were responsible for advertising and marketing, thus the entrepreneurs had to learn the art of advertising campaigns and marketing concepts. They had to identify their target audience, and design flyers, brochures, posters, and the like to catch the eye of their current and potential customers better know as their fans.
As the Artpreneur’s “Corporate Identity” became a household name, other corporations approached them to engage in friendly mergers and even hostile takeovers. Major record companies wanted to cash in on the success of these urban entrepreneurs and branch off into a new lucrative market, and thus the Hip-Hop explosion. Some of these entrepreneurs did not like the idea of giving up total control of the business they worked so hard to create, thus the birth of Hip-Hop sub-labels. Many of today’s top corporations were begun in much the same way as these Hip-Hop labels, and a lot of these labels are evolving into diverse corporations and moving on to Wall Street.
So, look out Wall Street as these Artpreneurs continue to evolve into Corporate Moguls as they branch out into clothing, shoes, colognes and perfumes, film producing, record labels, and beyond. To those still on the Urban Streets, don’t stop doing what you do because Wall Street is only a few blocks away.
Where did Hip-Hop get its start? Hustlers standing on the street biding their time in between “deals”, whether they were braving the cold of winter or enduring the heat of summer, these entrepreneurs began “talking” about their lives through the use of rhyming prose, and as with anything in the hood eventually someone took it to the next level. Another aspiring entrepreneur decides to put some music to his prose, and his boys decide to “chorus” in on his story and thus “Rap Music” is born. Passer-bys liked what they heard and came back regularly to hear it again, and then another entrepreneur decides to put together a contest to see who sounded the best and thus “Spit Boxing” was born. These spit boxing tournaments generated so much interest and revenue, another entrepreneur decided to record this music and sell it to the rest of the population who could not see these “Entertainers” live. If these lyrists had merely put their rhyming prose on paper and published it in book form, would they still be charged with the down fall of humanity? Instead of persecuting these individuals on these unfounded allegations, let’s look at what good they have done for their peers, society, and Corporate America.
The world of Hip-Hop has created a new wave of entrepreneurs; it has given hope to people who had no hope. Conventional employment was not to be had for most of the individuals who began the Hip-Hop movement nor were their families well to do, so they did what they could to make money and were entrepreneurs in the purest sense of the word. They created their own “job” by hustling their product(s) on the street, and each entrepreneur expanded on the basic idea of another much the same as Corporate America does today. Then rappers merged with R&B singers and created Hip-Hop, much the same as conventional corporate mergers
Today’s Hip-Hop moguls have expanded their companies to include clothing, shoes, perfumes and cologne, accessories, charitable foundations, movies, alcoholic beverages, record companies, and more. They offer employment opportunities to individuals that conventional Corporate America does not consider employable, and those who do not wish to work in the traditional corporate world. While most people believe that most Hip-Hop individuals are street thugs with little or no education, quite a few of them are educated and function as accountants, business managers, lawyers, and personal assistants. Society today needs to realize that the structure and image of traditional Corporate America has changed much as the people who run those corporations.
Let’s examine the merits of the traditional street rapper, which will further be referred to as the Artpreneur (an Artist as an Entrepreneur). Artpreneurs have to function as sole proprietors of their corporation whose only product is their talent. As sole proprietors, these business owners have to function as production managers, marketing mangers, promotion managers, sales managers, contract negotiators, finance managers, office managers, inventory controllers, administrative assistants, etc.
The Artpreneur has to produce and package their product, which is their talent. Once the product is ready for sale, they have market the product or get the word out about the product. Along with the marketing comes the promotion of the product so that they can develop a clientele. The promotion of the product leads to the roles of business manager, contract negotiator, and finance manager. The Artpreneur has to determine where to market and promote their product, and determine the price to be paid for the product in order for them to make a profit. If the promotion of the product occurs in another “Corporation’s Conference Room”, the price of admission and how the proceeds are to be distributed must be negotiated. As product is sold, the Artpreneur must keep track of inventory and determine when more product must be produced to meet their sales quota.
As their businesses took off, these entrepreneurs moved off the streets into Mobile Offices (their cars), and began traveling to different cities with their product. They then had to increase their business knowledge and skills as they became travel agents as well as being promoters, producers, and performers in local clubs and other venues. As they accomplish these feats, the belief that these “Hip-Hoppers” are not educated is shown to be nothing but a myth. There is no way they could have succeeded in “The Game” without knowledge or business savvy. As they became known to the entertainment world, they began producing more and more product, and had to increase the number of “employees” to meet the demands of their business thus “Street Teams” were born. Now these Artpreneurs have to manage their staff and a payroll in order to further their business goals of becoming a major player in the game. The Street Teams were responsible for advertising and marketing, thus the entrepreneurs had to learn the art of advertising campaigns and marketing concepts. They had to identify their target audience, and design flyers, brochures, posters, and the like to catch the eye of their current and potential customers better know as their fans.
As the Artpreneur’s “Corporate Identity” became a household name, other corporations approached them to engage in friendly mergers and even hostile takeovers. Major record companies wanted to cash in on the success of these urban entrepreneurs and branch off into a new lucrative market, and thus the Hip-Hop explosion. Some of these entrepreneurs did not like the idea of giving up total control of the business they worked so hard to create, thus the birth of Hip-Hop sub-labels. Many of today’s top corporations were begun in much the same way as these Hip-Hop labels, and a lot of these labels are evolving into diverse corporations and moving on to Wall Street.
So, look out Wall Street as these Artpreneurs continue to evolve into Corporate Moguls as they branch out into clothing, shoes, colognes and perfumes, film producing, record labels, and beyond. To those still on the Urban Streets, don’t stop doing what you do because Wall Street is only a few blocks away.
Labels: artist, Artpreneurs, Business, Cleveland, Entrepreneurs, G Styl Productions Inc, ReGina Crawford
posted by ReGina Crawford | 12.1.14
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