Achieving a billion is not a pride thing but it allows true freedom.
The rooms & conversations are different.
Critics never thought hip hop would ever take it this far so it's only right to continue to break boundaries.
Rap is pop culture and the next step is to have one of these Black creatives to achieve the ultimate, a net worth of a billion dollars
In the late 1990s, early 2000s every month Disney would release a Disney Channel Original Movie.
These movies have become fondly remembered by kids now adults who are apart of a generation now looking back to the past.
The 90’s babies are now becoming nostalgic as most have graduated high school & gone in to the “real world”.
This in all was a classic high school film, with references to the 80s films from the marketing to a recreation of an iconic scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
They correctly gave the feeling of what it was like in high school, the characters were engaging and the villain was memorable.
I looked at All Eyez On Me as an opportunity to build a world.
In the era of Marvel Cinematic Universe and DCEU with superheroes intertwining through various films I thought the Tupac movie as a way to bridge the gap.
Straight Outta Compton laid the groundwork on how to tell an engaging hip hop story that matched up with Ray and Walk The Line, surpassing both as the highest grossing musical biopic of all time.
Shad Moss, better known as Bow Wow, is an anomaly. Sometimes he confesses his desire to be the next Will Smith then other times he’s caught faking the funk leading to hilarity (#BowWowChallenge).
In hip hop it’s a very ‘what have you done for me lately’ culture. Artists can be recognized as legends but dismissed as washed after a few lackluster releases.
For Grammy nominated stars like The Game & Snoop Dogg have moved to independent labels to make up for recently released albums failing to receive Platinum or Gold certifications.
Instead of just retweeting or readily ignoring the originators brands who love the attention & money that our culture brings should employ and build with those who create those moments for them.
Corporations like Taco Bell or Burger King in the past have tweeted using the latest slang but it came off as inauthentic and corny cheapening the integrity of a movement.
But there have been brands who have recognized the talent that these influencers have, especially Black & Brown creatives and teamed up to create creative and original content to advertise to their fan base.
Cultural appropriation is a real problem.
The issue time and time again is White voices are amplified while Blacks are silenced.
Brands and publications have praised White celebrities for discovering or starting trends that Black women were demonized for.
In the early 90s Death Row & Bad Boy led the way in the musical soundscape but after the death of both Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls the South began to rise.
Bass music of Miami with Uncle Luke & 2 Live Crew became the soundtrack of ‘Thrill’ Hill & The U.
At the Source Awards Outkast’s Andre 3000 declared ‘The South has something to say’.
In New Orleans there was a new sound led by Master P’s No Limit Records & later Stunna’s Cash Money Records.
These situations feels like "different strokes for different folks".
There's no telling where LaVar and Lonzo Ball go from here but personally I believe an ownership mindset will eventually serve them well
This incident reminds me of the creatively of Black people, from trending and creating hashtags to the concept of live reactions on social media we are at the center of culture and content.
Now it’s up to Hollywood to take the next step or see if an investor will step up and fund it.
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