I’ve known of Netflix for years, self-described as, “With more than 12 million subscribers, Netflix, Inc. [Nasdaq: NFLX] is the world’s largest subscription service streaming movies and TV episodes over the Internet and sending DVDs by mail. For $8.99 a month, Netflix members can instantly watch unlimited TV episodes and movies streamed to their TVs and computers and can receive unlimited DVDs delivered quickly to their homes.” But what I never appreciated about them, until now, is the real business that Netflix is in - placing creative artistic works in hierarchies and categories that add value to them. In other words, it is not as much the movies and shows themselves that people value when subscribing to Netflix it is also the way the movies are 1) released and presented (listed by category and described clearly) 2) packaged and made available (through the mail as DVDs or instantly on your screen) 3) priced (the subscription options feel like an all-you-can eat buffet with the doggy bag!) and allow you to 4) ‘select’ the content (you don’t wait on the anonymous On Demand programmer to guess the right flicks each month).

It is these four areas that Netflix excels at, which the music industry has collapsed under the weight of, the past 10 years.

Certainly there are a few significant differences between the movie and music industries but there are a great many more similarities that allow for general comparisons that show that the music industry is going to have to arrive at some kind of a ‘Netflix’ solution’ if it is not only going to survive but thrive this decade.

The music business has three problems. First it simply won’t accept that music is a commodity now and it doesn’t know how to make music a complimentary ingredient in a larger offering. The second problem comes from the 1st one - because the industry wants to keep selling ‘music,’ alone, it wastes its time trying to determine its price by dominating the supply of music, trying to make it harder to get, in a world of technology that makes it more and more available and easier to produce (for more on this see my AllHipHop Hip Hopppreneur commentary, “The Free Era: Music As Ingredient, Not Main Course”: http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/02/16/22126536.aspx). The third problem is created by the second - because the industry tries to limit the supply of music in order to make it more valuable, it has ended up fighting technological platforms – mp3, satellite radio, streaming Internet media – that would have allowed it to bundle music as part of offerings where it would become more valuable, not less.

And in a classic example of not knowing your friends from your enemies, the industry mistook the marketing phenomenon known as the CD mixtape and the community and taste-making institution known as the Mom & Pop Record store as threats, going to war with both before thinking through the consequences – there was nothing to replace them or the sales they helped generate in the industry’s leading genre – rap music.

Want more details of the suicide mission the major record labels have been on? How about the over 30 years of existence of the music video without ever figuring out a way to sell it?

The industry has all of the elements it needs to be a success, it only needs to get its foot out of its own way, rid itself of some prehistoric dinosaur-like individuals who want to keep doing things the wrong way and accept that some creative destruction is in order (practices, traditions, companies and whole business models have to go, and now).

Here’s how it could start.

The business has to realize that its future lies not in the four major record labels – Warner, Universal, Sony and EMI – but in the integration (not merger) of the best of five entrepreneurial ventures: Spotify, Rhapsody, iTunes, VEVO, and Promo Only.

Spotify (which is not available yet in the U.S.) and Rhapsody may not survive on their own but their category/hierarchy and subscription-based model is the future of the industry if record labels, moguls, and entrepreneurs realize that you can sell music if you bundle it properly. Spotify and Rhapsody, even more than iTunes, beautifully place music in categories and hierarchies that allow the customer to search and bump into creative works in attractive and intriguing ways helping them become their own program director, A&R, or record store owner (remember her/him? the expert you trusted who could always influence you to try something new or old you had never heard of). Similar to how Netflix nudges you in the direction of a good film, show or documentary, Spotify and Rhapsody (if it can get its tech issues together) are the best hope of the industry to add value to music as a commodity with a pay model that works – not purely advertising and not free - if priced right. Cooperating with iTunes and the iPod rather than competing with them makes sure that the subscription based model has mobility (people can take and enjoy the music where they want, and are not forced to be near a computer or accept a product that is not as good as what Apple offers).

VEVO (the service launched by Sony and Universal powered by YouTube, that makes the videos of its artists’ available) and Promo Only (a small company that services radio station programmers and DJs with new music and videos) if they make changes, have the potential to solve two issues the industry has struggled with – how to make money from the music video and the declining CD format (which is still a significant factor, just look at Sade’s first week sales and all of us with players in our cars). VEVO, while still experiencing technical issues at times, is using the vast music video archives and filling a void with the decline of video rotation on places like MTV and BET (who move to original programming) to attract advertising revenue (the only significant way VEVO currently makes money). This approach will bring in money but it won’t succeed long-term because the advertisers will eventually influence what content is available, and the edgier and more controversial content (more likely to be put out by the Independents) will not be signed and featured. You can learn more about my thoughts on VEVO’s chances for success at: http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2009/12/01/22048949.aspx.

Promo Only has a great product – and delivers it on disc and MP3 format - but is forced to sell it only to a small market of elite industry taste-makers. That model is outdated. Consumers want the best new music first, new and old videos at the same time that radio station program directors and DJs get it. The days of waiting on a station or music selector to tell you something is a ‘world premier’ or ‘classic’ are played out. The sooner Promo Only and the industry that has strait jacketed it for too long can figure this out, the more they will see subscriptions pouring in from the masses.

The solution is not necessarily Netflix moving into the music industry, but the emergence of a Netflix like enterprise appearing in the music industry. And unlike VEVO it can’t be something that the major record labels control from the top down.

The time has come for a service and place where folks can pay a monthly subscription and enjoy music and videos – across time and across music formats – delivered in disc format via mail or available instantly online. If the music and videos can be bundled with interviews, celebrity and reality footage, documentaries, and concerts for instance, and packaged in ways that people can ‘rent’ or ‘buy,’ the music industry would have tapped a goldmine with customers able to get music when they want it, how they want it, and where they want it.

Of course this would mean caring less about selling music by the unit and industry chatter and gossip over first week sales and who is going ‘gold’ and ‘platinum.’

Personally, I’d trade bulk sales for higher profit margins any day of the week.

Now, a final point: change that revolutionizes an industry often comes from the outside.

The music business would do well to accept this.

As recorded in Reuven Brenner’s Rivalry: In business, science, among nations, history shows it was synthetic fibers and chemical additives that reduced the need for manual dry cleaning. Had the dry cleaning industry realized this it could have been ‘saved.’ Hollywood industry leaders scorned and rejected TV when it was invented. The result – many studios and theaters became extinct when the public decided to substitute TV viewing for movie going. The public wanted entertainment and rejected the arrogance of Hollywood that thought only it could provide it (sound familiar in how long it took broadcasters to utilize the Internet as a viewing platform). Gillette came to dominate the shaving products business when King C. Gillette invented the disposable blade in the 19th century, and realized that convenience was a factor in what people wanted, not just a close shave. Not surprisingly, as Brenner points out – it would be a pen manufacturer – Bic – that would threaten Gillette’s grip on the industry it revolutionized.

If history repeats itself, we may one day read a book that explains it was Reed Hastings and not Jimmy Iovine, Edgar Bronfman, Jr. or Lyor Cohen that pointed the way to the future of music.

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is also a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. He is author of the book, ‘The Entrepreneurial Secret’ (http://theEsecret.com/). He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

First – yes, this is a weekly column dedicated to business concepts, models, strategies and tactics that come from my background as a personal manager, monetary economist, entrepreneur and political consultant. I apply this perspective to the music business – particularly the Hip-Hop industry and culture.

Second, I am a life-long suffering supporter of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Third, my favorite basketball player is Dirk Nowitzki (and you can check the record, I publicly acknowledged this at BlackElectorate.com back in 2002: http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=745)

You need to know these things to understand 1) why I deem the subject of LeBron James basketball career as worthy for this week’s Hip-Hoppreneur ™ commentary 2) that as a sports fan I require the prayers of even atheists and agnostics (as I said - I’m a 76ers fan) and 3) that I am ‘objective’ (my favorite baller is German and plays in the Western conference/why would a 76er fan want the Knicks lifted out of an era of misery?)

While I don’t offer full Hip-Hoppreneur status to Lebron just yet, I do find some things about his personality, brand, ambition, and business pursuits to be relevant to the kinds of things I’ve been writing about at AllHipHop.com for the past few months.

If there were one past column I would like you to read for some context check my January 12, 2010, “The Business Of ‘Story’ (A Rapper’s Brand and Image)” archived at: http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/01/12/22092307.aspx

It is from that perspective that I will make several points as to why I believe it is not only in LeBron’s best business interests (and that of so many others) to sign with the New York Knicks but that this event is highly likely if a particular event happens first (more on that in a minute). To this point we’ll travel outwardly, then inwardly.

Using ‘Story’ To Increase Business Valuation. The most compelling argument that I could make in favor of LeBron leaving Cleveland and coming to New York is the impact it would have on the business valuation of his ‘story.’ The key to staying ‘valuable’ as a celebrity or public personality is maintaining your magnetism, the ability to attract attention, people, and opportunities in intriguing ways. This is publicly achieved through our personal story and testimony, in life and even more powerfully death (why death? See Hebrews 9: 16-17). LeBron, once he wins a championship will have reached an important stage in his storyline and a plateau in his popularity, in a significant way. From that point on, he will have to work even harder to go to the next level, remain interesting, and maintain magnetism.

As Sade has taught us, it is never as good as the first time, and once LeBron gets ring #1 the intensity of his interest to the non-basketball public will plateau and begin to wane, as we are saturated with images of his excellence. Yes, LeBron will then be on the front-end of his becoming ‘old news,’ as we will all look to the new star who can dethrone him.

In a sense, at that point LeBron risks getting mired down in the kind of debate that only matters to basketball fans – is he the greatest ever?; where do the 2010 Cavaliers rank in history?; is he better than Kobe; will he be better than Jordan or Oscar Robertson?

The only unrealized monetary value of LeBron James then, is in his international appeal and in his off-the-court celebrity and reality. Yes, he has to keep winning in order to maintain interest, but for him to be a larger-than-life figure the emphasis has to now move from winning a championship to building a brand that allows him to achieve his goal of becoming the first $1 billion athlete.

In short LeBron has to transcend sports marketing and build a sports and non-sports empire which means he has to develop a leadership profile (the right mix of activism, community connection, and philanthropy), tap new market segments as a basketball player (this may mean playing in Europe or China at some point), and dramatically increasing his non-basketball and non-personality oriented income (through lucrative investment strategies and profitable entrepreneurial and business pursuits).

The argument that LeBron can best do this in Cleveland is simply not accurate. The argument that LeBron can earn more basketball income in Cleveland is probably true but paychecks for purely balling is not the scorecard King James keeps. Yes, his team can project a ‘cool’ and ‘hot’ marketing image from Cleveland that leverages his basketball celebrity into endorsement income that dwarfs anything he makes on a court but for LeBron to go where no other athlete has gone before, he needs a more interesting story, and one that increases his business valuation. There is no more intriguing and valuable story than LeBron James coming to New York City, becoming a pillar of the community, and allowing the landscape and machine of the # 1 market in the world work to create new attributes that make his brand more valuable. Only New York takes LeBron from ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ to ‘mature,’ ‘wise,’ ‘confident,’ ‘cosmopolitan,’ and even ‘progressive,’ and ‘conscious.’

But something does have to happen first, in Cleveland.

‘LeBron, As Judas.’ A Lesser Case For Staying In Cleveland. Having praised New York a bit it is important to note that LeBron has developed valuable marketing attributes like ‘consistency’ and ‘loyalty’ by playing in his home state. That LeBron has carried the flag for Ohio, Cleveland, and Akron when he could have easily chosen not to, is without debate.

An interesting argument made by some is that LeBron risks being seen as a traitor if he leaves Cleveland and the franchise collapses. The most vocal in this regard is the popular and always entertaining Sirius/XM sports talk show host Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo (http://www.sirius.com/maddogradio), formerly of the ‘Mike and The Mad Dog’ program on WFAN-Am In New York City. But I think Mad Dog’s point of view is the typical perspective of the sports world. It is not a crossover-marketing point of view.

While America is susceptible to the ‘hometown’ storyline, I believe LeBron is largely immune to the charge that he has betrayed Cleveland. This is because he has shown devotion to his ‘hometown’ since his youth, and because LeBron has grown up with a media spotlight on him since middle school that the entire world has seen. Mad Dog’s argument is that LeBron ‘will never sell another sneaker in the Mid West’ if he leaves the Cavaliers but because LeBron’s most valuable market segment demographic is so young (not steeped in ‘hometown’ loyalty like older generations) and became his personal fans (and not the Cavaliers) through ESPN, video game culture, and Hip-Hop, he has never been seen as a product of a particular region. He voluntarily has decided to associate himself with Cleveland, and unlike a rapper from the 1990s who needed street creed from a particular region or neighborhood before he blows, Lebron’s strongest qualities are trans-regional, even universal [yes I believe even the folks who carved the pyramid face on Mars know his name! (http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast24may_1.htm)].

But there is one essential accomplishment that makes a Cleveland to New York move seamless – winning a championship. Unlike previous sports greats who could always justify leaving a team because they had no supporting cast (the argument Dwayne Wade is clearly about to make) the Cavaliers have shown and proved that they have given LeBron all he needs to get it done. Yes, Shaq and Antawn Jamison in one season should be enough despite Coach Mike Brown. While many argue a championship ties LeBron more closely to Cleveland, I actually think it is the event that sets him free.

As long as Cleveland wins a championship this year, the door is shut on the argument that LeBron must stay in Cleveland in order to maintain his valuable ‘loyalty’ attribute. To me, LeBron’s loving and then leaving Cleveland for a New York adventure actually makes for a more powerful storyline. The only argument, in my mine that justifies LeBron blowing hundreds of millions of dollars by not adding business value to his story would be the need of family members, for him to be in Cleveland. Not I, nor any other person, commenting on the outside, know what LeBron’s personal circumstances or domestic life require better than him, but it is hard to imagine that anyone who is already used to LeBron being on the road as much as he is couldn’t have arrangements made for them while he is in New York.

With the right spin, LeBron’s media machine can easily spin a departure of Lebron from Cleveland in terms of a child leaving the family nest, and growing up to make it on his own. Here is where a tear-jerking Nike commercial featuring LeBron’s life journey in Cleveland, ending with him overlooking the New York City skyline, accompanied by music from Frank Sinatra and Jay-Z can boost value.

I don’t think it will be hard for LeBron to manufacture genuine tears at a press conference announcing he is leaving Cleveland. If he needs words to say, he can just channel in reverse, Allen Iverson’s touching energy explaining in December why he was so happy to come back home to Philadelphia. LeBron will need ghostwriters when speaking from the heart, but here is a key part of Iverson’s remarks, “People here watched me grow as a basketball player. They came in and cheered for me night in and night out. They gave me everything they had. That’s why it was easy for me to give them everything that I got. And I don’t know how the relationship, or how they reacted the way they did, or how they felt about me the way they did or they do. I think all that was a blessing. The fans here, they watched me be me. And like I said, they let me grow as a person. They watched me go through my ups and downs and I think this is one of the realest places in the world. The passion about their sports and I gave them everything that I had and I guess that’s why they responded to me the way they did.”

If Lebron wins a championship, utters words like this at a press conference, keeps a home in Ohio, and constantly gives back to local community causes, he will always be a beloved figure, even in Cleveland.

The New York Brand. From a Hip-Hop perspective the only thing that I can compare LeBron signing with the New York Knicks to is Tupac signing with Death Row. Setting aside the circumstances under which he signed with Suge, while in jail, and the East-Coast West Coast tensions, and his tragic death (which still breaks my heart), the point I want to make from a business perspective is that there were only three major power centers from a creative standpoint in Hip-Hop worthy of a business association with Tupac: Wu-Tang, Bad Boy, and Death Row (I guess Rap-A-lot and So So Def deserve honorable mention). Maybe in basketball today it would be Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.

The only one that made sense for Tupac to be affiliated with, whose brand represented the greatest and most compatible reach into new market segments was Death Row. The Wu could have added artistic innovation and iconic energy (Wu Tang Clan is to rap what Kiss was to Rock – with personalities that lend themselves to Superfriends-like marketing). And Wu Tang also could have provided the most supportive environment for Tupac’s intellectual and activist pedigree (The Nation of Gods and Earths meets the Black Panthers). Bad Boy would have reinforced Pac’s reality-based hustler-like appeal with New York City lights for added drama. But Pac was already a star, so what Wu brought to the table wasn’t needed as badly, and there was the risk that the Clan’s lover for griminess could dull Pac’s shine. The obvious tensions with Bad Boy coupled with the fact that more New York-affiliation wouldn’t endear him to his West Coast base, ruled out rolling with Puffy. Only Death Row offered Tupac new markets (Southern California-plus), a marketing machine (no one was moving units like Dre, Snoop and Tha Dogg Pound) and a celebrity floss to balance his Bay Area activist tendencies and NYC street credibility (all three of which made him an icon of female marketing, as Pac appealed simultaneously to the conscious Sistas’, around the way girls, and the standard mass of women enamored with Hollywood status symbols).

Dropping ‘California Love,’ as the first single on his first album home from prison, was brilliant, in that context.

Going to Chicago brings Lebron under Jordan’s shadow. Los Angeles (and it would have to be the Clippers) takes us into a distracting and basketball-only centered Kobe vs. Lebron storyline. Only New York makes sense for Lebron, like only Death Row made sense for Pac.

And in New York you do get an intriguing sports storyline – can LeBron bring back the legendary Knicks brand? While LeBron channels Willis Reed on the court, the city that never sleeps becomes a co-creator in bringing out the other dimensions of LeBron’s personality, off the court.

New York, as LeBron’s marketing midwife, is perhaps the strongest argument against staying in Cleveland. New York works with LeBron to shape the market while LeBron only works from Cleveland to accomplish the same as it is today. The simple everyday acts and decisions of where LeBron decides to eat, party, sleep, and worship in New York City build his brand and produce non-Basketball related business opportunities that simply could not be created by his social life, no matter how interesting, in Cleveland.

In a sense this is one of the ‘secret’ benefits of Floyd Mayweather Jr. being based out of Las Vegas, rather than his native Michigan. His home city reinforces the brand, image, and reputation that currently makes him most marketable. Mayweather Jr. would get credit for ‘loyalty’ if he lived in Grand Rapids (and he does passionately support community causes there) but can we honestly say that his brash personality and lifestyle would thrive and translate into the same level of business, in that backdrop?

And lastly, LeBron’s success in NYC is not guaranteed, so ultimately the curiosity builds over whether New York can break LeBron. It’s the ultimate non-basketball competition – man versus environment. New York has been known to make boys out of man, in every sphere of life, but particularly in sports, as the history of failed New York Yankee free agent signings alone reveals.

I may get into this in a future column but even Alex Rodriguez, though getting over the hurdle of producing in prime time as a New York City sports performer, so far, has not conquered New York in a non-sports context. Derek Jeter has. There is a huge difference.

If Lebron comes to town it is not to win back-to-back championships alone, it is also to become the King of New York.

The Example Of Michael Jordan – What Not To Do. There was nothing more humiliating than the way that Michael Jordan was fired from an executive position by the Washington Wizards (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/20/AR2005102001883.html). It was embarrassing and demoralizing. There are few professional sights as sad as watching the media footage of Michael Jordan drive off in his car after the meeting where he was let go. Indeed, MJ contributed mightily to his misfortune. He made huge personal and professional mistakes and errors in how he entered the D.C. scene which contributed to his downfall. I know because prominent figures in D.C. who tried to guide him would confide things to me regarding this. But the worst thing of all was his putting that uniform back on and running around in shorts again. It ‘permanently’ set back the brand-image-reputation formula he was building as a businessman and it is one of the reasons that he is not getting the credit he deserves for the worthy job he is currently doing in the front office of the Charlotte Bobcats.

There are many things Michael Jordan could teach LeBron James on and off the court and I hope they have that kind of mentor-protégé relationship, or eventually develop it. But from a business standpoint, there is nothing more instructive from Michael Jordan’s professional career than insight into the fact that for all of his success and marketing visibility, Michael Jordan is a sports-only celebrity figure. This does not mean that he is not larger-then-life in a certain way. Michael Jordan exudes ‘class,’ for sure post-basketball, and he has done a good job of keeping a mystique about him by being selective in interviews and public appearances. But with Michael Jordan there is no public display of political consciousness or activism, no definitive reputation for, or evidence of, real business savvy (as is the case with Magic Johnson), and therefore ‘cool,’ and ‘class’ have not allowed Michael Jordan to evolve past underwear pitchman. At the end of the day, Michael Jordan’s image is becoming more and more of just that of an ex great athlete - a salesman of other people’s products without a leadership profile, struggling to get things done in a world without the sound of a basketball bouncing somewhere in the background.

If there were an individual who LeBron should study who created a post-basketball reputation that married ‘class’ with ‘shrewd’ attributes it would not be Michael Jordan but Dr. J – Julius Erving.

I believe a key to the development of this reputation and image was Dr. J’s decision to force people to see him as more than an athlete, and resist the pull of an NBA front office job, which he surely could have held.

Ask around Philadelphia, when you hear Dr. J.’s name, his business relationship with Coca-Cola (as a bottler not a product pitchman), still often accompanies memories of him in a 76ers uniform.

A Name Worth More Than Gold. From a distance, and from a business perspective, I like Floyd Mayweather Jr. a lot. Some people have laughed when he has compared himself to Muhammad Ali (in terms of talent and boldness of personality), and more recently Malcolm X and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King (for his pioneering stance on drug-testing). But I see something else in what he is expressing. Sure, ‘Money May’ hasn’t displayed the kind of consciousness or activism of Muhammad Ali, nor has he had the cultural or political impact of a Malcolm or Martin but he realizes that for him to truly be great, in the sense of life outside of sport, he has to reach their level of influence. He knows that until he does so, he will lack their credibility and only be seen as a great performer.

There is a form of credibility that every great artist knows has eluded them, which others, even their own peers have (I believe this is the unseen artistic motivation that provoked Jay-Z to ‘attack’ Nas) and which giants in one field desire from another. And this quest for credibility is rarely about chasing paper. Many of us who make money the end-all in life may be shocked to learn that billionaire Andrew Carnegie desired to be seen as ‘a man of letters,’ and was ultimately frustrated by the fact that people were more impressed with his business success than his intellect.

All of this relates to LeBron’s business ambition and the challenges he will face to create the brand and legacy that leads to the hundreds of millions of dollars he wants.

It saddened me to see Muhammad Ali ‘sell’ the name the Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave him (http://www.forbes.com/2006/04/12/muhammad-ali-elvis-cx_gl_0412autofacescan07.html) which brought him influence, popularity and connection to an entire world outside of America. Yet, I understand the business logic in licensing the right to use a name, voice, or image. In a sense that is partly what the music business is about – the trade and commerce of intellectual property. So I don’t self-righteously judge Muhammad Ali or the family of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in this regard (who have ‘sold’ and licensed his imagery and recordings etc….)

But what Floyd Mayweather Jr. struggles to attain and what all of these examples reveal and I hope demonstrate to LeBron James is that there is a form of monetary value that only comes from true greatness and risk-taking in life, and stretching beyond the limits that people assign to you. The greatest value that LeBron James can create for himself, and I believe the most guaranteed route to the $1 billion he seeks is to be more than a performer or athlete.

When you think of Muhammad Ali, you think of more than just athletic greatness. The same with football great Jim Brown. These are the names of ‘great men’ that will live on beyond them (and make money and create opportunities for their descendants and others).

What I believe both of those men lacked (although Muhammad Ali had moments of it), which LeBron could surpass them in, is a strong business team – spiritual, shrewd and loyal- that can balance performance value, business acumen, and legacy, and convert it into millions and even billions of dollars.

What LeBron should understand is that what makes Muhammad Ali’s name and image worth $1 billion is not his accomplishments in the ring. It is the same for Michael Jackson’s appeal. Had the ‘King of Pop’ not also been a compassionate humanitarian who did things outside of the box, he never would have generated billions of dollars.

I was impressed that LeBron eventually wanted to take a stand to change the reality of what was happening in the Darfur region of Sudan (although I believe he could have been more informed about the historical, economic and cultural context of the conflict; to educate myself and thousands of others I conducted an 11-part series at BlackElectorate.com called, ‘Asking The Right Questions About Darfur, Sudan that I hope Lebron will one day read: http://www.blackelectorate.com/search.asp?keyword=Asking+The+Right+Questions+About+Darfur%2C+Sudan&Submit.x=19&Submit.y=12). But in LeBron’s evolved comments about Darfur you heard sincerity and strength. He promised to pull in others.

Then, something happened just before the Olympics that slowed him down and redirected his energies, eventually causing him to pull back from what he desired to do.

He and the entire U.S. Olympic basketball team were obviously pressured by the NBA and others to not get involve in politics, and to only concern himself with basketball matters (http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/5195/so-is-team-usa-muzzled-or-not).

It is the same dynamic that caused Carmelo Anthony just a few years ago, to listen to David Stern’s instructions to not attend an event where Minister Farrakhan was speaking, although he wanted to. An embarrassed Carmelo would eventually tell the Minister what happened. To which the Minister responded that Carmelo Anthony should never allow anyone, even David Stern, to limit his freedom as a man.

I have always shied away from publicly calling professional athletes and entertainers ‘slaves.’ I love them. I see their potential for greatness beyond entertainment value, even if they don’t pursue it.

I never want to see their opportunities limited in life or business. I also don’t believe in forcing people to act like they are politically and spiritually conscious when they are not. I also believe that many activists blame the lack of celebrity participation in certain causes to cover their own lack of success and progress.

But there is something to be said for the manner in which popular male celebrities and athletes are emasculated, pressured or advised against forms of consciousness and activism when they seek to create a name for themselves outside of their particular profession. The argument usually made to them is that they will risk losing lucrative business opportunities if they take particular stands.

Yes, this may be true for the commercial forces that sponsor that particular professional sport, but there is an entire world (and economy) that remains available for those who do take risks and stand for causes and associate themselves with movements that are bigger than sport and play. In this era of globalization, social media, and viral and guerrilla marketing it is easier to do business outside of the authority of a sports sanctioning body. But it takes courage and vision to build a business model without the ‘expressed written permission’ of the NBA or NFL, for that matter.

I believe LeBron and his team know this, but I don’t know whether they have what it takes to truly be ‘different’ and revolutionary in this area.

Only time will tell.

New York City will challenge LeBron – intellectually, politically, and spiritually. It will force him to look inward, in ways that the comfort zone and familiarity of Cleveland cannot. The ability to leave an environment where you feel comfortable and succeed where you are not welcome in certain ways, causes struggle which forces growth.

As long as it does not hurt his family and he wants to, I hope LeBron will accept this exciting opportunity.

Proverbs 22:1 reads, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” In the long-term what makes a name more valuable than gold (but quite valuable in it too!) and live on to create value long past the death of any particular personality, is the power of their personal struggle and the attachment of a human being’s heart, mind, and soul, to eternal principles of freedom, justice and equality.

Any celebrity who associates their name with such attributes will forever be ‘wealthy.’

In that sense, I believe that LeBron James’ coming to New York would be more about his inward journey than an outward one.

And certainly about more than his dribbling and bouncing of a ball, in a new uniform.

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is also a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. He is author of the book, The Entrepreneurial Secret (http://theEsecret.com/). His talk show, ‘The Cedric Muhammad and Black Coffee Program’ can be viewed every Wednesday from 12 to 5 PM EST (USA) at: http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/media/. He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

If one ever wanted to see the business model those of us in the ‘music industry’ are leaving behind – whether we like it or not – check out the recent ‘Starr et al v. Sony BMG Music Entertainment et al, U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 08-5637.’ Its the decision of a federal appeals court in New York in response to a case filed on behalf of music downloaders who accuse the four major record labels – Sony, EMI, Warner, and Universal - of engaging in a conspiracy to fix prices and terms under which music could be sold over the Internet. The court did not render a final ruling but determined that the Plaintiffs had ‘enough factual matter (taken as true) to suggest that an agreement was made.’

I strongly recommend that AllHipHop.com readers go through the case documents for themselves (http://www.docstoc.com/docs/22474623/Starr-v-Sony-BMG), as one might be amazed at how enlightening Court cases on commerce can be (especially Supreme Court rulings dealing with the Sherman Act). But the meat of the case boils down to whether or not these four companies, said to control over 80% of all music sold in the United States of America agreed to set a ‘wholesale price floor’ for selling music at 70 cents per song and reinforced it (you know - aka ‘strongarmed’ or ‘gangstered’) through licensing agreements that restricted the availability and use of the music to forums it controlled. The Defendants argue that the four majors refused to do business with the popular online eMusic service which charged only 25 cents per song without restrictions on how users could upload music to iPods or burn to CDs.

Starr v. Sony BMG matters to me for reasons different than those of most observers.

Sure, I don’t doubt a conspiracy [by the way isn’t hilarious to know that the masses are mocked for believing in conspiracy theories when so many criminal (RICO for instance) and commercial court cases like this one revolve around it?] by the major 4, and I feel the magnetic pull of cheap or free music like everyone else. But as a Hip-Hoppreneur ™ my primary concern is the business model of the music industry and how it relates to artistic expression, entrepreneurial development and political chess-playing.

In that light, I see the case as another form of evidence of two things.

First the case shows that the power of the record label (independents too) is fading not because of the declining price of music but because it continues to ignore how to create value with music. Second, Starr v. Sony BMG also suggests to entrepreneurs and artists that the era of giving away music in order to promote oneself and using the Internet to sell only music has reached the point of diminishing returns.

We are leaving the price-war era of the music industry which saw major chain stores and Mom and Pop record stores go under, because they were sandwiched in between the demand for free music from their consumers and the restrictive pricing of record labels while needing to charge a premium in order to make a profit.

The Chain and Mom & Pops died because they really did not know what business they were in (more than just music selling) and could not transition into what I call the era of ‘freemium’ where the strongest that will survive will be those who find the right mix of both free and premium goods and services they charge for. Relying only on music sales, I believe is a death sentence that can only be delayed, not lifted.

The winners and losers will be determined by how well the major record labels on one hand; and artists and entrepreneurs on the other, create value, not just provide affordability to consumers.

A simple formula utilized by business consultant Rick Kash is the scorecard.

Any and every business needs to acquaint themselves with the mathematics.

Value = Benefits/Price

We only have to have reached seventh grade (not a given for all of us) to know that in this equation value is created in only two ways – either decrease price or increase benefits.

The basis of what record labels and most artists and entrepreneurs in the Internet era have been competing with one another on is price. But the basic laws of supply and demand make clear the outcome of that decision. When supply increases more rapidly than demand, prices must go down. The record labels have been fighting a losing battle in reversing this trend by attempting to limit the supply of music - thus making it more ‘scarce’ and therefore more valuable - and flirting with setting artificial price floors (as alleged in Starr v. Sony BMG) to keep the natural laws of economics from working and taking the price down to zero.

Music, not entirely, but in a very important commercial sense, is now essentially a commodity, no different than oil, water, gold, or rice, or cotton in its current condition. Its pricing power is determined not by its own qualities, but by external factors. Therefore it can only become more valuable, and earn a greater price, when demand for it is greater than its supply or because it makes other things more valuable.

For it to move out of its current commodity status it will have to be combined with other commodities, products and services. The immediate future of music, I hate to say it, is now something like butter, garlic and onions. Very few of us buy these items to eat them just as they are (although garlic and onions are believed to have medicinal and healing effects). But when combined as ingredients, they add and create value.

There was a time when the record labels were creating value by simply making music. Those were the days when the technology to produce, arrange and combine different sounds was expensive and exclusive (recording studios, orchestras, live bands); the expertise and network to market and promote it was a profession in and of itself (headquartered by skilled and connected marketing departments); and the distribution channel was hierarchical and spread across different geographical regions (manufacturing plants, chain stores, Mom and Pop record stores).

But over the last two decades in particular, with the advent of music television, radio formats (Hip-Hop and Urban in particular), beat machines, samplers, the Street DJ, CD, Internet, independent publicist and record promoter - the merger of technology, entrepreneurial energy, and critical mass of talent coming out of the music industry system made it easier for people to make music; consumers to access it and place it in hierarchies and categories they preferred (mixtapes, iPods and even satellite radio formats); artists to become famous (or at least create their own buzz); and music to be distributed and even sold (mp3s, downloading and e-commerce) without large infrastructure and staff.

There are still a few areas where the major record labels create value, primarily through marketing and promotional connections and expertise, and this is why we have the 360 record deal – where labels try to leverage this area as an argument to share in more of the value artists create in other areas (movies, endorsements, shows, and merchandise) which the old business model prevented record labels from sharing in. I previously wrote about this at: http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2009/12/08/22049697.aspx

The trend of the last 20 years – just described – has led to the rise of a special kind of entrepreneur – the independent label mogul, or business specialist - capable of performing most of the tasks of a major record label at a fraction of the costs and with a greater profit margin. The best at this kind of work I know of is my good friend Wendy Day (http://www.wendyday.com/) whose phenomenal work was recently empirically (that means with stats and math!) verified in a study by Tom Silverman which showed that a label she built and consulted – TMI Boyz – was the second largest selling independent release of the year. Explaining more of the details of the success, Wendy recently blogged of the Silverman study:

“He pointed out that in 2009, there were 1,500 independent releases in all genres. Of those 1500, only 13 releases sold over 10,000 units (that’s only $70,000 to $100,000 in wholesale sales). The #2 release was the label I consulted, TMI Boyz. They were one of the ONLY rap acts on that short list of 13, and the #1 selling rap release. And that list was based on the (inaccurate) SoundScan sales of 30,000 CDs sold. While on the road for a year and a half, TMI Boyz sold 2 mixed CDs and a full length CD. Tom’s research was based solely on the CDs that were sold at FYE stores in the mid-South. Since we weren’t focused on SoundScan, just on making money, we weren’t trying to have each sale counted. The bulk of sales were at shows, Mall parking lots, state fairs, flea markets, street corners, gas stations, car washes, high schools, clubs–anyplace where a mass of people were gathered so TMI Boyz could jump out of their wrapped van to make a sale. You may have never heard of them, but they made $1.6 million in sales in 2009. Isn’t that the best measurement of all?”

If you look at what Wendy and TMI accomplished in terms of what I have been writing about you can see that they not only made hot music but they built virtually an entire industry, and even economy, when one considers they sold what they did after the death of the Mom & Pop record store which had been critical to the success of Hip-Hop sales.

[For more of the importance of the Mom & Pop and why I described its demise as the single biggest Hip-Hop industry event of the last decade see my piece at: http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2009/12/22/22073303.aspx]

I could make the case that Wendy Day alone - through her efforts to educate artists, journalists and the general public; her business consultations; and her always colorful private and public confrontation of music industry practices – may have done more on the margin to help shift the paradigm in favor of independent label entrepreneurship.

The challenge now – for independents and majors – is to create value through the new dynamic of ‘community’ which social media has made easier. Simply accumulating thousands and millions of Twitter and Facebook followers and fans without a new business model in mind means that ultimately the exercise will only result in a futile effort to sell more and more people cheaper and cheaper music, while risking alienating or underwhelming supporters with meaningless ‘updates’ (there is logic to why Jay-Z shunned Twitter for so long). Already many of us know the diminishing returns of social media saturation, which will only increase.

In terms of the formula Value = Benefits/Price one can see that with social media creating communities around the brand, image and reputation of an artist’s celebrity and reality, much more than music can be sold. This is the basis of some of my marketing advice for Jay Electronica (http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/02/09/22119830.aspx), my building with Wyclef (http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/01/12/22092307.aspx), my writing about the new life that ‘fan clubs’ can take on (http://admin.allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2009/12/01/22048949.aspx); and my thoughts on the importance of an artist’s ‘story’(http://admin.allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/01/12/22092307.aspx).

By giving away some music for free or more cheaply, and making other forms of it available, along with information (placed in the right categories and hierarchies), and providing exclusive access to an artists’ celebrity and reality, a goldmine awaits us.

Of course it will mean a certain kind of artist will become ‘extinct’ while another type becomes more appealing, but more on that in the future.

It’s time to stop worrying about lowering price so much and focus more on increasing benefits.

Not all free and not all fee, but freemium.

The results can be priceless…

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is also a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. He is author of the book, The Entrepreneurial Secret (http://theEsecret.com/). His talk show, ‘The Cedric Muhammad and Black Coffee Program’ can be viewed every Wednesday from 12 to 5 PM EST (USA) at: http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/media/. He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

Continuing from last week’s part one, it’s important to understand where I’m coming from on this. I appreciate Hip-Hop lyricism and am a strong advocate of consciousness in rap. When that consciousness includes any of the Six Written Lessons that Registered Members of the Nation of Islam receive, out of which come the ‘120 Lessons’ which the Nation Of Gods and Earth revere and study; and when that is combined with wit, style, street credibility and a mathematically precise beat, for me, then, knowledge, understanding (wisdom is when it is applied) in artistry have reached their apex.

Therefore, when I hear Jay Electronica, I get the Holy Ghost.

However, that isn’t enough, for me to start speaking in tongues, yet.

Why?

Because I have already lived through the Conscious era of Hip-Hop where the Lessons, history, progressive philosophy and great quotes and teachings were weaved into music (and no one ever did that better than Big Daddy Kane) only to see that golden era end, because that consciousness lacked something.

It did not have an economic or business foundation associated with it, that would protect and institutionalize it.

I wrote about this in a very provocative piece at BlackElectorate.com a few years ago: ‘The Consciousness Of Wu-Tang Clan, Suge Knight, and Jay-Z’ (http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=529)

Business acumen, institution building, and shrewd political maneuvering are the only way to protect conscious artistry.

Now, add to this my professional background and my focus on Jay Electronica becomes clearer.

As a former personal manager (Wu Tang Management); political strategist (Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney); economist (African Union); and journalist (The Final Call and Wall St. Journal) I never simply operate in the world of data, information, and knowledge for its own sake.

Those potential forms of power must be applied to influence reality for the better.

That’s the Hip-Hoppreneur ™ worldview that I apply to the promise and challenges of making Jay Electronica an incredible success (beyond what he already is) on more than one level.

Convert The Political Progressive Hip-Hop Fan Base Into A Constituency. This is coming from a successful political strategist (Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney’s 2004 Campaign). If Jay Electronica can accept a leadership profile (which is something he will have to search his own heart on and be at peace with) a major key to his success will be to court Hip-Hop’s independent political underground and convert them into his ‘supporters’ rather than as simply fans. He has to allow people to see him as more than just an entertainer and give them reasons to ‘vote’ for him as a change agent. This is part of the basis of my caution about how closely he aligns himself with certain conscious artists who are really only rhetorical lyricists. I want Jay Electronica to do tracks with them, and I want this segment to be enthusiastic about him creatively, but the real marginal utility (best function) of this group is to mobilize them around issues (and song concepts that highlight them), that result in a fiercely independent political mainstreaming of him. What do I mean?

Two examples come to mind – Jadakiss in 2004 with ‘Why?’; and Nas in 2009 with ‘Sly Fox.’ Both songs opened up each artist to new audiences, or significantly changed the way they were perceived by certain segments of existing audiences. I want the same to happen for Jay.

This is the key to what I call the credible crossover – when an emerging fan base claims you, without you losing your current or core group of supporters.

‘Why?’ had a lot of intangibles working for it - like an election year which polarized major radio companies around political parties and an anti-Clear Channel sentiment over the corporation’s perceived favoring of President Bush - which contributed to so many competing stations being willing to play a song that included the explosive charge, ‘why did Bush knock down the towers?’ The net result was the temporary crossing over of Jadakiss from the street credible rapper category to a voice for political change, embraced by the so-called ‘backpakers,’ who previously had little use for him.

Nas’ ‘Sly Fox’ aimed at Fox News Channel had some of the same dynamics (though Nas is as much Poet-Novelist as street credible) and was a stroke of genius converting him into the kind of griot (singers in African societies who rallied armies) that the great Cheikh Anta Diop wrote about. Nas was already respected by the political underground but his respect for Islam, reverence for Black nationalism, and even a stream of Pan-Africanism – three areas that at times make the more socialist-oriented progressives uncomfortable – had placed a ceiling on his popularity with this group. That changed with ‘Sly Fox’. The political ‘mainstreaming’ was complete when Nas appeared on The Colbert Report. If I were quarterbacking the gameplan I’d judge it a success and know that Jay Electronica had hit the right tone when he had appeared on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report or to a lesser extent the Real Time With Bill Maher program (Maher’s political edginess could make a strong appearance by Jay the stuff that legends are made of) and a select group of other talk shows.

With the right song concepts and promotion (viral, street, and guerilla) I believe Jay could surpass what either Jada or Nas did. The key would be his ability or those around him to make political noise in respected political forums. Here is where the data, information, and knowledge he feeds from needs to be translated into media deliverables and publicity in the form of op-eds, press releases, open letters, blogs, his signing of petitions (carefully, though, only for the right causes) and stimulating intellectual performances in interviews. Here I strongly suggest Jay E. absorb six people when it comes to delivering hot interviews that always reinforce a brand, image, and reputation: Jay-Z, Muhammad Ali, Immortal Technique, Star of Star and Buc Wild, 50 Cent, and Minister Farrakhan. Very few music industry publicists can navigate this kind of substantive and strategic terrain, as most of them primarily rely upon ‘industry’ networking and spinning a rolodex. What I think is required for someone like Jay Electronica is the industry-standard people-skills schmoozing, combined with a reading of historic and topical books, staying on top of local and international news, and briefings in a way he prefers and can digest. Yes, you are reading me correctly - Jay Electronica deserves power brokering and morning memos, like Obama, and on a regular basis from his team. He needs fuel for his intellectual fire, consistent with his image, and which allow him to credibly speak the different languages of his audience segments (current and emerging). I can count on one hand, the marketing and PR professionals in the business capable of reinforcing the kind of brand Jay needs – a non-industry leadership profile with an interesting storyline of celebrity and reality.

But I do have great respect for Helio PR (www.heliopr.com) and Sasha Brookner for their consciousness, shrewd strategies, ill rolodex, and ability to energetically work both grassroots and high-profile audiences – qualities this challenging era requires. In one of our recent building sessions, Sasha made some points that I thought were critically important for keeping Jay’s brand, image and reputation in alignment: “Electronica should be careful not to conduct interviews with promiscuity. Each piece of press should serve a purpose and rationale. He should 1) go minimal and not over-saturate 2) fight for Q&A formatted stories 3) Do some Op-Ed pieces for Huffington Post, New Yorker, etc. where his voice isn’t filtered 4) Target unexpected media outlets to build a contrasting fanbase. You got people on the sidelines eager to say ’see it was all hype.’ He should dismiss the hype himself in order to take it out of their hands - music speaks for itself. Many rap artists with the greatest career longevity moved into this genre gradually without being a product of initial buzz so it’s important not to get caught up in the ephemeral rapture. Souljah Boy will never have the career span of a Mos Def. Electronica got a lot of rap icons co-signing for him and it doesn’t hurt he has a ride or die chick with a cult-like female fanbase that are going to be checking for her love life.”

Ensure International Appeal. I love the trailer for Exhibit A (http://2dopeboyz.okayplayer.com/2010/01/18/jay-electronica-exhibit-a-trailer/) and its international appeal. Now, let’s take it a step further. Let’s do some mixtapes, remixes and collaborations with the powerful artists affiliated with the Hip Hop Revolucion collective (http://www.hiphoprevolucion.org/blog). Or, Jay Electronica could do a track saluting different cities and their ‘street’ histories and traditions – Toronto, Canada; Kingston, Jamaica; London, England; Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Tokyo, Japan; and Beijing, China. All he might need is a researcher and historian who could contact individuals on the ground in these countries (easy because of the fan base) and a few scholars and experts who would be happy to provide details on life on the ground and the culture of the people. Or, they could talk to immigrants living here from all of those hot spots, and get a feel for the culture. Jay Electronica’s grasp of the streets, strategic philosophy and principles could be weaved together with these details. He could speak about local life, connect it to similarities in Philly, New York, Atlanta, New Orleans, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. He could make fun of rappers here, who wouldn’t know how to find these places on a map. Diddy could arrange the musical production team to mix in instruments in the tradition of these countries. As advisers, perhaps, Diddy could call in Quest Love of the Roots (who I’m sure appreciates Jay Electronica’s nods to Philly as much as I do) to work with him on the arrangements. This one track alone could open Jay Electronica to concerts worldwide, remixes with popular local artists, and international sales abroad in places no other rapper has enjoyed. If he needs help with Africa I have A&Rs in Southern Sudan and Nairobi ready to go (smile). Any Hip-Hop artist who is just depending on, or trying to eat off of record sales in America is hustling backward. The real money is overseas and its time for an artist with street credibility here to expand their marketing and go get it. Jay Electronica could easily qualify.

In addition, with the right song concepts and political stances, Jay-Electronica’s grasp of the language of Islam, could give him a Muhammad Ali type appeal/effect but, I won’t utter how or why in public, right now.

Remember, the successful marketing of Electronica is partially a military maneuver. I’m functioning right now as a spiritual rear echelon.

Do It Yourself – Jay Electronica TV. One of the things that I’m so glad that Jay Electronica appreciates, from what I have learned about his thinking, is that being ‘signed’ to a major record label is no longer the height of success. Let me be blunt - the record label is fading as the premier platform for the marketing, promotion, and branding of an artist, and rapidly as music’s most powerful sales and distribution point. That’s why its dangerous for Jay Electronica’s fans to wait on Sony, Warner, Universal, or EMI as record labels; or New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston radio stations; or MTV and BET as video outlets; to suddenly embrace him and give him shine and burn. What we need is Jay Electronica TV – a place where we can get that daily blog, weekly verse, and celebrity and reality footage. Jay could sell his music directly to the masses from the website, right now. He could write a short book, or release a chapter from an upcoming Jay Electronica autobiography. Let’s put up the footage of all public and community-oriented events Jay Electronica is involved in online (like the recent touching benefit on behalf of raising awareness on diabetes: http://www.allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2010/01/14/22096541.aspx). Relying on rap blogs, urban radio, and mainstream video outlets to get the story out and make news is too slow when you are a phenomenon like this. The key is controlling the message and projection of image as much as possible.

To that end I was surprised to see that two domain names were available still – jayelectronica.tv and jayelectronicatv.com. So knowing I was going to put this out there, I secured them in advance. I intend to transfer them personally or professionally to Jay Electronica’s control, free of charge, word is bond.

The ‘We Need Something Realer!’ Campaign. Jay Electronica (The Leader) Meets Jay Electronica (The Artist). This, again, is potentially the most difficult of all of the dynamics to navigate. I’ve yet to meet an artist who wanted to be a leader as much as they wanted to be an artist, deep down. That’s fine, I don’t believe in trying to make a person do what they don’t want to do. I’ve had these discussions with influential political leaders, ‘gang’ members, rappers, and entrepreneurs. Although I have seen potential in them as leaders beyond their current profile, I’ve come to realize that if a person doesn’t see themselves in that light or want to pursue it, you are better off leaving them alone on that subject, being patient, and appreciating them for what they currently are - otherwise they will only eventually undermine whatever you may set in motion with them. Sometimes you can think more of a person than they think of themselves. Sometimes you can believe more in a person than they believe in themselves. But no matter how bad you want them to do more, you have to respect their free-will to be less, if they choose. It is their life, not yours.

I say that to say to all of us who may want Jay Electronica to assume the responsibility of Saviour of the culture, Street Consciousness rap Messiah, or the Divine Reconciler of North and South rap music; unless Jay Electronica wants that, it ain’t gonna happen, and its not fair to expect that of him.

In addition, building a leadership profile out of an artist or celebrity status, is the work of a professional team. An artist simply can’t do it by themselves (although they can guide the group effort). Most artists fail in making the evolution because they simply don’t have the right people around them capable of developing concepts and plans that balance culture, politics, and business, nor do they have the ability to execute them. In addition, because tedious administrative and management work kills the creative spirit, artists don’t pay attention to certain areas as much as they should.

I call balancing all of this the challenge of the Hip-Hoppprenur ™.

The Hip-Hoppreneur ™ challenge is not just helping an artist mature and develop as a leader, but to do it in a way that is good for their personal development and career as artists. I don’t believe one has to pick between commerce and the community, especially if one has knowledge of self and the science of business.

We can make money and make moves that benefit the individual and collective.

To that end, and if Jay Electronica wants to do it, a campaign around developing him as a leader could be achieved easily because his image, brand, and reputation, so far, have all the necessary elements and are still in alignment.

One could develop a whole marketing campaign around one phrase, which Just Blaze shouts out on ‘Exhibit C,’ ‘We Need Something Realer!’

Jay works out the campaign theme, before Just Blaze amplifies it for us, by spitting, ‘That’s why when you talk that tough talk I never feel ya/ You sound real good and you play the part well/ But the energy you given off is so unfamiliar/ I don’t feel ya.’

Judging by the unanimous head-nodding reaction to these lines, Jay Electronica has practically presented a political slogan for those of us in Hip-Hop who are tired of the era of “keepin’ it real gone bad.”

We now want to vote for Jay Electronica as the leader of this badly-needed movement.

And the ‘we’ is a powerful bloc. It’s gang-bangers – real live Latin Kings, Crips, and Bloods etc… - who think that most of these flag-claiming rappers are perpetrating a fraud. It’s young single parent mothers struggling against the negative influence of rap on their children. It’s older fans who don’t understand how acting dumb and ignorant became a successful marketing strategy. It’s fans who feel we shouldn’t have to choose between political consciousness and street credibility. It’s the edgy, radical and independent-minded who don’t think rappers should be this non-threatening. It’s the youth who are ready for a message but want us to admit there is nothing wrong with packaging it with a catchy hook, sense of humor, and innovative video. My good friend and genius Bomani Armah (http://www.notarapper.com/) proved this with his 2007 ‘Read A Book’ phenomenon.

So what ‘We need somethin’ realer!’ must translate into is real actions and deeds, projected properly through the community and media that demonstrate that Jay Electronica is the one who is realer than the rest.

Right now, before an album drops under the ‘We Need Something Realer!’ campaign Jay Electronica could be on a tour speaking at and building with those in homeless shelters (how obvious is that considering he was once homeless), prisons, street organizations (gangs) community town hall meetings, colleges, professional and civic conferences and conventions, Nation of Islam Saviours’ Days and the Parliaments of the Nation Of Gods and Earths. The available honorariums would pad his pocket and the networking would open up non-music industry opportunities as well as strengthen his connection to several different segments in the marketplace, who would adopt him as their own as soon as they hear him.

Electronica could be sitting down with community leaders, building with Members of Congress similar to how I arranged for David Banner to meet with his Congressman, Bennie Thompson (http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/cm-cap-advises-david-banner-arranges-hip-hop-artist%E2%80%99s-meeting-with-congressman-bennie-thompson/) in 2005.

When I hear that phrase, ‘We need something realer!’ I know what it can mean, and so do others: a marketing campaign that’s good for Jay, good for the community, and good for business.

Right Place, Right Time, Right Team. First, things, first – we aren’t having this conversation if Just Blaze doesn’t produce one of the most powerful instrumentals any producer has ever made, in ‘Exhibit C.’ This is important because Jay Electronica, in my opinion (as is the case with the handful of truly special artists) requires a master song arranger and ‘debut’ concept/theme album. He needs a sound that lends itself to almost a movie soundtrack feel, which Just Blaze can deliver. But let’s take it a step further. I’m not sure that Just Blaze is an arranger like a Diddy is. Puffy (please let me call him that) is a genius and maybe the greatest arranger in Hip-Hop (he is not a producer) history (50 Cent is a very close second). One of the things that makes the Notorious B.I.G.’s debut album, ‘Ready To Die’ a classic is that Puffy resisted the temptation to make it an album filled with hits. Rather, he built it as a hit album. Puffy is the best I have ever seen in Hip-Hop at mastering song placement (RZA is a very close second) – the order in which songs appear on an album, and he is the only arranger I would trust in making a theme or concept album for a rap artist using multiple producers. I believe that if Diddy was the executive producer of a Jay Electronica album he would know how to place Just Blaze in the lead producer’s position and bring in a few others like Drumma Boy, Mannie Fresh, DJ Premier, No I.D. and maybe Kanye West and Dr. Dre. I even trust Puff to find the right R & B producer to do the right kind of track for Jay E. Don’t you think Puffy could kill a collaboration between Jay Electronica and Erykah Badu, or say Jay Electronica and Keyshia Cole, and what about Jay Electronica and Rihanna? Hell, Puff (more spiritual and conscious than you think) could even make a Jay Electronica-Queen Yonasda (http://www.queenyonasda.com/) collabo go places no song has ever gone before!

I do not believe anyone could have planned the stars being in alignment around this one artist as they have been thus far – except the Divine Supreme Being (bear with me dear atheists, you already know I love you). Just Blaze making the beat; Diddy getting behind it; DJ Enuff searching his heart and deciding to play the record on New York radio’s most influential station; and Tolu Olorunda’s important early cultural interpretation of ‘Exhibit C’ at AllHipHop.com – everything kind of ‘on its own’ has been happening naturally and according to universal order.

To conclude this marketing plan on that point - while the first law of the universe is motion, its second law is order. The right team has to help Jay Electronica (and any artist) make the right moves in business and in the broader culture – bring order to the phenomenal energy and motion that lyricism and hot beats originate. This has to be about more than making hot records. There are just too many factors at work. Technological and demographic change alone make it necessary for artists nowadays to have a team that can go places they can’t, and protect their creative spirit from the draining influence of paperwork, administration, management and strategic planning. Jay Electronica needs to be put in a comfortable position where he has ideas, concepts, and opportunities flowing his way in a manner that doesn’t overwhelm him but empowers him to make final decisions and not get robbed.

I hope my public effort is only a sign of what he eventually receives in this regard.

He’s in a profound creative and spiritual place right now and he needs and deserves for things to happen and fall in place for him, in perfect timing.

We just can’t leave this up to a Mystery God, or a music industry establishment that insists on doing things ‘the old way’ - especially when the implications of what this artist represents become more clear to the worst enemies of the culture.

We really do need something realer.

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is also a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. He is author of the book, The Entrepreneurial Secret (http://theEsecret.com/). His talk show, ‘The Cedric Muhammad and Black Coffee Program’ can be viewed every Wednesday from 12 to 5 PM EST (USA) at: http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/media/. He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

The subject of Jay Electronica, the time of his rise, and his prospects for underground, independent and commercial success, even geopolitical impact, are that potentially serious. A hint to the wise is sufficient.

Sometimes you can hurt someone unintentionally by saying too much. And sometimes the greatest form of humility is not telling all that you know or see on a subject.

But sometimes time demands that you take a chance and risk what needs to be risked in order to accomplish a greater good.

To say that Jay Electronica, creatively, stands between two worlds and eras would not be an exaggeration, if you know the time.

Jay Electronica, the man of the hour, humble and spiritually sensitive is feeling this more deeply than anyone, I’m sure, in answer to a question of how his meteoric rise and the support and weight of it all feels, he reportedly (http://www.theboombox.com/2010/01/18/jay-electronica-diddy-and-mos-def-perform-exhibit-c-in-nyc/) said, “Its overwhelming, you know what I’m saying? Its overwhelming. It makes me feel good. But I gotta’ check myself too cause it makes me feel scared too. Like ‘okay I can’t be playing with these people’ because they are connecting with something — when they come to me — I feel like there is something they connected to greater that ain’t me, you know what I’m saying? So it makes me scared, too. And I don’t want to get in trouble with God. But yeah, its a good feeling, man. S–t, I can’t explain it. Its overwhelming.”

‘Overwhelmed’ and ’scared’ are two emotions most would not think the hottest rapper out would openly admit to. But Jay Electronica is not just ‘hot,’ he’s smart, and sober-minded, apparently realizing he understands there is always a price to pay for raising the dead.

‘…and by the time they get their seats hot and deploy all their henchmen to come at me from the treetops…’

With that in mind I want to start an important conversation and start to take care of the important matter of fighting to properly position Jay Electronica for business and greater influence as an artist-leader-entrepreneur. The brilliant Tolu Olorunda, already has taken care of the proper, cultural interpretation of Jay Electronica in his AllHipHop.com editorial, “Jay Electronica’s Exhibit C: The End of “Genetically-Modified” Hip-Hop? (http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/01/04/22082850.aspx).

He has the potential to go places no other artist has, ever, and just in time.

Promoting A Phenomenon (The Difference Between Longing For Change And The Demand For It). The reaction to Jay Electronica is a phenomenon in and of itself. That means two things: he represents an idea whose time has come and he represents the longing of people for change (as the Honorable Elijah Muhammad stated it in Message To The Blackman, ‘As we know, wherever there is a longing or demand for a change, nature will produce that man, who will bring it about.”. There is an important difference between longing for something and demanding it and it has everything to do with whether or not Jay Electronica will be a mainstream commercial success (which is even the hope of the underground and international community). As an economist and student of mathematical theology I could go very deep into the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s words and how they relate to the economic law of how supply produces its own demand. Maybe in a building session with the Believers and the Gods and Earths one day (smile).

What I notice in the response of a certain segment of people to Jay Electronica’s Just Blaze-produced messianic ‘Exhibit C’ is either one of two things: 1) ‘Damn, I never heard nothing like this before in my life!’ 2) ‘This is what I’ve been waiting for (even praying for)’. Neither of these sentiments in a business sense is ‘demand.’ They reflect only an emotional, cultural, or spiritual longing. And this is why it is so important for Hip-Hop fans – especially in the Northeast to realize that fawning over Jay Electronica, or romanticizing over the conscious-era of rap or wondering if New York rap is back is not a significant factor impacting the business of making Jay Electronica a massive success (which I define in the Hip-Hoppreneur ™ context as 1) his full development as an artist who sells millions of records all over the world 2) the development of a business team infrastructure that can develop the Jay Electronica brand and help make the right decisions - keeping it in alignment with his image and reputation without compromising his need for artistic freedom and personal integrity 3) his emergence as a leader at the community level, brokering power and having an impact in the United States, with influence around the world). Until certain things are put in place or fall into place around Jay Electronica, much of his popularity represents just longing. It will become demand when fans, consumers, and supporters can connect with and engage him in creative, commercial and community context.

Knowledge As Lifestyle. Jay Electronica, 2010 as Public Enemy and Rakim, 1987? As I’ve written before, the biggest phenoms in the history of rap were 50 Cent in 1999 and Snoop Dogg in 1993. From an artist standpoint [in terms of suddenly influencing how other artist’s rap it is Nas, Rakim and Treach, (over time, Jay-Z may be the most influential rapper ever in terms of artists imitating his style)], and in terms of consciousness (the greatest sudden influence over the thinking of the Hip-Hop community and fellow artists it is not even close – Public Enemy and Rakim in 1987-88 (over a longer period it was KRS-ONE)]. Much of the excitement over Jay Electronica is that he seems to be the most sincere and authentic conscious artist (he actually sounds like he knows and understands the Lessons and Teachings he refers to, and is not just quoting something he has memorized or read), who delivers the message with a captivating style and with street credibility (that’s what being homeless will do for you). People can’t resist natural law and universal order when presented right.

To understand it, just think of Hammer. Yes, I said MC Hammer. As much as people hated on him the basic reason for his popularity has never really been acknowledged. It was the universal appeal of dance (anthropologists bear witness that every culture in the world has it in some form). You could mock him, laugh at him, and even act like he wasn’t cool (‘he ain’t from New York so don’t even play him.’) but at the end of the day you sat there and had to bear witness to how good of a dancer he was. There was a longing and demand for what Hammer represented, and he took off because the business side of his team and industry was equal to the task. Knowledge too, has natural and universal appeal like that but as a friend of mine jokingly said to me in response to my explanation of Jay Electronica as the appearance of a person providing knowledge when people want it the most, due to the insecurity we all feel due to the recession, wars, and technological and demographic change; he jokingly responded, ‘but knowledge does not appeal to young people.’ His point was clear – commercial radio and video outlets who target teenagers don’t reward the playing of music on the basis of its conscious lyrical content. But clearly, as we can see from the impact of President Obama – who to me is more Role-Model-In Chief than Commander-In-Chief – on young people, knowledge is making a comeback.

What Public Enemy and Rakim did (and uniquely too, Big Daddy Kane) was make knowledge cool – and the strong presence of the Nation of Islam and the Nation of Gods and Earths – on the street and neighborhood level showed that knowledge could actually be a lifestyle and the basis of kinship and community. Not surprisingly, both communities or Nations are embracing Jay Electronica enthusiastically, even passionately, but again, longing is not demand, in a business context, and this is not 1987.

While still very powerful, the Nation of Islam and Nation of Gods and Earths, for the time being, don’t have the same kind of intense connection with and appeal among the youth of New York City (nor in the critical region of the South), nor do they influence the radio playlists today as was the case with the local 98.7 Kiss FM and 107.5 WBLS-FM. Of course a COINTELPRO style war against the Nations have contributed to this.

The challenge for Jay Electronica (and for the Nations) is to not confuse longing with demand. Until the conscious communities rally around his music as a commercial bloc and intelligently influence DJs, Program Directors and industry executives that there is the potential for a teenage market for Jay Electronica’s music, don’t expect a cross over appeal and heavy rotation anytime soon. There are conscious professionals, and very well-meaning professionals on the inside of most of these radio stations and video outlets who would love to support this artist, but they have to be given a business cover to do so. The Heavy Hitter, Hot 97’s DJ Enuff deserves credit for taking the chance on playing ‘Exhibit C,’ but an army needs to come behind him, not just willing to applaud Jay-Electronica but write letters, make phone calls, and put up their dollars to support his career, showing the world of trade and commerce that they aren’t doing them any favors. Playing Jay Electronica’s music (and videos) is good for business is all we should expect them to care about.

Make Sure the South And The Streets Are With You Too (Not just the conscious and Northeast crowd). Although I love Mos Def and Lupe Fiasco, I have to admit I cringe a bit when I see Jay Electronica in too strong of an embrace with them before, say, 40 Glocc, Beanie Sigel, Young Jeezy, or Lil Wayne. I Grew up in Jersey, worked in Philly, and lived in Harlem before coming to Washington, D.C. 10 years ago [(by the way I’m not hearing Jay Electronica being pumped on U Street or Georgia Ave, out here, nor in the ipods of the young people I build with in D.C. – and I’m barely hearing Wale anymore (smile)]. It was one of the best things that could have happened to me because it showed me how incubated and deluded one can become from remaining in the intellectual and social comfort of the Northeast community. We have a lot of pride in that part of the country and we are the historic foundation of the Hip-Hop culture and industry but we turn the rest of the country off with our perceived arrogance, sometimes.

When I came to D.C. I would build with Brothers in the District about this regularly. The perception of New York outside of New York is something every New Yorker needs to hear, regularly. One of the worst things that I believe Jay Electronica could do would be to allow the New York and Conscious Hip-Hop community to claim him in a way that makes him appear exclusively theirs. This is easier said than done as those communities come with a following, intellectual and emotional support, and media influence. But catering to them turns off the rest of the Hip-Hop nation. This is why I’m not as excited as so many other conscious folks are by the just announced Lupe Fiasco-Jay Electronica collaboration (http://www.theboombox.com/2010/01/28/lupe-fiasco-jay-electronica-planning-a-collaboration/).

Believe me, I’m touched to see Diddy, Mos Def, and Jay E on the same stage (http://www.theboombox.com/2010/01/18/jay-electronica-diddy-and-mos-def-perform-exhibit-c-in-nyc/), and I know that Lupe-Jay E. collab is going to be fire, but let’s pump the brakes a bit on the New York love and start building with some Bloods and Crips (from Newark, NJ to Compton, California) and let’s get on a DJ Drama mixtape with all the hottest artists from Down South. Let’s hype up talk of a regional and national bidding war that has everyone from Snoop Dogg (the new creative Chairman of Priority Records), Birdman, Diddy, Master P., Floyd Mayweather, 50 Cent, Shady/Aftermath, Live Nation, and Scarface all wanting to sign the hottest rapper out.

Even if Jay Electronica is already under contract, let’s act like he’s not. Here’s where Diddy could be real helpful. Similar to how Cam’ron asked Dame Dash’ to regulate’ his record label negotiations for him, Jay Electronica could do the same with Diddy. It could be a nice publicity move and helps to subliminally reinforce what Puffy’s presence always does (‘the man who helped break Biggie as an artist is backing me’). We also need to see and know that the Magnolia Projects and New Orleans are supporting Jay Electronica, as much as New York is. That means the marketing of him can’t just revolve around hot beats and intellectual lyrical firepower. It has to show that real relationships exist in the ‘hood and that there is building around the phenomenon that is Jay Electronica at the street level. This can be done, but Jay Electronica has to have the right team around him, capable of guiding him as a leader as much as an artist.

Next week I’ll get into some more specifics, but it is important to establish that the talk of Jay Electronica as ‘the next one’ in Hip-Hop is a fun exercise (I remember this as it related to the multi-talented Saigon and Papoose who were set to take off before some costly mistakes and errors were made just a few years ago) but turning it into reality will require real smart business moves, and consistent actions from his supporters that move beyond words and applause. He is already a special artist, but for him to fully realize that potential in a cultural, political, and economic environment – which is what the Internet, music industry, and media are - as Just Blaze says, ‘we need something realer!’

Here’s to helping Jay Electronica achieving all he desires creatively while changing the game for the rest of us.

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is also a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. He is author of the book, The Entrepreneurial Secret (http://theEsecret.com/). His talk show, ‘The Cedric Muhammad and Black Coffee Program’ can be viewed every Wednesday from 12 to 5 PM EST (USA) at: http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/media/. He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

I will always remember the moment I learned that Tupac died. I was sitting in the Razor Sharp offices on University Place in Manhattan, nearing the close of the business day when John ‘Mook’ Gibbons, my partner, close friend, and President of Wu-Tang Management suddenly announced the sad news to the whole office.

‘Tupac is dead y’all,’ Mook said, as his shoulders dropped and he sighed, putting his head down.

I just sunk in my chair and couldn’t believe it. Just numb.

For the past week I had been in communication with a colleague at Death Row Records and mutual friendly acquaintance that Tupac and I shared, who lived in L.A., who had been giving me updates, but I still wasn’t prepared.

Later that night I went to the recording studio to sit in on a session underway for Ghostface Killah’s ‘Ironman’ album.

The mood was quiet and somber.

‘It’s on us y’all. He was a real n—a. Now everybody’s looking at us to keep it going,’ Raekwon said in the waiting room when I came in, calmly but with confidence and a sense of responsibility. Raekwon is a man of few words, but when he speaks it is clear, with authority, and always focused toward getting things done.

As I thought over Rae’s words I felt a tremendous loss in my heart. Tupac was a pillar of strength in Hip-Hop community and the fact that he was gone was a reminder of our own vulnerability – not just as individuals, but as an entire generation. As young as we all were, nothing was guaranteed.

I stayed numb that night as I drove home from the studio on the West Side highway, listening to Hot 97 play ‘Pac records with commentary and pained call-ins. The supposed East Coast-West Coast ‘beef’ that had some angry with Tupac disappeared that night. New York was united - we all had suffered a loss.

The next day I walked the streets of Harlem, feeling the energy and tremendous buzz over the departure of an icon. When I hit a corner stand on 125th street I looked down at the newspaper and when I saw a headline on one of the New York dailies and the phrase ‘A Rapper’s Requiem’ with ‘Pac’s picture on it and I just broke down.

I didn’t care who saw me. A older woman walked by and told me it was alright.

What struck me that day was that everybody in Harlem, it seemed was grieving, remembering, and lamenting what could have been, together as one. As his music played on street corners, out of cars and apartment windows, there was the knowing exchange of looks, and a kindred spirit. It wasn’t about being a fan of Tupac or not, it was about the impact of the moment which had gripped everyone at once.

I can count on one hand the moments where I have felt such a unified feeling or weight – whether of emotion or purpose. The Million Man March comes to mind, the death of Biggie (again the scene in Harlem on a Sunday morning when I learned the news was touching), Hurricane Katrina, and the day after President Obama was elected, as well as the day of his inauguration, here in D.C.

And now, the reaction to the earthquake in Haiti.

Those who listen to my show (each Wednesday 12 to 5 PM EST: http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/media/) know that last week I repeatedly played the audio of a Haitian woman who was approached by CNN, on the ground in Port Au Prince, who wanted to interview her about the lack of cell phone service in Haiti. She wasn’t interested in discussing cell phones and immediately flipped the subject matter to the power of the unity she was experiencing among the Haitian people. Then she was suddenly joined by a young man who wanted to bear witness to her point – describing the generosity of the local cab drivers, street vendors and police officers. You can listen to the entire show at: http://www.blackelectorate.com/media/cmbcp01202010.mp3

Regardless to where I turned – email, on the street, international or local news - it seemed I was confronted with powerful images and examples of unity, whether in Haiti or the African and Haitian Diaspora - everything from the country of Senegal offering land to displaced Haitians (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/16/AR2010011602048.html); Venezuela aiding Haiti out of a sense of debt and gratitude for the support that Haiti gave Simon Bolivar two centuries ago (in the form of money, weapons, troops, and a printing press) which led to the independence of 5 ‘Latin American’ states; Cuba sending doctors with Fidel Castro expressing gratitude for the inspiration Haiti’s revolution provided to his own; young children in New York City packing clothes for children their same age in a destroyed city; my Haitian-American friends in New York, New Jersey, and Florida pooling nickels and dimes to send home. I could go on and on.

But when I learned of the international linkages being made within the global Hip-Hop community, across all kind of ideological lines I was touched beyond words.

My own experience of connecting my Hip-Hop industry friends in Africa, with conscious artists in America, as well as street-oriented artists and industry professionals (who are not steeped in geopolitics) with those working with groups like the HipHopRevolucion collective in Venezuela (http://www.hiphoprevolucion.org/blog) over Haiti has been an honor and joy.

There is something very profound about the unity that Hip-Hop culture has embodied and produced that continues to impress me. It is as if a new people are being formed out of a generation - across, racial, religious, ideological and class lines. It reminds me of the phenomenon that took place in the 1960s and 70s in the Black community in the United States and around the world.

It brings to mind a portion of an answer in an interview of Minister Farrakhan conducted by Brother Jabril Muhammad, which appeared February 15, 2005 Volume 24 Number 18 edition of The Final Call newspaper that now appears in the book, Closing The Gap [http://store.finalcall.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=BK-CLOSING] (bold emphasis is mine):

Minister Farrakhan:…In New York City I took time with a friend, Gil Noble, with whom I spoke with privately and later with the leaders, to show them how language is used to change perceptions of our people and the realities of what we’re looking at.

We began to be less and less global and more and more narrow in our focus, to be narrower right down to gang and tribes in terms of denomination and organization, and kill each other throughout America and not really feel the pain.”

[Perhaps it is no accident that one of the best received pieces I have ever written at BlackElectorate.com was “The Basis Of Black-Latino Unity Is Not Political,” (http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=378)]

Evidence that something similar has taking place in Hip-Hop can be found in the numerous relief efforts – some mainstream and well publicized and others lesser -known – organized by Hip-Hop artists, opinion leaders, and industry professionals and entrepreneurs. One that stands out is the ‘Hip-Hop For Haiti’ (http://hiphop4haiti.ning.com/) effort, scheduled for January 30th, convened by Queen Yonasda Lonewolf. I asked her how it all came together so rapidly, and here is what she shared:

“I’m a rap artist/activist/writer/mother and when I saw the earthquake on the news, I was devastated, like I know many are! Within the small confine of those that support me on my music and activism work I just couldn’t sit back and donate $5 through my cell phone company. I had to do more! I just know too many people to not do more! So, it started as a clothing and food drive in Phoenix and bringing the Hip Hop community together, but within a week grew into something so much bigger after I used social networking sites, email, and texts to ask a question - ” ‘Hip Hop 4 Haiti’ who’s down to host an event in your city on Jan.30th?” Within 7 days we officially organized 34 cities that are all hosting hip hop fundraising events on Jan.30. It’s amazing how under a state of emergency the Hip Hop community can come together and unify and get involved on donating food, clothing and money for Haiti! We are also ustreaming (http://ustream.com/) all the events on this day! And now we have merged with the Hip Hop Caucus’ “Hip Hop Help Haiti” to continue the efforts after Jan.30, because Haiti is going to continue to need our help and our unity”

Things like this can happen this fast not just because of technology but because a new body and nervous system has been created by a cultural phenomenon that speaks and understands a common language that connects the minds and hearts of people - across barriers and boundaries.

The result – my pain is your pain.

There is still a lot of work to do, but I just don’t know what else to say about how moved and proud I am of my culture.

Perhaps Treach said it all in 1993: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA2_-eQ26tY

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is also a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. He is author of the book, The Entrepreneurial Secret (http://theEsecret.com/). His talk show, ‘The Cedric Muhammad and Black Coffee Program’ can be viewed every Wednesday from 12 to 5 PM EST (USA) at: http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/media/. He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

My plunge into the movie business came in 1996 when I had the privilege of being Method Man’s agent of record for the movie Copland, starring Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone. I will never forget those long hours on the movie set. You know, the top of the building scene. For the legions of you who are now going to race out and rent Copland or watch it on cable (it’s on Encore this month) I won’t spoil the outcome.

What I learned from that experience was the culture of the movie business. The etiquette of being on a set, the power that a director and studio wields and the discipline and punctuality (not a strong suit of the rap world – recording sessions, photo shoots, or videos) that is required to gain a reputation as someone people want to work with in the business.

Around this time, as opportunities poured in, Meth, Mook (President of Wu Tang Management) and myself had a meeting with Lyor Cohen at Def Jam. He repeatedly warned us about how unforgiving the movie business was and that the habits and customs of the music business simply would not work in the film industry.

To his credit, Method Man was excellent. He was committed, a student of the craft, and his people skills were incredible. He also wasn’t afraid to shed his rap street image and try new things. It is these traits – more than the fame that rap gave him – that made him an acting success.

Not a week goes by now that I don’t hear of someone in Hip-Hop making a move (or strongly considering) to film and broadcasting. The motivation is usually clear – opportunities in the music business are closing down rapidly and people are being forced to make a change just in order to maintain their lifestyle and income. This is fine, as entrepreneurship by necessity is how most businesses get started, and in a recession too.

And the rap to film switch is logical as much of the investment in equipment and talent can cross over well. Obviously, for example, one can see why a person who has made rap videos for years would like to produce or direct shows, documentaries and movies. And sure, a rapper is ‘acting’ while in a music video, doing shows, and even in interviews.

But I wonder if everyone who is contemplating the move from music to movies is respecting the game (the movie industry) for what it is.

As a business economist, I can see changes in the world of intellectual property, broadcasting platforms, content, advertising and subscription (pay-per-view) models that are affecting the winners and losers in the new environment of creative content and it is not hard to see that only the strong will survive.

In order to get a nice introduction on this and weave it into the Hip-Hoppreneur ™ worldview, I reached out to my closest advisor on all things Film and TV related – Eric Canada. What makes Eric unique is that he understands both worlds – music and movies having been a major player in advising record labels, artists, DJs, and retail store owners, in the last decade on how to read how the streets were impacting the music people liked and why units were moving or not.

His promotion skills were some of the very best in the business, and on a personal note he was the co-executive producer with me of ‘The Streets Are Political’ mixtape, which The Source magazine made Mixtape of the Month in 2004 (to this day he and I insist we introduced the executive producer tag on mixtapes!)

As successful as he was in music, Eric’s real passion and area of expertise is in Film and TV. He has worked on the set of more reality shows, music videos, movies and documentaries than I can count. He’s also consulted on and produced some nice short films. This Summer Eric successfully completed the prestigious UCLA Film School Producer’s Program (http://www.tft.ucla.edu/) and his finger is on the pulse of the latest trends, including the the Internet’s impact on Film and TV.

To get to the bottom of the question of whether the film game is the new rap game we recently had a building session:

Cedric Muhammad: What is the main difference between the rap game and the film game?

Eric Canada: The Main difference between The Rap Game and The Film Game is Demographics. When a Rapper is stepping into the booth 90 percent of the time they’re thinking to themselves that they’re either doing this song for the radio or for the streets. When you are making a film there are so many different genres to consider - from action films all the way to comedies and then once you’ve passed that stage you still have to break it down even more, in terms of whether this a comedy for men or women? Or is this a romantic comedy or is it a family comedy, etc.

Cedric Muhammad: Do you think that cats in the music industry and on the streets (rappers, video producers and the old street DVD/documentary makers) who are putting music down, to move into film-making are prepared for the transition?

Eric Canada: I don’t think that a lot of people transitioning into the film world respect it for what it truly is. Film-making is an art and science and if you are going to be successful at it you have to study and respect the art and science. I’ve heard up and coming rappers on street DVDs Freestyling and battling, whose rhymes were mind blowing but at the same time, that rapper might not be able to make a hit record because they may not be able to count bars or they may not know how to write a hook. And they definitely couldn’t make a good album. The same goes for Film-makers. You can be the greatest Hip-Hop or R&B video director in the world and make a horrible film because you don’t know how to properly write a script or how to cast for film as opposed to casting for a video.

Cedric Muhammad: Where do you see the Internet fitting into all of this?

Eric Canada: I think a lot of people downplay the power of the internet. The internet is a form of worldwide marketing and distribution. No other media source offers you what the internet offers you. The internet is so big at this point that you have youtube videos that have more views then TV shows.

Cedric Muhammad: Could you break down the place of the major cities in the Film and TV world? I hear Atlanta making noise of late - where do they fit in? And what about New York and L.A.? Is there a shift away from Hollywood?

Eric Canada: Right now I would have to say Atlanta is going to be the next big thing when it comes to film-making. A lot of people are moving to Atlanta for its way of life and there is a great creative energy in Atlanta. In 2010 Atlanta reminds me of the Harlem renaissance in its early stages. I think we will see some big things come out of Atlanta in the future. New York will always be a big city for film-making just because the scenery in NY is like no place else in the world. As far as Hollywood I don’t believe anyplace will ever take the place of Hollywood. Just the word ‘Hollywood’ alone makes you think of A-list actors, Big name celebrities and Big budget films.

Cedric Muhammad: What rapper has had the best career in Hollywood (in front of and behind the camera)?

Eric Canada: Hands down Will Smith has changed the game when it comes to the transition from rapper to actor. You can easily say that he is the biggest movie star there is right now. Another rapper that made the transition but never had a chance to live up to his full potential was Tupac. I don’t think Tupac would be on Will Smith’s level as far as image but I could have seen Tupac being nominated for an oscar at some point in his career. As far as rap’s new generation I would have to say Nicki Minaj would be my pick to be the next big thing if she ever decided to make that transition from rapper to actor.

Behind the camera, I think it’s F. Gary Gray.

Cedric Muhammad: What do you think of 50 Cent’s moves so far?

Eric Canada: I look at what 50 has done in such a short period of time with his rap career and you can obviously see how talented a business man he is. I believe once he has learned to master the film game the way he mastered the rap game then he will become a powerful force in Hollywood. I think the key to 50’s success in Hollywood is for him to put the guns away on screen. The one thing about film compared to rap music is film is not about keeping it real, matter of fact the further from reality the better. People pay $10 for a movie to escape reality. Seeing 50 Cent on the screen holding a gun no matter if he’s a soldier or a cop or a hitman is too close to the realities of his music. I think people need to see 50 in a whole new light when it comes to film. He needs to take on roles in films like a romantic comedy or something along those lines.

Cedric Muhammad: What do you think of RZA’s moves so far and the recent LA Times article on him (‘RZA’s New Rap: Filmmaker’ - http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/03/entertainment/la-ca-rza3-2010jan03)?

Eric Canada: Through hip hop and the Wu-Tang, RZA has already shown the world his creative genius and I believe through film the RZA can show a whole new level of creativity. RZA has studied film-making from some of the best teachers that Hollywood has to offer. He has shared the screen with everyone from Denzel to Adam Sandler and he has also worked closely with Quentin Tarantino. I believe similar to 50 Cent, that The RZA needs to shed his hip hop persona and do a total 180 degree change. He needs to show his hip hop fans something new and something different then what they’re use to hearing in his music and seeing in his videos. This is an opportunity to take his fans on a whole new ride while gaining new fans along the way.

****

I hope that everyone investing their hopes, money, time and energy on a ‘new’ career in film will take heed to what Eric is saying. It could make for success or failure. I think it wouldn’t hurt to have an Independent Film Producer and Consultant like him on your team.

I wish I could help you, but I have to keep it one hundred percent real with you - my film career ended with Method Man on the roof of that building.

Those who would like to go further with their acting, script-writing, and film producing and directing can contact Eric directly at: moviebiz101(at)gmail.com.

So, is the rap game the new film game?

It’s still too early to tell.

But a lot of folks sure think so.

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is also a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. He is author of the book, The Entrepreneurial Secret (http://theEsecret.com/). His talk show, ‘The Cedric Muhammad and Black Coffee Program’ can be viewed every Wednesday from 12 to 5 PM EST (USA) at: http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/media/. He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

In July of 2005 I had lunch in Washington, D.C. with David Banner. We were having a wide-ranging conversation just before we went over to the offices of Congressman Bennie Thompson, for a meeting I had arranged (http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/cm-cap-advises-david-banner-arranges-hip-hop-artist%E2%80%99s-meeting-with-congressman-bennie-thompson/)

At a certain point the discussion turned to Young Jeezy.

I had been feeling the growing buzz on him up North (as I was spending most of my time in the Philly, New Jersey, New York City corridor) as a result of my relationship with record stores in the area and what I was hearing on the streets but I had to admit, my ear wasn’t as close to the ground during those months so I didn’t quite understand why so many people were raving about this hot artist from Atlanta.

I told Banner, “I don’t understand what it is that is making him so popular.”

Without hesitation the Mississippi icon responded, “I know what it is - he got a story!”

After the always brilliant Mr.Banner (one of the 3 most intelligent artists I have ever met) gave me the 411 on Jeezy, I too became a convert and have been appreciating his work ever since [by the way – is Jeezy the only cat to get Jay-Z and Fat Joe on the same song (the ‘Go Crazy’ remix: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt8UvZQ6OBU)]? Anyone who listens to ‘The Cedric Muhammad and Black Coffee Program’ (returning January 20th at: http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/media/) knows how we feel about ‘Corporate Thuggin!’

Yes, Young Jeezy has been successful because his story, reputation, image and brand have stayed in alignment.

****

That conversation impressed upon me something I must have forgotten about that Summer – having a story is one third of what makes for the ultimate success formula in rap.

An artist is hitting all cylinders when they have three pitches working: hot music in rotation, media coverage, and a story that people are either a) intrigued by b) can relate to or c) find moving.

If I had to say who I felt has had the most compelling ‘story’ in Hip-Hop history, I would have to say 50 Cent in 2002-2003 followed closely by Snoop Dogg in 1992-1993. In all of my years in the business and as a consumer or adviser to artists I have never seen anything like the phenomenon around their stories, prior to the release of their ‘debut’ albums.

50 Cent had the ultimate timing – the intrigue around his being shot 9 times, the perfect manner in which he flooded the streets with mixtapes of his music, and his affiliation with Eminem and Dr. Dre.

With Snoop the elements were similar – the questions around his Crip street organization affiliation, brushes with the law, and the association with the hottest producer in the game, again, at that time, Dr. Dre.

When you can get people looking and interested in who you are, moving units is so much easier (it doesn’t hurt to be from a major market too).

But what happens when the public is no longer interested in your ‘story?’

That, I think is where 50 Cent found himself in November with the release of ‘Before I Self-Destruct.’

For the first time, I noticed the always self-aware Queens native seemingly unsure of why his sales were so poor. In interviews I’ve heard him make good arguments that place the blame with technology (that his album was bootlegged a month before it came out) and reference playa’ and objective hate (people always want to see the person on top fall).

I found his comments reportedly made to BET when the first sales projections came out to be most revealing, though, saying, “The actual project is arguably my best work, to have the general public respond the way they’ve responded to it. I haven’t heard anything negative about my choices artistically, so if I was in the space where I absolutely needed finances from the actual sales of the record, it might mean something, but if it offers the material that I can go out and perform and make everyone enjoy themselves as much as I enjoyed myself making it, Ill be happy with it.”

Exactly. 50 is admitting that making good music is not enough (I am among those who do believe that artistically ‘Before I Self Destruct’ is a pretty good album). But he doesn’t seem as conscious of the fact that possibly his attitude toward making music has compromised his appeal as an artist.

Those who have read my book know that I begin The Entrepreneurial Secret (http://theEsecret.com/) on the subject of 50 Cent, in 1999 – depicting him as the prototype of entrepreneurship by necessity. He made ‘How To Rob’ because he “was in the space where I absolutely needed finances from the actual sales of the record.”

That hunger and mentality helped fuel him creatively, and entrepreneurially, into the deal with Shady/Aftermath.

That this form of motivation no longer exists where his music career is concerned is understandable.

I think it can return in a sense if people continue to pronounce his music career dead (my hope is that he’ll channel this energy into executive producing classic albums for other artists). It appears for now that he is determined to establish a strong film production and acting career (have you seen how willing 50 is to cry on cue in just about any major interview he does?).

The fact that 50’s financial motivation for making music is gone is not lost on his audience and it is one of the things contributing to a lack of interest in his story.

A 50 Cent doing something just for the love of it and to give people enjoyment is just not as interesting of a story (‘…if it offers the material that I can go out and perform and make everyone enjoy themselves as much as I enjoyed myself making it, Ill be happy with It.’) as surviving getting shot 9 times and getting with Vivica Fox and breaking her heart (http://vodpod.com/watch/2770583-vivica-a-fox-cries-over-50-cent).

That image of 50 Cent – though a form of maturity some would say - is not in alignment with the brand he has successfully created.

We’re not making moral judgments today - just talking business.

****

I feel for many artists who believe that their ticket to a successful career is creating an image based upon selling a story of some kind, not realizing that you have to be built for that. When I say built for that, I mean the story has to be genuine and credible, and interesting, and you have to be able to handle yourself in the public, accordingly.

It also means that you have to develop an appreciation for how the media works and understand that a story becomes a brand and an image that you have to manage over time, not for your personal benefit, but for the benefit of an audience and career. The artist that can’t distinguish between their own personal reality and their celebrity profile won’t last very long, and will fail to develop the kind of mystique that allows you to have a long career, selling your story.

The first Hip-Hop artist I saw effectively do this was Rakim. You never saw Rakim out of character, and in fact you hardly saw him at all. For whatever reason (and the rumors that circulated only helped his ‘story’ become a brand and image) Rakim hardly did any interviews, and never saturated us with performances, interviews, and endorsements.

Of course 1987 was a different era than today, but when you compare Rakim to his main solo peers like Big Daddy Kane and KRS-One, it becomes obvious that the god’s image was most mysterious and intriguing. This was due to his natural demeanor and personality, and a street reputation that he cultivated, and allowed others to wonder about.

His focus on knowledge of self and street culture, combined with his inaccessibility made him different.

And this is a big part of Jay-Z’s continued success.

When people ask me why he is so popular one of the main things I emphasize is how selective Jay is with media and public appearances. He has always been like that. He’s no where near as ‘invisible’ as Rakim was in 1986-1987 but Jay-Z’s intentional lack of a movie career, selective interviews, and few endorsements (just imagine how many offers he must have turned down) has built for him a brand and image that supports his reputation and ‘story.’

He is extremely conservative when it comes to his brand, measuring what he needs to do at all times to avoid losing his base, while constantly appealing to new audiences. He is edgy without taking chances, and can frame himself as a border-line revolutionary by making examples of selective targets. His ‘movement; against Cristal, and his ‘attack’ on Auto Tune (http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/jay-z-says-kanye-inspired-d-o-a-1003994613.story#/bbcom/news/jay-z-says-kanye-inspired-d-o-a-1003994613.story ) are classic examples.

The only person who may pick their opponents more carefully than Jay-Z is Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, Jr.

In Volume II of my book I explain the difference between a brand, an image and a reputation and the mistake that most make in managing the three. Quoting my life-long business mentor I write, “There are actually two influences always determining a brand – What you are projecting, and, the interpretation that those who observe you and interact with you give to what you are projecting. Your goal is to project the brand that you want to convey and desire them to interpret. Sometimes your reputation or image doesn’t support your brand.”

To me the key to success as an artist is making sure your reputation or image always supports your brand. No one has done it any longer than Jay-Z.

He did however have one near-fatal episode where he undermined his reputation (about business and above pettiness) with an image (as a strong-arming gangster) that did not support his brand (a smooth hustler).

I could only be speaking of 2003 when Jay got ‘Ethered’ by Nas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu1d9r59UI8).

Jay-Z ‘lost’ the battle with Nas because he assumed an identity that did not fit his iconic brand. He became aggressive, personally bothered, and even ‘indecent’ or ‘low class’ (the stuff about Carmen and the baby seat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVdYXnfc8uI&feature=related) thinking he was being witty, demonstrating his power, and distancing himself from possibly his only peer and competition for ‘greatest rapper of his generation.’

This fits 50 Cent’s brand and image more (which is why he has been trying to lure Jay-Z into a battle on his turf).

Jay-Z ‘won’ though in a business sense by ending the battle and apologizing. It hurt him a bit on the streets, and maybe with other artists (who only think like artists) but it protected his brand. Jay-Z has lasted as long as he has as a successful artist because he is equally skillful at protecting his artistry with business and growing his business with artistry.

Pick anyone you like – Lil Wayne, Raekwon, Jeezy, Kanye West (well, he just had a slight mishap) whoever – the greats have become that not just by making hot music, but by how effectively they balance four factors: their story, reputation, image or brand.

Some do it naturally, others with the help of a team, and still more, by making corrections and adjustments so that mistakes and errors don’t persist.

However they do it, they are doing it.

Success is intentional, never an accident.

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is author of the book, The Entrepreneurial Secret: To Starting a Business Without A Bank Loan, Collateral Or Revenue (http://theEsecret.com/). He is a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and currently a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. His Hip-Hoppreneur ™ column can be read each week exclusively at AllHipHip.com. Cedric can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

I will never forget the experience of being invited in the Fall of 1995, by Nas to visit him while he was recording tracks (in November at Sony Music Studios) for his highly anticipated album, It Was Written.

We had been building for over a year since I had interviewed him for The Final Call newspaper, with me visiting him several times at his place in Long Island, first, and then Queens. When we got together it was always to discuss two subjects – his music career (the many avenues he could take in marketing himself after his first album) and the knowledge of self (we watched tapes of Minister Farrakhan and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and discussed the Lessons). I was honored to have been a guest – meeting his then companion, Carmen (who always was so kind to me), and even his beautiful baby daughter Destiny when she was only 4 days old.

So while I would not claim to be a close friend of Nas, I can say for a nearly 18-month period we had a very Brotherly and always sober interaction (even if he did light it up a lot – smile).

That rapport and respectful interaction, and the way in which I met him, allowed me to have very serious discussions with him and which earned enough of his trust to the point that when I presented a couple of ideas regarding producers or artists I thought he should work with, or entrepreneurs he could do business deals with, he allowed me to make outreach to those camps on his behalf. It was a very informal but forward-looking relationship which I continue to look back on fondly. He was a star then and despite many ups, downs, twists and turns he is now a legend, one of to best to ever do it, an artist I continue to admire and support to this day.

On that cold November day I was excited to have the chance to sit in a toasty studio room and watch Nas, and the late Producer Stretch (who was murdered right around this time) go to work. The track they were working on was ‘Silent Murder,’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQmPCJY3mA8) which would end up included on limited editions of It Was Written.

Several minutes after I arrived, Nas came out of the booth and sat with me. I had two gifts for him – a couple of books, which I gave him and which he immediately went through. One was called What They Never Told You In History Class by Indus Khamit Kush. After he went through them for a minute, Nas told me, ‘I got something in here for you, check this out.’

Nas then went back in the booth and continued to lay down lyrics, as I listened closely.

I noted Nas’ line, in the second verse: ‘They say the arms of Nicky Barnes would be enough to blast/ A lot of rich n—-s failed and started pumping gas/ Was it the mind of CIA that bumped off Malik Shabazz?/ F—k what they teach in class I’m a teach the mass.’

Nas gave me a knowing nod and smile. What he had done remained understood and unspoken. Although I had nothing to do with writing his lyrics, they were responsive to what I just showed him and on the level of the material we had been building about for the last couple of years - reflected in the two books I gave him as gifts.

****

When people complain about the state of lyrics in rap music today and even ask me why I think it has been so long since more mature, socially relevant, and conscious lyrics were common place, along with the usual industry and radio politics 101 I run down, I have a standard statement, ‘Not enough ghost-writing in the game.’

And when I say ghostwriting I don’t mean just bringing in a talented kid off the block who can be exploited every time you are too weeded out or lazy to write rhymes on your own, like you should.

No, what I mean by the statement, ‘Not enough ghost-writing in the game,’ is not that rappers should no longer write their own rhymes, but rather, more of them need to open up the creative process of song-writing to input from others – whether fellow artists, educators, or marketing advisers - which would allow their minds to expand, and with it, their lyrical content and audience.

At an early stage in my life as an entrepreneur in the music business, I realized that most of us in Hip-Hop culture mistakenly equate individuality with originality. In a certain sense they can be the same thing but in another they have nothing to do with one another. An artist who works alone or without input from others is demonstrating individuality (‘I write my own rhymes, yo!’) but the result is not necessarily anything ‘original’ or different. On the other hand, an artist could co-write a song with a ghostwriter that we will never know of, and talk the concept over with a team of advisers, and even get phrases and whole sentences from non-artists to weave into the flow; while they would not be demonstrating individuality, the result could be a hot song that is clearly original and not like anything out there.

The desire to do your own thing, and never be labeled as a ‘biter’ has been a motivational creative force in Hip-Hop (I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Raekwon and Ghostface Killah’s classic and hilarious skit ‘Shark N—s Biters’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM8kQ-kn4Ow). But today, it has now become a religion almost to itself, with cats worshipping at the altar of supposedly ‘not being told what to do,’ and not accepting help from others.

The idea that many of us still believe that we ‘follow no man,’ while everything we do – from how we think, eat, and talk – is obviously shaped or inherited by others has actually become harmful, stifling innovation and limited growth of Hip Hop as music, a culture, and industry.

Many aspiring artists and entrepreneurs ask me, ‘Ced, what books can you recommend for me to read to get an understanding the business side of the game?’ (or something like that) Well, of course, first, I suggest my own, The Entrepreneurial Secret To Starting A Business (http://theEsecret.com/). And then I offer three other titles, one of which is To Be Loved by Motown Records founder, Berry Gordy

What struck me about To Be Loved was the role of the songwriting team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland more commonly known as Holland Dozier and Holland or simply ‘HDH.’ It was almost unbelievable how much influence HDH had on not just the sound of the Motown artists but their lyrical content. Without their formula of writing, arranging and producing the songs for and with the Motown greats, not only would that label have not been the success it was, but I don’t believe the solo careers of Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross would have been possible without the foundational sound and process this group perfected.

Unfortunately Hip-Hop has never experienced anything like this because the culture only tolerates collaboration (and too narrowly defines it as two rappers separately working together on the same song) while it celebrates individuality.The result is that the Hip-Hop artist is expected to carry a responsibility that virtually no other genre experiences – a single individual has to write all of their material.

Just look at Michael Jackson. He was certainly capable of writing his own material, but would it have been as good as the stuff he created with the help of songwriter Rod Temperton and composer-arranger-producer Quincy Jones?

This is one of the main points I stressed in what I wrote of how incredible an artist like Beanie Sigel could be if a unique team of writers, researchers, and producers could be put together by a master song arranger like 50 Cent (http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2009/11/24/22040490.aspx),

Again, Beanie Sigel can write his own material – and great stuff (he actually would be a great ‘ghost-writer’ for others).

But just imagine how much broader, risky, relevant, and topical his material could be if he had a creative team around him who could bring him concepts, information, and drafter material.

Not to mention that at a time when everyone is struggling to find additional ways to make money, song-writing could hold the key to multiple streams of income, for rappers considered washed up, in terms of sound and image (they could now boost their publishing income) and ambitious artists who just don’t have the ‘look’ or image necessary to be big (you know the old saying – ‘you have a great face for radio!’)

An industry friend of mine put it like this:

“Music publishers would be able to find more people who can write but, aren’t ‘rappers’ and could generate lots of income from their intellectual property. This opens the game up for old and new players to be able to eat off of the table. Writers (some of whom may currently be in the world of fiction and non-fiction writing, even poetry) and artist managers would be able to make a living from grooming or helping rappers who can write, and by being a bridge that can bring outside authors into the rap game. This could be a great way for struggling writers to support themselves. As it stands now, a dude who can write but, can’t rap is a guy looking for a job. They have something to offer though. What the book publishing world is rejecting, the music industry might find value in. Many people – artists, producers, managers, and labels - would be able to profit off of this overlooked talent pool.”

Anyone who thinks the money isn’t there for today’s song writers needs to check the income statements of Ne-Yo and Sean Garret last decade.

What I envision for Hip-Hop artists is not just the R&B experience with song-writing but also the speech-writing experience of world leaders and politicians. The world of business, politics and religion is dominated by leaders who have speeches drafted or written for them.

I know it well because I have either provided research, drafted or written entire speeches for these kinds of leaders. It is rare to find one like say former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, whom I have advised, who research, draft, and write well over 95% of their own speeches. It is normal, acceptable, and expected that a leader will have others responsible for this kind of work.

The arrangement works because it is understood that these leaders are often too busy, too limited in world experience, and not technically skilled enough to come up with the right words for the right setting – with the right tone. The culture and circles they move in value collaboration on public presentations (can anyone imagine President Obama writing all of his own speeches, or Donald Trump, or Oprah Winfrey just to ‘keep it real’ or better yet, ‘to follow no man’?) But perhaps more importantly what these leaders have is a desire to reach new audiences. And again, this is another area where rap artists struggle because of the extreme and limited definition of originality as individuality. It causes them to want to only rap for one kind of audience or one segment of the Hip-Hop market (whether ‘street,’ ‘the ladies,’ ‘the South,’ ‘the conscious,’ ‘the clubs,’ ‘the back-pack n—-s’ etc…).

Unfortunately an important form of success accepted in almost any other business (more people outside of your core audience buying your product) can be defined as failure in rap, so artists don’t permit themselves to allow others to help them grow creatively.

It seems to me, that perhaps, rap music is the only genre, culture, and industry that has this kind of discomfort toward growth.

[To be fair, I know this is not only limited to rap – as numerous corporations have cringed when those outside of their core market started to buy their sneakers, boots and beverages.]

Even Jay-Z, in 1999, had to justify his success, shrewd marketing, and growing audience, with an entire song, check ‘Come and Get Me,’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCVnjBJZ3To) ‘I made it so you could say Marcy and it was all good/ I ain’t cross over, I brought the suburbs to the ‘hood/ Made ‘em relate to your struggle/Told ‘em bout your hustle/ Went on MTV with do rags, I made them love you/You know normally them people wouldn’t be f—-n wit you/Til I made them understand why you do what you do/ I expected to hear ‘Jay if it wasn’t for you…’/But instead all I hear is buzzin’ in your crew.’/How ya’ll scheming trying to get accustomed to my moves/ So y’all can take my mouth, stake out my house/ But I got pride I’m a n—a first/ I gotta cock back and pull a trigger first/ That’s how Jigga work/ The funny thing – I represent y’all every time I spit a verse/ And that’s the s—t that hurts/ But hey, I got my mind right, got my 9 right here/ So when y’all feel that the time is right/ I got shots to give…

Yeah, success can be hazardous to your rap career. But nothing kills like failure.

The current mentality will have to change if today’s artists expect to see tomorrow.

The days of talent just lingering on, nursing an entire career on the same audience, with the stale lyrical content are ending, thanks to the rise of the Internet and mp3, population changes, and serious current events which make the old flow and marketing plan obsolete.

Here, we must recognize the boldness of one so many love to hate - Puffy – a man ahead of his time - who ten years ago retained song and ghostwriters like Sauce Money to boost his own rap career. Or better yet, Dr. Dre who has been utilizing songwriters for over 20 years. How many of us forgot or never knew that Jay-Z ‘ghostwrote’ “Still D.R.E.” for him (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erbraZmuwmI)?

Ten and twenty years later, an entire industry could learn something from these examples.

Here’s to 2010 and a revolution in ‘ghostwriting.’

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is author of the book, The Entrepreneurial Secret: To Starting a Business Without A Bank Loan, Collateral Or Revenue (http://theEsecret.com/). He is a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and currently a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. His Hip-Hoppreneur ™ column can be read each week exclusively at AllHipHip.com. Cedric can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

I think getting to the bottom of exactly why first-week sales have fallen off of a cliff and why they will not return, is a case study and business lesson for all entrepreneurs, artists, managers, and professionals who are trying to find a way to navigate the changing music industry landscape of the next decade.

The reason why I think my perspective is unique is because I am one of a small group of individuals who have seen the business from virtually every angle – concert promotion, radio, artist management, journalism, and perhaps most importantly – retail. Those perspectives are enhanced by my worldview as an economist and political strategist.

From 2003 to 2006 I managed or consulted with record stores in the Northeast region who operated at the height and heart of the mixtape phenomenon. In that capacity I rang the cash register, heard what the consumer liked and didn’t like, advised record labels on what artists were selling (or weren’t) and was a first-hand eye witness to the tactics of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the war that they and the major retail chains waged on the independent record stores (who represented approximately 30 to 40% of all sales in rap music). I even brokered a meeting between Members of Congress and these independents in an order to save them (or help them save themselves). I dealt with the business of selling music at an industry and street level.

To me it is the most important, yet untold story of the last decade (watch how many top 10 lists leave it off) but filled with lessons that must be mastered if the culture and industry are to undergo a resurrection this coming decade.

I’ll tell the story from two reference points. The first is an excerpt of a January 2003 interview I conducted with Russell Simmons, Co-Founder of Def Jam Records and Chairman of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, published at BlackElectorate.com (http://blackelectorate.com/). The second is an excerpt from Volume II of my new book series, The Entrepreneurial Secret To Starting A Business Without A Bank Loan, Revenue, and Collateral (http://theEsecret.com/)

From my 2003 BlackElectorate.com interview (http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=791) we read:

Cedric Muhammad: Let’s close out with a last couple of questions. Ok, Russell, we do a lot of work with record stores. I don’t buy this argument that file-sharing, CD-burning, and MP3-ing is what hurt us last year…

Russell Simmons: No?!

Cedric Muhammad: This is what I think. Nothing came out until May with Cam’ron and Eminem right after. It was like nobody put out anything in last year. I addressed this with the LA Times (http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=641)…

Russell Simmons: In Hip-Hop. Yeah right! It wasn’t that many good records…

Cedric Muhammad: Naw, it was like nothing came out. It was Styles P. in July, Cam’ron in May and then you had to wait for LL, Jay-Z, and then Ja Rule and Nas…

Russell Simmons: That is very, very important point, what you are saying. But I can tell you that it really is affecting us in a dramatic way. There is so much file-sharing. And I just bought a piece of a company, Brilliant Digital, and they have something called Altnet that identifies what’s clean and what can be traded and you pay 50 cents for the service. If you got 2 million Nat King Cole Records going over the counter in one year and you would have had 200 thousand and if 50% of those people pay you some money per file, or everytime they shared a file, on millions of records that would have never have been sold or traded under any circumstances in stores; and now it is being traded; and we could actually make the majority of them pay some fee for this; I think that we should pursue a real dialogue with these online companies and big file-sharers like Napster or now, Morpheus -the big file sharer, on how this can be done profitably.

Cedric Muhammad: But I have a problem when the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) comes in. You know how people are making money in their stores in this drought Russell? They are selling 10 different ‘Best of 50Cent’ mixtapes…

Russell Simmons: Right.

Cedric Muhammad: The mixtapes are keeping the Mom and Pop record stores going. And you have Hillary Rosen (who just resigned last Thursday as head of the RIAA), who I know you are friends with and the RIAA shutting stores down and it is the labels who are facilitating the release of the music to mixtape DJs…

Russell Simmons: They aren’t making enough money on records that cost a fortune (to consumers) that cost nothing to make - they pay a lot in the actual recording but the manufacturing of these records costs nothing. They charge a lot of money for a huge overhead and the artists aren’t making any money either. No one is making money. They have to figure out how to go with the culture. The culture is going with the file-sharing and trading so they have to figure out how to monetize the new industry. They cannot keep fighting it. No legal issue can help. The legal approach can slow down the momentum of the cultural process but it cannot save the industry. You can threaten and you can arrest some kid and you can threaten everybody all you want but the business has to change, to go with it. Fighting the world is not going to be the industry’s solution. So they have to make some decisions now. There will be a dramatic drop-off this year and next year in sales. And I never agreed with their approach. I always thought that the exposure was the best thing for the record in the first place. MTV was supposed to kill the industry - it tripled it. Radio was supposed to destroy the industry at one point. It helped it. But this is really a more serious problem than any of that because the culture is going away from buying. When the culture goes that way they have to figure out a way to monetize it. And I was actually on a panel at Harvard about this on Saturday. They were talking about a lot of legal remedies they have. And I know a lot about the legal remedies. I think that is OK to slow it down while you make a decision but the industry has to make some serious decisions now.

Cedric Muhammad: But I think the legal remedies are disproportionately affecting us man, because we are the ones that made 50Cent on the street. And He worked with the street. Eminem signs him and Shady/Aftermath/Universal provides Eminem to mixtape DJs like Kay-Slay and then, stores are getting shut down by the RIAA for selling the stuff…

Russell Simmons: Right, right…

Cedric Muhammad: It is like the crack cocaine vs. powder cocaine sentencing discrepancy where the low-level guy gets killed for something that the big dealers and money-laundering banks go free on. I hope that you will fight for us at the bottom of the process…

Russell Simmons: You are right. At the bottom they are deserted. I mean the record and exposure is still the best promotion for the record and we still deal with the mixtapes. And we know that the culture is something that we have to move with. You can’t fight the culture. You cannot. If music becomes more popular because people have more access to more music, then we should figure out a way to make money off of that and not overcharge. Because that is what they do - they overcharge for the albums too. And then they don’t pay the artists because the artists’ spend the money…it is just a big wasteful system. They have to learn to manage the business of music and they are not doing a good enough job of it. They are not changing quick enough.

Now, for more context and the responsibility that the stores themselves had in their own demise, we read the following from The Entrepreneurial Secret.

By the early 2000s with record sales declining, it was not uncommon to find independent record stores making more money on mixtape sales of rap music alone, than all of their other album sales combined.

The mixtape, which the major national retail stores did not sell, (eventually though, even they got in on the act) gave the smaller community based stores a lifeline and even a comparative advantage over their larger competitors.

Eventually, the major retail stores pushed back, and through effective business and political lobbying, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) began to issue ‘cease and desist’ orders to record stores that were selling mixtapes, even though record labels (who were also members of the RIAA) were endorsing, and assisting with the creation and promotion of mixtapes, and had direct relationships with these same record stores (by some measures these independent record stores were responsible for at least 30% of all sales in Hip-Hop in the late 1990s and early 2000s and the industry was dependent upon them to push certain records).

When the ‘cease and desist’ orders failed to stop the mixtape phenomenon, the RIAA, and its lawyers, influenced local police departments and the FBI to conduct raids on these record stores. They even began to work with state legislatures to pass stiffer laws aimed at shutting the mixtape down.

Virtually all of the street DJs, artists, and independent or smaller record labels (out of fear of losing access and business relationships with the major labels) who all benefited from the sale of mixtapes, remained silent, allowing these stores to go out of business.

The Mom and Pop record stores were unable or unwilling to organize themselves into an effective political lobby to counter what the RIAA was doing.

As a result, hundreds of stores went out of business in the 2003-2006 period due to these raids. And there was one more important and related factor at work: another local institution was under attack - the independent community based bookstore.

At around the same time major retailers like Wal-Mart, Best Buys, and Target were working together with the RIAA to shut down the mixtape market, these outlets and the major book chains like Barnes and Nobles and Border’s, began selling books that one usually could only find at Black-owned book stores or independents that specialized in small but profitable niche categories like urban fiction.

But these stores were not just selling books and music to make money on them, they were using books and music to attract new customers into their locations in order to sell them more expensive items like televisions, computers, entertainment systems, and household appliances. In fact, these stores were able to get the music industry to approve suggested retail prices for new music at cost or even a slight loss, in order to increase the volume of new album sales and traffic in their stores. In some cases, the major record labels were providing CDs to these stores in large amounts for free (the motivation for this was to cause a boost in first week sales – if an album sold enough records in its first week out, it usually earned extensive media coverage, which further promoted album sales at a normal or higher price, in the following weeks).

In the case of the major book stores, the larger retailers were not just selling books, they now offered food, coffee, wireless internet, and convenient reading areas, allowing their customers to read books (even spilling beverages on them!) without purchasing them and get the benefits of a library experience and atmosphere.

The final nail in the coffin of the small independent community-based music store arrived with the emergence of the Internet, file compression software, and file-sharing websites allowed people to download music, or convert it from CD format into mp3, and share it without cost.

Why weren’t the small book stores and music stores able to adapt?

In short, in addition to their inability to identify their self-enlightened interest and organize themselves politically to pursue it, they did not know what business they were in.

They thought they were in the ‘book’ and ‘music recording’ business when in reality they were in more than just that. Their customers patronized them for reasons they did not pay attention to, and were leaving them for real reasons they did not understand.

In the case of the book stores - the major retailers competed with the smaller stores not just on the basis of the price of a book, but also on the basis of convenience (students and professionals can have a meeting for free at a table) and atmosphere (finger food, coffee and tea in a quiet setting).

In the case of music stores – the major retailers sold more than just music - they offered efficiency as one did not have to travel to several stores to get music, electronic devices, clothes, and household items.

Many of these major retail stores sold a wide variety of products making a day of shopping more convenient, and they were often located in or near large shopping malls that these customers planned to visit anyway.

The smaller book and music stores that survived longer than the rest (or still exist today), were the ones who were able to compete in areas that the majors couldn’t, like inventory (many smaller stores had more titles in specific music categories), expertise in specialties (many smaller stores offered music genres like Gospel that majors couldn’t and book titles in subject matter that the majors knew little about, like Afro-centric history.)

And in a strange way, while the RIAA’s aggressive reaction to the mixtape ended up bringing about the demise of many of the Mom & Pop record stores, it also showed these same stores what business they really were in and where they had a comparative advantage over the major stores.

The mixtape phenomenon exposed that many music consumers were not satisfied with the album format – where a customer has to wait long periods of time to purchase 10 to15 songs from a single artist, with a good chance that they may not like more than three of these songs.

The mixtape allowed a consumer to get quality and variety all in one, and the best new music first. This is also a major factor in what made downloading music from the Internet attractive. The consumer could become the producer – selecting the song titles they wanted, compiling them on one ‘album,’ if they liked; when they liked; and as soon as the music was released, anywhere in the world.

If the small music stores had been able to organize themselves, leveraging their buying power and scale to cut a deal directly with a company that made money and sold music in downloadable format – like say Apple Computers - they might have survived. They could have worked out an arrangement with Apple – to have its computers placed in the store where people could make their own ‘albums,’ and then possibly buy an ipod or Apple device on which to play it (which is where Apple has a higher profit margin).

With this point of sale and technology leading to huge sales that could be quantified, a group of smaller retailers could have pressured the music industry to give them favorable terms on new music and perhaps, even backed the RIAA up a bit.

And while their lack of location space may have been an issue, if the smaller bookstores had placed greater emphasis on atmosphere and maybe became licensed to sell food, their business model would have been closer in line with what business they really were in.

A final option would have been for these music and bookstores to merge (many of these smaller music stores did finally begin to sell books, but for most, the transition was too late).

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In conclusion, I can’t state enough how important it is for consumers, fans, artists, entrepreneurs and industry professionals to understand why sales in Hip-Hop have declined so dramatically. Blaming technology is too easy, and inaccurate. There were cultural, political, and business tactics that just can’t be ignored. While there is more to the story (like how hyped, bloated and artificially high sales were due to fraudulent Sound Scan transactions and record label promotional ‘arrangements’) the center piece of understanding where the business has gone, to where it is headed must include the rise and fall of the Mom and Pop record store and why it happened so quickly.

If we don’t heed the lessons of history we are doomed to repeat them.

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is author of the book, The Entrepreneurial Secret: To Starting a Business Without A Bank Loan, Collateral Or Revenue (http://theEsecret.com/). He is a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and currently a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com