For Those Who Can't Sleep On Hip Hop

Big Business, Big Bucks, and the Corporate Big Time: Steve Stoute, Hip Hop’s Marketing Guru

September 23, 2011

Steve Stoute Translates:  “The Tanning of America”
(Reviewed by Tony Samuel)

In The Tanning of America: How Hip Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy, marketing maven Steve Stoute
 takes us on a ride through Hip Hop history – showing the relation between Hip Hop culture and the mainstream.  Stoute’s book explains that due to the influence of Hip Hop music on a global level – we are able to see the tanning of not only America, but tanning on a global scale.

In his book, Stoute gives us a front seat view of how Hip Hop started and how it grew from a few kids spinning records and rapping into a true art form with global appeal and influence.  Stoute gives us first person accounts of memorable moments, where Hip Hop intersected with premier and visionary corporate brands – resulting in a multiplicity of benefits for both Hip Hop artists and mainstream products and corporations.

Stoute is the man who connected the dots and brought Jay Z together with Reebok – resulting in the fastest selling sneaker in history.  A branding guru and visionary, Stoute connected Mary J. Blige with Carol’s Daughter and HSN, Justin Timberlake with McDonalds for the “I’m Lovin’ it” campaign, Beyonce with Samsung and Lady Gaga with MAC cosmetics.

Stoute was there when RUN DMC and Adidas first made the connection in Madison Square Garden.  He saw firsthand the power of tanning and some would say he is the Tanner In Chief (TIC) based on his unique ability to reinvigorate brands and to help corporate America ride on the coattails of Hip Hop music all the way to the bank.  Venerable brands like McDonald’s, Hewlett Packard, Verizon and Samsung all have benefited from their association with Hip Hop- thanks to the marketing guru known as Steve Stoute.

 

Who would have thought a non-athlete could sell sneakers?  Who had the vision to make the shoes of a music celebrity the hottest selling shoes on the planet?  Steve Stoute made it happen. Again and again, he used the power of Hip Hop to forge innovative relationships with conservative companies.

For the uninitiated, Stoute has an impressive legacy as a music mogul, manager and industry veteran.  He has been instrumental in the success of some of the biggest Hip Hop artists, from Nas to Jay Z to Eminem, just to name a few.  Stoute left the music business behind to reinvent himself as a branding expert – the secret force and sculptor of mega deals between Hip Hop greats and corporate America.

Steve Stoute is a true entrepreneur and marketing maven.  He is an inspiration and frankly, I am proud of his success.  The Tanning of America: How Hip Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy is a marketing template, an inspirational story and Hip Hop history lesson for all.  If “tan is the new cool”…then Steve Stoute is indeed Mr. Cool.  Go get a copy of his book immediately and learn how tanning has translated into big bucks.

-Tony Samuel

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Insomniac Magazine’s Can’t Sleep On This Track pick: Kool G Rap “In Too Deep”

September 23, 2011

Hip Hop music industry legend Kool G Rap drops a solid dose of soulful and lyrical gold over a New York City ambiance on his new video for “In Too Deep.”

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Social Music: Facebook embraces music with new services

September 23, 2011

At the F8 Conference it was announced that the planet’s most popular social networking platform will enable the integration of a variety of music services, including SoundCloud, Rhapsody, Turtable.fm, and Spotify just to name of few. This promises to provide a new opportunity for users to share their listening experiences with their friends via a ticker on the right side of a Facebook page. It will be interesting to see how artists and labels will use this opportunity to encourage fans to further help get the word out about their music. For example, outside of organic listening, on the promotional side, there could be Facebook street-team like groups that listen to music, knowing others will have access to see and hear the music. Ultimately, music has always been a social experience, the challenge is to find ways to use this technology to connect people to music in a way that will hopefully help acts further their reach and ultimately their careers.

Below is a video from TechCrunch featuring Spotify’s CEO discussing their involvement.

-Israel Vasquetelle


 

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Insomniac Magazine’s Can’t Sleep On This Track Pick: Planet Asia’s “Last Air Benders.”

September 18, 2011

Welcome to our new feature, the Insomniac Magazine Can’t Sleep On This Track pick. The first selection is one of Hip Hop’s most incredible emcees, Planet Asia. Here’s is amazing track “Last Air Benders.” Feel free to submit tracks to be showcased on InsomniacMagazine.com one of the longest running online homes for quality indie Hip Hop and insight for artists and entrepreneurs of all genres of music.

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New Rap Acts, Mantronix will show you how to innovate Hip Hop

September 16, 2011

 Sadly, Mantronix is far from a household name among so called “Hip Hop heads” today, however, they were one of the most innovative acts in the genre, and certainly pioneers worth knowing. DJ Mantronik and MC T pushed the boundaries by not just melding sounds, but creating a new direction for Hip Hop. This included House, Electronica, and New Wave, as you can hear from the clip below. In many ways, these artists that went off the beaten path were actually some of the purest in Hip Hop because they took the lead from Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, and other predecessors by brining new direction to the evolving genre.

Today’s artists seeking to make a long lasting impact would be greatly served by going back to Hip Hop’s golden era and studying the masters. The keys to the furtherance of the art form can be found in that time period. Taking the cue and picking up where they left off is the challenge. Even if an attempt doesn’t result in perfection, it will surely be more than what we’ve seen since transpire during the better part of the last two decades, which have been riddled with an unlimited amount of materialism, gangsterism, sexism, and stagnant lowest common denominator drivel. If you’re a new artist, take the challenge, pick up where Mantronix left off decades ago. You might be surprised how far into the future the results might place you.

-I. Vasquetelle

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