America loves a bootstrapping, underdog, “started from the bottom now we're here” story. It is from this foundation that the rap industry was built. From Russell Simmons on the east coast to Dr. Dre on the west, to Master P down south, hip-hop has provided an entree into entrepreneurship for a demographic that might otherwise have been excluded from the American dream. “I don’t know of anything in my lifetime that’s given more people fiscal independence or created a pathway to a career,” said Tayyib Smith in an interview with Forbes Magazine.
Smith, whose agency Little Giant Creative, has long provided a successful conduit between artists and niche brands, co-founded the Institute of Hip Hop Entrepreneurship (IHHE) with his partner, Meegan Denenberg. The tuition-free, Philadelphia-based program takes the relentless work ethic and tenacious principles that have transformed hip-hop artists into moguls and builds them into a nine-month program to teach young adults, ages of 18-32, from nontraditional backgrounds, how to build a business. The courses, crafted and instructed by renowned creative professionals, businesspeople, technologists and musicians, teach students how to build a business from the ground up.
Photo: Yesid Vargas/AL DÍA News
Combining hip-hop with entrepreneurship is a perfect fit when you think about the many ways that the hip-hop industry revolutionized the world of business. “So many business practices actually came out of the hip-hop industry,” said Denenberg. “Diversification, street teaming and marketing. There are so many practices that were lifted directly from hip-hop.” The IHHE provides the resource, knowledge and contacts to help students turn their ideas and concepts into business realities.
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