By Marla
Tabaka Marla Tabaka is a small-business adviser who helps entrepreneurs
around the globe grow their businesses well into the millions. She has
more than 25 years of experience in corporate and startup ventures, and
speaks widely on combining strategic and creative thinking for optimum
success and happiness. @ MarlaTabaka @ MarlaTabaka
IMAGE: Getty Images
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Dr. Dre’s gone straight outta Compton and straight to the top of Forbes’s 2015
list of the world’s richest musicians. In addition to racking up Grammy
nods, he founded Aftermath Entertainment and Beats by Dre, and, more
recently, joined Jimmy Iovine in donating $70 million to the University
of Southern California to found the Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy
for Arts, Technology, and the Business of Innovation. What can
entrepreneurs learn from the strategies that took Dre from hip-hop
legend to billionaire business leader? Here you go.
1. Know your strengths.
Dre struggled in school, but he’s demonstrated that academic
success is not necessarily an indicator of entrepreneurial acumen. As
it became clear that school wasn’t the place where he could shine, Dre
began devoting himself to his DJ work--leading to his alliance with the
World Class Wreckin’ Cru, his first step on the pathway to success.
Dre’s success grew from his ability to identify and play to his
strengths. If you’re struggling to get ahead, take a step back and
evaluate where your strengths really lie.
2. Have an eye for talent.
Dre has worked with some of the top talent in the music
business, from Mary J. Blige to 2Pac and Snoop Dogg. He produced
Eminem’s groundbreaking albums, and helped launch the Detroit rapper’s
meteoric career. Dre’s success isn’t just a result of personal skill,
talent, and expertise: It’s grown from his collaborations with other
talented people. Take note of this as you build your team and grow your
business: A successful leader is only as strong and effective as the people he or she leads.
3. Don’t buckle to skepticism.
The hip-hop culture that Dre grew up in and helped build is
one that fosters and relies on entrepreneurial skill. In the early years
of hip hop, record labels were skeptical of the genre, and worried that
it would be a difficult sell to middle America. Hip-hop artists were
thus masters of hustle: They were out there promoting their mixtapes and
starting their own record labels, doing everything it took to get their
music heard. Dre was part of this scene, and learned how to be an
entrepreneur almost out of necessity. Innovators create opportunity by
forging ahead, even when they meet great resistance and skepticism.
4. Hold on to what’s yours.
One of the early ways that Dre combined artistry and
entrepreneurship turned out to be one of his smartest moves. He made
sure that he earned a royalty from all of the records that he produced,
which included blockbusters like Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle, which
sold more than five million copies. While many artists find themselves
stuck in bad contracts that don’t allow them to capitalize on their
recordings, Dre was smart and made sure that his producing work could be
a powerful revenue stream. Never jump into partnerships without looking
ahead and protecting what’s yours: now and in the future.
5. Build brand appeal.
Dre partnered with Jimmy Iovine to launch Beats by Dre in
2008. The pair subsequently founded Beats Music, a streaming service,
and, in one of the biggest deals in the industry, the company was
acquired by Apple. This success was possible because of Beats by Dre’s
swift rise to the top of the consumer audio technology industry--and
that rise was the result of Dre’s savvy branding acumen. Beats by Dre
weren’t just headphones--they were beautifully designed
headphones. Dre and Iovine did a little celebrity branding of their own
by making sure the headphones were spotted on the ears of the hottest
and hippest people, from will.i.am to LeBron James. Dre tapped his
extensive network of entertainment luminaries to pull off the marketing coup
that made Beats by Dre an unprecedented success. You can learn from
this move: Don’t underestimate the importance of brand identity.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
Critics pounced on the lack of diversity in Taylor Swift's newest
video, but the depiction of a mostly white world aligns with her other
videos.
Video provided by Newsy
Newslook
Correction: An earlier version of this story said that 'Wildest Dreams' contained an all-white cast.
Taylor Swift is facing backlash -- yet again -- for a music video.
Her video for Wildest Dreams,
which she premiered on the red carpet during Sunday's MTV Video Music
Awards, is being slammed by some critics for romanticizing white
colonialism, and for using Africa as a backdrop for a story about white
people.
The video depicts Swift as an early-20th-century movie star who falls
in love with her married co-star, played by Scott Eastwood, while
filming a movie in Africa. It contains sweeping shots of the African
landscape, plenty of African animals, and what appears to be no African
people. Some say this is inappropriate in 2015.
“An homage to a love triangle about white
colonialists is going to present some, uh, challenges to an artist who
just wants to make a three-minute music video to put on her VEVO page –
and Taylor Swift found that out the hard way. The video wants to have
its old-school Hollywood romance but ends up eating some old-school
Hollywood racism, too."
NPR echoed the sentiment, noting some harsh realities about colonialism:
"Here are some facts for Swift and her team:
Colonialism was neither romantic nor beautiful. It was exploitative and
brutal. The legacy of colonialism still lives quite loudly to this day.
Scholars have argued that poor economic performance, weak property
rights and tribal tensions across the continent can be traced to
colonial strategies. So can other woes. In a place full of devastation
and lawlessness, diseases spread like wildfire, conflict breaks out and
dictators grab power."
However, this isn’t the first time Swift has been accused of 'accidental racism' in her work. After her video for Shake It Off debuted
last August, rapper Earl Sweatshirt accused the singer of 'perpetuating
black stereotypes' ... The Pitchfork Review’s senior editor Jessica
Hopper argued it was even worse than a similar moment in Miley Cyrus’ We Can’t Stop. 'Miley
used women of color as props, but her appropriation was
participatory,' Hopper wrote. 'In a strange way, her dancing with them
is maybe a modicum ‘better’ than Taylor tunneling out from underneath
these legs and looking up with this smirk, like Isn’t this wacky? I
don’t even understand?'"
Wildest Dreams director Joseph Kahn, who also directed Swift's Blank Space and Bad Blood videos,
has defended the video, saying that it's not racist. In a statement
provided to Entertain This! by Swift's representative, Kahn says:
Wildest Dreams is a song about a relationship that was
doomed, and the music video concept was that they were having a love
affair on location away from their normal lives. This is not a video
about colonialism but a love story on the set of a period film crew in
Africa,1950.
There are black Africans in the video in a
number of shots, but I rarely cut to crew faces outside of the director
as the vast majority of screentime is Taylor and Scott.
The video is based on classic Hollywood romances like Elizabeth Taylor
and Richard Burton, as well as classic movies like The African Queen,
Out of Africa and The English Patient, to name a few.
The
reality is not only were there people of color in the video, but the
key creatives who worked on this video are people of color. I am Asian
American, the producer Jil Hardin is an African American woman, and the
editor Chancler Haynes is an African American man. We cast and edited
this video. We collectively decided it would have been historicially
inaccurate to load the crew with more black actors as the video would
have been accused of rewriting history. This video is set in the past by
a crew set in the present and we are all proud of our work.
There
is no political agenda in the video. Our only goal was to tell a tragic
love story in classic Hollywood iconography. Furthermore, this video
has been singled out, yet there have been many music videos depicting
Africa. These videos have traditionally not been lessons in African
history. Let's not forget, Taylor has chosen to donate all of her
proceeds from this video to the African Parks Foundation to preserve the
endangered animals of the continent and support the economies of local
African people.
He also tweeted:
A sentiment that was met with sharp criticism from The Huffington Post:
"So it totally can't be racist, right?
Especially since she's not just kinda hot or lukewarm hot. Solid
defense, dude. ... we now have some advice for filmmakers. Just hire a
good-looking black woman to work on all of your projects and feel free
to be as racist and sexist as possible. Free pass!"
Two nights ago, Miley Cyrus hosted a particularly eventful VMAs.
She led proceedings, made topical gags, was called out by Nicki Minaj
and performed a new song with a troupe of drag queens. She
also generally used the stage as a platform for herself and the great
causes she's become a powerful mouthpiece for. Throughout the show, as
you'd expect, Miley also had a fair number of quirky outfit changes and,
according to her long time stylist Simone Harouche, was actively
involved in all her looks. She stated, "Miley is completely involved in
the entire aesthetic process, from start to finish." And while her
wardrobe decisions represented just one element of her performance, the
consequent outcry in response to some of those decisions has been
resounding.
While every one of Miley's outfits incorporated
controversial elements, it's the sequined suits with third-eye and mouth
details, that have set the internet alight with debate. Colourful
sequins incorporating faces are a hallmark of Australian label Di$count Universe, who Miley has worked with regularly in the past. Only they didn't make the pieces. They also resembled the work of Romance Was Born,
who crafted a dress with eyes and a mouth in 2008 and looked like they
could have been the work of Jeremy Scott, who Miley has a close
relationship with also. But they didn't make the pieces either. Instead
they were made by Brad Callahan and his label BCalla
and were typical of the flamboyant kind of clothes he makes. Since the
performance, the Di$count designers Cami James and Nadia Napreychikov
have gone so far as to suggest, via their Instagram account, that Miley
had taken their identity stating, "…the one thing you can't TAKE and get
away with is someone's IDENTITY."
Romance Was Born dress from 2008
While we can imagine the shock of seeing someone you've
dressed before wearing something they could, and possibly should, have
asked you to make, declaring identity theft is probably taking it too
far. Miley's support of Di$count Universe has been great for the brand
and provided the kind of exposure most labels dream of. For Miley to
ask BCalla, an American designer who's actively involved in the LGBT
scene, to create outfits for her and her performers makes a lot of
sense. In the flurry of preparation, things need to move forward,
inspiration is gathered and sequins are sewn.
The ensuing war of words
between stylist Simone Harouche and the Di$count Universe designers is
negative and unhelpful. Big corporations ripping off the work of
independent designers is one thing but it's increasingly impossible to
own ideas in these times. Ryan from the label Tome put it well in a Facebook post when he said:
"Everything is borrowed and reinterpreted. Nothing is owned.
The Ancient Italians borrowed from the Ancient Greeks (who in turn
evolved and borrowed from older civilizations) and thus Modern
Civilisation was born. NOTHING IS NEW. Also as we put together our new
SS16 collection at TOME it is very frustrating to know that Phoebe Philo
has done everything before. EVERYTHING! So shut up. Case Closed."
Cindy Crawford has spoken out for
the first time about the unauthorised release of a supposedly
unretouched photograph of herself.The
model hit the news earlier this year when a photo purporting to be a
pre-Photoshop version of a Marie Claire picture of her went viral.
While many women saw the less-than-perfect image as a positive step, Cindy felt its release was malicious.
'I felt blindsided,' she told Elle Canada. 'I was very conflicted, to be honest.'
The unflattering image showed a then
48-year-old Crawford revealing a less-than-flat stomach while dressed
only in her lingerie.
In the image the 49-year-old had wrinkles and sagging skin around her stomach area.
The photo had allegedly been digitally manipulated to exaggerate any slight flaws.
'That picture didn’t reflect what I saw when I looked in the mirror—even in the worst dressing-room lighting,' she explained.
Cindy's face in its natural state in a leaked, unphotoshopped picture that went viral.
But Cindy felt she was unable to speak out against it, because so many women saw it as a positive step.
'It put me in a tough spot: I
couldn’t come out against it because I’m rejecting all these people who
felt good about it, but I also didn’t embrace it because it wasn’t real -
and even if it were real, I wouldn’t have wanted it out there,' she
said.
'I felt really manipulated and conflicted, so I kept my mouth shut.'
Cindy said she didn't understand why seeing a bad picture of her should make people feel better.
'Why would seeing a bad picture of
me make other people feel good? I know my body, and I know it’s not
perfect, but maybe I have a false body image; maybe I think I look
better than I do. I think that most women are hard on themselves.'
However she did admit: 'Sometimes,
the images that women see in magazines make them feel inferior—even
though the intention is never to make anyone feel less.
'So somehow seeing a picture of me
was like seeing a chink in the armour. Whether it was real or not isn’t
relevant, although it’s relevant to me. I don’t try to present myself as
perfect.'
When the picture went viral
celebrity snapper John Russo said in a statement to ABC News that the
image - from a 2013 cover shoot with Marie Claire Mexico - was 'stolen
or unlawfully accessed and then altered and distributed to the media.'
Russo added: 'It has been falsely
claimed that this photograph represents an un-retouched image of Cindy
Crawford. This is not true.
'It is a fraudulent altered version
of my photograph. I am grateful that this fact has been brought to the
public's attention and that corrections are being run in the media.'
Senator Musiliu Obanikoro who lost out in the PDP Governorship primaries
in Lagos state on Tuesday Dec 4th, says he's heading to court to seek redress...
According to statistics by the BBC World Service and International
Centre for the study of Radicalization, Nigeria's terror group, Boko
Haram, carried out the second highest number of terror attacks in the
month of November in the world and the deadliest single attack which was
at the Kano Central Mosque bombing which killed over 100 people.
According to the statistics, 5,042 deaths from 664 jihadist attacks were
recorded in the month of November with Iraq, Nigeria, Syria and
Afghanistan accounting for 80% of the total death toll.
Headies Next Rated Act Nominee ‘Runtown‘ teams up with South African
music powerhouse group ‘Uhuru‘ to deliver what they title ‘The Banger'.
This is just to wet your appetite for the next set of projects Runtown
& Eric Many records are churning out soon! Its the celebration
season. Enjoy...
Athena Records presents the debut single,”Awelewa” - Damsel, from a
talented and promising Nigerian Artist;Damz. The uniqueness
of this new joint is fusion of afro-highlife tunes with the highly infectious
local percussion and a little Jazz to make the song pleasing to the ears.
Damz
for the ladies,
as he fondly calls himself, was featured by Dayo Amusa - multi award
winning Nollywood actress - in a superb soundtrack for her movie
titled Unforgivable - He went on to use this as a springboard
to launch his musical career having identified his passion for music.
Awelewa produced by Dhecade and mixed by
Tee-Y Mix promises to get you rocking seconds after pressing the play button.
The
Video which was shot on Location in the Beautiful Whispering Palms Resort,
Badagry and directed by Adasa Cookey (SquareBall Media).
Damzis presently working with some of the
best producers in the Nigerian music scene on his forthcoming studio album
slated to drop soon, expect more singles from the ladies’ man in 2015.
Off his debut album, TheJourney, Sean Tizzle strikes again leaving you dancing nonstop to his newest groove "Rara" which is a blend of Afro-Pop shows exciting dance steps. Enjoy...
Praizhas finally released the track listing and final artwork for his hugely
anticipated debut album.
The amazingly gifted X3M Music singer who has risen from a talent show finalist to become
one of Nigeria's most decorated R&B singers, is releasing a double album
featuring him in his best cuts yet, as well as collaborations from some of the
best in the game...
The album is titled Rich and Famous - with a cleverly curated theme that covers
conventional R&B, and superb pop sounds.
Guest appearances include: Wizkid, Paroranking, Iyanya, Awilo Longomba,
Chidnma, Shaydee, Sheyi Shay, BEZ, Sound Sultan, Kayswitch, King, Skales Morell
and Iceberg Slim, Wande Baloy, Sammy.
Track list below:
FAMOUS PRAIZ
SISI FT.
WIZKID
HARDER FT.
PATORANKING
PERE FT.
IYANAYA
MERCY
OSHE FT.
AWILO LOGOMBA
SWEET POTATO FT.
CHIDNMA
I NO USE U PLAY FT.
SHAYDEE
AFRURUM GI NA
ANYA
FOR YOU FT.
SHEYI SHAY
PHYSICAL
SOMETHING FT. BEZ AND SOUND SULTAN
DELILAH FT.
KAYSWITCH
JALABIA AND
SNAPBACKS FT. KING, SKALES, MORELL AND ICEBERG SLIM.
RICH PRAIZ
A WOMAN’S NEED
I MISS YOU
IF I FAIL
SUPER HERO
HEART BEAT
SHOW ME THE WAY FT.
WANDE BALOY
ADDICTED
RICH & FAMOUS
LOST IN YOU FT.
SAMMY
LOSING IT
CAN’T LET IT GO
WANT YOU FT.
KING
AMAZING
SHOW ME THE WAY
Watch the exclusive
making of the album art and artwork below:
Popular
90s singer Daniel Wilson and wife Yetunde are celebrating their wedding
anniversary today, December 8th. Daniel and his longtime partner
got married at the Archbishop Vinning Memorial Church in Lagos in
Dec. 2012. They are blessed with two children. See more photos after the
cut...
#NickiOnSNL is currently trending as Twitter goes crazy for Nicki Minaj as Beyonce in an SNL
skit titled Jingle Ballerz, a Hip Hop Nativity sketc. As seen above,
Nicki Minaj also appeared as Kim Kardashian in a series of naked but
blurred photos that depicted Minaj in Paper magazine styled pics.
The reaction to Nicki Minaj on SNL ranges from comments on
everything from whether she forgot her lines in her recently released
single, “Bed of Lies”, to her backside. Others commented on her dress,
shoes and even the keyboardist behind her as she sang.
Already, there is a YouTube video showing Minaj allegedly missing the
first line of her “Bed of Lies” song uploaded within seconds after the
performance was done.
You can watch the video of Nicki Minaj as Beyoncé on SNL, with Minaj singing a line from Beyoncé’s “Drunk in Love” song, Here.
View the Vine video that soon after appeared showing Minaj singing, “He woke up like this,” HERE.
In the same clip, she is shown performing the Beyoncé famous hand
movements that the superstar performs in her “Flawless” song.
In the impersonation of Kim Kardashian, Nicki explained all about the naked Paper Mag pictures. Watch!
Hitfix recaps her performance thus;
As with her last time on “SNL,” Minaj makes a strong case that she would
be an intriguing host and not just musical guest. She has great
presence and strong comedic timing.
Check out some more pictures from the show below...
The Lifetime network is not allowing their Aaliyah biopic experience
stop them. They has released the trailer for the upcoming movie,
“Whitney”, starring Yaya DaCosta Alafia as the late pop star. The movie
marks the directorial debut for actress Angela Bassett and is out on Jan
17.
The film will focus on Whitney Houston’s rise to stardom from her humble
start in a New Jersey church choir, to becoming one of the world’s
greatest and beloved singer and her romance to R&B bad boy Bobby
Brown portrayed by “Into The Storm’s” Arlen Escarpeta.
The highly anticipated movie will also tackle the
late singer’s battles with substance abuse and more. Houston’s vocals
for the project will be performed by Deborah Cox and will feature fan
favorites, “I’m Your Baby Tonight,” “The Greatest Love of All,” “I’m
Every Woman,” and “I Will Always Love You,” along with Brown’s classic
hit, “Every Little Step”.
After the film’s premiere, Lifetime will also air, “Beyond the
Headlines: Whitney Houston”, which will include interviews from the late
singer’s friend, colleagues and insiders who will share their thoughts
of her career, her tragic fall from grace and death.
After the release of his first single,
No Time, a couple of weeks back, Maestronic Ent. artiste largess is back
with two new songs, Jolloficate and Selense. These songs will blow your
minds and get you moving to the beat as as soon as you press play.
Listen to Jollificate below and Selense after the cut...
Without doubt we can comfortably say Sean Tizzle has been one of the
most consistent artiste since his ground breaking entry into the
industry. Since then he has built and lived up to the expectations with
his Debut album titled #TheJourney. Off the album Sean Tizzle strikes
again leaving you dancing nonstop to his newest groove “Rara” which is a
blend of Afro-Pop shows exciting dance steps.
18-year old Nigerian Hip-Hop artist Lil Flow
is proud to present the official music video to his debut single
‘Loving About You’ which features R&B/Pop Diva Yemi Alade and and
starring the hilarious Adot comedian. Continue to watch the video... Lil Flowis bringing the young, fun and energetic vibe this Festive season with
this Music Video and infectious sound. The Ladeks Production music
video was shot in two locations in London and Surrey Directed by Sam
Kirk and FolakeOtudeko.
Poised to conquer the television and radio airwaves across the country this Christmas, LilFlow
is already being touted as a future leader of the new school of
Nigerian urban music that is poised to take over in the coming months.
Enjoy “Loving About You” official music video below...
Fast-rising “girl-on-fire”, Tonye is back with a bang,
as she features the Egberi Papa one of bayelsa himself, Timaya on the remix of
her way-paving single, Criminal, released a couple of months ago.
Criminal, since its release in October, has owned the
air-waves all across Nigeria, receiving great reviews from music lovers,
critics and would-be industry taste-makers. She also released hot new
photos. See more pics and listen to the song after the cut...
This remix featuringTimaya, who is renowned for turning
everything he is on to a hit raises this song a notch with his brilliant flow
and distinct vocal strength.
Produced by Password, this remix to Criminal is set to make
Tonyea force to be reckoned with.
