ART : SNEAKERS : NIKE/ESQUIRE How I Rock It -: Tinker Hatfield & Nike

GREATNESS : MUSIC PRODUCTION : Just Blaze Interview: The Business of Beats

GREATNESS : BUSINESS : INDEPENDENT HIP HOP's FUTURE : Dom Kennedy, Archie Davis

ART : SPORTS : KOBE QUOTE

I am loving that the Lakers beat Dwight Howard and his new team, The Houston Rockets, two nights ago at Staples...

Welcome back to L.A. big baby.

CULTURE : ICON : RICHARD BRANSON : MOTIVATION...

CULTURE : ICON : Great Scene - Don Draper is a badass

GREATNESS : MUSIC BUSINESS: ESSAY : HIP HOP branding of America

Emmanuel Llamas

HipAmeraHop

A group of high school kids are wearing colorful Nike Jordan shoes, baseball fitted hats, and Sean John jeans at their prestige private school, a blonde cheerleader is wearing hoop earrings while working on a choreographed routine to a Beyonce song, a corporate executive is listening to a Jay-Z album in his Mercedes Maybach with shiny rims, Warren Buffet and Jay-Z sit down together for a Forbes interview, while veteran rapper Common is giving a live performance at the White House. This is hip-hop culture, this is pop culture, all rolled in one. Hip-hop as an art form and a sub culture has influenced mainstream American pop culture throughout Hip-hop’s young journey as a music genre. Hip-hop has come along way, gaining respect as a culture and art form while doing so. With a rich history, influences on style, attitude, and business, hip-hop has gone through different stages as an art form; ultimately further influencing pop-culture as it progresses through time.

                Hip-hop began in the mid 1970’s, the birthplace being in New York City, specifically in the Brooklyn burros. The term Hip-hop itself is widely agreed as being coined by pioneers of the genre such as Busy Bee Starski, DJ Hollywood, and DJ Afika Bambaataa.  Hip-hop started out as an organic music form, with no real boundaries, but simply meant to be a vein for expression of life in the inner city. “This genre began with…funky beats resonating at house parties, basement parties, and the streets of New York” (1) explains Dr. Reese Rendford in his study on hip-hop titled “From the Fringe: The Hip Hop Culture and Ethnic Relations”. It is at this time that youth urban black Americans began the sound and style that we today know as Hip-hop. As previous music art forms have developed from inner-city African American neighborhoods such as jazz in the 1930’s and crossing over into mainstream white America as “swing” music, Hip-hop too has in the early 1980’s transitioned into the mainstream spotlight.   

                Business savvy members of the founding community of hip-hop noticed that the culture was on to something bigger, and capable of penetrating culture past inner city souls. It was this realization that began hip-hops transition into a crossover appeal for mainstream America, and now only a matter of time until further investors would help bring hip-hop music to the forefront. The year is 1979 when the first commercial rap group exploded onto the mainstream music scenes. This original group from New York was called the Sugar Hill Gang, and was navigated to the top of the billboard charts with its smash single “Rappers Delight.”  The single was a 34^# hit on the pop charts, and 4# hit on the RnB charts. A second big leap for the culture was when Russell Simmons (the first hip-hop mulitmillonaire entrepreneur) started a record company named Def Jam Records in the early 1990’s, being the home to the next wave of Hip-hop pop stars such as Run DMC and The Beastie Boyz. Russell Simmons in Dr. Reese Rendford’s study expresses “ Hip-hop has transcended beyond just music. It has become a lifestyle and/or a culture for people worldwide. Hip-hop is an attitude and hip-hop is a language in which a kid from Detroit can relate to a kid in Hong Kong. Seventy-five percent of our audience is nonblack kids. Now you have kids in Beverly Hills who are sensitive to situations in Compton^" (2). This international connection is vital to why Hip-hop has had such commercial success. For example, according to Recording Industry Association of America by 1997 rock music accounted for 32.5 percent of the industry's $12.3 billion in sales during 1997; but this figure is down from 46.2 percent a decade ago, meanwhile rap music's share of sales has increased 150% over the last ten years and is still rising. This is strong evidence revealing Hip-hops position as the growing music giant it is now today.  With this trend continuing into the 21^st century, it is no surprise to find Eminem as holder to the highest record sales album of 2010, and with 7 hip-hop artist attributing to the top 10 selling singles for 2010, as reported by Billboard. The escalating musical progression in Hip-hop has not contained itself simply within the recording industry’s playing field, but also influenced movies and sitcoms with their style and attitude, further progressing hip-hop’s seat in the limelight.

            Hip-hops cross over effect sparked influence amongst Hollywood movies and television network sitcoms.  Sitcoms such as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Martin depict characters dressing in 1990’s hip hop fashion, using African American comedy, with both shows being widely successful amongst a wide spread audience. Movies such as Boys In the Hood and Friday are another two highly successful endevours, both illustrating the rough life in the inner-cities.  However, when discussing Hip-hops leap into the mainstream American culture, Hip-hops “golden era” (as described by the majority of hip-hop artist) is the true innovator and path paver for the road to pop-culture.

            The “Golden Era” of Hip-hop, and the founding era that laid the foundation for what Hip-hop is today occurred during the 1990’s. Kevin Powell, a American poet, activist, writer, and entrepreneur stated in an interview for the Rolling Stoned “…simply this [was] a period in time when hip hop, or specifically rap music, was incrediably exciting, fresh, def, and diverse” (1).  It is at this time that hip-hops creativity was at an all time high, perhaps because corporate America had not fully exploited the genre yet, and had not started to influence hip-hop artist with means to increase company profits. During this span in the 1990’s the diversity was prolific, with gangsta rap group N.W.A and conciouse rappers Public Enemy both molding two distinctive sounds for the genre that are still two popular topics contemporary Hip-hop artist explore. It is also during this “golden era” that Hip-hop’s fashion sense caught on to the greater American culture, with big companies taking notice, and reaching out to the Hip-hop community further enhance Hip-hops influential forces.

American style and pop culture’s sense of dress have been influenced by Hip-hops swag. “The Hip-hop style as evolved through out the decades, but starting in the 1990’s baggy jeans, baseball caps, expensive sneakers, and jewelry were a fashion hit” (2), as author Marc Spiegler announces in his study “Making Street Culture: Bringing Hip Hop style to the Main Stream”. Starting in inner-cities and spreading into the suburbs, America had to acknowledge Hip-hops influential fashion. But why and how has Hip-hop been able to influence suburban America? Dr. Reese Rendford declares “young urban blacks have used the dress of upper crust whites as a manisfestation of their lack of power in American society. While actual material success maybe unattainable, the rationale for adorning expensive Polo shirts, blue jeans and sneakers is to present an image of success. Suburban white kids scoff at the material success of their parents and their parents' friends. One way to express this disdain, is by identifying with the renegade image of the street. Many white kids are cultural tourists who romanticize the very ghetto life that so many black kids want to escape. Instead of the terrible mortality rate for young black males, they see the glamour of violence. Instead of the frustration of people denied jobs and hope and respect, they see the verbal defiance of that frustration."⁽²⁾ It is the rebellion in Hip-hop style that white American youth appreciate, and this translates to the funky sense of dress adorned by Hip-hop artist. Furthermore, Ivan Juzang of Motivational Educational Entertainment, a six-year-old Philadelphia firm specializing in targeting urban youth states  "All young people buy into rebellion in general, as part of rebelling against parental authority." Corporate companies such as Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, and Nautica have witnessed this influence on dress to the extent of working with Hip-hop artist on marketing campaigns. For example Tommy Hilfiger used hard core rappers Method Man and Treach a member of Naughty by Nature for a 1996 ad campaign. Following in Hilfigers footsteps, Ralph Lauren used Tyrese a R n B singer for a ad campaign the following year, and the list of high fashion companies and Hip-hop artist goes on and on. With Hip-hop artist known for entrepreneurial pursuits, it was not long until rappers realized this phenomenom then selves, and were in a postion in where they could start their own clothing companies. Sean “Diddy” Combs startd Sean John clothing in 1998, helping bring Diddy’s 2011 net worth to over 400 million dollars. Shawn “Jay Z” Carter got his piece of the pie by starting Roc-a-wear clothing, which he sold in 2005 to Iconix Brand Group for 200 million dollars. Hip-hops partnership with corporate America goes farther than merely fashion, due to its impact on culture, companies have worked with Hip-hop artist in an array of different industries.

 The collaboration amongst corporate companies and Hip-hop artist has been a continuing success throughout the past two decades. With many examples to share , let just a few selected following partnerships help give a better understanding of this marking marriage. Coca Cola works with Krs-One in the 1996 for an NBA commercial, Coca Cola works with Drake for a commercial in 2010, Reebok worked with Jay Z in the late 90’s and with 50 cent in the middle 2000’s, Ford just this year (2011) is using Nelly during a Grammy Awards commercial, Louis Vuitton has worked on a shoe design with Kanye West, Boost Mobile used The Game and Young Jeezy for a 2004 campaign, even technology giants such as Hewlett Packard teamed up with Jay Z in 2006, …etc. If Hip-hop were not influencing pop culture, then these previous marketing campaigns would not have manifested, and would not continue to exist.

In order to grasp how far Hip-hop artist have came and the potential of such artist careers, let Shawn “Jay Z” Carter’s career be a mirror for the journey of a enormously successful rapper. Like many rappers, Jay Z hails from a tough neighborhood, and was raised by a single mother in the Marcy projects of Brooklyn, New York. However, out of this rough up bringing and surrounding influences of the ghetto, Jay Z as emerged as one most successful recording artist of all time, and a half a billion dollar net worth entrepreneur. Jay Z has sold over 50 million records world wide, won 8 Grammy’s, has had 11 number one debuting albums (which is the most ever by any artist, just surpassing Elvis Presley, and with only The Beatles having more), and just this year at the age of 42 realized his most recent album, which was number one debuting album in 23 different countries. As for his entrepreneurial spirit, Jay Z owns the record label Roc Nation, sold his previous label Roc-a-Fella records, is a part owner of the New Jersey Nets, and part owner of up-scale sports bar chain restaurants names the 40/40 CLUB. These are all astronomical accomplishments considering Sean Carter was a drug dealer and did not release his first album until the age of 26. What is even more awe-inspiring by Jay Z is his longevity in a music genre that is predominately associated with a youth culture target market. With Jay Z’s career as an illustration of how Hip-hop has broken boundaries, became big business, the admiration for the craft, and the over all longevity as a high selling music genre (Jay has been releasing albums since 1996), it is evident Hip-hop is a juggernaut influence on America, and will continue to be as it continues to evolve in the future.

CULTURE : ICON : Diddy interview at The Breakfast Club Power 105.1

                                                
Respect the hustle; go Diddy, doing it superballer since the mid 90's...

Lets hope reality shows don't engulf the new music driven network, REVOLT.

GREATNESS : ALI

 

This post is based on a true story. 

GREATNESS : MARC ECKO "THE BREAKFEAST CLUB" Power 105.1 interview

One of my heroes, the man responsible for Complex media. Love this guy. Go get his new book UNlabel:Selling You Without Selling Out.

GREATNESS : MUSIC PRODUCTION : Harvey Video Jr. Bio

Proud to be interning and learning from the incredible MR....


Harvey Mason Jr. and his amazingly talented team at Harvey Mason Media.

A true superballer.

GREATNESS : BUSINESS : DAN SCHAWBEL : PROMOTE YOURSELF

ART : CARS : BMW i8

     With 362 horsepower and an estimated 40 mpg for this sexy hybrid, going green like an intelligent man.

ART: KANYE WEST : on Jimmy Kimmel Live, final PART

"MY MOTHER MADE ME BELIEVE IN MYSELF."
                                                        
My favorite living creative genius done did it again. DISCLAIMER: if you are not passionate about life, then this video might hurt your feelings.

Are you afraid of being spoofed?
Are you a creative?
Do you protect your dreams?

Either or, keep in mind, according to Kanye life is all about awesomeness and family time. I agree.

"You do help me get money paparazzi, you show people how fly my outfits is."

-superballerism

ART : WOMEN : KERRY OR HALLE??

So, I was talking to a buddy of mine yesterday and he made the argument that Kerry Washington is this generations Halle Berry.

                     
              
                                                                 Do you agree??

GREATNESS : NEGOTIATING : Monty Python - Life of Brian - The Haggle scene

                                                     Every day we try to get our way.

How do we go about this, and who do we interact with during these transactions of 'wants'? Whether or not we notice it, we are negotiating every day; with our boss, girlfriends, buddies, colleagues, and family. Negotiation allows us to use democratic means of communication to get things done, get what we want, and maximize our quality of life.

In the Harvard Business Essentials book titled: Negotiation; there is a great example of the strategic value of negotiating rather than not.

In the fifteenth-century France's King Louis XI had a savvy way of differing war with the English King Edward IV. When the English army came over to France with intention of war and conquer, King Louis XI chose to negotiate the potentially damaging affair.

Understanding that the war would be long and very costly, the French King decided that a negotation in where he would pay 50,000 pounds per year for the rest of King Edward's IV life (which proved to be short) would be a better deal. After the peace treaty was signed King Louis XI hosted a huge party for the English army before their departure back home.

King Louis XI remarked about the close encounter by stating: "I have chased the English out of France more easily than my father ever did; he drove them out by force and arms while I have driven them out by force of meat pies and good wine."

CULTURE : TEAMWORK

         You know that cheesy saying, " team work makes the dream" ? Well, its true.

We all know Kobe Bryant can ball the **** out, but his first three rings were while he was engaged with Shaq. We all know Steve Jobs is the creative genius of our generations, but his team at Apple was far from lack luster.

Whether it is sports, business, or love, having compatible, empowering, and talented partners in life's endeavors will only make you and your aspirations possible.

-superballerism

GREATNESS : MARC ECKO : VIA GOODBUZZ

Post by Goodbuzz.

ART : STYLE : DENIM

Fellas, it is important to have an arsenal of denim in your closet.

A slick pair of denim can turn a plain clean shirt and plain clean shoes into an attractive outfit; I suggest an array of palettes to build around as well. 

-superballerism

ART : MUSIC : KANYE WEST, ZANE LOWE part 4 INTERVIEW

"WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO WANT!"

So, this Kanye West and Zane Lowe interview has been broken down into 4 parts, and this final installment is one of my favortie Kanye West "rants" of all time.

I just watched it myself and I can't seem to find a route as to how I'm going to elaborate on it. I can't. Therefore, I'll just share a couple quotes that resonated with me, and the SuperBallerIsm brand.

"Dopeness is what I like most, and making money from it."

"I hate people who make money and don't care about making dopeness at all."

"We don't hold musicians to the highest level of genius anymore."

 -superballerism

ART: WOMEN : MILEY CYRUS GETS BUTT-NAKED

WOULD YOU??

She might not be on your playlist, but she can't be ignored, nowadays. Whats next for the popstar? Playboy cover? Sex tape? Both??? Wrecking-Ball indeed.

Image via Rolling Stone / Theo Wenner

-superballerism 

ART : Kanye West. Zane Lowe. Part 1

Hate him or love him, you can not deny the passion, love, and progressiveness of the creative genius Mr. West.

I happen to love the guy.

"We are the new rockstars, and I'm the BEST of all of them." I concur.

Make sure to look out for Part 2, I know I can't wait.

-superballerism

GREATNESS : ALBERT EINSTEIN

Forget chopping wood, let your fire'y passion drive you towards longevity. Easy come, easy go.

-superballerism

YOUR FRIEND: HAPPY FRIDAY

Hey there fellow superballers,

In case you were wondering who the hell is this guy behind the curtain of operations at superballerism, well here I am, the soul founder and contributor. I'd like to thank you all who support and enjoy the site. I promise to continue the pursuit of exceptional content, and to grow with you guys in our superballerism journey.

Take care, and keep moving forward. Oh, and invite a friend or two to join us on our respective upward journeys.

Your Friend,

Emmanuel Llamas 

ART : VISUAL ART : Jean-Michel BASQUIAT The Radiant Child

                
If you appreciate art, you will appreciate this documentary film. 

GREATNESS : THE MIRROR : BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Sometimes it is hard to look in the mirror. You know, after a bad day, after a big mistake, after a tough break up, it can hurt to look in the mirror. Other times it feels great to look in the mirror. You know, after a successful date, successful business venture, after success; you might even wink at your self while forming your hand into a gun.

It is this self examination that pushes us to see our strengths and weaknesses. From this moment on we can now leverage our strengths and work on our weaknesses. But if you fear to know yourself, then you simply fear the truth, and greatness can only be built upon the foundation of truth.

We must examine other men as well, frankly speaking (Franklin speaking, frankly speaking, see what I did there?) in order to be wise, in order to take your craft farther than those who have come before you.


-superballerism  

ART : VISUAL ARTS : BASQUIAT

"Nervous System"-


image found on google images

ART : SPORTS : 45-0 Floyd

 

At this establishment sports are considered art. We'll have a whole other day to explain that perspective, if you don't already agree in the philosophy.

 Did you watch the Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo fight last night? Mr. Money's performance was a display of art at its finest, using his fist and the science of boxing to paint a 12 round victory.

The finesse of Floyd last night was superballer at its finest. The younger, bigger, stronger Canelo came to battle, and battle he did, mostly with his self through fustration and with Floyd Mayweathrs illusive philly shell defense.

Hate him or love him...
From superballerism, we would like to applaud and congratulate Floyd Mayweather on his elite career thus far, and for providing the sports world with a performance of superballeristic proportion.

(image source: google images)

Greatness : Strategic Planning

No matter what it is you want to accomplish on this beautiful planet of ours, it is always best to take a step forward in the direction of a strategic plan.

Strategic Planning requires you, the creative entrepreneur, to establish goals. You set up a goal you'd like to see manifest within 5 years, then you plan backwards from that goal. For example, you see your self in 5 years owning a successful clothing company? Great! Yet, where will you need to be in 2 years to reach your 5 year goal? That is the question strategic planning requires you to ask, and the more detailed the answer the better.

Sit down this weekend and allow your self to dream big. Where do you want to be in 5 years? Visualize it. Then create your road map to success by setting monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals that you must reach in order to manifest your ultimate vision.

-Superballerism

image found on google images

ART : Drake's third studio album, one of the most anticipated bodies of musical work for 2013, out Sept. 24!

Greatness : Former World Bank President: Big Shift Coming

ART : Kanye West performs BOUND2, also going on tour with Kendrick lamar

Sports: Anquan Boldin, 49ers new offensive weapon, 200 yard game.

image found @ 49ers.com

ART : unique DENIM company, check it out...

P Diddy's Words Of Wisdom

Tony Robbins interviews 3 billionaires

ART: Nas interview on career

ART: PICASSO

PROGRESS

image found on google images

ADVICE: TONY ROBBINS , great stuff. really great stuff.

BUSINESS: HERB KELLEHER

ART: I got to interview this future STAR: Mystery Skulls - The Future & Paralyzed // Live at The HoC Austin 2013

JAY Z "Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film"

LADIES : Jessica Perez Galore Magazine

Life Lessons From Don Draper

ARI ADVICE: are you ready to make something of yourself?

ART : FREESTYLE DONE RIGHT

LAMBO ... VENENO

CULTURE ICON: the HUGH of success

Jay-Z, Rick Rubin recording "99 Problems"; can't wait for Magna Carter Holy Grail!

Danny Green BREAKS Ray Allens Record, now that's greatnesssss

MAKE FRIENDS WITH GOALS.

Target & Usefullness

The ideal candidate will most likely be dwelling in major cities or in small country towns with big city dreams, roughly between the ages of 20 to 40 , male , of all shapes and sizes, with humble incomes while moving towards greener pastures,  single bachelors, with interest in developing a haughty lifestyle. This blog will help aid these individuals on their pursuit of supper.baller.ism.

What Are You Doing Here??

The precise existence and purpose of this blog is simple: to INSPIRE, bring together and to inform like minded individuals that share a taste in the areas of art+sports+culture+and overall greatness. With only one exception. The guiding theme of such topics must satisfy the criteria of being... SUPERBALLERISM in nature.

SUPERBALLERISM definition: the accomplishment and creation of awe inspiring and progressive acts by humanity. A toast to the good life, and the pursuit of the american dream.

MORE importantly, this blog is aimed at influential and progressive tastemakers within their own social circles of friends and acquaintances that live with "bigger than life" aspirations. Do you have goals, like really amazing ones? Do you want to be great at what you do? Do you want to be the best person you can be? Or are you content with settling in life, and being mediocre? If your answer to these questions were: yes! , yes! , yes! no! , then you are probably on the right path, the pursuit of SUPERBALLERism. On this blog you will find content that will fuel the fire of greatness.

Have big dreams? Ok good, then this blog is your destination for everything ART + SPORTS + CULTURE + GREATNESS. Become a well-rounded SuperBaller here.


Enjoy and Imagine.