In promoting their new line of multimedia PCs Hewlett Packard created an ad campaign featuring successful individuals and how they have incorporated the PC into their business and personal activities. The gimmick they used was to film the person from below the neck so that the viewer wouldn’t know them by their face but by what they do. One of their first commercials featured the individual pictured below and during the spot he talked about all the things he does with his HP like: listen to new tracks that he’s producing, check out photo shoots for his fashion line, look at vacation photos not in the tabloids, go over blueprints for a stadium for his new team, play chess online and plan his world tour. Who was it? None other than hip hop superstar Jay Z

What was once just about selling records and getting famous has evolved into many of these artists looking beyond the ephemeral fame and fortune of hit records and looking for other ways to spend and earn money as well as ways to harness their entrepreneurial skills. Let’s for instance take a look at founder of Def Jam Records, Russell Simmons:

- Founded Def Jam with Rick Rubin in 1980
- Launched to careers of artists now considered to be legends in the industry (Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Run DMC)
- His hip hop empire expanded beyond music most notably creating
- Def Comedy Jam, which introduced comedians Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence
- Phat Farm clothing line -- a staple for hip hop gear.
- He also owns the very successful Simmons Jewelry Company and even developed a videogame for Sony’s Play Station Portable. (NPR, History of hip hop)

It’s not just about the bling

Most everyone knows the “make money fast, lose money faster” stories that have plagued musicians for decades. In hip hop the classic example for modern times is MC Hammer who made a tremendous amount of money with his music but ended up wasting way more than he has. With the overabundance of choices and music formats for fans these days, it’s hard work sustaining a lengthy career like the now pioneers of rap and hip hop were able to do years ago. The opportunity of choice means that for artists today they have to think beyond the music.

A business person is born

So what’s a successful rapper to do? Use their success in music and diversify into other manageable, profitable avenues like fashion (P Diddy, Jay-Z, Eminem, Outkast, 50 Cent to name a few), professional sports (Jay Z, Nelly) and even film (Outkast, Ludacris, Eminem, 50 Cent, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, TI, etc), and videogames (50 Cent). The underlying commonality is clear; have a plan that will get you beyond the glow of the gold records. With hip-hop being the most popular of pop culture, it is easy for these young men to take their street hustle and flip it into a corporate hustle.

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