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- Hip-hop is classic now.

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I'm goin' with it, I'm grabbin' it,

3
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I'm runnin' with it, and I believe in it.

4
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And I'm gonna be
supportive of other artists

5
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and entrepreneurs as they try
to make their moves as well.

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I'm tryin' to build somethin'
that people can appreciate.

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(futuristic music)

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- LL Cool J is an icon and
true GOAT in hip-hop culture.

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He even coined the term
with one of his albums,

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but now the successful rapper,
producer, actor, and author

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is bringing the classis
hip-hop culture he loves

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back to the forefront.

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As founder and CEO of his
company, Rock the Bells.

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Rock the Bells is a multi-platform brand.

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It's got e-commerce,
it's got digital radio,

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it's got content.

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Why did you want to start
a platform like that?

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- I felt like what was
missing, and the problem,

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was that you have fans of Run
DMC, fans of Public Enemy,

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fans of LL Cool J, fans
of The Beastie Boys,

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fans of Eric B. & Rakim,
and Big Daddy Kane

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and Gang Starr and DJ Premier.

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They didn't have any place
where they could actually

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immerse themselves in the
culture in a real serious way

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where they could read about the artists,

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celebrate the artists, enjoy that artists

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in their perspective today, see the world

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through a modern lens
today, be able to buy items

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and products that relate to
the culture that they love,

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and the culture that they've always lived.

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So I said, "You know
what, I'm gonna do this."

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we started off with the
station on SiriusXM Channel 43.

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It was like, you know
what, why not transition

34
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and create a platform as well,
and expand this offering?

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So we are gonna continue to iterate,

36
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we're gonna continue to improve it.

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It's something that's needed,

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and at the same time it celebrates

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and will make sure that we preserve

40
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the legacy of these
artists moving forward,

41
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and we're getting the
narrative right, right?

42
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- Yeah, it's interesting
you said narrative there

43
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because you've mentioned that storytelling

44
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is a huge part of Rock
the Bells as a brand.

45
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Why do you think
storytelling is important?

46
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Particularly, when it comes
to a culture like hip-hop?

47
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- Because that's what hip-hop
has always been about, right?

48
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One of the prerequisites
to being great in hip-hop

49
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is your ability to tell stories,

50
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and hip-hop from the beginning has been

51
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about the struggle, about
the scales of justice,

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and balancing those.

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It's been about comin' from the bottom

54
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and making yourself successful,

55
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and all of those things
require storytelling.

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For people to understand that journey

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and to understand that struggle,

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there has to be storytellers.

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The whole thing about this deal
is about support the culture

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for the culture, by the culture.

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It's about making sure also
that these classic artists

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from all four elements,
whether they're DJs,

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whether they're MCs, whether
they're into the street art

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or graffiti, whether
they're into the dance,

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that they have ownership
and equity in this company.

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This wasn't just a pure money play for me.

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It was more about getting it right

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and doin' somethin' from the heart

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and solving a real problem
that I think exists,

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and that problem is the representation

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of classic and timeless hip-hop

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in the mainstream and in the world.

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So I've really tried to
make sure that these people

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have equity, they have a
stake in it, and I really want

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to do something great for the culture.

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- You've had such a long career,

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longevity within your career too.

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I'm interest actually
like how do you kind of

79
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approach this venture, as
like a CEO and a founder,

80
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maybe differently or similarly to how you

81
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might approach producing music?

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- Well, it's a huge difference, right?

83
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As a CEO I have to really
think about my team.

84
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When I wanna do somethin'
for LL as an artist,

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I know in my mind my
reasoning and my justification

86
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and my rationale and my
objective and my agenda

87
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and I go do my thing.

88
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You have a team, you
have to make sure that

89
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everybody's on the same
page, so there's that.

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It's all the moving pieces,
it's me approaching it

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with humility, not being an arrogant guy

92
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who thinks that because he
has some success in one area

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it automatically translates.

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Because there is a learning curve there,

95
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so it's me tryin' to make
sure that I bring people in

96
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that are smarter than I am.

97
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You know what I'm sayin'?

98
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And really focusing on that,

99
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people that have mastered their
crafts in a different way,

100
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and just tryin' to make
good decisions in that way.

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- Hip-hop, as well, has
always been incredibly vocal

102
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from the start about things,
about systemic racism,

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about police brutality,
you've had songs on the issue.

104
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How do you think that the
hip-hop of the 80s and the 90s

105
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have kind of informed or inspired

106
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the civil rights movement
that we're seeing right now.

107
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- I mean, everything in
classic hip-hop culture

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it has always spoke to these issues.

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Whether it spoke to it in a
harsh manner or a subtle manner,

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whether it was a hatchet, a
sledgehammer, or a scalpel,

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these issues have always been
addressed in hip-hop culture,

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and we take it head on.

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When we talk about black lives matter

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and we talk about
injustice and we talk about

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what needs to happen to
make this world better,

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we're looking at voting
initiatives and really

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thinking about that and
taking that very seriously.

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We have a responsibility to also uplift

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the community in that way as well.

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Rock the Bells is definitely a company

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that people can count on if
they wanna touch the culture

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in a real serious way,
and if they want to access

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the culture in a way
that makes a difference,

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Rock the Bells is the type of company

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that you wanna be partners with.

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(futuristic music)