The Creative Executive

Jay-Z had Dame Dash. Biggie had Puff Daddy. Nas had Steve Stout. I watched these Creative geniuses become wealthy with their artistry & Brands with the help of someone else handling the business aspect of their careers. My hardest challenge to this day is the balance I have to have between all of my Creative projects & the business that has to be done to make sure the world receives them in a timely manner. Some days I just want to create as it comes in waves, but having to shut down that creativity to focus on another project or the business aspect of my career makes me feel at times that I'm doing my creativity a disservice. But it's this balance that allows me to continue to grow my brand internationally, if not I'd just have a number of projects that would never see the light of day because I'd be busy creating all day. Having to take care of the business aspect of my career has made me who I am though so at this point I can't complain. It's forced me to learn about things like brand management, international marketing, and how to best use technology to reach my audience. In a conversation I had with Dame Dash, an African American entrepreneur who made a fortune through Hip Hop culture by way of Roc-a-fella Records (for those overseas who may not know), I expressed to him how in the earlier stages of my career if I would've had him or someone like him handling business for me as I created, I would have been a multimillionaire times over by now. He told me that it was actually best that I was able to balance between Creative and Executive because that way I could keep control of my own destiny without having so many people in my pockets. Ever since that moment I've fully embraced the responsibility of wearing both hats.