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The rise of Muslim entrepreneurs: 4 Islamic influencers you should be following

The words “Muslim” and “entrepreneur” are not as odd to find together in the same sentence as they were twenty years ago.

As much as we hate to admit it, Islam is still a main subject of a long battle that won’t end until the dream of social justice becomes our everyday reality.

Even from an economic standpoint, Islam has taken a while to catch up with the Western world, lacking in societal progression and overall subjects of gender rights and equal compensation.

With an aggregation of authoritarian governments found in primarily Muslim countries, it becomes that much harder to thrive in a pre-set world, whose teachings are based off archaic cultural limitations found in the Quran.

Professor of Business and International Affairs Hossein Askari discusses the seperation, or lack there of, between the Islamic government and the laws of the people saying,

“The Islamic economic and financial system embraces these recommendations but demands even more of Muslims—social and economic justice and morality in all economic interactions. In Islam, the rules, institutions, operations and practice of the Islamic economic and financial system are outlined in the Quran and interpreted and put into practice by the Prophet Mohammad.”

But nowadays, connected by a multitude of events, communities, and organizations of progressive thinkers, innovators have worked together to make our world a much safer and fruitful place for Muslim women to thrive.

Within the past couple of years, the UK has been seeing a rise of Hijabi entrepreneurs. One expo in particular, the Muslim Lifestyle Expo, exhibits, shares and helps grow Muslim-based brands,

Tahir Mirza, the founder, had only positive things to say regarding the new development of the yearly gatherings.

“The stereotype of Muslim women stuck in the kitchen and carrying out household chores are long gone. When we announced this year’s dates for MLE2016, we were inundated with inquiries from Muslim women from not only the UK but across the world wanting to exhibit.

Tahir also revealed that 60% of the 130 exhibitors that were part of the expo were female entrepreneurs with inventions ranging from “luxury prayer mats and Islamic’s r toys, to fashion, accessories and cosmetics.”

“It is refreshing to see how these mumpreneurs are shattering the myth that Muslim women are held back and oppressed… According to our research, women represent 50% of the [Muslim] start-up business community and this figure is set to grow further over the next few years.”

It seems that this modern development has reached every sector of business. From the streets to the runway, these Muslim women are switching things up in every part of the world, whether in the East or West, Islam in business is taking on a whole new meaning.

Huda Kattan

Huda Kattan’s fame has transformed the world of cosmetics. She is currently the highest gross earning beauty blogger on Instagram, building her 24 million following into her very own makeup empire. She tells Forbes,

“I feel like I’m so not a normal person when it comes to my approach on beauty… It’s a very weird approach. People don’t really know where to categorize us. They’re like, ‘are you a beauty brand, are you an influencer, or are you a brand?’ We’re kind of all of those things; it’s all coming together very organic, and one thing is leading the rest.”

Kattan doesn’t hold back when it comes to testing out products. “I’m totally the guinea pig,” she shares a story of once using Vagisal as a primer, and falling in love with the effects that she wound up eventually making her own out of  dimethicone (found in the product) and rose oil.

A top-20 internet beauty blogger and business woman, Kattan won’t be stopping anytime soon. She has an estimated worth of 4.5 million, and we can expect to see her empire grow at a constant incline.


Asma Mansour

Asma Mansour grew up, like most women in raised in a Muslim family, restricted by traditional rules.

As a student at Manouba University, Mansour became part of several organizations like the Junior Chamber International where she got involved in various aspects of activism.

Her experience at university eventually lead her to finding the Tunisian Center of Entrepreneurship during the 2011 Tunisian revolution. She was quoted saying,

“We have to think of how to solve social problems and to push the economy for growth.”

The center aims to educate, inspire and strengthen exposure for social entrepreneurship. With Tunisia considered a growing hub for justice, the TCE might be the support needed to progress the country to the next step.


Sheeza Shah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x607uKzesvI

Shah founded The Up Effect, a platform designed to help social impact businesses get to where they need to be.

After graduating with an MSc in Computer Science and Entrepreneurship, she decided to take the world of tech head-on, while remaining focused on helping others through their entrepreneurial journey.

Rather than focusing on business alone, what separates The Up Effect from other crowdfunding platforms is the push for social equity.

From an interview with Shah in Brown Girl Magazine:

“When you look at the work of the companies The Up Effect is involved with – renewable energy, ethical fashion, clean drinking water – you can see that Shah is one entrepreneur who wants to make a long-term difference in the world. “

She shares that she hopes to “solve the biggest issues in the world.”

“A business needs to be sustainable and profitable, but most importantly ensure the profits are for the right use. Most non-profit organizations run inefficiently, with 50% of their resources maxed out in fundraising alone, leaving little or no time to run the company itself. Such firms are heavily dependent on donations and third parties but can’t run independently.”


Halima Aden

happy birthday @badgalriri ❤

A post shared by Halima (@halima) on

She’s known as the world’s first hijab-wearing model.

Originally a refugee from Somalia, Halima shared with Bazaar that growing up wasn’t easy.

Her family moved over to the states when she was seven years old. By the time she was in middle school, she had trouble identifying with her Muslim and Black roots.

Going against the grain, Halima rose to stardom in 2016, while pictures of her at a Miss Minnesota USA pageant included her wearing a “burkini.”

But past the fashion statements, Halima’s love for her career doesn’t come from her love for clothes, rather, the cultural and religious representation that she’s now able to uphold when it comes to Islam in our mainstream society.

“For me, anytime I saw somebody who dressed like me in a movie, the character was someone oppressed. There was just a narrative to it that didn’t match mine. Same thing with the news. Every time I saw somebody who looked like me, chances were they were doing something bad. Now, I get to represent my community to the majority.” 

For her future plans, Halima hopes to one day become part of UNICEF as a global ambassador.

How buying and selling skins is empowering gamers to be digital traders

Gaming has become the predominant form of entertainment online, and behind millions and millions of followers and audiences around the world exists various levels of economies dependent on the participation of gamers across all platforms.

The economic footprint cannot be understated, Amazon’s acquisition of Twitch — the gaming streaming service that acts as the most popular medium for connecting gamers to their audiences — for $970 million USD was a legitimate investment into the future of entertainment consumption, not just from an viewing perspective, but the ability to have game developers directly communicate and interact with their audiences at large.

To put this in perspective we need to analyze the growth of Twitch and it’s services.

Look Twitch GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

The streaming service directly interacts with 100 million unique viewers monthly, and the economic powers that be at Twitch have not let this fact go unnoticed.

Enter the state of microtransactions and in-game purchases. There’s no doubt about the impact that in game purchases provide to the longevity of a game’s economic model.

The state of in-game purchases and digital assets within a game has become so popular that it has picked up the baton from the impact that app purchases on mobile markets created.

This combined with the “skinner box” psychological game model has produced near addictive levels of economic return for publishers. In fact the “loot box” offered throughout many popular games such as Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds has become a political debate about the legality of the probability aspect of in-game purchases teetering on gambling for children to access.

Meme Reaction GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

However, this exclusivity has not gone unnoticed as companies such as PUBG Corporation and now Epic Games are taking up the mantle introduced by Valve within their games such as Counterstrike Global Offensive and Team Fortress 2 by creating secondary economies for players to resell digital assets to each other.

Enter the microcosm known as Twitch Prime. Expanding their ability to service the evergrowing community of viewers and streamers, Twitch offers a premium service in tandem with other services offered through Amazon and their affiliates that allows them to provide players with different in game assets unique to Twitch prime subscribers for different games.

This uniqueness has lended assets provided from Twitch Prime quite an appraisal within the community, with “loot boxes” from games like PUBG and the potential for acquiring limited skins and costume modifiers was going for $70 — a price that seems excessive until you put it up against the “alpha loot box” set offered for over $1,000 on Steam.

Currently on auction sites like eBay, Twitch Prime accounts for access to Fortnite loot boxes are currently trending between one and five dollars, which may seem small but when taking into account the value of the previous example given, five dollars seems like a worthwhile investment for the potential to make hundreds.

However, there is a drawback in Fortnite particular instance as to reap the reward one requires a linked Epic account and Twitch Prime account, making the fluidity of the asset much harder to extract.

This hasn’t been a unique instance of economic benefit emerging from recent trends — but merely a regime shift in genre popularity and the secondary economies that follow it.

Winning Video Game GIF by Lil Yachty - Find & Share on GIPHY

If we were to take a very general timeline of the last ten years we see various games showing very active economies outside of their in game marketplaces — Halo 3 had the Flaming Recon head cosmetic only available to Bungee employees and certain individuals, the emergence of the Hat Economy in Team Fortress 2, the rise of the weapon skins economy in CSGO, and the successful implementation of limited character skins in the MOBA genre in games such as Riot Games League of Legends have all stood as examples to the rise of secondary economies that participants have become quite wealthy over.

Now as the digital asset economy has become more tested within this past decade, more efforts are being made to provide security, trust, and a better way to exchange assets outside of internal marketplaces like the Steam marketplace — and coincidentally on the topic of new economic regimes, technology such as distributed ledger tech and blockchain have stepped up to the plate to provide said marketplaces.

Blockchain GIF by Trulioo - Find & Share on GIPHY

Products like WAX have now created external exchanges supported by Distributed Concensus that disintermediates a near 400 million large audience who exchange digital assets who range from different fiat currencies globally and allowing them to find a medium of exchange that directly affects their respective bank accounts.

In any case the yield and the impact that gaming has had is evident in it’s projection to be the replacement for the preferred consumed media, and financial opportunities will always be available in growing subindustries.

When rap gives back: 5 hip-hop stars leading the wave in philanthropy

Success only matters if you have a heart filled with compassion.

Some might say you give back to the less fortunate for the good karma but either way, when you partake in a charitable act, you feel good.

That’s why our rap idols invest their time into giving back to the people. There’s no gratification in passing over those who need assistance and through charitable organizations a music mogul can find a new form of closure.

By using their art to inspire and influence those who are going through a tough time it’s no wonder why more and more rappers are getting involved in charity. After all, most of these guys came from the bottom themselves and know what it’s like to have nothing!

So we’ve compiled a short list of five rappers who we think are using their clout to back groundbreaking charities.

Let’s get it! Here are five rappers helping those with their daily struggles.

1. ASAP Mob combats substance abuse with the Always Strive and Prosper Foundation

In the name of Steven “ASAP Yams” Rodriguez, Steven’s mom with the help of ASAP Mob established the Always Strive and Prosper Foundation. The foundation’s focus according to their mission,

“Continuing to create and incubate events and programs that will corral youth based demographics in the areas of music and arts. With a focus on delivering positive messages and proper information to adolescents and young adults about the dangers associated with carelessly mixing opiates and other potentially irresponsible drug use and abuse.”

Thus far since Yams’ untimely overdose in 2015, ASAP Mob and other rap artists have held and sold out three Yams Day concerts in 2016, 2017, and 2018 respectively.

A portion of the tickets proceeds go directly to the Always Strive and Prosper Foundation but you don’t have to wait for the concert to donate. Help educate these kids about substance abuse and how the effects of it can be deadly. Bless here.


2. Akon uses clean and affordable energy to light up Africa

Formed in 2014, Akon Lighting Africa is a bright idea shining over a dark continent.

The solar initiative has provided clean and affordable electric energy to African villages powering a number of households, communities, schools and health centers located in rural areas for the first time.

They’ve accomplished big goals reaching 480 communities whilst operating in 15 different countries. So far, founders Akon, Samba Bathily, and Thione Niang have snagged partnerships with the NBA, Solektra, and a grip of energy and engineering companies.

He actually tried to restore power to Puerto Rico but Trump’s bitch ass blocked it!

Akon’s organization also looks to create a network of young people and give them the tools to acquire the knowledge to install and maintain solar solutions. Their tagline is, “With electricity, everything becomes possible.”

The mission – make Africa a “major investment hub in the 21st Century.”


3. Vic Mensa wants us to save money to save lives

Vic is looking to use his platform to get his foundation SaveMoneySaveLife of its feet.

Their mission is to combat the epidemic of gun violence plaguing Chicago and train civilians as trauma and mental health first responders through two initiatives Street Medics and uniVERSE.

The end goal is to find long-term resolutions to gun violence, systemic oppression, and community rehabilitation.

“Despite being arguably our nations most violent area, the south side of Chicago is without a trauma unit. It’s a trauma care desert…,” said Mensa.

The GoFundMe has rapidly raised near $2,000 and is trending its way to its $150,000 goal. Help those in need an donate here!


4. Jay-Z looks to free those who were wrongly incarcerated

https://youtu.be/ejD0vKg9Jc8?t=6m29s

Jay-Z has had it with America’s rigged mass incarceration system. He’s co-produced a docuseries on Netflix about wrongly convicted Kalief Browder, penned an essay for TIME and bailed out locked up dads on Father’s Day.

Now Jay-Z’s American entertainment company, Roc Nation, has teamed with First Round Capital to launch a startup that will force bail reform.

Female-founded by Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins and Diana Frappier according to the site’s landing page, Promise plans to,

“Provide a cost-effective, more humane alternative to incarceration by extending the capabilities of community supervision, improving long-term outcomes for individuals and communities.”

The initiative is a three-part process via phone app for those who cannot afford to defend themselves in court and a watchdog ensuring no missteps occur in any legal procedures.

The app is still under works but you can keep up with Promise here for all updates. 


5. French Montana wants to change the world as a global citizen

French Montana is definitely a “child of God.” If you haven’t heard, the “Shot Caller” rapper donated $100,000 to the Mama Hope Foundation, a charitable organization that looks to end extreme poverty in Uganda.

Through French’s platform, he was able to not only donate $100K but encouraged Diddy to throw an additional 200k and The Weeknd for a thick $100K. Let’s not forget his the mark he left on the masses through his truly “Unforgettable” music video.

The hospital he built now stands fully funded. See what you can do with your influence, homie. Great job French! To keep up with more of the Mama Hope Foundation’s good deeds check here.

There’s a handful of rappers, celebrities, public figures, and influencers that give back. We should all take wind of these good acts above and start helping. Maybe we can get more big hitters to support really dope causes.

Do something!

Diddy and Jay Z’s new app will help you find Black-owned businesses near you

The call for Black entrepreneurship has been loud in the urban and hip-hop community over the past couple of years.

You can look as far back as 2016, when Killer Mike and Solange Knowles suggested switching to Black banks, and you’ll see how far back theres been a call for Black empowerment.

And since it’s only gained momentum.

Last year G Herbo’s Humble Beast and Jay Z’s 4:44 albums reiterated the theme of Black entrepreneurship from top to bottom. Herbo came with a street point of view while Jay dropped life gems, yet they both were successful in reaching their audience.

The energy Herbo, Hov, Solange, Killer Mike, and others are on, is the same energy that pushed Marvel’s Black Panther to a billion dollars in gross sales and the same energy that makes Cardi B having the number one song in America special: Black excellence.

In a time where it feels like the Presidential administration doesn’t have our best interest at heart, the most productive and immediate action one can respond with is investing in oneself. The idea of black empowerment though collective wealth is nothing new, but thanks to 45, has the most life it’s had in recent years.

Diddy has taken this energy and has flexed his personality and money behind it to a degree only the Bad Boy CEO can.

Every morning he tweets out a motivational message, he’s changed his name to Love, and, as he revealed in his magazine cover article with GQ, he and Jay-Z are in talks of developing an app that helps users find black-owned and black-friendly businesses near them.

https://twitter.com/Diddy/status/972983251613691904

https://twitter.com/Diddy/status/971037224472072194

https://twitter.com/Diddy/status/969989542538301447

“This is not about taking away from any other community,” Combs said. “We’ll still go to Chinatown. We’ll still buy Gucci! But the application will make it possible for us to have an economic community. It’s about blacks gaining economic power.”

The app has yet to be named and we’re not clear how far in negotiations the two moguls are, but if brought to life it would simplify the task of circulating the Black dollar.

Having a rolodex of  black businesses at your fingertips not only conviences navigation, but shows that there are other entrepreneurs like you, and will encourage you, and possibly others, to go out and start their own business.

“I don’t believe in passiveness,” Combs added. “At some point there has to be some kind of fight. I feel like we’ve done a lot of marching. It’s time to start charging.”

Jay- Z has been just as, if not, more busy. The news of this joint venture comes days after investing $3 million in a startup company named Promise —  an alternative for non-violent offenders who can’t afford to be in prison or make bail.

Jay has always been vocal about his disdain for the justice system. He was a producer on the Netflix docuseries Time: The Kalief Browder Story, which spread light on the $9 billion dollars wasted incarcerating people who’ve not been convicted of a crime. Hov also helped bail out locked-up dads on Father’s Day, and he’s been very active in speaking out on the injustices in Meek Mill’s case.

Establishing longstanding nationwide economic stability for Blacks and POC is difficult, but is something that Jay and Diddy clearly believe they are in part responsible for given their net worth and influence.

There is no date on when the app will be released on any details on registering for the app, but at least we know a significant seed has been planted.

We all know we have a part to play to help improve the quality of life for ourselves and hopefully this app will make that responsibility a little easier.

How Marlon Wayans still strives for greatness 28 years into the game

Our biggest obstacle during our lifetime is to not only discover who we are as a person, but also to find our purpose is on this Earth.

Many of us walk aimlessly in life toward a goal we think is the American dream. However, it’s often the safer route that most parents suggest –– go to college, graduate with a degree and get a secure job in your career field.

When you think of Marlon Wayans and his comedic talents, the first thing to come to mind is his critically acclaimed movie White Chicks. If you are an OG Marlon fan, you remember his hilarious antics on The Wayans Brothers  and In Living Color.

Even though he’s the youngest of 10 Wayans siblings, Marlon’s legacy is already cemented. Appearing in over 40 movies and shows combined, he is still one of the hardest working men in show business. He’s 28 years into the game and still going strong!

Coming from a family of comedic giants, with the success that he’s reached and the money he’s earned, Marlon is already set for life. It raises the question, why still perform? Why does he still get up and create and motivate?

In 2011, I asked the legend via Twitter what he was striving for.

Marlon Wayans told me:

This is our greatest challenge as human beings –– to be the best version of ourselves.

Fast-forward seven years later and that’s still Marlon’s quest. Recently, in an interview with The Breakfast Club, Marlon went into detail about his journey. Marlon said,

“My competition is me. This whole journey that I’ve been going on by myself was never to go, ‘I’m a be the best Wayans’. I was sitting there going ‘Okay so I gotta find who’s Marlon’. When that lonely moment comes of ‘alright well who are you’? That’s thing that kicks you in the ass, puts you on stage, makes you start writing scripts, makes you say if I did a sitcom for 100 shows what would it be –– my life. What is my life?”

What is my life? That is the question that drives us. It is what will’s Marlon to wake up everyday and live his own life. It’s the single reason why he delivered his first stand up special WOKE-ISH.

It is the reason his show on NBC, Marlon, NBC, Marlon, got picked up for a second season. He is working on his dream, healing audiences with laughter and smiles while doing what he loves. Marlon Wayans said,

“One day when it’s all said and done, you don’t sit there and go I’m the greatest, I’m a legend, I’m a G.O.A.T. [greatest of all time] no. You do the work and the audience will tell you what you was when you’re gone. I want to do material that’s going to make me live forever.”

Marlon is still growing and evolving in front of us everyday. His hard work is finally catching up with his greatness. Not only is he working hard on himself, he is making others around him great. Empowering his co-stars and writers to live their best lives to be successful in something other than they are known for now.

Marlon Wayans is an inspiration for those following their dreams. He has emerged from the shadows and has made a name for himself, other than just being a Wayans. However, he still embraces his family with love and compassion.

The question still remains: who are you and what is your purpose in life?

You don’t have to starve to be an artist: How to calculate your success

Following your dream requires bravery. No matter what that profession or life looks like, it often feels like a giant leap is needed when it comes to pursuing it.

This “free-fall” feeling — where it seems like your heart is in your throat — happens because it takes drastic measures to shift your life. To go somewhere you’ve never gone, you have to do something you’ve never done.

However, there is a practicality that has to be included if you want any of it to come into fruition.

Without calculation, the ability to learn from your mistakes, and a clear strategy, you’ll find yourself jumping in place, or even worse — backwards.

We should dream with no limits. We shouldn’t have restrictions on what we envision ourselves accomplishing. But if we don’t guide those dreams with logistics, we’ll end up doing more harm than good.

You don’t have to starve to be an artist

Somehow, somewhere the term “starving artist” came into popular culture and was engrained in the idea into brains of creators that must struggle in order to be an artist.

Similarly, the mantra of following your dreams was universally adopted without adding that in doing so, it takes great detail and calculation as well. These days, being “all-in” means living strictly off the crop of your talents and anything else is a cop-out.

Not only is this ideology backwards, but it’s toxic misinformation and fundamentally contradicts any example of success you can find.

It’s okay to have a 9-5 or a 5-1. Yeah, you’re “selling your soul to corporate,” but you’re keeping the lights on, paying bills and being a responsible adult, too. Just make sure that you’re dedicating your extra time to the bigger picture.

You cannot discredit progress. A vision is alive as long as it’s not lost. So we shouldn’t feel less of an rapper, or business owner or actor just because we don’t do it full-time.

Planning doesn’t mean that the plan will 100% work. Or that you won’t take risks. Planning just means you have a focus. 


You have to start somewhere

Success takes just as much risk as it does planning. You have to put yourself in a position to win and sometimes that takes leaving your family or friends behind, locking yourself in your room for ten summers, or sacrificing your quality of life.

A lot of us are afraid to embrace that jump. Some of us are too comfortable with being cozy, and that’s why a lot of us are stuck.

Now, that doesn’t mean flying across the country and planting yourself in a different city to live out your car, either. You can commit to your passion from right where you are now.

You can take a class to hone your talent, put money aside for potential resources or work on that vision on the side. As long as we start somewhere, that’s the most important part. Then it’s a matter of not giving up.

There’s no excuse to keep a dream dormant when we live in a day and age where putting yourself on can happen in a matter of clicks. No matter the hobby, passion, or  desire, a dream without signifiant individual investment will never prosper.


Methodology

Success is game of taking calculated risk. It’s a constant tug-of-war between self-sufficiency and the much larger life you’ve always envisioned for yourself.

It takes aiming, missing, adjusting, and aiming again, only to maybe getting a breakthrough, then repeating all over again. It’s the scientific method to pursuing your dreams. Shooters need to shoot.

A nuance of both calculation and risk-taking must be mastered to achieve your dreams.

We cannot sit on our hands and wait when there’s something that can be done, and at the same time, we cannot invite unnecessary struggle just because we think that’s how it works. There are enough necessary struggles for everyone. 

Pursuing a dream doesn’t always mean changing the scenery or your look. Unless we learn how to go about our ambitions practically, we’ll end up making the journey longer and more difficult.

Take leaps of faith when the opportunity presents itself, not when there isn’t a place to land.

8 of the realest Curren$y quotes that will motivate your hustle

Curren$y is a national treasure in the rap game and should be protected at all costs. Although placed on the 2009 XXL freshman cover the New Orleans-based rapper was signed to Master P’s No Limit Records in 2002 and Baby and Lil Wayne’s Cash Money Records in 2004. He’s been out here a minute.

However, it was through his underground hustle after leaving the major labels when Curren$y found himself and the sound that ultimately gained him his loyal fan base.

Instead of adapting to the subject matter of his peers, Spitta embraced his own interests and turned his lifestyle into a rap career. Weed, sneakers, mobster flicks, lowriders, and getting women was the lane of his devotion all which was backed by great production and his patterned relaxed non-stop flow.

But once he mastered the content he didn’t stop there. He began to outwork everyone, ushering himself into the “Most Prolific Rapper of All-Time” conversation by having over 50 projects under his belt.

That toil of pumping out mixtape after mixtape after mixtape got Curren$y signed with Asylum/Warner Bros. Records and securing a label deal for his company Jets International in the signing.

That’s boss shit. Not only did Spitta leave the big leagues, he did it his own way and maintained his integrity in the process.

So I took the liberty of going through just a couple tracks of his prolific discography to find some hints that may reveal how exactly he conducted his hustle. This is what I found.

Coming from New Orleans and not fitting the particular mold for of your typical rapper, if there is anyone that can tell that anything is possible it should be Curren$y the hot spitta.

We’re talking about a rapper who wears jogging pants and basketball shorts the majority of the time and plays with toy cars on his Instagram.

His creed that remaining true to self can still bring forth success is not only evidenced in how he dresses but in his career trajectory as well. It’s easier to hustle and go get it when you’re living as your best possible self as well.

As a lover of mob films, it’s quite natural to hear Curren$y make references to films like Casino, Scarface or, in this case, The Godfather.

Curren$y understands business. It would be impossible for him not to in order to navigate the underground world. Between managing his own label and apparel, it’s imperative to maintain focus, so naturally he’s got little patience for distractions or people who do not match his work ethic. Even when it comes to blood ties.

Next time you’re wondering why you’re not where you want or where you think you ought to be, take a look around and make sure that you have nothing but like-minded soldiers around. Even if that means excluding family.

So many people make it to the top, get some money, then lose focus and stop grinding. Here, Spitta puts us on game and sheds some light on just how his mind works. He goes after the money, gets the money, then plots on securing the next bag.

It’s a non-stop mentality that may be hard at first but can develop into a healthy habit. Have an engine like Curren$y and you’ll find yourself reaping benefits beyond what you’d dreamed.

It’s counterproductive to have anyone on your team who does not share your vision.

To me, when Spitta says paper chasers, he’s not only talking fellow artists or even anyone in his industry per se, but he’s speaking to anyone who does not match his level of ambition.

When you’re on your grind, no matter how hard you try or the level of success you may appear to achieve, you won’t peak unless everyone around is motivating you. And that’s a key to Spitta’s success.

He surrounded himself with hard workers and it pushed him to work hard as well.

Hustling is going to bring success. It’s inevitable. When you plant seeds, eventually they will yield a return. Curren$y is saying when that opportunity comes, stick to the vision and do not falter for offers that even remotely deviate you from your dream.

Curren$y knows this first hand. As someone who was signed to a major label, worked the underground circuit, then resurfaced when he found the right deal for him, take it from Spitta, you can pave your own lane.

Curren$y is one of the least flashy paid rappers in the game. Between his revamped old school whips and his Ferraris, he does not move like someone who can afford these purchases, but that’s because he also knows about investing and stacking.

In an age of the (often fake) stunt and the flex (ask Shad Moss), take it from Curren$y that your hustle should involve stacking for rainy days.

This is Curren$y’s gangster way of saying everything that sparkles isn’t gold, and the concept is still brilliant.

Whether it’s labels, sponsors, or even features, your hustle should be calculated and should lack compromise.

You cannot amass the loyal following that the Jet Life leader has without jumping on every perceived plane. Be wise in your “yes’s” as well as your “no’s”.

Know your worth. When you put in the work, no one besides you can tell you what you deserve.

Curren$y believes in himself as a rapper, and even more as a businessman, and decided to take matters in his own hand. For you that could mean quitting your job and creating your own platform, or demanding a raise.

Whatever it may be, make sure you keep your value in mind at all times. It’s how you protect your hustle.

4 leadership traits every true boss has that makes their team stronger

There’s a very common misconception that great leaders are born. While that may be true in some cases, there aren’t too many of those. The majority percentage comes from practice and the right experiences.

Born leaders are endowed with “indisposable” characteristics that set them apart from those who are “made” into leaders over time. But regardless, anyone is capable of becoming a leader with repetition.

Great leaders in business prove to be exceptional in the way they approach their employees, are able to maximize their potential and perhaps the most important feature a leader can carry — social intelligence.

This is needed for guiding, inspiring, educating and igniting those around them to become better. Any great leader knows that they are only as good as the people they surround themselves with. A great leader possesses the ability to carry others towards success.

Of course they are, there are multiples ways of leading, some more bureaucratic than others, but there are a couple of qualities that every great leader, no matter how they got there, has.

Great leadership is a universal skill that can be used in every field if applied correctly.

Sit down, be humble

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Sometimes leaders are so focused on managing every task around them that they  disadvantage themselves by becoming less self-aware of the bigger picture. This leads to situations where they are unable to reflect on what they really need out of their team.

Leaders who are acutely aware of their actions and the way they respond to others is pertinent to their success. Leaders who take time to check themselves before checking their team can see the hidden gaps and flaws they might have missed through self-reflection.

Humility is important in a leader’s role, though some may display it as a fake persona to mask their egocentric visions, strong leaders must carry humility on their shoulder as a tool for their own education and success.

Humility is both being able to recognize your faults and mistakes, as well as allowing for more understanding of those around you.


Listening and assessing the situation a hand

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Good listeners come a dime in a dozen. Good listeners who actually help are even rarer than that. Exceptional leaders take the time to listen, digest and address whatever situation is thrown at them.

They don’t look for a quick fix. They don’t slap a bandaid over a fresh wound, they think of other ways they can help the healing process further, even if it takes a longer time to solve the problem.

Good leaders know how to listen and offer advice and what it means to dissect a situation. The more you listen, the more you learn, and leaders never stop learning.


Planning, risk-taking and understanding the bigger vision

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These qualities are what drives a leader in reaching their goals and having everyone see their same vision.

The bigger picture is the drive, and in order to make it happen, your entire team needs to see and feel it also. If you aren’t holding the same vision, then there’s a chance the project will fall flat.

What becomes tricky is bringing so many different minds together to reach a common goal. Take former Intel CEO Andrew Grove who wrote about the difficulties of process-oriented work in his novel, High Output Management:

“Running a successful business requires process-oriented thinkers. People who simply rely on instinct and creativity may find it difficult to work together on a regular basis.”

If you want everyone to work together, you need to inspire your team and create the right system for success.

If your vision isn’t crystal clear for everyone, then there’s a problem that needs to be address. Leaders know how to operate their environment into becoming a well-oiled machine.


Confidence & accountability

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While it may be a blaring juxtaposition, they truly do go hand in hand. Confidence is needed to lead and accountability is meant to educate.

If a leader has the right amount of confidence, their team will be more inclined to work for them, listen to them and follow their vision. If a leader shows that they are accountable for their faults as well, they’ll earn their trust and eventually loyalty.

Both can be traits that display vulnerability; confidence can be overly exerted and no one likes to admit their wrong, but if balanced together the right way, it will create an equilibrium that drives your entire team.

Confidence in others leads to work getting done while accountability prevents mistakes from repeating themselves.

Leaders can flex their skills as time goes on, much like anything we do, but leadership only improves with practice and time. To be a good leader you must understand your team. To be a great leader, you must understand yourself.

4 misconceptions graduates have coming out of college

Senioritis in college is far worse than it is in high school.

That feeling of mentally tapping out and being over the curriculum just heightens when you know the freedom of adulthood awaits the other-side.

It’s almost as if the culmination of being of drinking age, owning a degree and not having any pressing obligations creates a new you. A you who thinks they’re ready for life and is now equipped to face whatever comes their way.

This could not be further from the truth.

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What we fail to understand is that college is merely the training wheels to ride this is thing we call life. Navigating what we do, where we go and how we conduct ourselves post-college requires balance — a type of balance that universities do not prepare us for.

And because college is treated as the last stage of ignorance, we go into the real world unprepared, wide-eyed, and susceptible to the pitfalls that lie in plain sight.

Honestly, with how readily assessable information is there shouldn’t be an excuse: everyone should be, at the very least, aware of the realities that come with post-graduate life.

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But because we’re so full of ourselves and drunk off of our accomplishments, we ignore them.

Well I’m here to sober you up. Here are four common misconceptions graduates have coming out of college.

You’ll get a job

One of the biggest misconceptions of recent college grads is that they’ll get a job a soon as they walk across the stage. It’s noble.

You have a formal education, you’re young, you’re interested and hungry. Why wouldn’t you be able to find work? That’s just not how the real world works.

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Know this: we’re not too far removed from being in a ‘graduate underemployment epidemic’. The 53.6 percent of recent college graduates out of work or underemployed reported in 2011 only dropped to 33 percent in 2014.

Still too many for the price they’re paying.

Everyone’s story is different and you write your own history, but it’s important to grasp the reality of having to shop around your skills and building relationships before landing your dream situation. If you struggle to find a job once you graduate and you have set aside some savings, you could invest in an affordable franchise. For example, if you’re passionate about dogs, a dog training franchise could be an ideal fit. Many pet businesses require purchasing office space, maintaining a large inventory, and managing full-time staff. Not only does that require a high-dollar investment with considerable overhead, but it also makes your job more complicated. Running a business doesn’t have to be that way. It’s possible to operate an affordable franchise within the pet industry that is both simple and successful.


You’re done with schooling

Another idea that graduates to be or recent grads have is that they’ll stop learning — as if just because there aren’t anymore professors, assigned reading or deadlines, studying wont need to be done. The truth is, you learn the most after college rather than in it.

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Whether it’s having to learn a restaurant’s menu from front to back, or skills like coding, there are endless concepts and methods you’ll have to learn on the fly or even take back to work on at home.

Self-education is the best education. In a time where lies and truth, and real and fake, are often too blurred of lines, reading up and researching for yourself should be something you strive to do regardless.


You’ve made the friends you’ll make for life

Another false truth that is adopted by grads-to-be, is that the friends they have will be the friends they have for life.

It certainly feels that way throughout college, but the actuality of it actually happening is slim. Trust me.

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Just like high school, you’ll start to find yourself communicating less and less with people you never missed a day without seeing. Its not personal, its circumstantial.

It’s normal for lives to naturally drift in opposite directions. Your profession may pull you one way while their profession pulls them to another. It happens.

What you will find, though, is that the friends that don’t faulter — that rare three or four — will be the ones you can count on forever. Big facts.


Your degree will solve everything

New graduates tend to think their degree is a key to whatever door they want to access. Because it took four years to attain, there’s a sense of value in it, so they automatically assume others will see the value in it, too.

You should always look to build on your degree.

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Whether that’s getting a certification in a skill or learning a trade or even a program, never get in the mindset that the degree will make it happen for you. It’s only the beginning.

Graduation is an accomplishment, but not one to sit back on. Graduating should push you to go out and prove yourself — not to live in the moment.

When these misconceptions are noted and remembered, you’ll be somewhat better off after getting your degree. Bless up!

YouTube is no longer the wave for creators to monetize. Now what?

Rumor has it that the YouTube community is dying. They are trading away the their ‘wild wild west’ monetization style for a more suit-and-tie look.

With YouTube Red also in full force, vloggers and creatives are facing an uphill battle.

A new study has surfaced showing creators currently using the platform aren’t bringing in the big bucks.

Mathias Bartl, a professor at the Offenburg University of Applied Science in Germany, conducted a study to see how much the average YouTuber makes.

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Bartl’s discoveries are alarming. If you want to bring home $12,000 a month, your videos need at least a million views a month.

You’re only securing those type of bags if you’ve cracked the 3.5% mark of YouTube’s most viewed channels. Why is that? Because the more ads that are being seen on your channel the more money you receive.

Last year, the Google-owned video platform eliminated partnerships and monetization for YouTube channels under 10,000 lifetime views. This year they’ve added more structure to their partnership/monetization program.

Now, a YouTuber looking to make money needs at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time over the last 12 months. Sounds like a daunting task if you’re just starting out.

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It’s no secret that YouTube is changing their requirements since its addition of YouTube Red. YouTube is trying to provide a safer environment for content creators and viewers to co-exist. The rule changes put in place are to weed out the serious creatives and those who casually upload.  

To add more spit to the shine, YouTube is censoring videos that may be deemed controversial. The sudden changes resulted in a uproar among YouTube members throughout the community.

This is in lieu of the backlash both YouTube and Logan Paul received, stemming from a video of Paul trolling deceased suicide victims in Japan. 

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For better or worse, YouTube’s new policies do put more pressure on the content creators. However, if you fall under the category this shouldn’t alarm you.

YouTube has leveled the playing field for those seriously looking to cash out. The recent changes should only push you to bring your best content to the table.

If your content is dope you can still be a YouTube millionaire.

Just know even when YouTube was “YouTube,” they were and still are taking 45% of your total revenue, according to Forbes. Are you rocking with YouTube’s new style or think they are harming their own product?