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The Behrend Beacon
College students work on building
hip-hop empires
by Clecia Thompson
l'he Record (Bergen County, N.J.)
Following in the footsteps of such hip-hop
moguls as Russell Simmons and Sean "P.
Diddy" Combs, some area students are get
ting a lesson in business that a university
classroom can't provide.
"Why can't we get our own money?" asks
Tommy Brown, one of many young entrepre
neurs whose goal is to build a hip-hop em
pire.
Brown, a student at Kean University in
Union. N.J, recalled working for an urbin
apparel shop in Newark in which, he said,
the owners knew nothing about the culture
behind the fashion it was supplying.
"Everyone else is getting our money," he
thought - an observation that drove him to
unearth his own entrepreneurial spirit.
Achieving progress has been a full-time job
for the young man.
l'in working on this seven days a week,"
said Brown
His energy is directed into a number of
projects that he is hoping will get him steps
closer to success
Together with friends Benjamin Hobbs,
Jeff Jacobs, and Keith Small, all of
Maplewood and South Orange, N.J., Brown
began G ood fel laz Entertainment, a group that
sponsors parties for college crowds.
Goodfella' Entertainment, Brown says, is
more for exposure than profit. Hobbs agrees.
"Basically. right now, we're trying to build
a following," he said.
The young men explained that each mem
her of the group is developing his own sepa
rate venture. Hobbs, for instance, is work
ing on a project that he hopes will become a
fashion label.
Frir Brtiwn, the dream is to lead his ven
ture. Kingpin Records, to success. The com
pan \ .it2tis and promotes artists with hopes
e'. clonally linking with a major record la
bel. Hrttwn began the company about a year
,!,) .lid has acquired a home office and stu
,lin.
On lip of all this, he is still managing his
life a , . a college student. Brown is attending
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Kean this fall to continue his business man-
agement major
Like Brown, Cliff "Presice" Hunter, 22, of
Passaic, N.J., has recently begun a career in
the hip-hop music industry.
High Risk Entertainment, founded by
Hunter and Philadelphia residents Kian
"Lucky" Kincloe and Jamar "Fear" Hewett,
is an artist development company that seeks
out and prepares hopefuls for careers in the
music industry.
The idea began to take shape when Hunter
and Kincloe met as roommates at Fairleigh
Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J., and
the three rappers teamed up to start the com-
A year and a half later, High Risk Enter
tainment is working to recruit artists and gain
the attention of record companies.
"I'm developing my craft right now in
school working on it," said Hunter, a com
munications major focusing on film editing
and directing. He is using his classes to
strengthen his skills as a video director and
has two music videos under his belt - both
rap songs performed by Hewlett.
In addition to making videos, Hunter and
his colleagues are working with new talent,
developing and producing their own albums,
and vying with other amateurs for industry
attention. Their singles have hit that area's
airwaves.
The biggest struggle the company faces
now is finding a distributor.
"Basically, we've just got to stay in our
frame of mind and do what we've got to do,"
he said. "Eventually someone (will) bite."
Hunter said he and the others formed their
own company for artistic freedom. "You've
got more control over your music," he said.
"It's a lot easier when you are making all this
stuff yourself."
High Risk Entertainment avoids some pro
duction costs by working out of a studio in
Kincloe's basement.
"We don't lose any money," said Hunter,
who says renting studio time is costly.
"When we get a little disappointment, that
is basically a smack on the head letting us
know what we have to do," he said.
Behrend College Special!
NATIONAL
CAMPUS NEWS
Friday, September 20, 2002
Web site offers
by Eric Goodwin
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
What's one thing everyone could use more of?
Money. The secret of wealth, however, isn't neces
sarily quantity, but how you manage what you have.
To help teens get the most of their money, the Na
tional Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE)
Teen Resource Bureau founded a Web site, NTRB
Online (http://www.ntrbonline.org), to educate
teens on the basics of fiscal management.
NTRB Online isn't bogged down in the accoun
tant-speak you'd expect. It does a good job of in
troducing concepts in a concise, straightforward
manner that's easily accessible to teens and young
adults.
Plus, the site uses a variety of methods to reach
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financial advice
its audience. It has a Q-and-A coluthn called "Ask Ma
dame Moolah" where frequently asked questions on
saving and investment are answered. Also, there's a
"Spotlight on Teens" section that breaks down teen
spending habits and includes tips on budgeting and ex
pense tracking.
NTRB Online's section entitled "Thirty Tips to Be
coming Rich" uses Flash animations to illustrate im
portant financial concepts. Some of these include how
to cut back on some of your expenses, the time value of
money and how stocks increase in value. The section
also explains terms such as "mutual fund," "CDs" (not
kind you store music on) and "money market fund."
Learning how to manage your money in your teens
can help you avoid some of the financial pitfalls many
people face as adults. NTRB Online will teach you how
to make your money work for you.
plus tax