Hip-Hop, Inc.

How did Russell Simmons turn a little record label being run out of a dorm room into a half-billion dollar enterprise that crosses fashion, consumer credit, and movies?

How has Sean Combs, now simply Diddy, been able to run a half-dozen companies, win an award as a fashion designer, work as an artist and producer, star in a broadway play, and run the New York Marathon?

Who in the business world had ever heard of Master P? And why is he worth $200 million?

Hip-Hop, Inc. tells the impressive and unorthodox story of the rap entrepreneurs. These leaders didn't get an MBA. None of them even finished college. They just instinctively knew how to market, cross-promote, and innovate. They turned a style of music that came out of my neighborhood in the Bronx into a global lifestyle phenomenon, to the point where the world has become a hip-hop nation.

Through Hip-Hop, Inc., I read how the moguls built their empires, their successes and failures along the way, and the lessons that the new upstart moguls are applying to their enterprises. It is a tale of entrepreneurship and creative brand building in the true American tradition. Pump up the bass and come along for the ride.

Based on extensive research and interviews with many people in and around hip-hop, the authors reveal the secrets and strategies that opened the way for rap music to co-opt the mainstream music industry and create one of the most enduring, if unlikely, success stories in American business history.

I encourage everyone who is an entrepreneur or one in the making to read the book.

Peace and Blessings,

Lee Green
Chairman, National Black Business Trade Association (NBBTA)
http://www.nbbta.org