There’s a saying about community building floating around that states that all you have to do to live your passion is find your “1000 true fans” who are willing to support you in your dreams monetarily.
I believe there’s more to it than that, but I can respect it.
The thing is, whether it’s about 1000 true fans, or 500, or even 50, “community” is at the heart of it and of everything we do; It’s who we are as human beings. Connection is everything to us, that’s why it makes sense for anyone hoping to make a living with their talents to find ways to create community.
Notice that I didn’t say “a community” just… community. There’s a difference between the two.
“A Community” denotes a a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common and “community” denotes a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.
One is tangible, and the other isn’t. But in a perfect world, you need both. And ironically, if you capture the intangible i.e. the feeling, you’ll get the tangibles – meaning the people.
So, What is “The Community Economy”?
In a nutshell, the community economy refers to creators who’ve built a following that support them financially.
Rappers who’ve mastered the art of community don’t rely on platinum records or radio hits to make a living. And, there’s something that brands can learn from them. So, today we’re going to talk about a few rappers who’ve thrived in the community economy.
ARTISTS ARE LIVE-STREAMING
We all know T-Pain, or at least we should.
He first hit the scene around 2007 and took the world by storm with auto-tune on his major label debut “Rapper Turnt Singer.” Y’all remember “N Luv With a Stripper” right? Yep, thought so.
While those days are behind us, T-pain has since pivoted. He’s completely independent, and part of his indie pivot is live streaming on Twitch.
That seems counter-intuitive, right? Here’s an artist who goes live streaming on Twitch, doing everything but making music. How does that build community?
Well. T-pain doesn’t just go live to stream games, he brings guests onto his stream for interviews, reviews independent music, and tells untold stories from his days in the music industry – and he does it consistently, which is key.
This mix of live content brings a swath of fans to his channel – some are aspiring artists, some are T-Pain super fans, and others are just looking to kill time.
The bottom line is that T-Pain has created a community of fans around him and though his recording days aren’t quite in the rear view, he now has other ways to stay relevant in culture without having to do much more than be himself. Did I mention that he just opened a restaurant too?
Anyway, let’s continue…
TAKING THE SHOW ON THE ROAD
Sometimes the community behind the content is so strong that you can monetize the community by bringing the content to real life, and that was the case with The Joe Budden Podcast.
The Joe Budden Podcast (whose main host is retired rapper Joe Budden) was a cultural phenomenon in the podcasting world. Its success was so massive that it lead to a Spotify deal which funnily enough, was a pre-cursor to another Joe’s Spotify success (Joe Rogan who eventually signed a $300million deal)
The reason that the JBP is successful is because they’ve created community around their podcast — it’s just a one day conversation; From the beginning, Joe and the crew knew they had a mission: providing entertainment for people at work, on the road, and at the gym; The point is that The JBP was a feeling that they doubled down on.
And remember… Once you get the feeling, you get the people. And that makes it tangible. Hence why they were able to really bring the vision to life by going on tour.
While the OG crew of the Joe Budden Podcast are no longer together, the podcast lives on, and the community is just as strong as it was before the split. Normally that wouldn’t be the case with a brand — a major change in the product line (like discontinuing something) would cause people to look for a replacement or abandon the brand all together. But again, community allows you to stay afloat, because in times of turmoil they’re in it together waiting for the tides to turn again.
THE MERCH IS A LIFESTYLE
There are two indie rappers who exemplify what community is really well. The first is Larry June.
Larry is that motivational best friend that you didn’t know you need. His favorite ad-lib? It’s “Good Job, Larry” — who wouldn’t want that type of positive energy around them.
He’s rapper, business owner, etc. and he’s created a brand that’s centered on positivity and living a healthy organic lifestyle as evidenced by his merch. The core of his success is the community he’s built around his music. It’s good, but fans ultimately tune in for the good vibes of the lifestyle he curates.
Listening to Larry June then, is less about whether you enjoy the music and more about what type of person you are. In this way, fandom becomes communal because it’s not about Larry so much as it is about the lifestyle he portrays. That means that he can create a ton of products in other lifestyle categories & fans will flock to them.
So good job to you, and “Good Job, Larry.”
Curren$y Taught His Fans The Way of Jet Life
I got hip to Curren$y around 2007 after a brief stint he had on Lil Wayne’s imprint Young Money. His Young Money days were short-lived, and honestly something about those days felt off – in big part because he wasn’t being himself.
But around 2009 Curren$y started to bubble again. This time he was espousing a new way of living – something he called Jet Life.
Jet Life is hard to describe. I don’t wanna minimize the lifestyle to being about getting stoned but… that’s a big part of it. In short, the Jet Life is about being stoned and doing fly shit in the process. I think anyone can agree that’s a nice lifestyle.
It’s hard to describe Jet Life if you’re not familiar with the community; In fact, several members follow Curren$y to every concert he has on tour, know every lyric, and own every piece of apparel he creates (I’ve seen this up close, it’s wild).
SO WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN
The takeaway here is that the way forward is community – building a tribe of like-minded souls who all want the same thing more or less. Brands have the power to do so, and so many tools are at their disposal from streaming, podcasting, merch, etc.
It’s hard work, but it pays dividends in the end. I’m building a tribe with SNOBHOP (very shameless plug) and I for one, hope you all join.
Catch y’all later though.
Peace.