Hip-hop is big business — venturing from the world’s grandest and most expensive stages into lucrative sponsorships in sneakers and apparel, nightlife and liquor, real estate and sports.
The industry has gone from “main street” to mogul, turning Dr. Dre’s beats into a lucrative headphone brand and transforming an artist like Jay-Z from a “businessman” to a “business, man.” Is hip-hop the driving force behind Black business and economic mobility?
What can we glean from its innovative strategies and enterprising spirit? And how do the creative economies hip-hop has brokered affect California’s racially diverse and rapidly changing communities?
Hip-hop brand marketer and executive Tara DeVeaux and media executive for youth culture storytelling Detavio Samuels discuss hip-hop’s impact on the economy during the opening night of CA FWD’s 2025 California Economic Summit, moderated by Robeson Taj Frazier, director of USC Annenberg Institute for Difference and Empowerment in the Arts.
This public conversation, on the opening night of CA FWD’s 2025 California Economic Summit, will be followed by a reception hosted by San Joaquin Partnership at the Banner Island Ballpark, featuring a live musical performance, drinks, and bites.
This program is part of California 175 — What Connects California?, a suite of free Zócalo events and essays, bringing together leaders and thinkers from all walks of life to envision California’s next 175 years. It will take place from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, at University Plaza Waterfront Hotel, 110 W Fremont St., Stockton. Register at: https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/is-hip-hop-americas-biggest-success-story/
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton hip-hop summit to explore economic, cultural impact