He may not be a household name like Diddy, but Russell "Block" Spencer is definitely a hip hop mainstay.
As president of Bad Boy South and CEO of Block Entertainment, Block is also credited with discovering and nurturing the careers of Yung Joc, Ciara, and Gorilla Zoe, to name a few.
Entering into the game around 1994 with Tupac's Outlawz crew, Block gained much of his business savvy by watching Tupac dabble in everything from film and music to headline-worthy, public star-posturing.
By 1995, Block was learning the business hands-on, overseeing projects for the likes of 8Ball & MJG.
And with more than ten years' experience under his belt, Block is now about to jump headfirst into the world of reality TV. He's currently working on a reality show called "Welcome to My Block" with Warner Music Group's CEO Lyor Cohen.
"I'm going to take the camera out the studio and go to different hoods and see artists rap. I'm going to go to their club, and interview people they grew up with," Block says, sitting on a wooden bench outside a bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on a hot afternoon.
Besides making his own power moves, Block has a couple of, err, power commandments for other wannabe industry honchos as well.
BLOCK'S 7 BOSS COMMANDMENTS:
COMMANDMENT ONE:
Mold and Shape the Game:
The way the game is now you got to really mold and shape something and really turn nothing into something. Anyone can form a super group. Anybody can go put Jay-Z, Jeezy, and The Game- anybody can put that group together. They're already stars, they've already done it, that's easy. But go get people who're nobody and sell millions of records . . . Go do that. Because then you'll be a pioneer.
COMMANDMENT TWO:
Shoot High:
A hit comes from heaven. A movement comes from up above. Some people get creative but 85 percent come with gimmicks. When you're creating something from a gimmicky point of view, nine times out of ten those [artists that come out of that] are one hit wonders. The success doesn't last long.
COMMANDMENT THREE:
Buy the Artist:
Consumers have to buy into the artist- not the song. I don't make records for people to buy into the records, I make records for people to buy into the artist. That's why you have to have at least two good solid records, mixtapes supporting those records, and a team. How far does ringtones help you? You got to have a solid album, because you want to live to see the third or fourth album. You want ringtones to be a stepping stone for movies, your own record label, and clothing lines.
COMMANDMENT FOUR:
Posse Up:
I feel the future of marketing is all about the movement of an artist, meaning, right now a lot of people are not selling unless they're with crews. And crews equal movements.
COMMANDMENT FIVE:
Talk the Talk:
In marketing the biggest promotion is word of mouth.
COMMANDMENT SIX:
Sell the Image:
You got to have the full packaging when you're talking about marketing. I can't have Guerilla Zoe coming out in bright ass colors and talking all this happy shit if he's a Guerilla. Ain't nobody gone believe Will Smith if he was in Boyz N Da Hood.
COMMANDMENT SEVEN:
Step Your Game Up:
The new way of marketing, is going back into the old ways of marketing, where you go back and make sure people buy into your artist and not the single. The old skool way of doing shit, when Rush Management were out here making and shaping artists and not just making one record and putting that shit out and selling some fucking ringtones. You got to do more than one record, you got to do more than two records- because you're going to have a guy like me laughing, and I'm going to put an end to your shit.
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Comments
1.
babyajangel says:
he is so fine
August 27, 2007 at 7:19 pm