Crypto, Nas, AI, Snoop Dogg. Click Now For Your Weekly Cultural Intel Brief!

Happy Tuesday! Hope your week is off to a good start. As always, here is a quick look at a few things I'm tracking at the intersection of power, deals, trends in emerging tech, and media/entertainment through a pop culture/hip hop lens. This is fuel for your insights and strategy to better reach GenZ and Millennials. Quick one since Thursday's Advertising Week conference was a big issue!

Here we go!

1) ICYMI, Flava Flav of the legendary group Public Enemy is not only out here celebrating his sobriety but also championing an AI app for therapy. Flav marked the four-year milestone but offering to pay for subscriptions for anyone who signed up on World Mental Health Day, which just passed. Shout out to Flav for continuing to think about others. I also like how this app is intended for supplemental use when one can't access a human therapist and needs an understanding ear. This is a nice collabo that I don't think many saw coming. Beautifully done. If you want the deets, check out the full story right here. Brands that are not tracking the power of hip-hop, mental health, and emerging tech are truly missing organic ways to connect. Make big plans for 2025 (see my reference to L'il Jon and Calm in my Advertising Week issue recap for more)

2) While brands and marketers were at Advertising Week last week, many in film and TV hit Bloomberg's annual Screentime conference. The usual heavy-hitter suspects were there with not a lot of ground-breaking scenarios and from what I read, a truly missed opportunity to discuss the impact that emerging tech is having on this sector aside from the obligatory AI demos. Snoop was a highlight talking about his upcoming gig on "The Voice," his album with Dr. Dre, and more. You can check out the full interview right here , btw. While all these conferences are great for bringing execs together, don't mistake these for where trends are actually hatched. The reflective moments on previous deals, rants, or pontifications intended to placate. Intel on what's next and what's hot comes from keeping your ear to the ground. You need both.

*** Quick Note: if you are someone who wants to learn more about this powerful space of youth culture and how you can use it to better connect with Gen Z and Millennials and/or become part of the cultural narrative, connect with celebrated recording artists/notables in the space, and/or creates brand?strategy,?DM me to discuss further.

My team and I provide strategy and consulting for demystifying relevant emerging tech, defining the cultural opportunity, and defining a roadmap for the new era. We also provide content development, live event production, concept marketing ideas, proofreading/copywriting!

Learn about my Innovation Strategy & Creative Studio right here .

Not ready for a full strategy but definitely looking for insights to better plan for 2024 and beyond? Book?me to speak. From Keynotes to corporate leadership workshops, I provide competitive advantage through powerful insights, cultural intelligence, and emerging tech forecasts. Don't forget to check out my weekly podcast. ***Season 5, Episode 10 is live and looks at my top 10 moments at the intersection of emerging tech x hip hop for the year thus far. Don't miss my season finale. Season 6 kicks off on October 17, 2024. Take the downtime to catch up on any episodes you might have missed.*** I mix it up between an interview with an industry figure and analysis of the latest deals and news to help you make sense of the opportunities. Think of it as an extension of your weekly brief here. Click now to get the scoop. Apple or Spotify. Please rate and follow!

3) Did you know that, allegedly, Nas is one of the earliest rap artists to spit rhymes about crypto? And I love how this piece breaks down how much you would have today if you invested $1000 in Bitcoin at that time and what the value would be today. You gotta check it out right here.

Fast forward to today and Ty Dolla $ign is dropping mad chips on memecoins. The fact that people of color out-index in interest about crypto/Web3, as noted by a Coinbase report a couple of years ago, is an untapped arena. Once the Web3 space truly seizes this interest along with well-developed offerings, it's on!

Well, that's it for this issue. Have a great rest of the week. See you next Tuesday!