The Power of Culture: Why It Should Drive Your Entertainment Strategy Over Data

My career in the entertainment industry has spanned decades, beginning during my college days. Back in the ’80s, I produced the first-ever East Coast-West Coast hip hop show featuring NWA and Eazy-E, and later, I was the producer behind the iconic Straight Outta Compton tour—the inspiration for a $200M film. I also launched and ran Master P’s No Limit Films, pioneering the straight-to-video model when everyone else was still focused on rental chains like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. I was instrumental in taking Def Comedy Jam into the home video market and helped turn the And1 Mixtape series into a cultural movement. I started working with Kevin Hart long before he became the global icon we all know today.

I’m not here to rattle off my achievements, but I do want to talk about a trend that’s taking over the industry and, in my opinion, stifling creativity—this obsession with data. Look, every major moment in my career had one thing in common: none of it was data-driven. There was no algorithm that said Kevin Hart was going to be a global star. No data could predict that Eazy-E and NWA would define an entire genre of music. And no one could forecast the cultural ripple effect of Def Comedy Jam or the And1 Mixtape series. Those wins came from trusting instinct, not relying on numbers.

Today, far too many entertainment executives are leaning heavily on data to guide their decisions about talent and content. But here’s the reality—data will never replace culture. Culture is the real strategy, and it always has been. My success has been rooted in understanding cultural movements and trusting my instincts, not in the data that’s starting to dominate this industry. Data didn’t predict the rise of the Creator Economy, which now stands at $250 billion and is expected to nearly double by 2027. If we want to keep innovating and discovering new talent, we need to focus on culture—not just the numbers.

The creator economy can be likened to a global village where artists, influencers, and content creators from every corner of the world come together to share their talents. This global village thrives on digital platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok—platforms that operate outside the traditional grip of Hollywood. Interestingly, the concept of a global village was developed 14 years ago by Bobby Francis , an industry executive, who introduced me to this idea before it even had a name. Bob called it Artist Live: Global Village, a visionary concept that perfectly captures what we now know as the creator economy. Today, this economy is valued at $250 billion, projected to nearly double by 2027. It's a thriving space where artists build their own cultural movements, often beyond the reach of traditional data models and studio systems. Bob’s insight was ahead of its time, and it’s a reminder that culture always leads, while data tries to catch up.

The Limitations of Data in Finding Talent

We’ve all been there—staring at a spreadsheet, hoping the data will tell us where to find the next big thing. But here’s the hard truth: data is reactive it tells you what’s already hot; it doesn’t predict the future. In this business, if all you’re doing is following the data, you’re already behind. Culture moves fast—faster than any algorithm can keep up with. If you’re looking for the next breakout comedian, get off the computer and go to the comedy clubs. If you want to find the next music sensation, you better be at the live shows, feeling the crowd’s energy. You can’t learn this stuff from a report—it requires being out there, understanding the culture in real time, and sometimes making decisions based on nothing but instinct. That’s where the real magic happens.

A Case in Point: The Rise of Willonius Hatcher

Here’s a real-world example: Willonius Hatcher , or King Willonius as he goes by now. He’s on Time’s 2024 list of the 100 Most Influential People in AI, but he didn’t follow any typical roadmap to get there. I found him on Instagram when his sci-fi series The Lickback Renaissance had barely a few thousand views. There was no viral traction, no data-backed signals that this was the next big thing.

The videos weren’t your usual easy-to-digest, viral material—they were detailed, sci-fi narratives inspired by black afro futurism? woven with AI concepts, and they felt ahead of the curve. No engagement metrics suggested these would take off. But I didn’t need numbers to see what was there—his work had vision and originality, and I knew it had potential. I reached out, and Willonious told me he was a comedian and screenwriter who’d hit a brick wall in Hollywood. The algorithms weren’t doing him any favors, but I saw what the data couldn’t.

I said, “Let me repost your videos on my Codeblack social media pages—I’ve got a feeling about this.” No focus groups, no data—just experience and gut instinct. The videos went viral, millions of views poured in, and then Wired Magazine picked up on him. Soon after, Willonius became a major figure in AI-driven storytelling and even sparked the BBL phenomenon. His rise wasn’t something a spreadsheet could have predicted; it was all about spotting his talent before the numbers could catch up.

Where Data Falls Short: The Human Touch

The truth is, stories like Willonius’s are everywhere. The entertainment industry isn’t just about metrics—it’s about feeling the pulse of the culture and knowing when something just clicks. Data is a tool, not a crystal ball. It can show you what’s happening, but it can’t tell you why something resonates or predict the next cultural shift. That’s where experience, intuition, and a genuine understanding of the audience come into play.

Balancing Data with Intuition

Don’t get me wrong—data has its place. It’s a great tool for validation, for tweaking strategies, and for understanding performance. But if you want to lead, if you want to be at the forefront of this industry, you can’t rely on data alone. You’ve got to trust your gut, lean on your experience, and sometimes just make the call because it feels right.

So the next time you’re looking at a talent or a piece of content that doesn’t quite fit the data mold, remember: the biggest successes often come from the risks you take when you trust your instincts over the numbers. The data might point you in one direction, but your intuition—honed from years in the business—can take you places data never will.

Read up on Will’s story here

https://time.com/7012740/king-willonius/