#127: Escape From Rack City
My conversation with Tyga, ecommerce hacks and more!
MUSIC THING:
(Joshua Kissi)
As I write this, Tyga is the 27th most-listened-to artist globally on Spotify. That means he has more monthly listens on Spotify than the following artists: Kanye West, Rihanna, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Michael Jackson, Rick Ross, Frank Ocean, Chris Brown, Jay-Z, The Beatles, Whitney Houston, The Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Elvis, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, and Shania Twain.
Since 2008, Tyga has sold 12 million singles, has two platinum album, two gold and four top 20 singles. Nothing can be said to be certain in the world we live in except for three things: Death, taxes, and a new Tyga song every summer.
A few weeks ago, I set out to interview Tyga about being happy when things are bad.
It turned into a broader conversation about branding and marketing himself in a very insane music industry. Read the whole interview by clicking this button.
CULTURE THING:
Beirut’s Nightlife Survived Civil War. Can It Withstand Pandemic? (NYT)
Prayers for Beirut and Lebanon, in general. These videos are terrifying.
MARKETING THING:
19 eCommerce Case Studies You Need To Steal From (CoreDNA)
If you sell things online, you should read this and steal some of these concepts for your own thing.
HOW TO HELP BLACK LIVES IN 30 MINS OR LESS:
When it comes to taking the steps needed to create a racially equal America, I’ve heard from many well-intentioned non-Black people over the last two months that one of the most daunting things for them is trying to figure out what they can personally do make things better.
Some folks see these massive issues as a significant problem that cannot be defeated, so they struggle to figure out what one person can do, which leads to them not doing much other than posting to IG. Some of that is not wanting to seem like you’re doing too much, some of that is fear your intentions will be misunderstood.
What if I told you that for only 30 minutes a week, you can help black lives no matter where you are or how much money you make? Here’s how:
Carve out 30 minutes in your calendar this week. Call it “Being A Better Person Time” or “Set a Good Example for my Kid” Time, whatever works.
Click a link and make a call or donate or sign a petition. Just do one thing in that 30 min window.
This weekend, share the above link with your three closest friends and say, “Hey, I’m (calling/donating/signing a petition). I’m worried about how things will be for future generations, so I’m doing something about it. If you’re interested, here’s the link!” If you have a group chat, drop it into your group chat!
Repeat the following week for as long as you can. Do it while you online shop, do it while you’re on an annoying call, hell, you can do it while you poop, I genuinely don’t care! Whatever it takes! It is the absolute least that you can do, but you’ll get a sense of accomplishment and the knowledge that you at least did SOMETHING to help. You have a vision of who you want to be, right? That ideal version of yourself that does the right thing when given a chance and leads by example? This is that chance. You can do it!
BONUS: You won’t have to lie to your kids or grandkids about being on the right side of history! You can be all like, “Children/Grandchildren, we don’t tolerate that racist shit in this house. If anyone says otherwise, send them to me.” and you’ll sound all tough and cool, and your kids or grandkids will respect and love you and not want to be racists…guess what? That means less racist people in the future!!!
Look at that. It turns out you had a bigger impact than you thought the whole time!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
(A bunch of guys who owned slaves)
Starting today, paid Office Hours subscribers have access to The Junto - a private Slack channel for the forever curious. The name comes from Ben Franklin, who started the first Junto back in 1727 as a “club for mutual improvement”.
Members of the Junto club were avid readers and intellectuals involved in their individual improvement and that of society. The Junto was a launching pad for many public projects. Out of the meetings came proposals for the creation of the first lending library, the Union Fire Company, the University of Pennsylvania, volunteer militia, Pennsylvania Hospital among other public projects.
Doesn’t that sound like something you want to be a part of?
I don’t have delusions of grandeur. I know that a private Slack channel won’t change the world. However, I know very well that there are a lot of forever-curious people who read this newsletter and after years of searching for a place to belong, I realized that it was easier to just make one. Who knows, we might mess around and stumble on something big? Also: when we have a suitable COVID-19 vaccine, Junto members will be invited to live events I curate in a few cities.
If you’re a paid Office Hours subscriber, check your inbox for an additional e-mail from me with the link to access the Slack channel. Thank you again for your continued support!
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Office Hours is written and created by Ernest Wilkins.
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