Rapper Maino, believes that in hip-hop expansion is the name of the game.
“I think that right now with hip-hop we’ve got the opportunity to do many things,” says the Brooklyn rapper while in conversation at the “In His Zone” stage, during the ESSENCE Festival of Culture.
Don’t get it twisted, the “Hi Hater” rapper is a man of many talents. In addition to being a musician, Maino started a podcast, which evolved into a show with Fox Soul, which is called Maino Presents Kitchen Talk. He is also still recording music, among other projects. “I just think that right now in the game you don’t have to give up one for the other. You can commit different things,” says the rapper in reference to his various enterprises.
Panelist Cortez ‘Tez’ Bryant is Co-CEO of The Blueprint Group and says that artists are dynamic, not static or singular in the scope of their work. “We look at our artists, not as artists I say, but we look at them as brands and that’s literally how we build them from the ground up. So we understand that it’s more than just the music.”
The music manager and executive also says that faith is the foundation of everything that he does. Bryant reflects on how his faith, rather than fear, has guided his career, “That’s what leads me and that’s what literally drives me.” The Jackson State University alum continues, “When [Lil] Wayne hit me up and asked me to manage him, early, I understood that there were going to be a lot of obstacles; bump my head along the way. Still, to this day I am ever-learning in this business. I’ve never been afraid of those types of things. And fear just doesn’t exist for me.”
Maino says that he didn’t start rapping until he was incarcerated, and at that point in his life (being a new father) he was living off of faith. As for his legacy, Maino wants his life and works to be an inspiration to all.
“I want my story to be inspirational, very inspirational for those that come from turmoil, whether they are coming from streets or they are coming from any kind of deficit. The way you start—you don’t have to end that way. I come in contact with a lot of younger artists, with a lot of young Black men and I try to just tell them that the opportunity is greater than the problem.”
And with those words, the Brooklyn rapper certainly left the ESSENCE Festival of Culture with a sense of awe and encouragement.