Entertainer and Entrepreneur Nick Cannon sat down for Forbes Senior Writer Jabari Young to talk about Cannon's growing list of shows, Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary and bringing together Black entrepreneurs at the ForbesBLK Summit in Atlanta.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:03 - Here at the 2023 BLK Summit in Atlanta, man.
00:06 Nick Cannon in the house, man.
00:08 Really appreciate the time.
00:09 What do you think of the event, man?
00:10 - Jabari, man, y'all setting it off up in here.
00:13 It's live, it's electric, it's us, man.
00:16 So job well done.
00:17 - I appreciate that, man.
00:18 You know, I wanted to do this
00:20 because every time I watch that clip of you and Kenan
00:23 and how he always used to say he used to be a Jabari, right?
00:25 Like, it's amazing, man.
00:27 Now you sitting talking to a Jabari.
00:28 - To an actual Jabari.
00:29 - Yeah, you talking to an actual Jabari.
00:31 How does it feel to talk to an actual Jabari?
00:33 - I mean, I've envisioned Jabaris in my life.
00:36 Nah, man, it's a inside joke that Kenan and I,
00:40 that's one of my best friends in life.
00:41 And we literally, 'cause you know,
00:43 that's like, that's a black name that we all,
00:46 you know, it's your name.
00:48 So like, everybody know a Jabari.
00:50 - When I write the name and I fill out your ethnicity,
00:53 I'm like, come on, y'all can figure that out.
00:55 Y'all can figure it out.
00:56 So what's 2024 in store, man?
00:57 2023 is over, right?
00:58 - Man, I'm so excited about 2024,
01:01 all the innovation and entrepreneurial efforts
01:03 that we're putting together in the space of just content,
01:06 ownership, assets, acquisitions, you know what I mean?
01:10 Like, I've had the opportunity throughout my career
01:13 to kind of watch the game shift and be able to adapt.
01:17 And now I'm in that space, man,
01:19 of really building platforms to give others opportunities.
01:21 So, you know, we got a few new shows.
01:23 We got the Future Superstar Show that just launched
01:26 that really is about the next generation of music artists.
01:29 We got a show doing a lot of stuff
01:32 in the Amazon platform and building, you know,
01:35 they have so much going on from the spaces of commerce
01:37 and content merging together.
01:39 So I'm on there daily.
01:41 I'm on Twitch, I'm on Prime, I'm on Freebie.
01:44 So we're doing stuff with them.
01:46 And then of course, building this Wild 'N Out brand
01:48 to kind of continue to sustain in the space of, you know,
01:51 content creators, comedy, and really just brand innovation.
01:55 - What's the future of Wild 'N Out, man?
01:56 'Cause you just mentioned, I mean,
01:57 it was with MTV for a long time.
01:59 Do you continue on that path?
02:01 - I think it's grown beyond it, you know what I mean?
02:03 I love what Paramount is doing of how they, you know,
02:06 kind of compartmentalized everything,
02:07 but still keeping everything under the Paramount umbrella.
02:10 So now it's not, Wild 'N Out isn't just MTV,
02:14 it isn't just BET, it isn't VH1, it's its own brand.
02:17 And you'll see that more and more.
02:19 It's Paramount's most number one digital brand
02:22 out of all of their, you know, entities combined.
02:26 So I'm excited to just allow it to grow
02:29 and continue to partner with them
02:30 and allow it to stand on its own
02:32 because that's where it's going.
02:33 Like, we used to, you know,
02:35 turn to a certain channel to watch something.
02:37 Now you just type it in.
02:38 And from that, you know, we've had so much traction
02:41 and so much growth, especially in the digital space.
02:43 So we live in there super strong.
02:45 - Yeah, and you're just coming off of our panel, man.
02:47 Thanks you again, talking about Africa
02:49 and ways you can expand on that continent.
02:51 And I've been having so many conversations
02:53 with people that live in Africa, businesses.
02:55 I know FinTech is one of the areas that they're looking at.
02:58 What are you looking at when it comes?
03:00 I know you want to expand Wild 'N Out over there,
03:01 but is there any other areas?
03:02 - Yeah, the diaspora and the talent there.
03:03 You know what I mean?
03:04 Obviously music has already led the charge.
03:06 - Absolutely.
03:06 - You know, they're the number one music
03:08 around the world right now.
03:10 And then I feel like that's the same way
03:12 in the space of film and television, man.
03:14 I want, there's so many stories that should be told,
03:17 I mean, about the continent.
03:19 Great historical stories, man.
03:21 I wanted to even talk more about that on the panel.
03:23 Like we want to hear the story of Matamuse.
03:26 We want to hear the story of Nefertiti.
03:28 We want to hear the story of--
03:29 - Kela.
03:30 - Yeah, yeah.
03:31 It's so many that, you know, if we dig deep,
03:35 because I'm always one of the pontificators
03:38 when it comes to like, yo, we're much more than just,
03:42 you know, our post-traumatic slave syndrome.
03:44 - Absolutely.
03:45 - You know what I mean?
03:46 The African-Americans here always believe
03:48 our history starts with slavery.
03:50 When we come from great lineages of kings,
03:52 scientists, creators, you know,
03:54 the architects of our culture.
03:56 I want to be able to help tell those stories.
03:58 - Yeah, yeah.
03:59 2024, that's what the future is.
04:00 But let's flash back one minute to 2023, right?
04:03 Because you cannot talk about hip hop culture
04:06 without mentioning you in that, right?
04:07 I mean, you can't go,
04:09 and drumline was a piece of hip hop culture, right?
04:11 You're a piece of hip hop culture.
04:13 Did you like the way that hip hop was celebrated
04:15 on the 50th anniversary, or could it have been better?
04:18 - I mean, I always believe it could have been better
04:20 just because I feel like I am a child of hip hop,
04:22 as you put it.
04:23 So I want to see it on the biggest stages.
04:26 I think everybody who saluted it and celebrated it
04:28 did a fantastic job.
04:30 I love the fact that, you know,
04:31 everything from seeing the hip hop museum
04:33 go up in the Bronx to all of the things
04:35 that we got to see at the Grammys,
04:37 and I believe there's even another coming up
04:40 literally this week,
04:41 a celebration at the Grammys and CBS are putting on.
04:44 But we got to keep going.
04:45 We got to go harder because it is our culture.
04:47 It's the number one export.
04:49 And everyone knows that hip hop is taking over the world.
04:53 So, and it's still young, it's 50,
04:55 but I want them to scream it louder from the mountaintops.
04:58 But every celebration has been dope,
05:00 and it's so dope to see our OGs get recognized.
05:04 You know what I mean?
05:05 And bringing together with, you know,
05:07 everybody who's moving and shaking in the culture right now.
05:10 I think Jay did it, you know,
05:12 or Jay was celebrated in such an amazing way
05:15 with the Brooklyn Museum and, you know.
05:17 - Have you been?
05:18 - I haven't, I want to go.
05:19 I'm trying to get there.
05:20 I'm back in New York next week,
05:21 so I'm going to try to get out there.
05:22 - You got to, man, 'cause I'm not going to be there forever.
05:24 - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:25 - I keep it getting as an exhibit,
05:26 so I got to go myself, man.
05:27 Hey, listen, I get you out of here on this
05:28 'cause you got a plane to catch.
05:30 Always ask people at the end,
05:31 because Jim Collins wrote a great book.
05:33 It's called "Good to Great."
05:34 - Yes.
05:35 - How do you transition from good to great?
05:37 You've been there, Nick.
05:38 You've climbed the ladder in entertainment.
05:40 Steve Harvey's one of your mentors,
05:42 like, you know, done that.
05:43 How does one get from good to great in this society?
05:46 - Perseverance.
05:47 You get from good to great by not stopping.
05:49 It's going to be many obstacles.
05:51 It's going to be many challenges,
05:52 but those are only meant to sharpen you from good to great.
05:55 You start off as good.
05:56 We all got some goodness in us,
05:58 but that perseverance, that stick-to-itiveness
06:02 is what allows people to become great,
06:04 you know what I mean?
06:05 Especially when you weather the storm
06:06 and you see adversity,
06:07 that's where the greatness occurs.
06:10 - Perseverance.
06:11 - Yeah. - Appreciate it, man.
06:12 - My man. - Nick Cannon, 2023,
06:13 BOK Summit.
06:14 Got to have you back in future summits, man.
06:15 - Come on, man, let's do it.
06:16 - Absolutely.
06:17 And you're going to African Barcelona, man.
06:18 - Let's go.
06:19 - Yeah, man.
06:20 - I'm here to make me part of the Forbes family.
06:22 - You already are, man.
06:23 - There it is. - Appreciate the time, bro.
06:24 - All right. - Thank you, man.
06:25 - My man.
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