Remember the old Kanye?

While Kanye West is noted mostly for his music, production and ego there is something else about the Louis Vuitton Don that has made him a rap legend. West's ability to successfully brand himself not only as a rapper but as a voice for pop culture as well has placed him in a position of influence in the music, art, and fashion communities.

And to think . . It all started with a stupid teddy bear . . 

Anyone who can build a successful brand off of a teddy bear or as West called it, "The Drop Out Bear", deserves some type of entrepreneurial award. West has used his branding and marketing talents to go places in business few emcees ever have (including Jay Z and Puff). Sneaker deals with NIKE are difficult to come by even for successful athletes yet West somehow was able to leverage his influence in the world of fashion and strike a deal with NIKE to release his very own Air Yeezy's. 

Few Rocafella artists were able withstand the break up between the label's owners (Jay Z and Dame Dash) however West's ability to establish his brand apart from Rocafella enabled him to emerge from the fall out unscathed. Though we are a far cry from the 'College Drop Out' and 'Late Registration' days, it is still good to reminisce . . .

Fastest Growing Brandz

Inc. Magazine points out two of the worlds fastest growing brands. In a recent article they pointed out,

"Apple's brand dominance felt around the world. The Atlantic reports on a new study released that puts Apple and Google as the two most powerful brands in the world. "The rise of technology and telecommunications is pretty amazing," notes Nigel Hollis, executive vice president of Millward Brown, the firm that completed the study.  "We started with two or three tech brands in the top ten in 2006. Now they're four out of the top five. It points out how central telecom infrastructure has become to people's lives." Perhaps the most significant finding of the report is that Apple has ended Google's four-year run as number one brand in the world. "Basically Google is in a horse race and a faster horse just blew past it," Hollis says. "Apple has just had a phenomenal performance with the iPad and other devices."

We Love All Name Brandz

Official: Air Jordan 11 “Concord” Release Date in 2011

January 27th, 2011 · 1 Comment

Anyone who is into quality knows that when it comes to the kicks it gets no better then than Michael Jordan's collection of well designed and manufactured basketball shoes. Many of us cannot wait for the release of possibly the most desired sneaker in the history of  athletic foot wear. 

According to NIKE's blog, "we’ve already known that the Holiday 2011 schedule will include an AirJordan 11 “Concord” release date, but now we have another official confirmation from Nike in the form of their release schedule being posted to NikeTalk.com. So that’s a wrap, it’s official. Again. The product number for the AJ11 “Concord” will be 378037-107, and you should expect the shoe to hit stores in December 2011 for $175."

At NAMe BrANDERZ we love and admire the strength behind the Jordan brand. It seems that people can connect with everything the symbol represents which is an unquenchable desire to win. The Jordan logo is a representation of MJ's determination to reach an unmatched level of success which included five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-DefensiveFirst Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP awards, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game).

Beyond the stats, Jordan was one of the most successfully marketed athletes of all time. His name and brand still resonates just as strong with this generation as the before it. 

Passion Fuels Everything

If you would have told me 3 weeks ago that I would be starting a Branding, Marketing and Production company I probably would have raised my left eyebrow and started talking about something else.


But . . .


When I realized that I could combine my passion for business, music, art, and meeting new people something, inside me said . . this can be done!


I've always believed in having name brand stuff, whether it was shoes, suits, electronics, jeans, or whatever. Growing up in New York you couldn't really survive rollin around in something generic (although my mom frequently tried to get me outfits from CONWAY, yep that's right . . the one right off Fordham Rd in the Bronx). 


To me, a name brand item always represented quality. In today's society there are so many generic relationships, business ideas, photographs, songs, etc. and I feel like there needs to be a Renaissance of Quality! 


This is what I'm passionate about!

Passion is infectious and contagious and if you have enough of it, you can spread it to those around you. It seems at NAMe BrANDERZ we've been rubbing off on everyone we've come in contact with . . even investors! Yesterday we received our first endorsement check from a local investor here in Riverside . . 

We are excited about what we are bringing to the music industry and what we will be able to do for local and upcoming artists. Keep showing us love!!

Learning from the Mistakes of ROCAFELLA Records PT. 2

Another insightful vid . . .

Gotta admire their ability to build a solid business.

Riverside Arts Walk

Headed Down Town tonight to see some the fine art that Riverside CA has to offer . . There were some pretty cool pieces that I had to snag pics of . .


Loved this one . .

Though this one was pretty cool too . . 

I doctored them up a little with a little help from @ Instagram . . Thanks guys . . 

What is NAME BRANDERZ?

Have you ever heard someone say, "I only drive Hondas" or "I only wear Nike" or "I'm a Mac kinda guy"? Have you ever wondered what it is that causes people to become so devoted to certain designers or manufacturers? You might say it's the quality of the product or the company's reputation but at the end of the day it boils down to one thing. 


The bond to the brand. 


Often times people buy a particular brand to achieve a certain level of validation. Young people wear converse or "Chucks" because it makes them feel like they are part of a movement (shouts @ Taylor Gang) and distinguished businessmen drive Cadillacs because well . . thats just what you drive when your a business man. Regardless of the item, it is the force of the brand that ultimately regulates who, how many and to what level people will give their support.


At NAME BRANDERZ we understand how important this can be not only with products but with artists as well. Gary Vay-ner-chuck notes in his book CRUSH IT!, 

"The thing that most people don't realize is in today's world your business and your personal brand need to be one and the same, whether your selling organic fish food or financial advice or just your opinion . . it's the authentic you, the one thing that is guaranteed to differentiate you from everybody else, including those who share your niche . . ."

The purpose of NAME BRANDERZ is to help artists discover what it is that makes them authentic and help them build their personal brand as artists. We do this by creating platforms through which they can make direct connections with fans as well as artists and work in collaboration in a creative effort to make music history. 


While music isn't the only form of art, NAME BRANDERZ believes in creating environments where artists of all natures whether it be dance, photography, graffiti, fashion, or art can have a platform to launch their authentic brand within their local community.

We know there are plenty of people in society that are ready to be "branded" and we are here to help!