‘Balling on a budget’
And other lessons from the Hip Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment
By Jolanda Brown
For the St. Louis American
This weekend the Hip Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment came to St. Louis at America’s Center. Politicians, including Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, came out to support the event. The host was Benjamin Chavis.
Panelists included Russell Simmons, Nelly, Penelope, Chingy, Kenneth “Mo Skills” Jones, Gerrod Parchmon, James Whitlow, Channel from the production team the Trackboyz, and Tom Austin, an executive at Def Jam Music Group.
“We bring stars to the summit to remind people that determination is important,” Simmons said. “All the stars you see here today worked really hard to accomplish their fame and success.”
Nelly said he used to “ball on a budget.” He defined “balling on a budget” as planning for tomorrow instead of planning for next year. He said he used to live from paycheck to paycheck, which came back to haunt him.
“Nothing is small or insignificant, because all things show up on your credit report. You will pay later,” Nelly said.
“It doesn’t matter how much you make or have if you don’t take care of your credit score.”
Nelly said he once went to buy his mother a new car and didn’t like the interest rate he was charged. He assumed that since he was a successful artist his credit should be strong. But he learned that he had an unpaid cell phone bill from 1993, which greatly affected his credit rating and therefore the interest rate he could get.
Nelly also talked about dealing with family and friends once you become wealthy.
“People say to me, ‘You are no better that me,'” Nelly said. Nelly’s response: “I never said that I was better than anybody. Go to work. Set goals for yourself and always have a plan. Remember the stars that you love so much are no better than you. You can have what you want if you are willing to work for it.”
“Hard work gets money,” Simmons agreed. “Kevin Lyle did the work that no one else wanted to do as an intern, and we kept him after his internship was up because of his hard work and willingness.”
Simmons stressed the importance of the right peer group.
“You learn whatever your friends are doing. You become what you practice and you are who you hang out with,” Simmons said.
“Study the subject that you are interested in, develop a business plan and work for someone who is doing what you want to do. It is important to be around what you want to become.”
The wisdom of various types of loans and investments was also discussed.
Mortgage and student loans are considered good debts because they are investments, while taking out a loan for a credit card is a bad debt.
“When we get loans, those people want their money back and will get it back one way or another,” Nelly said.
Austin of Def Jam said, “I’d rather see my money grow than to spend it on a car. That is just money going out with no return. Houses are an investment, and that money will grow.”
Some of the advice offered was specific to aspiring artists.
“If you want to entertain, then do it for the love and not for the money because the money is not guaranteed,” said Paul Wall, an up-and-coming rapper from Houston. “It takes a long time, and you have to have patience.”
Some attendees came hoping to gain entrance into the entertainment industry. “I’m going into entertainment law and want to network,” said Tracy Hull.
Others attended for different professional reasons. “I’m an economics major, and financial events are of interest,” said Porsha Locke.
Trina Thompson said she brought her boys, hoping they would better themselves. “They like the music,” Thompson said, “and anything that can be encouraging to them, I’m all for it.”
