Peace Family,

In these difficult times we’re obviously all thinking about the safety of our loved ones. This virus has spread at an unprecedented rate. And reducing the contagion unfortunately requires shutting down most of the global economy; resulting in a wide range of consequences. The consequences include the loss of countless jobs, millions of businesses filing bankruptcy, and even entire nations left in a state of paralysis. If the shut down persists hundreds of millions will suffer. But then again if the shut down is lifted millions could pass as well. 

With that being said, there are still of course glimmers of optimism. Infections in Italy have decreased significantly. And after a near 3 month hiatus, China has carefully started the process of opening up businesses again. But still our newfound reality remains unnerving, unsettling and unpredictable. Below lies an excerpt courtesy of Forbes that details the current state of affairs in the U.S:

“State and local governments are at the front lines of the current crisis. Many people in their communities will have to quickly rely on public services. And, local businesses such as restaurants, hotels, and event venues are shuttered for the time being, reducing employment, jobs and tax revenues. And, many of these effects will vary from state to state, from city to city, and even from neighborhood to neighborhood. Finally, states and localities often do not have the wherewithal to commit to supporting their local businesses and families to any meaningful degree. The current crisis puts state and local governments in an untenable position, where they may be forced to choose which parts of their communities will get help and which ones won’t.” 

This is our new normal. However, here’s a PSA to everyone reading these words: you were born for these times. The hip hop generation has come across their fair share of obstacles, and in some cases have received the short end of the stick. And if the time does come where those in power have to choose which communities will receive resources and which ones won’t, I’m sure our readers can guess who will be missing out! But it is in your DNA to not only survive but thrive! And at the core of Hip-Hop lies the creative spirit. The culture itself was conceived against all odds, a lack of resources being one of them. 

So fear not because this too shall pass! 

We are at the point where if all had an opportunity to hit the reset button to a time before the virus, we would most likely do things a bit differently. Ideally, you may have started the business you always wanted to, spent less time on social media, and more time with loved ones, ate healthy, enjoyed nature a bit more, doubled up on your savings. But we all know hindsight is 20/20 of course. And despite the inability to time travel I am here to tell you that this is the perfect time for creatives, entrepreneurs, activist, artists, leaders to work together and fill the coming void that will soon come knocking on our front door. As Hov once put ever so eloquently “And government {expletive} government, ni**as politic themselves.” This current state of quarantine offers all of us an opportunity to create and innovate; an opportunity for all of us to build a solid creative community; a brotherhood/sisterhood of cooperative participation to bring new services, products and leadership to the marketplace.

Innovation is defined as "a new idea, creative thoughts, new imaginations in form of device or method". Innovation is often also viewed as the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, unarticulated needs, or existing market needs. This new normal that we are collectively experiencing will require better solutions to meet new requirements. And who’s better suited to solve those problems besides those who think creatively.

And we may not yet know exactly what those new requirements will demand of us but nevertheless we can start to innovate in this time of “quarantine”. The stillness of it all is a blessing in disguise. We can create better versions of ourselves.  We can work to establish institutions/infrastructure that actually serve our target audiences in both constructive and positive ways. People are going to need the inspiration, love and hope as they get acclimated to what society has become. The WBC Studios team is here for all creators and hip hop entrepreneurs who would like to have open dialogue concerning the necessary steps forward in building their platforms post COVID-19. Feel free to contact us; we have a number of open channels of communication. You can schedule a call or even hit us via DM on IG. We should all be one another’s resource during this time. With that being said, it's safe to say that money, time, health all have one thing in common, we don’t miss it until it's gone!