From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
We've had an explosion of platforms that have atomized the delivery and consumption of music, and I'm really for that- it's democratized music. Previously, there were a lot of gatekeepers that controlled how you were supposed to listen to music… that's all gone now.
Good attention is very valuable. In 2017 unlike 2007 when I was yelling about this stuff, people now understand that personal brands are leverage. When you have people's attention, and especially if they think you have value, you can do amazing things.
Many of us think that you should only believe things that are true, not just things that rally your coalition, sect, or tribe. That belief is by no means universal, but it is a gift of the enlightenment.
Hip-hop gives a ground-level view of what it might mean to live under what are nearly warlike conditions in communities that face a myriad of daunting circumstances.
At its best, music is empathic… we can relate to it… it moves us and makes us feel connected. The best music for me captures a zeitgeist, captures something of the time and something of what we feel.
The most important lesson I learned is that you have to show 100% genuine emotion and personality through everything you do and allow that to connect to people. You cannot keep things inside because you think people won't accept you, or will think you're strange; just let your freak flag fly.
Money is a cultural abstract. It is the social, cultural and legal consensus of what a given society- at a given time- considers as being money.
In 2012, I was put to the forefront of people's eyes during the Olympics. It was the first time I'd been on the cover of a magazine- and it wasn't about being a size-zero or really-skinny, it was about being strong and promoting what healthy looks like.
I think, like all great brands we know and love, it's about the story—the achievements of the brand in the past and those iconic moments. Jaguar is rich in these moments of iconicity, such as the cars we produce, like the Jaguar E-Type, which is what comes to mind for everybody first.
We need to give women the freedom and confidence to believe and be whatever they want to. This isn't just about business, but about social conditioning in all cultures.
Historically, humans have evolved to be wary of the unfamiliar—a survival instinct that's served us well. Thus, the age-old "Frankenstein" narrative, wherein we birth powerful entities beyond our understanding or control, resonates deeply with our intrinsic apprehensions.
To make a great movie, you cannot set out to make a great movie! Great films are authentic, they capture the zeitgeist of a time and place in an entertaining and engaging way. Great cinema becomes something that reflects the mood of the time.