real hot girl stuff

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Hey! I hope you enjoyed your July 4th weekend. My wife and I took a trip down to Palm Springs and had a great time.

I'm glad to see we weren't the only ones livin' it up. Lil' Uzi Vert breakdanced at Michael Rubin's white party while Mark Zuckerberg rode his electric surfboard. This was clearly the weekend to live your best life. Love to see it.

I have a correction from last week's memo on Jay Z, Dame Dash, and the NFT lawsuits. I should have clarified that Roc-a-Fella Records' (RAF Inc.) sole asset is Reasonable Doubt. It owns none of Jay Z or Roc-a-Fella's other albums, but I implied that it did. Thanks to the people who replied to the memo to call that out! Much appreciated.

This week's memo covers my latest Trapital podcast episode, lo-fi hip-hop's popularity, Cash App's content plans, and TikTok's Black creators frustrations.

new podcast: Call Me Ace

Hip-hop artist Call Me Ace came back on the Trapital Podcast to talk about his indie rap career. He's charted on Billboard, was a finalist on BET's AmpliFIND, landed brand partnerships with Insider and Ford Mustang. He's done it all while still working full-time in tech.

Great insights here on building a fanbase, working with brands, and defining success.

Tap in on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else you get podcasts.

the lo-fi movement is stronger than ever

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Music Ally's Sandbox released a fascinating report on an overlooked and growing area in hip-hop: lo-fi music.

Millions of listeners now subscribe to lo-fi hip-hop playlists to relax, study, chill, and sleep. Its popularity has spawned a DIY business opportunity. Companies like Lofi Girl (formerly ChilledCow) have carved out their own lane, launched their own record labels, built an independent brand of merch, products, playlists, and more.

These lo-fi companies now have the attention of the major record labels. This is a great story on smart, focused brands building a following and a business around it.

These reports are normally only for Music Ally's paid subscribers, but our friends at Music Ally let Trapital readers get free access to this issue. Much appreciated! You can read the full report here.​

If you don't already know, Music Ally is a go-to source for music industry analysis and reporting. I recommend you sign up for its free weekly newsletter, The Knowledge.

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​One of the biggest challenges I hear from Trapital readers is how hard it is to capture attention. The best way to break through the noise is to create memorable moments. It's still not easy, but it's easier to do if you work with a trusted team to make it happen.

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Cash App, Square, Tidal, and Twitter's synergies

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Last week, Megan Thee Stallion and Cash App teamed up to give away $1 million in stocks through Investing for Hotties —a new video series from the Grammy Award-winning rapper and the mobile payments platform.

The content play. Cash App's hip-hop influencer model has been successful but there was room for it to develop. The one-off cash giveaways are a sweepstakes tactic to boost users. But sweepstakes often fall short on retention, active usage, and brand development.

Great content is how Cash App can attract more valuable customers. Meg's Investing for Hotties can be a regular video series where she doubles down on the topics she mentioned in her promo clip like dollar-cost averaging, fractional shares, and diversification. Regular content creates habits with fans, which reinforces the likelihood of them consistently investing with Cash App. (sidenote: when Meg says "real hot girl shit," this is what she's talking about.)

The future for artists. This content push reminds me of a thought-provoking Twitter thread from startup event organizer Tyler Crowley, who connected the dots between Square and Twitter's future supporting artists. Here are the main points:

- The companies under CEO Jack Dorsey's umbrella are Square, Cash App, Tidal, and Twitter.

- Dorsey (and Jay Z) can roll out the red carpet to support artists:

• Square's new bank - provides financial support for artists
• Tidal: release artists music (and give them higher payouts)
• Cash App: facilitate direct payments between fans and artists
• Twitter: helps artists monetize content through Super Followers​

For artists, these services will be pitched as creator-friendly alternatives or supplements to record label contracts, indie music distributors, and the many options in-between.

Accelerate the flywheel. Square's bank attracts more artists. Twitter and Tidal help them maximize their potential. Great content will bring in more revenue for Cash App. It can also pave the way for merch, commerce, and other ways artists monetize.

It's an ambitious plan that's a better fit for artists who see themselves more as creative brands. Meg Thee Stallion fits perfectly. I've written previously about how her primary metric of success shouldn't be record sales. Meg is already managed by Jay Z's Roc Nation, so the Hov connection is already there.

Another good option is Saweetie. I wrote a few weeks ago about her $900 million goals and her Icy University YouTube series about how to boss up. It's right up her alley.

When Jack Dorsey announced the Tidal acquisition, he posted a picture with him and Jay Z in front of a whiteboard with 'ARTISTS' written in the middle of a multi-spoked diagram. He wants platforms to build synergies on synergies. Jack Dorsey was on Disney's board, and I bet he would love to create a version of that classic company map for himself.

Read more in How Twitter Helped Cash App Grow Faster.​

How artists can support Black TikTokers

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Wow, two Meg The Stallion-related stories in one memo. I swear I'm not on her payroll. The timing just lined up!

Her new song "Thot Shit" was the tipping point for frustrated Black TikTokers who create new dance moves, but watch non-Black TikTokers copy their moves, get more attention, and reap the rewards that come with it. It's a shame, but it's not surprising.

Culture has always been this way. From Chuck Berry to Elvis Presley, from the Milly Rock to whatever they called it on Fortnite, this trend ain't new. I give the TikTokers credit for boosting awareness for this.

The unfortunate reality is that this dynamic won't change. There's an old joke that pop culture is just old hip-hop culture. Hip-hop artists can't control which TikTokers get invited to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. But they can use their power to look out for the creators who put in work to help the artists top the charts. They can feature them in music videos, award show performances, and more. Both sides need each other and should help each other out.

Read more about the Black TikToker's pushback on The New York Times.

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Coming soon

Trapital Podcast - MixedByAli, the 3x-Grammy Award-winning mix engineer who mixed Kendrick Lamar's good kid m.A.A.d city, To Pimp A Butterfly, and many other albums from TDE.He's also the founder and CEO of EngineEars.

Episode drops on Friday, July 9!