STREET by 50 is all about giving our fans the finest music experience we possibly can. The response to the limited edition colors so far speaks for itself - the fans want the opportunity to match their headphones to their personal style, and we definitely want to make sure to give them what they want.
I definitely want my fans to know that I'm here to stay, and I'm going to continue to give them hot music.
I heard New York fans and people in New York are hard-working fans, so they want to see players work hard on the court. That's the first thing I've got to do.
Most of my fans are young; they pay for their own tickets and work really hard to be able to come, and so I want to give all of them the best show.
The fans pay our wages and I want to give back to the fans. I have been telling them for ages that I want big fights and they haven't believed me. They don't know the politics that go on behind the scenes through no fault of my own.
Young fans want to know about the past and older fans also want to find new music.
The challenge CEOs will face three to five years from now is the same one that they face today. That is engagement. It's hard to keep people engaged in what they are doing. As this generation grows up around social media like Twitter where things are 140 characters, how do you keep them engaged all hours every day at work? How do you keep them focused on the big goals you have?
I love 50 Cent. I know it sounds weird 'cause a lot of kids might not say that right now, but I definitely want to work with 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Coldplay: I want to work with different artists that are going to push my music to a new level. Not just in urban music.
My goal in this music business is to be here as long as I'm alive. I want my music to be here. I want to be the Michael Jackson and the Prince of hip-hop. I want to be a legend. I want to change the world. I want to give them songs that mean something.
It's never been about what we want others to see: it's about what we want to see; it's about what we want to do. We only have a career because of our fans, but we have to keep making music for the reason we started making music.
We started the band with a work ethic of 'it's us against the world' and that is something that our fans aligned with, too. Together, we speak a common language. I think that motto has helped us keep the creative force alive all these years while the fans have kept the fire burning for us to always be excited to create new music for them. Without the fans, we are a band without a home.
I definitely want to give the fans what they want to see.
Unlike someone like Tom Hanks, or U2, the comics industry is not a thriving industry and we all need to keep and expand our audience. The best way to do that is to keep the fans we have happy and to keep them excited about our next projects so they'll keep following our work. The best way to do that is to continually engage them in conversation. I don't mean to sound flippant by any means. We're not being nice to our fans because we have to.
I learned how difficult it is to be an artist. There are always compromises. The record company wants you to do this, your fans want you to do this, your family, you can't concentrate on your work. It's a hard thing to be an artist and not give up. That's why I have so much respect for people like Dylan and Neil Young and Tom Waits, because they keep at it. I have a new respect for a true artist.
I've been gone for a long time. I really want to give the fans something that they deserve to have. So, I'm working really hard on this. I really want to make it the best work I've done so far.
Yes, I want to work with Rick Rubin. Yes, I want to work with Trent Reznor. Yes, I want to work with Madlib. Yes, I want to get with all these wonderful people. Collie Buddz, Marsha Ambrosius. I just want to go, man. I'm gonna keep on making music.