Close Up: Medi8tor Inspiration - Andrew Stanton

Hello and Welcome to Medi8tor!

This blog is dedicated to helping artist and the public examine, understand, and tame the best of fame. Medi8tor focuses on a process we have coined as “Fame Management” which we use to help established and upcoming artist learn how to evenly balance Fame and Personhood, in order to have healthy personal lives and careers in the entertainment industry.

But today…we’re taking a break from all that. This post is of a more personal nature, a chance for you to get to know a little bit about me. Last week, during the Thanksgiving holiday I came across a TED talk called “ The Clues to a Great Story” on Ted.com by Andrew Stanton.

Andrew Stanton is a veteran of the animation powerhouse Pixar studios. He was the second animator hired at the company in 1990, and would go on to earn writing and producing credits on eight feature films with Pixar and eventually win Oscars for directing the studio’s films “Finding Nemo” and “Wall-E.”

Consequently, it is no surprise that Andrew Stanton came to TED to talk as an expert in storytelling. Andrew’s talk was well-planned, clever, witty, humorous, light hearted, fun, moving, and insightful. Stanton posits that “storytelling reveals some truth that deepens our understanding of who we are as human beings” and he beautifully illustrates this point by telling his own journey of discovering story, and drives his points home by providing poignant movie clips for the audience. I thoroughly enjoyed that he used his speech as evidence for his theories on story, and showed the universal importance of story and storytelling no matter someone’s field of work.

Although there were many elements that I enjoyed about Stanton’s speech, I found a few factors that were particularly similar to my own life.

1.) I love stories.

Andrew Stanton’s passion and love for stories are evident in his talk, and this resonated with me deeply. My love of story has given me the desire to work in entertainment as a storyteller (actor, writer, producer), as well as artist development to help other artist share their unique stories. I want to accomplish these feats because as Stanton says “stories affirm who we are, we all want affirmations that our lives have meaning” and I too believe this point, and that stories have the ability to give us that meaning.

2.) Story creates understanding and community.

During Andrew Stanton’s talk he recalls a story about Mr. Rodgers from Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood. Mr. Rodgers used to carry around a note in his pocket from a social worker that said “Frankly there isn’t anyone you couldn’t learn to love, once you’ve heard their story.” Although this quote may sound airlifted from a Disney movie, the truth within it is profound. We live in a world that is fast paced, extremely technologically advanced, and often requires us to assess and draw conclusions quickly because of our lack of time. As a species we are adapting to be able to receive, assess, and store information faster than human beings ever have before, which may explain the convenience and fascination we all have with social media, and online video sites. We want to receive information quickly, but we are also interested in learning about each other’s stories. We have a desire to connect to each other even through a screen, and to share common ground with the people in our global marketplace and community. The Internet has allowed us to take basic human communication, love of information and stories, and a desire for human interaction to a new state of evolution; yet the core principles of belonging and acceptance are at the base of this behavior, and can be accomplished through stories now posted on the web.

3.) I was a premature baby too.

The last and perhaps most emotionally poignant moment of Andrew Stanton’s speech is when he recants his first lesson in storytelling, use what you know. Andrew discovered that something he knew well was second chances’ in life. He was born a premature baby who was not expected to live by doctors at birth, but after many blood transfusions he survived. After the ordeal his parents raised him to believe that the circumstances surrounding his birth this made him special. Perhaps consciously or unconsciously Andrew vowed, “whatever I ended up being good at, I would strive to be worthy of the second chance I’d been given.” This mantra is a subconscious direct quote, out of the storybook page of my life. I understand what Andrew means completely. I was also born a premature baby at birth, struggling to live, surviving, and considered special by my parents. I know that when you face death before you even begin to live-whether you remember it or not- you are inspired to make your life count, to prove to whatever forces that wanted you dead that you deserve to live, and that you will not only live life but you will thrive. This speech resonated with me because of my love for stories, but ultimately because I know the struggle that inspired it.

I suppose part of my intention for creating this blog is birthed from this struggle, and has caused me to construct a place to share my ideas, my passion, and my desires. This is my place to affirm that my life has meaning, to reveal the truths and understandings that make us all human no matter the industry where we work. Lastly, this blog exists to prove that I deserve to be on this planet and that I was here.

See you next time.

The Fame Management Hustler.

Hello and Welcome to Medi8tor! 

Since we started our journey, the intention of every post has been to help the public and artist understand and tame the beast of fame. The process we use to examine fame here at Medi8tor, is called Fame Management: a combination of fame (having a widespread reputation) and Personhood (the state of being a person) being evenly balanced, in order to have a healthy life and career while working in entertainment. 

Thus far, we have discussed the notion of character and fame through a Fame Management profile on rapper Nicki Minaj, as well as love and fame through a profile on pop star Chris Brown. These artists’ scales are still unbalanced by our fame management assessment, but there is a particular artist that comes to mind who seems comfortable and poised on the fame management scale. Although obtaining this balance came at a high price for this artist he did not shun the fame management process, but instead took it by the reigns, owned it, and emerged as KING. 

A befitting moniker for this self proclaimed “King of the South,” a title which he has more than lived up to in his artistic profession. In case there is any confusion (although there should not be) I am referring to the consummate performer, acclaimed rapper, accomplished actor, savvy entrepreneur, handsome, dapper, Southern gentleman, and Family Man; Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., affectionately known as TIP, but better known as T.I. 

T.I. has risen to become one of the most successful entertainment artist this decade, but his road has been far from easy and has seen a few detours along the way. According to his recent Behind the Music special on Vh1 Tip grew up on the rough streets of Bankhead in the Westside of Atlanta, which made him no stranger to trouble. Although he was a stellar student in his earlier years, Tip soon stopped pursing dreams of education, and instead began pursuing fast money by selling drugs or “Trappin” in his youth. While education took a backseat for Tip, his abilities for rap and word play grew almost as rapidly as his drug hustle. Eventually it was Tip’s love of music that allowed him to leave the drug world entirely, and flip his hustle to the world of entertainment. 

Although Tip, who was now rapping under the name T.I., was no longer working in the streets he had always used his observation and personal experience of street life in his music. This made his art relatable and enjoyable to the local Atlanta scene, and after his first record I’m Serious flopped at LaFace records, he went back to the streets to restart his career. The same hustle he used to sell drugs, Tip now used to sell music. He released a series of mix tapes, which he promoted and sold independently. Eventually this led to: a new record deal with Atlantic Records, co-founding his own record label Grand Hustle, and a joint venture between the two labels to release his second album Trap Muzik. From then on the sky was the limit for T.I., he released Urban Legend that became a huge success, and King that earned him two Grammy’s and catapulted him into superstardom, when it was simultaneously released alongside his first feature film and acting debut in ATL. Riding high he quickly released the album T.I. vs. T.I.P in early 2007. Seemingly over- night T.I.’s life had become a fast paced dream and showed no signs of slowing down. But little did T.I. know that his reign was about to be suspended. 

After rehearsals for an award show on October 17th 2007, T.I. was arrested by the FBI on federal gun charges for purchasing machine guns and silencers from his bodyguard, who had secretly become an informant. T.I. was facing serious prison time; but instead was given a year and a day in prison, house arrest, 1,500 hours of community service, and three years probation. This was a lenient sentence considering his previous arrest record for selling drugs. But throughout this process, something interesting began to happen to T.I., he began to tip (no pun intended) the scales of fame and personhood. 

Based on T.I.’s past his personhood and fame had common ground, making money. T.I.’s greatest desire was to make enough money to live the way he had wanted to, as opposed to the life he had on the streets of Bankhead. Although he had transcended street life, street culture was still alive and well in T.I.’s heart and mind. And it took a traumatic event involving a loved one to change his life forever, by causing a head on collision between his personhood and his fame. 

According to Behind the Music in the early hours of May 3rd 2006, an altercation in an Ohio nightclub, started by a punch that T.I. threw, turned incredibly violent. While attempting to get away from the nightclub, a car tailed T.I.’s van, and opened fire several times on the rapper and his entourage. In the end, T.I.’s best friend and personal assistant, Philant Johnson, was shot and took his last breathe in T.I.’s arms. T.I. felt an incredible sense of guilt after the event stating, “ I felt totally responsible. I felt like those bullets were for me. He took the bullet that the people sent to me.” This loss also added insult to injury, since earlier that year T.I and his long time girlfriend, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, had lost their daughter who was stillborn at six months. 

But the plot to T.I.’s story contained another unexpected twist, when police informed him that they had obtained a hit list with names and addresses from an arrested gang member in Atlanta. The first three out of the five people on the list were already missing, and the next name was T.I.’s. Philant’s killers had never been caught, and soon there was an onslaught of threatening phone messages to T.I.’s home and his family. Thus, this international superstar felt like he had no choice but to take matters into his own hands. He began to stockpile weapons, and it was this quest for protection that ended up leading to his firearms arrest in 2007. Tip had only been trying to protect his personhood, as any normal human being would. He was looking out for the welfare of himself and his family (at the time he had 5 children), but it proved futile when he was ultimately caught up because of his fame. 

Let’s take a closer looks at the delicate balance of fame and personhood in T.I.’s case. He had become a stellar example of how to be successful after coming out of an urban environment. For years he had sought to uplift and inspire others from urban communities through his music (this is personhood); but was hurt that these same people were responsible for the death of his best friend (this is also personhood). As previously stated, Philant’s murderers were still at large (and as a side note, they still are). Finally T.I. began to question whether the outcome for Philant would have been different, had he and his entourage had firearms to defend themselves that night in Ohio (this is also personhood). In addition Tip also began to feel a growing sense of paranoia, because he felt vulnerable to the public due to his fame. As a public figure he knew that people knew who he was, could have access to him at anytime, and make him an easy target for mayhem, assault, or worse… murder. The hit list obtained by the police was evidence to confirm the growing suspicions already in Tip’s head, and all of these factors led him to make the decision that sent him down the wrong path in 2007. 

Throughout this ordeal however, T.I. continued to help inspire and encourage troubled young people to make different choices and decisions, based on his example. This part of this journey was thoroughly documented in the MTV series “T.I.’s Road to Redemption,” and this process also forced T.I. to examine himself and make tough decisions to ultimately change for the better, which was chronicled on his albums Paper Trail (2008), and Paper Trail Case Closed (2009). Upon his release from jail for gun charges, T.I. found himself back on top again. He dominated the box office with the movie Takers, released the album No Mercy, and on July 31, 2010, he married the love of his life - the one person who had been there for all his adversity- Tameka “Tiny” Cottle. 

The tables had finally turned for T.I. He had faced adversity, examined himself thoroughly, and made the necessary adjustments in his personhood to have a wonderful life in entertainment. 

Well…almost. 

Riding high off his freedom from imprisonment, the success of his projects, and the joys of married life T.I.’s story took another detour on September 1st, 2010. Unfortunately T.I. and his new bride were arrested for suspicion of drug possession after being pulled over for a routine traffic stop on the Sunset strip in Los Angeles. This was a direct violation of T.I.’s parole and landed him back in jail for 11 months, while causing him to receive incredible backlash in the public eye. This arrest left people to question if the rapper had truly made a change for the better? Had he learned anything? Or was he just using his “reformed” personhood as a stunt to hold on to his fame? Although T.I. has never made a public statement about what really happened that night on the Sunset Strip, he has admitted having an addiction to painkillers, which initially stemmed from an oral surgery. He then made the tough decision to enter rehab for his dependency before being incarcerated again, and continued his journey of self-reflection and soul searching behind bars. But the questions remained: NOW had the King of the South finally cleared all of the skeletons out his closet? And could he ever return to his reign as a King in entertainment? 

The answer to those questions has been a resounding YES! 

T.I.’s reign has been incredible since he was released from his second prison stint in fall of 2011. He has co-authored two books, guest starred on Kelsey Grammar’s hit show Boss, is set to release his eighth album aptly titled Trouble Man December 2012, and his become an instant TV star on his new Vh1 reality show T.I. & Tiny’s The Family Hustle. When T.I. was asked why he wanted to do a reality show, the entertainment imperial highness replied, “ to give people an idea of who I really am. I wanted my fans to understand my reality and my world.” 

The show lives up to the rapper’s wishes. The Family Hustle is witty, clever, humorous, heart-warming and provides a completely different view of the rapper, his family, and his life. This platform has also provided a perfect example of the fame management process, by taking away the judge and jury of public opinion by exposing the Harris’ lifestyle in personhood and fame, while showing how well he and his family handle themselves in life and as public figures. This principle and the lessons taught on the show are what make the project work, while being delightfully entertaining, insightful, and fun. T.I. has pulled back the veil of his life, to show the people behind the scenes who also had to endure so much pain and drama over the last several years. The show also highlights T.I. as a husband and father, allowing him to prove and demonstrate what he has learned, how he has grown, and in what ways he has changed as a man. T.I. has laid everything bare before the public, allowing himself no room and no excuses for going back to his old lifestyle. Ironically, he has also allowed the public a front row seat to judge him and hold him accountable as he tries to stay on the straight and narrow path. 

Medi8tor has officially dubbed T.I. “The Fame Management Hustler.” This blog post was written to salute this incredible man: for overcoming all of the obstacles of his past, owning up to his mistakes, admitting his poor decision making, conquering his inner demons, and facing the music when it came time to make some serious life changes. T.I. is back! He has returned and emerged triumphantly as a true King, and now he reigns not only in entertainment, but on the throne and in the palace that matters most…his home. 

Medi8tor wants to applaud T.I. for turning Fame Management, into his greatest Hustle!

Personhood vs. Fame Profile - Chris Brown

Hello and Welcome to Medi8tor,

Medi8tor is a blog dedicated to understanding Fame Management, and recently we have been surveying “Fame vs. Personhood” profiles. Last time we viewed Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey after their verbal spat, and today we will deal with R&B superstar Chris Brown.

Chris Brown rose to fame in 2005, as the sweet, fresh faced, boy next door from Tappahannock Virginia. Chris quickly stole the hearts of young girls across America and the world. He was an energetic young performer heralding to the early days of Michael Jackson, who blended his own unique dynamic dance moves and R&B crooning with Hip Hop flavor. His star was quickly rising with that of his musical counterpart and girlfriend, Rihanna; the young exotic, island beauty with edge and sex appeal from Barbados. The two were in love and enjoying the wealth and fame of stardom, when in early 2009 the two were involved in a domestic spat, which left Rihanna’s face injured and Chris Brown labeled an abuser. The young star crossed lovers then found themselves in the middle of a media hurricane that became one of the biggest stories of that year. Here Rihanna recollects the incident in an interview with Oprah that premiered in August 2012:

Throughout the following years, Rihanna’s career has grown, and Chris’ career has recovered well, but fans and media critics alike have all speculated if the two would ever reunite. The world seemed appalled when the two collaborated on the raunchy sexually explicit pop song “Birthday Cake” earlier this year, which further circulated rumors of a love triangle between Chris, Rihanna, and his current girlfriend Karrueche Tran.

Several months ago Chris Brown and Drake, a pop and hip hop superstar, were both accused of fighting in a New York City club. The fight was extremely violent, leaving Chris with a gash on his face, and several injured clubbers. But even more shocking than the fight, was the rumored reason for the fight, Rihanna. In addition, adding further fuel to the fire, a few months ago Chris caused a stir with his latest tattoo depicting a battered face that was similar to Rihanna’s after the incident. Apparently the face was not Rihanna’s, but the face of a Day of the Dead Doll. The final showdown came last month when Chris called it quits with Karrueche Tran, and released to the public a video called “The Real Chris Brown” via Vimeo. The video is extremely well produced, and is clearly meant to evoke a sympathetic emotional response from the viewer, as Chris explains the agony of being in love with two different women. Here is the video as obtained by Global Grind:

Throughout these initial “Fame vs. Personhood” profiles we have explored the differences and similarities between fame vs. personhood.

Fame is defined as having a favorable reputation or widespread influence amongst the masses. (http://bit.ly/StegOL)

Personhood is defined as the act or state of being a person. (http://bit.ly/UBivW5)

In the first post we established that: often times when an artist rises to a certain level of fame, their personhood suffers or can get lost as a result. We found this idea to be rather strange because an artists’ personhood is ultimately tied to their level of fame. Fame can either deify or vilify an artist, and the distinction between the two is concluded based on an artists’ character or personhood. This is especially true in the case of Chris Brown.

Chris Brown has been deified and vilified by fame, and seems to be in love. This love is fueled by his personhood, but is difficult for him to obtain because of his fame. Based on the research and observations of Chris and Rihanna’s relationship they both love each other very much, and “probably always will” as Rihanna candidly explains in the following interview clip, also from her August 2012 interview with Oprah:

Based on Chris’ video above, he explains the dilemma of loving two people and how stressful the situation is for him. In both instances these are not merely two love-deprived superstars, between the two of them they have legions of adoring fans and loving admirers. But it is not enough. Chris and Rihanna are seeking to tap into their personhood by desiring a loving relationship between the two of them, but fame has complicated matters. Due to the incident in 2009 Chris Brown’s character or personhood is forever tainted in the courtroom of public opinion. The couples’ sordid, violent history keeps them apart not because of their lack of forgiveness for one another, but because of their position and status in society due to their level of fame. The idea that two people can reconcile makes sense in everyday life, but when you are a public figure who belongs to the world, although you may forgive and forget personally, your public never will.

In her interview Rihanna describes Chris as “the love of her life,” yet after the incident she was able to shut down her personal feelings and emotions towards Chris when it came down to her business- or getting back to the business of fame. She had an image to maintain, money to make, fans to appease, and she moved on with her life. While Chris wanting to follow the love in his heart prompted by personhood had to move on due to legalities. He tried to move on as best he could to focus on court, and especially after it became clear that Rihanna was back to business. But he struggled and faltered between mix tapes, low budget videos, and deciding to become a rapper to compliment his melodic sounds. He’s floundered, and even flopped in some instances in his career due to the fact (and in my opinion, frustration) that his personhood wants, what his fame says he can never have again-love from the person he loves most.

Now cue the entrance of Karrueche Tran, a young, beautiful adoring Chris Brown fan with the opportunity to date her celebrity crush. While for Chris, this allows an opportunity to express the love he feels, even if it’s not with the person he absolutely wants. He is simply glad to have the opportunity to express human emotion without restriction, and with someone who is not caught up in the hustle and bustle of fame. Karrueche represented freedom to Chris. She was civilian, an escape from fame, a person living out her personhood with no regrets and no spotlight watching her every move. She was a woman, who could love a man, outside without being singed by the limelight… at least for a while anyway.

But as the saying goes, the heart wants what the heart wants, and it is clear that Chris’ heart still wants Rihanna, and Rihanna’s heart still wants Chris and probably always will. Although I am unsure how healthy it is for either one of them to be together, (perhaps I will share my thoughts on abuse and this incident on another post) clearly they are not willing to reconcile in their hearts or minds, the fact that their fame may get in the way of their personal desire to love each other forever. However, the risk to love each other and be together regardless seems like a risk they are willing to take in this complicated world of fame- when even emotion takes a backseat to public opinion and public reputation. These two seem to be willing to take a gamble in the personhood of love, even if it could potentially cost them their fame. Only time will tell which one wins out.