March 9, 6 min read. Listen to article 4 min. It's very rare that you find a partnership with the same goals and the same mission. This is the view given by Swizz Beatz, the man proclaimed by no less than Jay Z to be one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time.
New York born Beatz born Kasseem Dean has worked with some of the biggest names in modern music, but away from the day job he also harbors a love of art, which led him to establish The Dean Collection to promote the work of artists internationally. Beatz has already built a brand collaboration, having been named as Reebok's creative director in In the last 18 months, Bacardi has undergone 'a step change' on the marketing side of the business and has been looking to find a way to convey its historic connection with arts and culture, which led to a grass roots partnership with Swizz to create an international project called 'No Commission'.
Of those involved, their work has been erected in the Barclays Center, among other success stories. All your big commercial media models are based on brand investment that is paying for the program being made on TV.
You get access to the mainstream culture but it's at a cost and it's very transactional. We are breaking that model and we are looking to contribute in more authentic ways, beyond buying attention.
We went to Swizz because he has access and credibility in the area of culture that we want to get involved with," she explains of the initial approach on the collaboration. Beatz, who has just finished a hour flight from Paris when speaking to The Drum, says that the concept was one that fitted his belief that artists should receive more money for their work and that galleries need to be more welcoming in their experiences. It's by the arts, with the artists, for the people and that's the whole message; making everyone happy.
