Q & A with Claude Brooks, Creator of Hip Hop Harry

1. Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your company?

I received an email from a mother of a child who loves watching Hip Hop Harry on YouTube. She said she could never get her 6 yr old son to understand the importance of washing his hands, but after he saw the episode about why you should wash your hands, he now sings the song “Wash Up Wash Down” and wants to wash his hands all of the time. At first she couldn’t get her son to wash his hands, and now she can’t get him to stop! She asked if we can do an episode about OCD. 

2. What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

What makes C To The B Productions stand out from other production companies? Well our point of view with most of our projects incorporates Hip Hop culture. Being born and raised in Harlem NYC, Hip Hop culture and music was and still is an integral soundtrack to my life. Early in my career, one of the first shows I Executive Produced and co-created is called “Lyricist Lounge” for MTV. It was a groundbreaking sketch comedy show. Some of the sketches were done completely in rap. This was the first time rap was used a narrative/dialogue to tell story. We had guest stars like Snoop Dogg, Mos Def and Common. Though I have not spoke to Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator of Hamilton, I’m sure he was influenced by “Lyricist Lounge.” It is awesome to see the evolution of something I was part of starting. The future of using rap as story telling device is in good hands.

3. None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?

The person I am most grateful towards for helping me achieve the success I have in this business is my mother. My mother, Marie Brooks, was a single mother to four children and watching her juggle everything to give us all a quality life inspired me to do my best in whatever I pursued. At the age of eight, I told my mother that I wanted to act. We happened to run across meeting a manager who was interested in representing me. I made a deal with my mother to let me go on three auditions. If I didn’t book anything, that would be the end of my acting career. Well fortunately for me, I booked all three auditions: The Wiz, a Burger King and Underoos commercial! My mom did not have the time to take me on my auditions, so she taught me how to take the New York City trains. At the early age of eight, I was taking the train by myself to auditions. That might be considered child neglect now, but it was child empowerment back then.

 Thanks Mom! Love you for life!!!

 

4. What are things you wish someone told you before you started your business and why.

I wish someone told me before I started in this business how to deal with disrespectful people. I saw early on in my career people in “power” positions like Directors and Producers treat people on the set with no respect. It took awhile for me to understand that people who generally act like that come from place of insecurities. My instinct was to avoid people who acted out like that. Then I learned that you can make clear what your boundaries are without fighting fire with fire. Most people respect people who make their boundaries clear. Later in my career, a couple of the obnoxious Directors and Producers apologized for their behavior in the past. It is good to see that some people can change. 

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Let's Talk Fashion with Mehdi Raad of Maceoo.com

When you look beyond the defined description of an industry, it allows you to see what others cannot. When you stand apart from your competition, you gain a different perspective. Within this difference is where you find the innovators, the disruptors, the game-changers.

This is where true entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Travis Kalanik carve out unique positions that can change entire industries. Apple products, Uber Rides, and Tesla Cars are engineered for simplicity. A lot of work has gone in to how effortless these products seem to the consumer.

  

People assume that simple is easy. It’s anything but.

Today, I was able to witness this lesson first-hand when I visited the Californian offices of Maceoo, a fashion brand that uses high-tech engineering to create highly fashionable clothing. Engineering isn’t a word that I would have associated with fashion, but after spending the day with Maceoo’s founder, Mehdi Raad, it didn’t just seem reasonable, it began to feel like a glimpse into the future of fashion.

Mehdi Raad comes to fashion via an unconventional route – his previous career being in tech as an Apple affiliate. Maceoo believed that some of the engineering practices and principles used on Apple products would translate into fashion.

The goal was to create an engineered fit using futuristic fabrics. The garments should have a sense of style, but they should also be as easy to wear as our most comfortable house clothes. To achieve off-the-rack designs that would look great on almost anyone, Maceoo needed data. Lots of data.

Maceoo collected data from 30 million people and created an algorithmn (essentially their “secret recipe”) that could be used to make clothing that looks great from every angle. A cutting system was developed so that the individual pieces of a garment could be cut to exact specifications every time. Maceoo isn’t all about technology though, as the final construction is performed by a skilled artisan. A mix of modern and man.

The Italian fabrics used in Maceoo garments are beyond wearable. No sweat, no wrinkles, natural stretch – these items don’t just look good they make the wearing feel good. Maceoo claims that customer feedback shows a clear uptick in confidence, work success, time saved getting dressed, romantic success, and even posture and health.

I remained skeptical, particularly on the last point. How could a garment make you feel healthier? When I tried on my first Maceoo suit, Maceoo asked how I felt. It feels absurd to draw on the old saying that the clothing makes the man, but from top to bottom I really did feel my best self. As I sit here writing this article, my body is hunched over a keyboard, but in that suit earlier today, I almost felt taller.

Whether the garments can do everything that Maceoo claims, I can’t say, but I can attest to the quality and fit of what I tried on. It’s no surprise that John Travolta, Lady Gaga, and famous athletes are asking Maceoo to dress them for special events. When I bring it up, Maceoo laughs at this attention. He’s happy to help anyone look good. But his focus remains on making ordinary people look as extraordinary as a celebrity.

To his mind, wearers of Maceoo can do, earn, and achieve more in life. Sometimes it takes a unique point of view to discover a universal truth. Sometimes it takes a high-tech approach to leave a very human impression.

One thing is for certain, succeed or fail, Maceoo will continue pushing the boundaries and dragging fashion into the future.