I have shifted the focus on my label; BMB Records, to primarily producing and promoting positive, fun, empowering music made for kids by young talent. My flagship artist is singer, rapper, actress Brooklyn Queen. She is a 16-year old phenom who’s been signed to the label for 6 years now. Not only am I proud of the impact this platform has had on her life; but I understand that on a deeper level I’m able to impact countless tweens and teens by making her entertaining messages of self-love and self-empowerment available to the masses.
As a part of our series about “Filmmakers Making A Social Impact” I had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Brown.
Merging his passion for entertainment and entrepreneurship, Brian Maurice Brown is truly a rising powerhouse in the music industry. He has worked with some of the most prominent names in the scene. He’s an entrepreneur, documentary executive producer, author, angel investor, and an all-around progress enthusiast.
Thank you so much for doing this interview with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit. Can you share your “backstory” that brought you to this career?
I first got into the Entertainment Industry around ’97 because I had a good friend who was a producer and was pushing an artist that was doing really well. He was unfortunately murdered in the middle of all his hard work campaigning for this artist and I decided I was going to pick up where he left off. I had developed a business relationship with this artist through helping my friend and so I continue pushing this artist that he believed in so much under his company for his family and loved ones. Eventually, I created my own company to merge onto — that is what we know today as BMB Entertainment.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your filmmaking career?
That would have to be the story of how this film actually became a film. I ran into my childhood friend Trea Davenport, a successful celebrity publicist) not long after being released from incarceration and asked her to help me write my book (which the film is about). While conducting interviews for the book; the energy and the feedback was so strong, she told me “You got to turn this into a film!”
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
Charli Baltimore, whom I met through a close friend. Charli was a great person overall and had this talent that she couldn’t focus on because of a lot of entanglement issues she had going on personally. I ended up getting her a studio built and helped her get some gigs and she found her motivation after a while once she saw I was seriously trying to help her perfect her craft.
She ended up getting her EP finished within one week and that landed her a BET Award nomination for “Best Female Emcee in 2014 and other accomplishments.
Another person is, of course, Trea Davenport. These women are all great influencers and I’ve crossed their paths before and after the film was released. An interesting story about one of them would be one with Trea. I first met her when she used to kick it with my brother and there was one time that I had to make my brother give him her coat. She was visiting back home from California where she was living at the time and didn’t have a Detroit weather-type coat that was the start of our friendship.
Which people in history inspire you the most? Why?
The people along my path are those who inspire me. Most importantly the guys I encountered while incarcerated who, like me, got caught up in situations that they honestly didn’t know any better of the environment we grew up in. My book and movie were inspired by people all around me and it’s also because of these people that got me to the success I have now. A lot of movies that come out of Hollywood are based on the lives of people who don’t get to reap any benefits from their experiences and I feel like I am paving a way from these real-life stories to be made to not only entertain but help those that were affected.
Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview, how are you using your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting social impact causes you are working on right now?
I have shifted the focus on my label; BMB Records, to primarily producing and promoting positive, fun, empowering music made for kids by young talent. My flagship artist is singer, rapper, actress Brooklyn Queen. She is a 16-year old phenom who’s been signed to the label for 6 years now. Not only am I proud of the impact this platform has had on her life; but I understand that on a deeper level I’m able to impact countless tweens and teens by making her entertaining messages of self-love and self-empowerment available to the masses.
I also participate annually in quite a few local give-back initiatives from the Coats for Kids drive to back-to-school and holiday events. In reality, any cause that comes to me or that I see that can help someone, especially children, I always take part in. I don’t have my own cause but it may be in the works soon.
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and take action for this cause? What was that final trigger?
I have always been there for my community so nothing really triggers me to take a stand to step up, it just comes naturally to be there and help any way I can. If I had to think of an actual Aha Moment, it was when I came out to California to see my friend Trea Davenport and witnessed one of her successful events and how she brought together people from all types of business including celebrities and it made me realize that I found my partner that can help me manifest these ideas and gifts that I have. This led to us making that first step with the book and turning it into a movie.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
At least 20 times or more a week I have people that will DM me on social media to tell me how much the movie impacted them and how much they liked it. I also believe my team has been impacted greatly because of the success of this film and even people that doubted me have been impacted because they may know my history but don’t really know me as a person. I know the film also cautions the young gunners out there to not make the same mistakes I made and others like me.
Are there three things that individuals, society or the government can do to support you in this effort?
The government can support me and my film by making accessible information on programs, grants or speaker opportunities to get me in group homes, halfway homes, or anywhere that I can speak to troubled youth or young men and help make a difference. I also really want individuals to support the book by getting a copy of it to anyone they know that might be incarcerated and likes to read, which can be found on Amazon.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
This all started before it became a book title and coming up in my neighborhood, like many other neighborhoods, the street life becomes this “only option” to feel like you are helping your family, making money, and making friends. The first thing I wish I knew are the laws, plain and simple. . I feel like if I knew how certain laws worked I would’ve taken them more seriously and not gotten caught up in the street life because I would’ve known the consequences. Our youth needs to know these things other than “don’t do drugs” — I never did drugs…I sold them!
Secondly, I wish someone was there to teach us more about other options after high school other than going to a college that I couldn’t afford. I wish I knew about trade schools and certifications but we were only told about sports scholarships and faced with the dilemma of trying to pay for college. That’s why many of us end up in street life because we feel like there is no other option.
Third, I wish I knew more about the definition of love and the different aspects of love because it seems like we accept so many nuances that make us a victim. We aren’t taught about love, when we first experience that feeling we think that’s how it is supposed to be with everyone we meet afterward. If I had known that in the beginning, then I would’ve known that friends that I thought “had love” for me were actually just using me and I thought because I felt the love I was supposed to be loyal to them and in the end, it ended up getting me in trouble.
The same goes for family and what the aspects of family are. I didn’t really have a big loving family or somebody there to teach me how a family should treat each other. Family includes love but also involves support and both were things I didn’t have on a consistent basis, that I think hindered me from making the best decisions.
Lastly, and most relatable to the film itself, I wish I knew how important distributors are for films because I met a lot of people along my journey. Quick story that may be shocking to many but I was once on America’s Most Wanted list for about 5 years under a different name and was out in California producing music and couldn’t get any good deals so we ended up writing 3 movies which got us a movie deal for each however only one got completed. During this time I didn’t realize the importance of the connections I had and that distribution was valuable.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
I would tell them that the reason why anybody should make a positive impact is that “karma is alive”. I’m someone that could be dead or could be sitting for life in prison and I strongly believe that because I have always had good intentions and done good things behind the mistakes I have made, that I am able to continue to live and continue to help people in any way I can.
We are very blessed that many other Social Impact Heroes read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would like to collaborate with, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂
If I had to choose someone that I would want to collaborate with it would be Spike Lee or someone like him that has the capabilities to take my story and others’ stories that have been shared with me to bring them to life. Not just for entertainment but to make a difference.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Live for the Sacrifice.” That’s my motto. My parents were, unfortunately, both killed within 28 days apart and I had an epiphany once that made me realize that I have always been one to help my people and their death made me feel like I couldn’t just give up on myself and give up helping people because they were my parents and brought me into this world. I live for their death and I live to make a difference in this world.
How can our readers follow you online?
Instagram @mrbmbrecords
Twitter @bmbentgrp
Website www.bmbempire.com
This was great, thank you so much for sharing your story and doing this with us. We wish you continued success!
Filmmakers Making A Social Impact: Why & How Brian Brown Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.