Big moves are being made by LL Cool J’s Rock the Bells brand. Named after the rapper’s classic 1985 hit, Rock the Bells is reportedly expanding as Variety reports that the company has acquired $8 million in funding from private investors. Upon its launch a few years ago, Rock the Bells quickly became a hit on SiriusXM as a classic Hip Hop station and soon, LL capitalized off of the venture with merchandise and brand partnerships.
President James Cuthbert, who reportedly also held positions with BET and Coca-Cola as a marketing executive, told Variety‘s Strictly Business podcast that Rock The Bells is entering new avenues with short-form content on its website as well as “e-commerce opportunities and infrastructure to work with brands on marketing and sponsorship opportunities.” At its core, it will always promote the love of classic Hip Hop and informing the masses about the foundation of one of the most popular genres of music in the world.
“We think those work together to form a flywheel,” Cuthbert said. “It’s important to have the right human beings.” The first goal to hire more people and develop a larger team. Overall, Cuthbert wants Rock the Bells to create “short, medium and long-form content, all with the underlying thematic of elevating classic hip hop and building cultural bridges for people who have yet to fully discover the mythology that sits in our classic hip hop.”
Currently, the Rock the Bells SiriusXM station hosts a “large percentage of listeners” that are under 25 years old, so Cuthbert and Co. believe this is the perfect opportunity to not only expand the brand but to educate younger Hip Hop and Rap fans about the culture. “Imagine if somebody had wrapped their head around building a brand (that encapsulated) classic rock,” Cuthbert added. “We are working with brands who want to authentically play in this space. If you want to leverage hip hop, we can help.”
Check out a few posts from Rock the Bells’s Instagram page below.
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