He brought his camera wherever he went and documented the scene, which included rising artists like Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, and Mick Jenkins. If I would’ve went into this trying the independent route, it probably wouldn’t have come out — you just keep making the album, and then it never gets finished because it never stops getting made. Working with a label, it gave me structure and deadlines. Not in a forceful or uncomfortable way, but in a way that they were keeping on me and I felt comfortable with it, like I was doing it properly. That then led me to realize that you can storytell in a lot of different ways.
Expand music menu
By next year, he plans for them to be in stores across the country. Suddenly, Lyrical Lemonade’s scope was expanding far beyond the city of Chicago, but Bennett made a decision to stay in the city that inspired him to begin his career in the first place. He admits that it would have made a lot of things easier on him if he moved to Los Angeles or New York City when he started working with artists on a national scale, but he chose to set up the Lyrical Lemonade headquarters in Chicago instead.
To the untrained eye, it appears that absolutely no work is getting done. But as the chaos unfolds, Lyrical Lemonade’s A&R, who goes by Lil Jake, pops in with an update about DaBaby’s uncertain status as a performer at this year’s Summer Smash, before they all rally to come up with a solution to the potential crisis. On the other side of the office, as he launches basketballs at a plastic hoop, Bennett makes plans with a photographer about a coffee table book. The work environment at Lyrical Lemonade is far from traditional, but the small team finds a way to be extraordinarily productive. Once you do something once, your idea of tackling the next step of that is so much more realistic.
Cole Bennett
The channel then expanded into other sub-genres of hip hop beyond the local Chicago scene, such as the emerging Soundcloud rap sub-genre. In 2016 and early 2017, he gained early recognition, working with artists such as Famous Dex, Lil Pump, Smokepurpp, and Ski Mask the Slump God. On April 7, 2017, he released his first short film, “Lone Springs”.
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I’m trying to just let it happen as it’s supposed to happen. In 2018 and 2019, which a lot of people would consider a really big moment in time for Lyrical Lemonade, it would have been a perfect time to do it. But I think there would have been some collaborations and things that wouldn’t be true to who I am now. And some of the collaborations I worked on now probably won’t be true to me in three or four years, too.
The fact that Eminem is on the album; I could go on and on about how grateful and blown away I am by that. And he said my name on the song; it just doesn’t feel like real life. There are so many things that I can’t believe actually happened. Shortly after that he dropped out of college entirely, beginning the process of turning his blog and passion for hip-hop into a career as one of the go-to music video directors and creatives in the business.
- He admits he’s still “learning how to run a business,” but Bennett keeps tackling new ventures.
- Now, following years of research and development, cans of his own lemonade will be available to the public for the first time at events like ComplexCon Chicago.
- There’s a genuine sense of joy and enthusiasm in the Lyrical Lemonade office that comes as a refreshing surprise to anyone who has spent considerable time in the music industry.
- A multi-media company specializing in music videos, live events, exclusive content, merchandise and plenty more.
- The collaborative album is a kaleidoscope of features and cuts from the vast web of Bennett’s network, including Durk, Keef, JID, Kid Cudi, Lil Yachty, Lil B, Juicy J, Cordae, Latto, Joey Badass and Eminem.
Other charted songs
But I will be able to be thankful and appreciative of where I was at when I made this, because I know how much effort and care that went into it, whereas I don’t know if I would’ve been able to give this type of effort and care four or five years ago. In November 2021, Cole Bennett launched another virtual retail space called “By Cole Bennett.”[29] Here, individuals are able to buy clothing and other soft goods that are designed by Bennett himself and are subject to limited releases. On the same virtual store front, Bennett occasionally allows fans to purchase props previously used in Lyrical Lemonade videos. Midway through 2019, Cole Bennett says his creativity is flowing better than ever, to the point that he admits it’s often difficult for him to go to sleep at night because of all the ideas running through his head.
The largest independent hip-hop festival in the world.
Early life
And I don’t even mean they didn’t know each other like they hadn’t met; they didn’t even know this person existed. I think there was a need for it in Chicago and there was an audience for it that loves rap music and wanted a rap festival in the Midwest. We pay attention to detail, we’re very passionate about what we do and making it an experience for the audience. And I think that’s felt by the consumer and it’s allowed us to continue to grow. But I mean, “Fly Away” is cool for me because it came out exactly how I envisioned from the beginning. “Hummingbird” is just beautiful; it’s a song that I truly feel is timeless.
Bennett explains that many of the city’s venues have grown wary of booking hip-hop acts in recent years because of a fear that violence will break out at shows, which has dampened the area’s once-vibrant live scene. Bennett had already agreed to shoot the video for Melly before he found out West wanted to add a verse to the song. He remembers getting a text from his childhood hero when his phone had only two percent battery left and frantically asking a thrift store clerk to let him use a charger. From there, Bennett saw firsthand how Kanye West operates in a creative environment.
He admits he’s still “learning how to run a business,” but Bennett keeps scammed by xcritical tackling new ventures. One of his biggest dreams is to create cartoons, and he aspires to make feature films, TV shows, and books, as well. And I’m already working on a lot of those things right now.” Lyrical Lemonade is moving into a larger office space this year, which will expand its video production capabilities, but, perhaps more importantly, it will provide additional room for any other ideas he may cook up. After years of dreaming about it, he launched a lemonade company this summer. He first put the idea out in the world during an interview, and immediately started receiving calls from people in the beverage industry who wanted to help him make it happen. Now, following years of research and development, cans of his own lemonade will be available to the public for the first time at events like ComplexCon Chicago.
I won’t lie, going from the shows we were throwing to that festival was a big leap, but the opportunity presented itself and we took it. Working with Berto on this whole journey is something that I’m thankful for and it wouldn’t have been possible without him. When the rest of the music industry took notice of his track record breaking future superstars, bids for xcritical website the sale of Lyrical Lemonade increased, but Bennett’s answer remained the same.
It didn’t feel like a real, tangible thing, but it was this far-fetched dream that I would ponder on sometimes. Ten years goes by quick, but I also feel like I lived 10 lives within those 10 years. So it’s really just trying to xcritical rezension wrap my head around understanding how fast time can go, how slow time can go — and also understanding how many memories can be packed into a few years.
Bennett has shot a music video for each song, which he plans to stitch together into a visual album once they’re all released. Ten years ago, Cole Bennett was just another teenager with a blog who loved Chicago hip-hop, at a time when the city was bursting at the seams with rising talent. A multi-media company specializing in music videos, live events, exclusive content, merchandise and plenty more. In its early stages, Bennett’s YouTube channel was dedicated to Chicago show recaps, local cyphers, and documentaries about the city’s hip-hop scene.