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Rihanna Says Money Doesn’t Motivate Her Hustle
Ever since I was little, I've had beef with money. In my mind, if money was truly the root of all evil, it made no sense that it was the central focus of attention for everyone around me. I saw the adults in my life fight and end relationships over financial difficulty, but on the other hand, an influx in wealth would also be the only thing that would bring us all together. As I grew older, my disdain for currency evolved into dependency, and I realized the true meaning of the African-American proverb: cash rules everything around me.
The grind will grind you to death if you don't check yourself, and every rich person I've ever met will tell you that when they started, money was never the motive. Rihanna is a testament to this fact, and in a recent interview with The New York Times' T Magazine, she reminded us all that when you do the work, the money will come.
Rihanna recently made history as the first Black woman to create an original brand with the world's largest luxury brand and in her latest feature, she dropped the details about the highly anticipated clothing and accessory line. Along with a pair of $670 calfskin shoes, Rihanna debuted a Swarovski crystal-studded brass ear cuff, and a few high-fashion suit jackets that will have you feeling like a bag of money; after all, the line was inspired by Queen Rih herself, who is exactly that.
Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com
This February, it was reported that the Fenty creator's net worth is estimated at $260 million, and thanks to her collaboration with this billion-dollar industry giant, it can only go up from here. But let Rihanna tell it, the numbers don't really matter because she was never doing it for the money. She told T Magazine:
"I never thought I'd make this much money, so a number is not going to stop me from working. I'm not being driven by money right now."
Don't get it twisted, Rih is still the "BBHMM" badass that we've grown to know and love, and please know that she still needs her check on time; but she explained that money has never been her sole source of motivation for going hard:
"Money is happening along the way, but I'm working out of what I love to do, what I'm passionate about. Work will change when my life changes in the future but an amount of money is not going to stop that."
For Rihanna, money is less of a luxury and more of a resource that she can use to help the people around her and maybe even a baby Bajan prince or princess in the future:
"The money means that I can take care of my family. The money means that I can facilitate the businesses that I want to. I can create jobs for other people. My money is not for me; it's always the thought that I can help someone else or, in the future, for if I have kids."
Money doesn't equal happiness, and Rihanna wants us all to do ourselves a favor and level up our way of thinking. According to Rih, that process of unlearning starts with redefining your priorities:
"The world can really make you believe that the wrong things are priority, and it makes you really miss the core of life, what it means to be alive."
"It could literally be walking outside in the sun. That makes me happy. Like going to the grocery store — you know, there's a cute little Jamaican market near where I live right now."
If you're as cynical as I am, I know what you're thinking. Only people with money say that money doesn't matter. But damn, don't you think that's a funny coincidence? It just so happens that most rich people were never in it for the money? Oprah literally gave away cars to people who supported her show. Beyonce reportedly walked out of a million-dollar deal with Reebok because there weren't enough black people in the room. Robert F. Smith just gave away millions to a bunch of college graduates from Morehouse.
From the studies shown above, it appears rich people aren't half as worried about the numbers as people like me, who are struggling to make ends meet. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that every person in the world who has ever worked hard and pursued their passion has automatically become a millionaire, but Rihanna did. Why can't you?
Being rich is much different than accumulating wealth and Rihanna just gave us the blueprint on exactly how to build a $260 million empire: just do the work. You may not run a billion-dollar fashion house in Paris, but do what you can with what's in your account right now. Stop worrying about the numbers, and live life like Rihanna. If you do what you love, the money will come.
Read the full interview here!
Featured image by Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com
Taylor "Pretty" Honore is a spiritually centered and equally provocative rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a love for people and storytelling. You can probably find me planting herbs in your local community garden, blasting "Back That Thang Up" from my mini speaker. Let's get to know each other: @prettyhonore.
This Black Woman-Owned Creative Agency Shows Us The Art Of Rebranding
Rebranding is an intricate process and very important to the success of businesses that want to change. However, before a business owner makes this decision, they should determine whether it's a rebrand or an evolution.
That's where people like Lola Adewuya come in. Lola is the founder and CEO of The Brand Doula, a brand development studio with a multidisciplinary approach to branding, social media, marketing, and design.
While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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Exclusive: After Focusing On His Career For So Long, David Banner Is Now Ready To Find A Wife
During the Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heistpremiere, David Banner, who stars in the film, opened up about his weight loss and his desire to get married and start a family. At 50, David has accomplished many feats, from rapping, producing, and acting, and now he's ready for the next phase of his life. "I want to get married," he tells xoNecole.
"I'm tired. I want to find my wife, have some kids. We chase all of these esoteric goals, and sometimes we look back, and we left the things that really matter. I looked up one day, I had all of them, the music accolades, the film accolades, not all the ones that I want, but a lot of them. I had accomplished my goal, had chased my goal so long that when I looked up, I saw that I ran off and left everything else."
He also shares how working in the entertainment industry can sometimes affect his life and relationships with others. "We forget to be human beings, and people don't allow us to be human beings," he continues. "So, that's the reason why I said what I said, because I know what y'all platform means, and I want people to know that there are still some human beings that's up on that camera, and sometimes we hurt too."
Back in 2016, the "Like a Pimp" artist released the single "Marry Me" and shared in an exclusive interview with us how he is working on becoming his best self for his future wife.
"I just want to be the man that most Black women want to marry. I want to be a Black man that stands strong," he said. "I'm not perfect, but [I want to be the man] women want to marry and that kids want to be their father. I want to be that man. [When I die] I want people to say that that's a strong African man, I am proud that he's a part of my culture."
During our most recent interview with the "Get Like Me" rapper, he also revealed that he lost 35 lbs and dished on how important it is to take care of your body. "I have this thing that I want to be our children's superhero on the screen and off, and people always talk about mental health, but part of your mental health is what you put in your body," he says.
"People always talk about God. People always talk about the church, but the real church is your body, your temple. So I am treating my body and my temple as if God is in there."
Fight Night is out now on Peacock.
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Feature image by Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images