Elie Maroun, CEO of the Grey Space Group, has launched “The Crew League” television series in partnership with Revolt TV.
Mike Oberlies
“It’s all love brother!”
Those are the words music industry veteran Elie Maroun, 32, yells at a supporter while exiting Soho House Hollywood. Supporters respond back, “Always, my boy!” Maroun, a former Atlantic City party promoter-turned-manager for Sean “Diddy” Combs is the founder of the music non-profit Music Beats Hearts and CEO of the Grey Space Group, a brand management firm and tech incubator. Maroun has quite a story to tell, yet he chooses to shine a spotlight on others.
Last November, at Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Academy in Calabasas California, Maroun did just that. He launched The Crew League Basketball Tournament, a first-of-its-kind hip-hop basketball tournament, reminiscent of 1990’s MTV Rock N Jock. Powered by TikTok, the event was hosted by Druski, 24kgolden, Buster Scher and Justin Combs, and featured the whos who of today‘s hip-hop scene, including Trippie Redd, Swae Lee, Russ, Jack Harlow, Lil Mosey, DDG, G Herbo, The Kid LAROI, Lil Keed and NBA Champion Glenn “Big Baby” Davis.
Nick Tran, head of global marketing at TikTok, believed in the vision and wanted to support it. “The music artists and athletes on TikTok have touched so many people across the country and around the world,” says Tran. “Our partnership with The Crew League celebrates the long-standing connection between basketball and hip-hop and how this community is driving culture on the platform.”
On February 19, The Crew League will debut as an episodic series on Revolt TV. Competitors will partake in a basketball tournament to win a grand prize of $100,000. At the end of the eight-episode series, the winning team will donate 50% of its prize money to a nonprofit or social good initiative.
The program will debut on Monday, February 22, at 10 p.m. ET, and air weekly on Revolt TV. The final episodes of season one will air between March 5 and 7 in an effort to entertain basketball fans, given that the NBA has scaled back activities during its 70th annual All-Star Weekend.
“We are thrilled and honored to be partnering with our mentor, Diddy, on The Crew League,” says Jordan A. Stern, cofounder of The Crew League. “Diddy helped pave the way for Elie and I to explore these types of entrepreneurial opportunities, and seeing things come full circle is a blessing. Working with partners who also understand the consumption trends of our culturally relevant Gen-Z and Millennial fans will allow us to disrupt and revolutionize current content offerings.”
As a former “crew” member, Elie knows all too well how often the members are not as highlighted as the spotlighted figure. Managers, publicists and friends play a supporting role but are seldom given the spotlight. The Crew League is setting out to change that, allowing crew members to also get their shine during games.
“We wanted to showcase the music talent while also generating awareness around the ‘crew’ members; those seldom highlighted,” says Maroun “The talent captains cannot win a game without their crew—from the assistant to the best friend—the same way they can’t become superstars without them! Our hope is to give fans behind the scenes of their favorite artists and ‘crews’ that help elevate them in every aspect of their careers.”
One of the largest issues plaguing the culture today, Maroun says, is the lack of community and loyalty. Drawing inspiration from his biggest mentor, he’s hoping to change that. “I have watched Puff disrupt industries for decades, particularly a decade with me on his hip,” says Maroun “I’m excited for us to disrupt the sports world together.”
from WordPress https://ift.tt/3jZxptq
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment