DAY 1: #30interviews30DAYS Rance Robinson @TheUMF

Rance Robinson is the Founder and CEO of a socially oriented company called Ultimate Money Fight: Where Savings Accounts Come to Battle! Rance uses his influence to encourage people to save money and then gives back to the best saver. Life is about giving back and death is selfishness! Are you living? http://ultimatemoneyfight.com/



Here goes the FIRST installment of #30interviews30DAYS with my BROTHER from another Rance Rob. He's an overachiever (as he should be lol) and he answered EVERY SINGLE question! I loved all of his answers so I had to post ALL of his answers! You can also check him out on http://www.TheFreshXpress.com he's one of the Staff Writers! 





1!>How do you feel about the current state of hip-hop and the music industry in general?



I'm not really involved in it anymore but as an outsider I see that with softer artists like Drake, Kid Cudi, and etc maybe things are lightening up a little and maybe lyrics are coming back into play. I am a little confused by the characters like Rick Ross. When I listened to rap/hip-hop there is no way you could have a career after people found out you were in law enforcement of any type LOL!



The music industry is in a shift of power now. If the plan is executed right then anybody can make noise and money. You just have to be smart. The internet has given people too much inside information and the record companies have to scramble.



2!> What do you think of when you hear the words "Record Deal"



Not impressed! What does that mean anymore? Look at Drake and what he did for himself. Did he have to sign with Young Money? No way. Actually he could have sold a mixtape with his buzz. My thought is 200,000 downloads at $5-10 each he could have made out nicely. The other problem is that someone would have uploaded it and people would have gotten it for free anyway. "Record Deal" still sounds cool but unless you put sales behind it, it means squat.



Congrats to Diggy Simmons for getting a deal off of one mixtape, and video, and a lot of buzz. In the grand scheme of it all, getting a record deal is just validation for building a more powerful network to become a brand. It’s less about moving units and more about being a brand. You can keep a deal now by selling enough of one song on iTunes.





3!> What do you think about the way the media portrays or covers affairs dealing with African Americans?



It's lopsided and exploitative like it always is. Look at the way they cover the President. Bush screwed up the country and the news at least added President to the name Bush. All they call our current President is "Obama" where's the respect. Look at the way ball players are handled. When black ballplayers like Michael Vick get in trouble he's Satan in a football jersey. Ben Rothlisberger on the other hand is not receiving nearly the critisism about two (2) alleged rapes that Kobe Bryant received about one.



4!> Do you feel like the recession is over?



It "feels" like it but in actually the economy is still healing and people are still broke. That's why my company Ultimate Money Fight exists (shameless plug). People got caught with their pants down. This recession wasn't just about people getting taken advantage of by banks; it was rather about people wanting a big ticket item like a house not being in position to get one and putting themselves in bad positions.



Debt is a bad idea, PERIOD, but it is really a bad idea when you spend tomorrow's money today at variable interest rates. That's like trusting your crackhead brother to invest $100,000 of your money in the stock market. You take a huge risk. It happens everyday because the thing people covet having the most is the thing they don't understand the most: MONEY.



4!> What steps do minorities need to take to create a better community for our children?



Stop looking for handouts. I sound like a right-winger don't I? We have to stop waiting for people come to our aid and start aiding ourselves. It'd also help if having a father in the home was more respected. A really good idea is to stop creating broken familes. Minorities (especially Black Americans) need to rid drugs from our society and sober it up. You know what, if I finished anwering this question it'd take too long. We need to do the opposite of what we're doing in our most negatively affected area. Oh, KILL the CRAB-in-the-BUCKET mentality.





5!> Are we living the dream that Dr. Martin Luther King spoke of in his "I Have A Dream" speech?



First I want to say that I'm not muslim. We are living the "Dream Speech" somewhat, but really we should have followed Malcolm X's plan. He said that instead of needing to integrate we needed to heal and get ourselves together. We'd really just gotten out of slavery and Jim Crow was still flying over us, integration was the last thing we needed. He said that we needed to detox, learn about us, and then succeed together.



Who's idea was better? In the grand scheme of it all I think Malcolm and Garvey may have had the better notion. Our mentality was and is too much in trouble. I get a little jealous when I see people of other nationalities that know their heritage. Even West Indians have a celebration that everybody goes to because they know their heritage. What do we get? Black History Month which is cool, but I still reel at the fact that a big percent of us can't tell if we're from Ghana or Egypt. I mean, were my family Moors? I have no idea!



Think about it, when people of color get a great job and look to buy a house the neighborhoods we want to live in are about as diverse as a carton of eggs. Yeah, we may be living some of the dream BUT, before we started executing that one we should have been doing what Malcolm proposed!



6!> What beliefs do you hold onto that motivate you to do what you do?



I believe that God want's me to succeed and not fail. I also believe that EVERY American runs the risk of getting their CASH KICKED again from another recession and that everyone can be financially responsible. I'm also motivated by the fact that giving is the truest form of wealth!



7!> Who in your life has pushed you the hardest concerning your dreams?



My wife. She knows my passion and won't give me any room not to go for it. She ROCKS!



8!> “Black women have always been these vixens, these animalistic erotic women. Why can't we just be the sexy American girl next door?" Tyra Banks

Does the media sensualize black women in particular more so than any other race??? What do you think of this quote?



YES! YES! YES! YES! Heck yeah! I don't know if it is the media as much anymore. Shoot, too many sensualize themselves. I mean c'mon you don't HAVE to be bare bootied in KING and XXL do you? You don't have to be in the video or the Playboy, or Black Men's Mag, or Real Chance at Love, do you?



Seriously though, I think it goes back to the history of the way white men have secretly been attracted to black women. Slave masters has a serious desire for black women. Even in the 40's and 50's I've read how those same racist guys would sneak off from their wifes to be with black women.



I think the quote is spot on. In movies that "girl" is never a black woman. They'll use Eva Longoria before they use Kerry Washington to be that girl. It's a shame.



9!> What do you feel about the influence the entertainment industry has on children and adults alike?



I feel like punching entertainers when they say they don't have influence. I didn't know too many grown men talking about Rolex watches and colorful swatches (he was talking about garment swatches not Swatch watches) until B.I.G. started with the heavy shoutouts. No adults were talking about Belvedere until Jay-Z and Dame Dash started going crazy with it. No grown woman ever tried to be a Barbie until Nicki Manaj-e-trois started that mess. So if adults are influenced then you know without a shadow of a doubt that the kids will be influenced.



When I was 11, "The Chronic" came out. When I was 11, weed sales went up in my community. Alot of the sales were by and for my age group. You tell me! When I hear about kids having sex or giving fellatio at age nine it has to come from somewhere. It's not just in the home. I've sat and watched BET music videos all day. By the end of the day I was horny, wanting a Rolex, hoping to own a Bently, and probably would have drunk some Hypnotiq like a glass of Kool-aid.



When kids are in single parent homes, mom is gone working doing the best she can; and music, YouTube, music videos, and reality programmin are all that a kid is feeding his or herself all day then that become their influencer. To me it's simple at plain. Even kids in the suburbs are vulnerable, we mimic what we find appealing.



10!> What do you think about the divorce rate being at %50 percent and what do you think could change this?



People should seek God before they hop into a marriage. The Lord clearly showed me my wife and boy if he didn't fit me right. Also, they should not look at divorce as an option. The biggest thing is going into a marriage ready to work. If you aren't ready to work then you've failed already. Go into the marriage with real expectations. If your fiancee doesn't want kids ever and you do then don't marry them, try to change their minds, and when they don't you want a divorce and cite "Irreconcileable Differences."



The other thing is that you should keep learning your wife/husband. People change. I'm not the same dude I was at 23. I don't think the same, act the same, so spouses have to be sensitive to that. Keep learning and keep growing.



11!> How vital/valuable do you believe your family is to your success?



They are the reason that I am doing what I am doing.





12!> Do you believe that college or higher education necessary to be successful?



No, I do think that intelligence is. I don't think that a degree = success. For some it can be a crutch of entitlement. To be a success you have to do what no one else is willing to do and be disciplined in doing it better than anybody else.



13!> What is your definition of SUCCESS?



Being a good husband, father, son, brother. Being accountable to God who is higher than I and being accountable for my actions. Then I would say material success is being able to do what you want, when you want, and having a means to support doing what you're passionate about.



14!> "Lyricism is the AIDS of Hip-Hop. Young rappers (and some older ones) want nowhere to be found near a lyrical rapper or MC—for fear of contamination, and subsequent public censure." thoughts??? http://tinyurl.com/yzd6fqs%20



Money talks and all else walks. What super lyrical rapper besides Jay-Z and Eminem can sell a record?



15!> Athletes receive multi-million dollar contracts but we still have uneducated children and hungry people on the streets… How do YOU feel about this and what, if anything, can we do to change it??



The first thing is not to blame the athlete. If someone is willing to pay them gobs of money because they're good at it then so be it. As a disciple of Christ there is a mandate that if someone is hungry the I am to feed them. Not anyone else. That isn't even the governments job. The job of the government is to manage the country and hold power in the world. Man's job is to take care of each other but we'd rather DOMINATE each other and until that changes there will always be a seperation of class. The number of politicians in the nation only rank in the thousands but the number of American citizens rank in the millions.



As far as uneducation I put the responsibility on students first, then parents or guardians. I do believe that the government DOES have the responsibility to provide equal education and books and resources. To change it, people have to care. Change rests on the people that are directly affected. If your lights got cut off and you were waiting on your state's Senator to donate money towards your light bill but their lights are on and they don't even know you to care about your lights being turned off, how long do you think it'll take them to help you change that situation?





16!> Health Care Reform… That is all lol THOUGHTS???



Google It... Sorry it's just too big for this post.



17!> Why is it that is takes a crisis (Haiti/Chile earthquakes, Hurricane Katrina) for people to respond to people that are already in dire straits??



I think the second paragraph to Question 15 sums it up. Out of sight, out of mind.



18!> How do you feel about the word ‘Negro’ being on the 2010 census form??



I don't. Why are we surprised anymore. I mean the "N" word has been a hot button issue for decades and Michael Richards and John Mayer were still fool enough to alter their careers and respect because of it. Just be glad they didn't put "Tar-baby" or "Porch Money" on it and keep moving. Until there are more Blacks running the show things like this will continue to happen.



19!> How far do you feel we as Americans have gotten away from “Family Values” and is there any reality in a “White-picket Fence” dream??



As far as me trying to see Africa standing on the shores of the Atlantic. There is a reality of that type of dream but if you have no plan to get it, forget it!



20!> Today more than ever, it is becoming increasingly important to generate your own revenue and income because of the slim pickings in the job market. What would you as an entrepreneur tell someone looking to make their passion a career??



Be ready to work and be ready to GIVE. Like Russell Simmons said in his book "It's about the WORK!" If you do the work the rest will pay off. Nothing comes easy, no matter how the media makes it look. If you don't then you fail. People have to learn to trust your products and your brand. Most marketplaces are vast, be true to what your brand identity is and go forward. Don't be controlled by fear and understand your company concept before you pour a dime into it. Be clear and concise about your company's product, mission, and plan.