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By James Nicholson
Sometimes a bit of distance is needed to allow one to view a local
situation with a fresh perspective. That is the case with Eric Rhone,
the manager and long term partner of Cedric the Entertainer, who
splits his time between St. Louis and Los Angeles. “I want St. Louis
to be poised to become a viable option to attract film makers,”
he simply states, “but we have a lot of work in front of us.”
Rhone utilizes the pre-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans as an example.
“New Orleans did a wonderful job of marketing itself as a film setting,
yet there is no comparison between the two as cities—St. Louis is
simply better.” New Orleans’ social and economic problems, however,
did not deter film companies, which were lured with active overtures
and able to make use of lucrative tax incentives and rapidly decided
a film did not need to be set in New Orleans to be filmed in New
Orleans. “New Orleans was the only city outside of Hollywood that
rivaled the Canadians when it came to location shooting. Tax incentives
for Hollywood generate a great deal of revenue for a location city,”
Rhone explains. “I want St. Louis to become a real player” in the
quest for Hollywood dollars.
Rhone and Cedric know the extremely viable possibilities of the
metropolitan area. Both grew up in St. Louis. Both went to Southeast
Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. Rhone’s family lives
in St. Louis, as do Cedric’s mother and sister. The local roots
run deep, and both view the city’s future as a basic part of their
future. “St. Louis is an awesome place to be,” Rhone explains. “The
pros outweigh the cons. It’s a great place to raise a family. It’s
a great place to retire.”
But is it a great place to do business when one’s business is entertainment?
“There lies the opportunity,” Rhone says with a smile on his face
before continuing in a serious vein. “The question is do the real
gate keepers of the region seriously embrace that opportunity?”
Recently, both Cedric and Rhone appeared at a standing room filled
forum sponsored by the Webster University School of Business. Dean
Benjamin Akandi acknowledged their accomplishments by pointing out
that they had paved the way for “a new generation of entertainers
and business savvy young people, had made it possible to make the
impossible possible” and, referring to Cedric, “made us laugh our
assets off.”
Cedric acknowledges that he “always felt he had the ability to entertain”
and once even asked his mother if he could go to VAP (the magnet
High School for Visual and Performing Arts). His mother, an educator,
had other ideas. “She stressed the ABCs of it all” and high school
led straight to college, where he met Rhone, and the two soon became
great friends.
“Eric was the only guy who would always challenge me,” Cedric relates.
“He has good ideas and is also a finisher. For over 20 years our
motto has been ‘Do what you say you’re gonna do’.”
“I’m creative in the business aspect and Cedric is more creative
in the show aspect,” Rhone explains. “When a major deal comes, we
sit down and share our ideas, and try to come up with the best possible
approach to get the most out of each deal. The other aspect of our
relationship,” he goes on to relate is ‘Don’t let the money make
you.’ I understand I control the deals and I control myself.” We
know “money doesn’t make us. We make the money.”
“We’ve always shared a go forward/get it done kind of spirit,” Cedric
interjects. “We didn’t do anything too soon. I always said I would
never really go to California, unless there was a reason for me
to go there.”
After steady appearances at local and national clubs, and exposure
on HBO’s Def Jam, there was ample reason. “From the Cedric the Entertainer
standpoint, we felt that we had built a brand that was recognizable,
and Def Jam had gotten national acclaim as one of the funniest shows
ever invented, so we felt we could walk into an office and people
would know who Cedric was,” explains Rhone.
“Quite the contrary,” he defers with a sly grin. “No one knew who
Cedric was, or who I was, and I was the person trying to set the
meeting up. From the business aspect, it was an awakening. In fact,
we had not built that effective brand that Hollywood, as a business
community, would entrust with millions of dollars to help promote
and establish in the international marketplace.”
A reason for alarm? Quite the contrary, the two viewed it as yet
another challenge to be met. (It might be wise to pause here and
recall Rhone’s challenge to the St. Louis area to become a serious
entertainment magnet and to ultimately draw a few parallels, especially
about the benefits of meeting challenges.)
“Eric and I”, Cedric explains, “are strategists with my career.
You kind of pick and choose things that you want to do when you
do it for a reason, and you do it for a reason that a lot of times
our lawyers and our agents don’t understand.” Hosting Black Entertainment
Television’s Comic View is a case in point. “When he hosted the
BET show,” Rhone continues, “a lot of Hollywood people thought it
was a step back, and we saw it as a way to build his brand in the
households of Americans each and every night.” “To become the host
of Comic View at that time,” Cedric interjects, “was just a really
smart thing to do because we were strategizing how to increase my
personal appearance fee. Well, if I’m on TV every night, and if
I’m popular, and people know who I am, that means if I’m coming
to say, Little Rock, it’s sold out. It means, where I used to get
$3,000 a show, I’m getting $15,000 to $20,000.” “As you get more
exposure to really big deals,” Rhone concludes, “you understand
there’s always a bigger deal to be had. We’re still on that journey.”
“One of your biggest deals,” Dean Akandi pointed out, “is Anheuser-Busch.
You became sort of their face. How did that deal come about?”
Sometimes, it seems, serendipity trumps strategy. “We were on the
road with The Kings of Comedy tour and, one night, I came to Cedric
and said that what we should do is a show that he hosts featuring
young and upcoming comedians. We could then use the Cedric the Entertainer
brand to build the careers of younger comedians.” Strategy. We did
a meeting with an executive from Anheuser-Busch and he liked the
idea and agreed to help finance the tour. That led to the commercials
and the whole Anheuser-Busch relationship—now going into its sixth
year.” Serendipity.
“Eric likes to use the term synergy,” continues Cedric. “Being a
St. Louis company, they (Anheuser-Busch) definitely a big St. Louis
institution. That relationship just uniquely grew and the commercials
became an added bonus. It’s just been a great relationship. They’re
really supportive and are strongly behind my charitable efforts.”
As a melding of a St. Louis corporation and a St. Louis entertainment
institution, this one, especially in relationship to the Super Bowl’s
commercial sweepstakes, borders on the legendary.
In terms of elucidating the ultimate meaning of two careers which
are still very much flourishing, both become serious. “I think laughter
is a healing property,” Cedric says. “I feel that to be able to
make someone feel joy is something that is important in the world
we live in. I want to be recognized for my brand of humor—one that
is acceptable on many different plains. Beyond that, I think it
is important to contribute back to society in many different ways—to
use your fame, your talent, your voice, your money to try to make
a difference. I contribute through my foundation.
“From a business aspect,” Rhone continues, “it’s to make sure that
other young people, especially young people of color in this country
and around the world, understand that they can play on any field
in business and to understand that, if you know who you are, and
believe in what you’re doing, you can be successful and that you
don’t have to be labeled anything. You don’t have to be labeled
a minority. You don’t have to be labeled a person who’s at a disadvantage.
I don’t like being special. I would like to be common in that regard
and see more men and women of color in any aspect of business, in
any industry in the world to be able to compete and show that they
can complete no matter what background they’re from. I think that’s
the ultimate legacy.”
And Rhone would like to leave that legacy in St. Louis. “St. Louis
has such a rich history that’s not preserved,” he points out. Josephine
Baker was an amazing maverick and pioneer and, for many generations
now, people do not know who she was or that she was from St. Louis.”
Rhone fully believes that the arts can have a positive impact—both
culturally and financially—on the region, and hopes the local power
players truly wish to embrace the arts in order to turn that profit.
He points out that the new ballpark, the ever-growing Washington
corridor and a recharged Laclede’s Landing are all good for the
revitalization of the region, but states with absolute clarity,
“There’s more work to be done.”—especially, if the St. Louis area
is to be a player in the entertainment industry.
Potential tax credits in return for filming in St. Louis is a simple
example. “The necessary credits simply are not yet there when it
comes to enticing a production to film in the region. We have to
continue to work hard in providing the tax credits necessary to
allow for local filming. I’ve produced five films—one in Europe,
one in New York City, one in Canada and two in L.A. I’d like to
be able to produce them here, but the current situation simply does
not (economically) allow it. St. Louis, through the Regional Chamber
and Growth Association and other entities, has done a wonderful
job marketing itself as the center of the BioBelt. I think the marketing
should be equally creative for all industries, including my own.”
“In terms of my generation,” he philosophically notes, “we have
the opportunity to make a major commitment to the region. But the
most successful of that group have taken their talent and their
taxes elsewhere. The area needs to commit to a retention effort
led through those individuals still living in the region. I wish
the area could be more progressive. I find that most of the local
arts organizations are fighting to keep what they have, as opposed
to focusing on what the region does not offer. When everyone is
fighting to hold on to their own piece of funding, it does not create
a climate that spurs growth; it merely commits to the status quo.”
“We need more independent men and women with fresh eyes and ideas
finding new ways of truly doing things,” he continues. “There’s
some great development downtown and in the region, but nothing that
puts us on the international stage.” Rhone doesn’t hesitate for
an instant. “In a global economy, we have to put ourselves on the
international stage, and we have to do what we need to do to get
the most exposure. If we don’t, we’ll miss the whole boat—particularly,
in terms of entertainment and marketing.”
Rhone is quite serious about the region committing to an international
image. “We built a new ballpark. That’s terrific, but so did Pittsburgh.
Do we want to be Pittsburgh? We need to think London and Paris,
not Baltimore and Houston.”
“I sat down and thought about what, in its history, had put St.
Louis on that international stage. I came up with three things—the
World’s Fair of 1904, the building of the Arch, and Nelly.” (Lindbergh
and The Spirit of Saint Louis would probably qualify as a fourth,
but who wants to quibble when someone with an enviable track record
is making such a pertinent point with a very serious issue?) That’s
three times in its entire history and, if you think Nelly doesn’t
qualify, you’re mistaken. I’ve seen kids in Africa, in Asia, and
in Europe wearing Cardinals caps and Rams jerseys and they’re not
wearing them because they know anything about baseball or football.
They’re wearing them because Nelly wears them and they listen to
Nelly.”
It is interesting to note that all three instances cited by Rhone
pertain to events focused primarily on entertainment and culture.
The World’s Fair was entertainment on a grand scale. The Arch is
a work of art. Nelly is an entertainer. “People need to understand
exactly how powerful entertainment can be. A solid commitment can
utterly transform a region.”
In his vision of St. Louis as an entertainment magnet, Rhone sees
the big picture. “I want people to be able to do here what they
can do nowhere else. I want the region to be able to attract business,
people and art on the international stage.” Intriguingly, a fair
number of St. Louisans share his vision, even if local commitment
to the Arts seems constantly to be under siege.
Cedric, too, wants to see the City and the region make a meaningful
effort to play upon the world stage both in the arts and in other
industries. He makes his own meaningful contributions through his
charitable foundation and, Rhone volunteers, supports many other
charitable efforts, which, by his desire, are never reported in
the press.
Both view themselves as tireless ambassadors for the region and,
as ambassadors able to experience life elsewhere between trips home
to St. Louis, feel they can view the area with clear eyes. “The
philosophy holds true that it’s hard to embrace your future if you
don’t understand your past,” Rhone shares. “At its core, St. Louis
has never valued diversity, yet the more access people have the
further along we go.”
“I hope the right group of people are in place to see that the city
becomes internationally recognized. If we (as a region) only settle
for national exposure, we’ll never achieve our potential,” Rhone
reflects.
The dream may be a large one, but it is not that far-fetched. St.
Louis, after all, pulled it off in 1904. Why not do it again a century
and a few years later?
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HOME-GROWN
TALENT
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By
James Nicholson
 You
may not have to be the daughter of a Lutheran minister with
a mind of her own to become a successful vocalist, but, in
the case of Erin Bode, it sure didn’t hurt.
The familial side provided her a daily introduction to music.
In rebelling against the formal structure of Opera casting
while a student at the University of Minnesota, she discovered
her personal aesthetic. Having transferred to Webster University
and studied with jazz pianist and singer Christine Hitt, she
discovered her musical aesthetic. Some already compare her
favorably to Nora Jones.
Her eclectic taste in music covers several genres and her
ability to tackle a range of standards and make them all her
own defines her musical talent—she’s herself and not like
anyone else and that’s cause for celebration for discerning
fans.
Bode has performed nationwide, as well as in Europe. And she’s
opened for Michael Buble at The Pageant; with Macy Gray on
the steps of the Gateway Arch; and for Jamie Cullum at the
Sheldon Concert Hall. Find her next local date at www.erinbode.com.
 2003
proved to be the summer of Chingy with his triple platinum
album, Jackpot. The pride of Walnut Park, Chingy has
proved that you can be both street savvy and an artist.
A recording studio veteran since the age of eight, music has
always been Chingy’s means of expression and his expression
sells. His second album, PowerBallin’, has also gone platinum.
A brief appearance (as himself) in Scary Movie 4 is only the
first of three film roles and a third album, Hoodstar, is
due to be released in August.
As it does with Nelly, references to St. Louis appear frequently
in Chingy’s music. In fact, it’s Right Thurr.
 What
do Steak ‘n Shake, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and
Wynton Marsalis have in common? In a name, Jeremy Davenport.
The St. Louis native (hence the affinity for Steak ‘n Shake)
was born into a musical family. His mother, Diane, is a music
teacher at New City School; his father, Roger, is a trombonist
for the Symphony. Jeremy studied trumpet with Susan Slaughter
(hence a double SLSO connection). While he was still in high
school, his father arranged an introduction to Wynton Marsalis.
In a grace note, Davenport was off to the Manhattan School
of Music and began studying with Marsalis. Then he became
one of the first students in a newly founded jazz program
at the University of New Orleans under the tutelage of Marsalis’
father, Ellis.
From there, he became the youngest member of the Harry Connick
Orchestra at age 18, and at 19 hit the road for four world
tours.
The rest is, shall we say, a fast advancing musical career
with a regular performing schedule, including performances
at the newly renovated Busch's Grove, a recording contract
with Telarc and a signature style in which he musically pursues
the story element of every song. Some day, forty or so thousand
lucky fans may even discover this Cardinals fan during a certain-to-be
memorable seventh inning stretch.
 Cornell
“Nelly” Haynes Jr., a rapper from St. Louis, is not only
a three-time Grammy winner and CEO of his own music label,
he also has his own international clothing line (Vokal for
men and Apple Bottoms for women) and created his own non-carbonated
energy beverage.
Nelly, obviously, knows about creativity and is currently
putting college students to the test.
Last year, in conjunction with the Fillmore Street Brewery
and their collaboration, Pimp Juice, two $5,000 scholarships
were awarded to one male and one female student deemed the
best embodiment of a Positive. Intellectual. Motivated. Person.
This year, the focus has been shifted to video and the search
is on to determine exactly which of the entrants will be deemed
the first Positive. Intellectual. Motivated. Producer.
The producer designation is key as the winner will receive
a breakthrough opportunity to have his or her commercial for
Pimp Juice or PJ Tight posted and played on the Pimp Juice
website with the possibility of future commercial distribution.
Encouraging creativity and rewarding educational excellence
are merely the first two steps taken by Nelly and Fillmore
Street to give to their collective community utilizing Pimp
Juice and its profits. As far as steps go, these are extremely
significant. Drink up, study and create; the third step’s
on its way.
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