“Why do you listen to this filth?” My mom used to say.

Hip-hop represented the rebel inside of me. The music and culture made me feel part of something big.

5 ways to build a culture that’s bigger than life.

N.W.A. was the hip-hop act of the 80’s. It was raw; it was fun. It was a global family.

My old school senior homies on X know what I mean.

Before we dive into how to build a culture, let’s look closer at why you should build one for your business.

It was snowing.

There, I was in front of the music venue with hundreds of teens from all walks of life. We were part of a culture.

In the 80’s, there were hundreds of hip-hop acts. What made N.W.A. so special?

We fought a common enemy. We stood up against the system. And we took a stand we believed in.

Did you notice I used the word WE?

When you have the power of community, you can move mountains.

The best thing is when you rally a group of people behind a common belief, they will follow you to the end of the earth.

Now I hear you thinking.

I barely have an audience, and you’re talking about a culture?

Well, yeah, I am.

A culture is built one person at a time. So you better start now.

Everybody on X is talking about building your audience. But in fact, what you should build is a culture.

This slight difference will matter when you like to market and sell your digital products.

But more importantly, you build something bigger than life.

And the beauty is your audience will grow naturally around your culture.

Here are 5 ways I used to build a culture based on life experience, hip hop and having crazy a** fun.

Let’s dive in:

Fight a common enemy.

When you have somebody or something to throw rocks at, you’ll quickly unite a horde of raving fans who will join your cause.

In my case, our enemies were teachers and bosses.

Have values you live by.

Here is where it becomes tricky. Not everybody will agree with you. And that’s fine.

You must believe in something. F*ck those who don’t believe in your values. Embrace the ones that do.

Give your community a cool name.

Think out of the box. A community needs a home. And your home will be the name.

When you do this well, people will beg for merch, mugs and hats. That’s when you know you are building a culture.

Show leadership.

I’m going to be upfront with you. People are sheep. They need somebody to follow.

It takes courage to speak your mind. It takes courage to lead a group of people. It takes courage to step outside your comfort zone.

It’s not enough to share your knowledge.

You need to lead by example. Do the things you want your community to do. Lead from the front.

That’s how you become a leader.

Have freaking fun.

Life is so boring. People are so full of themselves. People are bored to listen to the same lame platitude.

People need to escape from their boring lives. You can be that gateway.

Show personality. Show that you’re human. Show that you are having fun. Show that life is about living. Show how you fuck up every single day.

Now it’s your turn.

Show yourself, be real, be raw, and be your people’s leader.

Build a community of like-minded people. Keep out all the NAY sayers. Spread positivity.

And don’t give a F*CK what others think.

Follow your heart, chase your dreams. And live your life on your terms.

And people will see you as their leader. Now, go and build a culture.

Virgil ” Communities kick ass” Brewster.