Doing things your own way usually pays off.
Cam’ron launched his podcast, “It Is What It Is,” in February 2023. While participating on a panel at Black Enterprise’s 2024 Disruptor Summit in May, the rapper recalled brainstorming his vision for his sports talk show and investing in himself.
“To me, all sports programming was pretty much the same, so I said I’d invest $250,000 in this project,” Cam’ron told the outlet. “So I said we’re going to be in a professional environment, wear suits and talk to each other how we talk when it comes to basketball.”
@blackenterprise From an argument with a friend to a $20 million deal! Cam’ron recounts his podcast journey and shares how it all started with his passion for sports and a $120,000 investment. #PodcastGoals #SuccessStory #Camron #ItIsWhatItIs ♬ Original Sound – BlackEnterprise
Cam’ron revealed that he chose $250,000 as the maximum investment amount, but actually spent around $120,000.Moreover, the show started to become successful.
“It was a huge success,” he says. “I did about three or four episodes by myself. I actually invited Ma$e to be a guest on the show, and he was like, ‘Hey, this is so cool. Can you do half of it?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, half of it is fine. Let’s do it.’ He didn’t have to put up any money, but he was happy to.”
Once “It Is What It Is” started to gain buzz, offers started pouring in. As AFROTECH™ shared in March 2023, Cam’ron announced that while he was grateful for the love he was receiving, he was looking for bigger offers.
“You’ve got to offer something that I don’t have,” Cam’ron said at the time. “Right now, you don’t know what I have. You can guess what I have. I’m not going to be unreasonable, but you’ve got to be fair. And for now, we’re just going to have fun.”
In the aforementioned interview with Black Enterprise, Cam’ron said he was offered $1 million after filming the first four episodes. He was then offered $3 million after filming 10 episodes. However, co-host Ma$e advised him not to give in just yet. In the end, Cam’ron said he was awarded the $20 million contract.
The $20 million contract Cam’ron is referring to is likely the contract he and Ma$e received with Underdog Fantasy Sports. The company will launch a daily fantasy sports platform in August 2023. As previously reported by AFROTECH™, this represents an eight-figure deal spanning 18 months.
