Cordell Broadus, known as Champ Medici, is leading Hip-hop culture to crypto with Web3 investment fund WelcometotheBlock.io and Gushcloud International.

In 2018, Cordell Broadus was at a crossroads.

After turning his back on a potentially lucrative career in professional football, Champ Medici ran a route of his own choosing to pursue his passion for technology, real estate, and entrepreneurship. Most of us would decide which industry to focus on — yet Champ Medici is astute enough to know they all converge on the blockchain — where fashion, film, and music “cross-pollinate at the highest level.”

A savvy cryptocurrency investor and NFT trader with the knowledge and understanding to utilize crypto financial instruments independently, Champ Medici is crypto native; his astute awareness of the space is hard-earned because there are no shortcuts to crypto comprehension.

In the past year, Champ Medici has elevated his profile as a serial entrepreneur at the forefront of ideation, dealmaking, and innovation in the crypto space. Champ Medici and his client Snoop Dogg partnered with Sotheby’s head of Hip hop for “A Journey With The Dog” Death Row Records NFTs on crypto.com, which saw seven-figure success.

Champ Medici is also behind the Nyan Dogg NFTs with Chris Torres, and brought the Doggies 10k NFT collection to The Sandbox. Champ Medici collaborated with Kai Henry to bring the comic book superhero SUPERCUZZ to life with BossLogic, and made the Claymates happen on Cardano. He also brokered a deal with his Bored 8th Cannabis venture and Snoop Dogg to brand a digital weed farm with the mafia-themed metaverse game Mobland. Champ Medici also partnered with well-known cannabis dispensary BackpackBoyz Club and Cookies.

While paving the way for Snoop’s Bored Ape #6723 and the Food Fighters Universe partnership for Dr. Bombay’s Sweet Exploration, Champ Medici partnered with FFU NFT restaurant group to bring his concept to life at ApeFest in just two months. Bored Taco, Champ Medici’s culinary venture, is branded with his own Bored Ape #6368. Food Fighter’s Universe (FFU) was founded by restaurateurs Andy Nguyen, Kevin Seo, and Phillip Huynh to bridge the gap between food and Web3.

Founded in 2011, Gushcloud International is a global influencer, entertainment, and talent acquisition company headquartered in Singapore. It connects audiences and brands with influencers and content creators through representation and brand management. Gushcloud International made its foray into Web3 by signing Champ Medici, Cordell’s Bored Ape. The non-exclusive license bestowed upon Bored Ape Yacht Club owners allows each respective owner to exploit the intellectual property rights governing the art, which includes what the buyer can do with the NFT — from simply displaying the NFT, to creating copies or derivative works from it.

Champ Medici and Gushcloud International launched investment fund WelcometotheBlock.io targeted towards investing in founders that are building companies in blockchain and crypto, to push forward their combined future in Web3.

INTERVIEW

skidrowcrypto:

You were first introduced to crypto in 2017 by Nipsey Hustle, who wanted you to get into virtual real estate. As I understand it, you didn’t get in right away, yet your interest was piqued a year later when the market crashed. Why would crypto crashing be the right moment in time for you to get in?

Champ Medici:

To be more specific, Nipsey told me to invest in cryptocurrency. He didn’t tell me to invest in digital real estate. So when he said that, I spelled it wrong in my phone and I never was able to find it. So a year later, it was just a coincidence when I found it. It was like — oh, the prices are fairly low, now.

It’s easier to buy in when it’s low versus it’s high, and the risks of it dropping again are lower. I just looked at all that and jumped in. — Champ Medici

I did a little bit here, a little bit there, and got more familiar with it, because I started to notice it’s just like the stock market. I didn’t know about the stock market, but that same year I was learning about it and figuring out seasons. When companies start hiring, that’s expansion season. When you start seeing people get laid off, that’s when things are going down. When something happens in China, it’s going to affect Apple, because 20% of their market is there. I was learning how all that works.

skidrowcrypto:

You mentioned in an interview, which I recall, how banks are really slow, and that you don’t like banks. Talk about the difference for someone like you and your family, and the way that you deal and move with money, and the complications with banks vs crypto.

Champ Medici:

Sometimes when my mom wants to pull out some money, like a lot, everything is suspicious. She’s a black woman. All those things that come with that, like why do you want this large amount of money? I would see how that process was. And then for myself, me trying to size stuff up and do things, I didn’t know what credit was growing up. So me trying to figure out all this stuff, the banks didn’t really care. They didn’t really want to help me. I felt like I couldn’t do anything.

It felt more like me. I was like, why are banks so hard on me? I ended up finding crypto and seeing how ledgers work and I was like, this is more my vibe. I haven’t been to a bank in a long time.

skidrowcrypto:

Being in a celebrity family, being a personality yourself, having handlers, what is that like with crypto? Do other people have access to your wallet? Do you maintain your own seed phrase?

Champ Medici:

The thing is, with me, everyone around me, I taught them how to set up a Metamask. How to buy a Ledger. To save, and make sure things are in a safe place. It was never like somebody was walking me through things. We met with one dude who came in the room, and he said, “NFTs and crypto. You guys should be doing this. You should be putting it on a Ledger.” Everybody in the room laughed. I was the only one who had a voice memo — listening over it, writing notes.

I took that information upon myself and sat down with my brother. Sat down with my sister. Sat down with my dad.  — Champ Medici

I sat down with my Uncle Reggie in Florida; texting him Cardano articles telling him to invest in this coin, “This is why I think this coin is important. Invest in this NFT.” It was always me pushing the line and trying to educate my family and my close peers. You know how most black people are — they don’t want to hear it. They don’t want to try. If you have to set up this — you lost their interest.

I was talking to myself for two years until NFTs became famous. Now I’m a genius, and I’m not listening to that.  — Champ Medici

This is the same shit I was talking about when I stopped playing football. But you didn’t listen to me because I’m an ex-football player. When all that started to become more mainstream, everybody was like, “Go talk to Cordell — he’s been telling us about it for years.”

I just did the research. It’s all on Youtube. It’s all in front of you. You can go on these articles. You can go on Ethereum.org and figure out what all that means. You can go on Cardano and see where they’re putting their coin and how they’re utilizing it. I’m a student first, so it was always fun for me to learn new knowledge.

skidrowcrypto:

In the short span of five years, you’ve learned enough to be dangerous as far as taking calculated risks with assets and holdings and becoming a lead strategist for clients like Tommy Hilfiger, Jeff Bezos, The Sandbox, Moonpay, Snoop Dogg — whom you essentially onboarded. What does onboarding and educating people responsibly look like, so when they enter the space, they understand the basics and are capable of managing their digital assets?

Champ Medici:

I just tell everybody, if you’re gonna do it, try to learn every angle of it. I’m not a financial advisor. Since I was in high school, I was always learning about different markets, studying Bill Gates, and studying different things. I didn’t really like learning schoolwork, so I was always into finance, tech, film, and fashion. I was always learning.

I was walking in that direction to be able to meet Tommy Hilfiger. When I met him, I told him right away, “I’m not just a model. Utilize my mind. I’m a creator. Utilize me. How can I serve you? What do you need help with?”

I’m here to get to the next level. The next door. This is a key to get to the next room. Me being Snoop Dogg’s son is going to get me in the room, but who I am is going to keep me in the room.  — Champ Medici

A close family friend of ours knows Jeff Bezos’ team, and they wanted to figure out how to get into NFTs. It was like a two-hour call. Me and Amador, we’re sitting down and telling them, “First you set up a Metamask, first you go on OpenSea,” telling them the whole thing. It felt good to see. Bezos’ company asking me? What? But let me not get caught up in that. Let’s just use the same blueprint I did with my sister and my dad and so forth.

I tell everybody it’s your own risk if you’re going to jump into it, but it’s also a risk if you don’t. Look at Disney when they started in the 50s and they first went public. How many people didn’t invest that wish they did later down the line, because now there’s amusement parks and movies. Now it’s all that. But you have to see what it is before it becomes what it’s going to be.

skidrowcrypto:

You said before that web3 offers a financial perspective on what we can do creatively. You’ve talked about virtual business models, and creating passive income in web3. You’ve also talked about how the space kind of feels like the birth of Hip-hop, when everything was fun and new. How can Hip-hop culture introduce crypto and the metaverse to make it feel accessible for young creators, and what role do you believe creators of color have in virtual world-building?

Champ Medici:

We, the people of the culture, need to just jump in this space, and then they can figure out what suits them. When I first jumped in this space, I thought I was going to be doing this — I’m all the way over here now, because I understand what’s going on, and I’m adapting and understanding what I’m strong at and what I’m weak at. Our culture, we’re so creative, and we’re always late to the party. This is our chance to really get in where it’s an even fair playground. The reason why I say it feels like Hip-hop is because every time I’m at these conferences, or I’m at these NFT weeks, whenever I’m on the streets, people come up to me like it’s a mixtape.

“Look at my NFT. This is what I do. My name is this, I go by this,” and I’m like yo. This is rap shit.  — Champ Medici

You’re coming up to me with your rap name, you’re coming up to me with your product, your style is on point. I wasn’t even born until ’97 so I don’t know what Hip-hop was like when it first started. But when I look at the footage, and I see people in New York, see Biggie on the corner freestyling, and my dad in Long Beach freestyling with Nate Dogg and Warren G, I’m like yo this is the same shit we’re doing with NFTs. I’m linking up with artists, graphic designers, and creative people to come up with a concept that can keep people entertained and engaged. That’s the same as making music.

skidrowcrypto:

You described the vision for Snoopverse, the virtual world on The Sandbox, and you said, “It’s a cross-pollinated realm where fashion, music, and gaming will all complement each other.” But now that you’re diving deeper and communicating your ambitions to tech developers, are we really there yet, technologically? Meaning, do we still have a way to go before the things that you’re envisioning to be done can actually be executed and realized?

Champ Medici:

When you look at when the first telephone came out, I don’t know when, but you remember how big it was? It wasn’t seamless. Now we have iPhones with touchscreens and look at the timeframe of that. Technology only gets faster. It will be in the next five to ten years, depending on the innovators of the world.

When I say fashion will be cross-pollinated with Snoopverse, the avatars that we’re creating and the assets that we’re creating and the collaborations that are coming into The Sandbox are fashion brands, beverage brands, there’s many facets. They’ll all essentially help each other. All these other games are going to do the same thing and work with other brands and cross-pollinate at the highest level.

Our culture, we’re so creative, and we’re always late to the party. This is our chance to really get in where it’s an even fair playground. — Champ Medici

skidrowcrypto:

With so many opportunities to get into NFT projects, it’s easy to spot the blue chips. In one interview, you said, keep an eye on some of these bigger projects and follow the pedigree — I call it the pedigree of the people putting them together. But with very few of those projects representing people of color or creators from marginalized communities, how are you also discovering the lesser-known talents? How do you keep your ear to the street for what’s next and who’s next?

Champ Medici:

Whenever I’m at conferences, I’m not in the VIP area. I make sure I’m in the crowd, I make sure I’m on the street and places where you can touch me and ask me questions. That’s how I was even introduced to the space, by being amongst the people.

Whenever I’m on Twitter Spaces and talking to people, that’s how I’m connected. I’m seeing what’s in your bio. Where did you work prior to this? If you don’t have a resume, who are you? What are you trying to do? What are you trying to bring to this space? It all starts by being genuine and really being interested in what others have in mind.

skidrowcrypto:

How can our community educate each other?

Champ Medici:

Just jump in. Don’t ask why. Just jump in, and if it doesn’t suit you, you can say, at least, you tried. Everybody doesn’t have the means, but it’s just like going to the gym. Just go to the gym. You can even just be on the treadmill for ten minutes, and then go back home. The next day, you do eleven minutes. The next day, you do one dumbbell raise. The next day, you’re in the sauna. Get in the environment so you can start to really tap into your senses and see what makes sense. Something in this space has to make sense.

Every CEO and every brand is jumping and going this way. Why aren’t the people? That’s why the rich get richer and the poor stay poor; it’s a language they don’t speak and an action they don’t take.  — Champ Medici

skidrowcrypto:

Talk about your initiative with Gushcloud.

Champ Medici:

Gushcloud and Russell Simmons were meeting with my dad, and I’m always a fly on the wall. So I’m hearing what’s going on, and I walk Russell Simmons back to his car, and while I’m walking, I’m telling him, “I’m big on NFTs and Web3. Utilize me. How can I be of service to you?” This is what I tell everybody when I see them. You have to go outside of your comfort zone, so me telling Russell Simmons how he can utilize me — he looked at me differently.

He [Simmons] would call me every week. He would tell me, “I’ve got this opportunity for your dad.” I’d either shoot it down, or I’d tell him they need to go this direction. And I was always just being honest. Being myself. He was like, “Yo, you’re smart.” That’s Russell Simmons telling me that — but let me get back focused. Let me stay on it.

I’m tired of being the only black man in the room. I’m tired of not seeing enough Asians in the room. Hispanics. It goes on and on.  — Champ Medici

When I saw a way through Gushcloud, how they could represent me, but not me, that’s through Champ Medici. I like culture. Whatever culture you are, I want to learn about it. I want to be around it. I want to take it in. Me, essentially working with Gushcloud, is to make that dream come true.

skidrowcrypto:

Is Welcome to the Block your collaboration with Gushcloud?

Champ Medici:

Welcome to the Block is my fund, and Gushcloud are my partners. We essentially want to get behind people who look like ourselves. Finding new builders and new creators in this space. — Champ Medici

skidrowcrypto:

So the fund will help to support creators, founders, innovators, anyone who has an idea?

Champ Medici:

Anybody that I feel is a game-changer and we can invest. I’ve invested in several different companies in this space. I’ve invested in Yuga Labs, Moonpay. Sound.xyz, FaZe Clan. So I’m able to spot these things. If I can find a startup, or find a very intuitive innovator — a black woman, an Asian woman, a black man, an Asian man — that’s where we’re going to go with it, because

I’m tired of being the only black man in the room. I’m tired of not seeing enough Asians in the room. Hispanics. It goes on and on.  — Champ Medici

Me, doing this, it encourages the next person who looks like me or someone who doesn’t look like me to do something like this, so we can all touch the world, and everybody can come into this space.

skidrowcrypto:

I got a sense from you that whatever business you have with your father, you earned it. You had to earn it. You just being his son was not enough. We all know what onboarding is right? We know what it’s like to tell a friend or a family member about something, it’s almost like you’re the last person that should bring it up, because it’s actually harder for you to convince them of something. I want you to talk about what that was like to really bring your dad around to where he is now, from the first time you mentioned it, and what that actually took.

Champ Medici:

To be frank, since 2014, I’ve been wanting to get into gaming and tech. Entrepreneurial shit. Real estate. All these things I’m doing now, but I didn’t know how to express that. As a young black kid — even though I’m Snoop Dogg’s son, success to me was entertainment or sports. That’s what black people do that are millionaires in my eyes growing up. And I was like — there’s gotta be another way, because that doesn’t talk to my soul.

Yeah, I can catch touchdowns and do rap songs, but that doesn’t touch me. I was always trying to figure out what’s next for me. When I walked away from football, it looked like I was crazy because this is something I’ve done for fourteen, fifteen years. To get to UCLA, one of the biggest sports programs in the world, and to have the potential to go to the NFL and walk away, you kind of look crazy — especially if you’re a celebrity’s son, because we tend to do things that aren’t normal in the public eye.

Not even how the public perceived it — how my household perceived it. My mom made sure before I did that, she was like, “Don’t be a quitter,” and my dad was like, “Pressure makes diamonds. When I was going through shit, I had to keep my chest up, chin high,”

I’m like, “I hear you guys, but this is not for me. Yeah I can go get a hundred-million-dollar contract in the NFL, but that’s not making me happy. Do you hear that? — Champ Medici

I had to look at it like maybe they just don’t know. Instead of “F you guys! You don’t understand me!,” and being a spoiled brat, I’m going to take the long route. I’m going to go study this stuff myself, and I’m going to show you. I’m going to show you why you shouldn’t be renting your building dad. I’m going to show you why, mom, you should be buying properties in Englewood because the values are going up. I’m going to show you why you should be going into tech. I’m going to show you why you should invest into Beyond Meat and these types of things. That was me telling them. And showing them.

Every CEO and every brand is jumping and going this way. Why aren’t the people? That’s why the rich get richer and the poor stay poor; it’s a language they don’t speak and an action they don’t take.  — Champ Medici

It wasn’t easy, it was hard. My dad’s from Long Beach. He’s from the 70s — and he’s a black man, with success. It’s going to be hard to break through that. I don’t care who you are. In his mind, he’s figured it out. He came from the projects to Snoop Dogg. He’s figured it out. That was not an easy journey. Me saying “I want to work for you,” that sounds easy to him vs. me doing all that I did, and him seeing, “Oh you thought of that? You thought of this?

“Waitaminute — Diddy wants to hire you? Shaq wants to hire you for his NFT? No no no, you’re my son, you’re working with me.” “…Dad, this is what I wanted, let’s go! What were you waiting on?” I’m not tripping off of that, it’s about family generational wealth so we can pass this shit down to my kid’s kid’s kid’s kids. So they know Snoop Dogg was a helluva businessman and a rapper, not just a rapper.

Why can’t I be a doctor? Why can’t I be a lawyer? It’s because this is how society views us. — Champ Medici

Me, trying to take this journey is so we can get a different line of representation, and young kids that aren’t as fortunate as me can start early to get to this point. I got lucky starting at seventeen, eighteen years old and having finances around me and not having to worry about a lot of things that other black teenagers have to worry about, which is why I feel like I was able to get to this point. I know life is real. I want to show others you can start younger than me. If you believe in something, do that shit now. If your parents don’t believe it, show them through other people, and it’ll all make sense later down the line.

It’s about family generational wealth so we can pass this shit down to my kid’s kid’s kid’s kids. So they know Snoop Dogg was a helluva businessman and a rapper, not just a rapper.  — Champ Medici

skidrowcrypto:

I heard somewhere that you’re married with three kids. At 53, I feel like I should be asking you life advice at this point. I went out of my way for this interview, because I knew that this is going to be iconic. I know that we’re going to look back ten years from now, we’re going to look at this interview. I felt it was really important, so thank you very much.

END.