New student groups seem to pop up every day at Northeastern, each one looking to make its presence felt on campus. Two years ago, a few NU students got together and decided they weren’t going to start another student group; they were going to start a business. These students did not just want to make their presence felt in the Northeastern community, but throughout the Greater Boston area.
It Bees Like That Entertainment, Inc. was born in January 2001.
“This isn’t going to stop when people graduate,” said Justin Brown, co-founder of It Bees Like That. “We believe in this as a business and people put their blood, sweat and tears into it to make it work.”
The company produces CDs for music acts ranging from hip-hop to R’B and reggae, runs promotions for club events and college parties, graphic design and several other endeavors, including running local charity events.
Brown, a junior MIS major, said there is nothing wrong with student groups, but It Bees Like That is a business.
“Student groups are all well and good, but we’re focusing on how we are going to eat and survive,” he said. “We’re not going to wait until an opportunity is presented to us, we are going to make the opportunity to be successful for ourselves.”
The company has hit some roadblocks along the way on their journey to success, though.
“A lot of people are weary of the negative stigma that comes with hip-hop,” said Ellis Reid, a senior photography major and co-founder of It Bees Like That. “We’re businessmen. We just happen to be young, black or hispanic, and we like hip-hop.”
Reid and company feel that their youth can make some people not take the company as seriously as others, but also believes youth can be a great asset.
“If you’re a consumer of the product you produce, that can only help you in running a successfull business,” he said.
Brown echoed Reid’s sentiments.
“Hip-hop isn’t a thing,” Brown said. “It’s our culture. It’s what we live every day.”
A big obstacle on the path for this burgeoning company is the stigma Reid said some people are weary of. Several students in the company feel that they have to deal with more “hurdles” than other people when trying to organize an event on campus. Two weeks ago, the company helped sponsor an contest in the Curry Student Center Ballroom where emcees battled on stage and the crowd decided the winners. This was the fourth in a series of annual battles known as Best of the Best.
Along with the participants and the crowd in the ballroom that night were several NUPD officers providing security.
“It’s definitely frustrating when your intent is to have a clean and fun time and you’re always looked at as ‘one of those events,'” Brown said. “We have to jump extra hurdles that other people don’t really have.”
According to Jose Masso, a senior business management major and CEO of the company, the first Best of the Best held a few years ago at NU had “ridiculous security” and it seemed to make some people at the event more uncomfortable than safe.
“You can keep public safety and still have a cool time,” Masso said. The company was accepting donations at the event for a local charity from anyone in the crowd willing to contribute.
Todd Shaver, director of student activities at NU, said that the security at the Best of the Best event had nothing to do with hip-hop or fear of violence.
“The fact that they were going to be collecting donations was a definite concern,” Shaver said. “Anytime there will be money at the event security must be considered a priority.”
Shaver also said that two other factors went into the decision to add extra security at the event. First, It Bees Like That being an incorporated company rather than a recognized student group changes how the university deals with it.
“As soon as you are an incorporated company you are considered a vendor and are treated just like any other vendor that requests permission to hold an event on campus,” Shaver said.
The second reason for the added security, according to Shaver, was that the event fell under the category of a “dance party” as defined in the Student Activities Handbook.
An event is categorized as a “dance party” in the handbook when 1) events operate outside the normal building hours; 2) are labeled as party, dance or concert; 3) are open to non-NU students, or 4) admissions fees are collected.
Shaver said that the university was concerned about the event after fliers advertising Best of the Best appeared to invite non-NU students into the Curry Student Center for the event.
When asked what he thought the reason for the extra security that most other events on campus do not have was, Masso said, “Everybody knows what it is. It is what it is.”
Masso also said that in the four Best of the Best events they have held, there has not been one instance of violence or any reason why there should be any more security than at other events. However, he was not surprised this year with the security.
“It’s just expected now,” he said.
In drawing parallels between rap battles such as those at Best of the Best and academic debates, Brown said the only real difference is that an academic debate is considered “intellectual fighting.”
“After battles it’s kind of an unspoken rule that you shake hands with the guy across from you,” he said. “It’s a show of respect. People put a lot into it and it’s all in fun.”
“Just because I’m not wearing a suit doesn’t mean I’m not a businessman,” Reid said. “Hip-hop is the voice of the disenfranchised. It’s an outlet for people without the power in this world, be it political, cultural or social.”
Brown, Masso and Reid all agreed that when they graduate they would be open to employing co-op students once they were financially able to do so, though college students would not be the only ones they would provide an opportunity for. They said It Bees Like That Entertainment, Inc. will provide opportunities to high school students, as well as youths who may have dropped out of school “who want to do something they love to do.”
