J. Alexander Martin, co-founder of FUBU and For Us By Us Network, joins Cheddar News to discuss his new streaming platform. 

Between Bells

For Us By Us Network Creates Content for BIPOC and Hip-Hop Culture 

Welcome back to Between Bells. The man behind the iconic fashion brand, Fubu is bringing culture back to television. J alexander martin, one of the brains behind Fubu is now creating a new subscription, digital streaming channel for us bias network. This new platform is set to feature quality movies and content around topics people trends related to the hip hop culture and the lifestyle joining us. Now to discuss is J alexander martin, co founder of for us by us network. J welcome to the show. So I want to ask, what do you think was missing in this space that made you want to launch a platform? Well, again, it all starts back from for us by us and our name and a mantra of Fubu. What we started from, there was something always missing in in clothing and again, there's now what's missing from uh the media world is the fact that we can't tell our stories the way we need to tell our stories. And when you're dealing with a content provider, they have to be with the strict restrictions and things like that and tell you, you know what you should do, what you shouldn't do, how it should happen. And we're here to just give them those people a platform to tell their story and do whatever they want to do. What can viewers expect from the forest bias network, you know, unapologetic content, um great stories, uh great anime, great docs, great series. Um we're spending millions and millions of dollars on series and and great new original programming. You're a successful producer. J I don't mean to humble you here, but you've worked at several major companies including the Love and hip hop franchise. Tell us more about the other programs expected for audiences to see on this new network. Well, again, it's an array of different things. I mean, uh you know, if you look at the urban community, it's not just one thing, it's not just, you know, love, it's not just um you know, a reality, it's not just, you know, uh it's not just um you know, good, feel good stuff. It's it's it's an array of different um uh different kind of content that just like like I said, speaks to all of us, speaks to what we're doing and who we are and who we want to be, Fubu was such a cultural icon in the 1990s. And the black community fast forward to today, you're introducing the brand to a whole new audience. How are you able to pivot your marketing to reach this new generation of consumers. J Again, that's probably one of the hardest things. Again, just to be able to, like, we have been in business 30 years when it comes to food. So again, things have changed. And when we first started, there wasn't social media and I think right now this is a pivotal part, where you know we have to kind of really step in and really understand what social media is and what and how it's it's actually gonna transform our company and what we're going to do going forward, how do you plan on staying competitive in this platform for black audiences? Because, you know, these platforms are becoming so saturated, they're getting so crowded. How do you hope to stick out? Well, again, I have a competitive edge by calling it for us by us and having 30 years again in this space and in the space of consumer, our demographic was 5-55 when we first started. So again, we're keeping that same movement and going forward and really understanding what the customer wants and actually listening to them and listening to them in a in a complete way they say they want this, that's what we're gonna do. They said we want that, that's what we're gonna do. You know, this platform is not for me, it's actually for everyone else, it's not what I'm doing is what I'm doing for the culture. To your point of view has been in the business for 30 years. What's next for your brand? Where do you want to see the collection go, Oh my God, actually it's going now as we speak again and said, we just launched in forever 21 big big program. So it's been going very, very well. You mentioned social media platform in the 1990s when you blew blew up just wasn't something we had. How do you hope to utilize this new platform when it comes to promoting this network and of course you do as a whole, well again I mean for you as a whole is always gonna be there but again this is something separate, this is media and media you know he could he controls the media controls the world. So at this point I have a responsibility to get out and to to help and to to get our message out and things like that. So I'm just here um her praying that you know I do a good job and I hope people love us. I have no doubt they will when it comes to the culture, what shifts have you seen in the last three decades? Well again I mean with the Black Lives Matter and things like that that's it's now instinctively what you're supposed to do, you're supposed to come in and and and and give you know I give back or give back to the culture um you know there's words like culture vulture and people coming in and and raping the culture but right now we're gonna basically take that back when it comes to for us by us. So I have to ask any plans to get into the metaverse or the N. F. T. Space with this. Oh most definitely. Most definitely again you know when you reach your trying to reach everyone and we get out there you have to do what's new, you know uh this is this particular company has been um information for about 13 years, so we started from just ground up and we've been trying to make the swell and now we're out there, we're all platforms from Apple tv, android Samsung amazon. Oh cool. And a website plus of course look forward to N. F. T. S and things like that. I have vivid images of your clothing line in the 19 nineties, a lot of bright colors. Do you plan on emulating that now too as you move forward? Oh yes, definitely, definitely. You know, it's, it's gonna be a cheap plug of course anytime you look at our program and you know, you may see something here and there, I can't overdo it overboard, but I'm gonna make, you know, I'm gonna just you know, keep up with the the 90s, what is it really now? So if you look at the trends the 90s it now. So I guess I'm back. The 90s are back, I'd like to think they never really left, it's such a pleasure talking to you really are an entrepreneur in the fashion space. J alexander, morton, co founder of Forest bias network, you can stream the network right now and Roku amazon Prime Samsung tv and more. Please come back soon, Jae, thank you