They get it in in the kitchen and in the studio. Meet some young brothers from New Orleans on the grind.
HOGDAILY, or House of God Daily, a full-service urban wellness/lifestyle brand that sells alkaline water, healthy eats, and personal training services, started out as four young brothers who lived in a 250 square foot concrete building. Their sleeping quarters consisted of a couch, a futon, and a queen bed, with the kitchen, basically a $40 dual burner plug-in stove, literally just a step away from the couch. The first year in business, as is the case with many businesses, they made little to no money.
But they persevered, largely in part due to their leader’s hip hop roots.
Shemesh, the founder of HOGDAILY, became a student of hip hop in 9th grade. The son of a nurse and a preacher, he was always surrounded by music with substance; his upbringing would later play a huge role in his own mission to put out music with substance. Once he picked up the mic, the New Orleans born rapper was unstoppable in the community; he performed a lot in his teen years, with one of his biggest performances being a pre-Essence show alongside American Idol New Orleans finalist David Brown.
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, Shemesh set aside his musical aspirations to focus on other things; namely, heart-centered entrepreneurship. He set out for a career in financial services. While his college studies didn’t last–he dropped out of college a semester after Hurricane Katrina–his studiousness did. He honed his business acumen through a street-savy combination of self-education and job experience, studying figures like Jay Z, while finding ways to integrate all of the gems he learned in his six years in the financial industry.
In the meantime, he picked up the mic whenever he could, just to keep his rhymes–and his mind–sharp.
Today, thanks to Shemesh’s studious leadership, the HOGDAILY team has grown from nothing to something. The collective consists of Shemesh, his brother Sanne, the personal trainer; his cousin Pey, the cook; his cousin Baba, who does landscaping and maintenance, and serves as the crew’s cameraman; and lifelong friend RazWise, a talented producer and deliveryman.
FROM L to R: RazWise, Sanne, Shemesh, Pey, and Baba
Accompanied by RazWise’s production, Shemesh has taken his sound to new heights, perfecting a radio-ready commercialized sound that carries with it a socially responsible and heartfelt, conscious message.
Check out the first single, “Money Buys Time” below.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/195935150″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
