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A veteran of the recording industry, Bolden used his connections and experience from his time as an A&R executive at labels like Capitol, Epic, and Warner to launch Culture Jam in an effort to create a more organic connection between athletes and music. “It goes back to me being a kid and my upbringing,” he recalled. “My parents, they were independent R&B artists, and I played sports. I played basketball.” “Basketball, in particular, kept me on the straight and narrow, kept me out of trouble,” he continued. “When I got to college, I was already fully like, ‘No, I’m going to be in music.’ You know, I was 6’5" in high school and I played center. And you know, a 6’5" center is… I’m toast. I knew I was going the music way. I left college my sophomore year [for an internship at Interscope] and knew exactly what I wanted to do.” But when it came to partnerships between athletes and brands — especially when it came to music, which should have been the most natural connection in the world — Eesean says they felt “transactional.” “Culture Jam, in a plain sense, we’re everything at the intersection of sports and entertainment,” he reasons. “We do make these albums that we’re excited to get out to you guys and proud of what we did, but then we’re also an agency. So we have a whole agency team that does experiential and broadcast campaigns [such as ESPN’s 2024 WNBA campaign]. We found a way that, if we partner with the right high level athlete, maybe we can tell their story as we merge them with the proper music.” That’s certainly what Eesean has done with Ant Edwards and Legend In My Hood. In addition to the rappers Ant loves to listen to in workouts and warmups, the set also includes words of wisdom from family, via interludes with B Different (as Bubba) and their uncle Chris, who B describes as “a father figure” for the brothers growing up. “He’s just he’s just been the extra backbone, the support that we needed when either our mom can’t do it or our grandma can’t do it,” he reminisced. “Chris is everything to us.” Regarding his own interlude, Bubba said, “It was kinda weird, honestly, just talking to nobody on the phone. I was home, by myself. I just had to blank everything out and just put myself in a room with it, and speak from the heart for real.” Regarding what’s next for Ant, whether on or off court, B Different remains as optimistic and motivational as the music on the album he helped his brother co-produce. “I think he got one of them ceilings that you can’t build, bro. This is just the beginning. He’s young, you know. He has plenty of room for growth, and we’re just gonna keep growing and keep going.” Legend In My Hood is out now via Culture Jam. Find more information here.
