Stepping into the digital and technology space, Swizz is working on several technology partnerships and has launched MeetOn.com with business partner Loren Ridinger. The social streaming sight will give users a sneak peak into the lives of their favorite celebrities and gives them the opportunity to get lessons – a cooking class, a makeup lesson, even fashion advice. MeetOn.com is expected to launch soon.
Swizz’s overarching success – not just in the music industry, but also in the business world, is enviable. He’s very much a Renaissance man.
“I started very young, at 17 years old,” he said. “The Renaissance man [is being] able to inspire people. In order to get peoples’ attention, it has to be announcements that they would never expect, partnerships they would never expect. And if they continue seeing me do these kinds of things, they start looking at themselves and say ‘Hey, wait a minute, if Swizz can do that, I can do that too.’ I’m able to give them a blueprint to follow. Everyday I’m doing things from music to art to fashion to design to philanthropy to being a dad. All these different things you don’t really get a blueprint on. They just happen.”
“Your family keeps you grounded and having a support system has been the best gift that I’ve gotten from God,” Swizz said. “You know, to have family members as well as [supportive] fans and friends, it all goes to helping you be a better person, and helping you be a better businessman, and, it just helps you take your goals to the next level.”
His dedication to his family is something Keys can’t say enough about.
“He’s a beautiful father, very loving and giving,” she said. “Nothing is more important than his children. He’s fun and he loves to play jokes and make them laugh, but he’s also very good at showing them how to be responsible and honest.”
“I think the best gifts in the world are loving your children and your family [and] being able to give back,” Swizz said. “When you’re able to give back, one, it shows that you made it; two, it shows that you care; and three, it shows the type of person you are.”
Amid his many blessings, Swizz also takes time to give back. With his work teaching at NYU at the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music as their 1st Producer-In-Residence and working with the Bronx Charter School For the Arts it keeps everything balanced for him. Even on a global front when the earthquake hit Haiti he wasted no time reaching out to his fellow artists and collaborated with U2, Jay-Z and Rihanna to record a Haiti benefit song.
But Swizz gets something in return when he does charity work.
“I just love seeing smiles on peoples’ faces,” he said. “I just love doing philanthropic work and helping kids in Africa all the way to my home in the South Bronx. Those smiles are endless.”
When asked about his students at NYU he said, “those students, they look towards me to make decisions, to make life decisions so I can never miss a class,” he said. “I take is very seriously.”
As far as Swizz’s real personality, Keys said it best.
“Swizz is truly one of a kind,” she said. “You’ve never met a man like him before just when u think have him figured out, he switches gears and takes off.”
With so many balls in the air, it’s amazing that Swizz is still moving, still thinking about his next venture.
“Money comes and goes, history stays,” he said. “I’m addicted to trying to make history, because that stays. You leave that for generations. I think that’s the best way I can be effective on this earth. Going forward, you’ll witness me trying to make history every chance I get.”
Additional reporting by Alexandra Delgado and Rachel Willis.
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October 31, 2011The Penthouse Suite at The Fairmont San Francisco
