Steve Stoute On Hip Hop, The Economy And 'The Tanning Of America'

When Run-DMC wrote "My Adidas" -- an ode to their sneakers of choice back in 1986 -- they weren’t trying to broker a corporate sponsorship. But it wasn’t long until Adidas executives realized the selling power of Run-DMC’s song, and signed a million dollar advertising contract with the group – the first-ever endorsement deal between hip hop artists and a major corporation.

It’s just one of the stories told in the VH1 documentary called “The Tanning of America” – based on the book of the same name by Steve Stoute. He’s the founder and CEO of the brand development and marketing firm Translation, and he joins us to talk about how hip hop grew from a grassroots cultural movement in the Bronx into a major player in the world's economy -- and a force for political change in the U.S.