Philadelphia rapper Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter has been appointed as a general partner at Impellent Ventures, a groundbreaking equity-centric venture fund.
The Grammy Award-winner and The Roots’ lead-emcee is joining the team to diversify his portfolio.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on the industry and looking for new ways to invest and diversify my portfolio. I also get to see a lot of investment opportunities before anyone else does because of what my brand means to founders,” the emcee stated.
David Brown and Philip Beauregard lead Impellent Ventures.
The company distinguishes itself in the VC space by focusing on “uplifting startups through an emphasis on mentorship courtesy of proven investors and successful business mavens from companies such as Paychex, Android, LinkedIn, DraftKings, Google, and more.”
“The combination of these elements made it natural to align with Impellent Ventures,” he continued. “Phil and I are longtime friends, and our relationship led to my first visit to the Harvard Innovation Lab in 2016. Joining Dave and Phil has been a long time coming and natural evolution of our shared interest in helping find and fund the next great generation of entrepreneurs.”
Impellent Ventures also provides unprecedented access to connections and capital from Tier 1 hubs for entrepreneurs of color and trailblazers from underserved communities, giving back and showing unparalleled support.
As such, the company will galvanize the growth of new businesses under the guidance of some of the industry’s most respected visionaries.”
IV has also made strides in other sectors outside of arts and entertainment, like “Artificial Intelligence, Healthcare Technology, Robotics, Consumer Goods, and Apps.”
The company hopes that adding the spit-kicker to its team will help bring more artists in the space to their business.