User:Man4bep
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Polo Molina, born May 12, 1974, is a successful Pop/Latin/Hip-hop music manager and promoter in the United States. He was born and raised in Pasadena, California where he founded his company, Grassroots Productions in 1990. By 1992, Molina became one of the premiere hiphop promoter in Los Angeles, California. Teaming up with local radio legends: The Baka Boys, Molina created Cali Kings Marketing Group. They were hired for creative street marketing and radio promotion for clients such as: Interscope Records, Capitol Records, ESPN, Playboy, and Budweiser. While promoting and throwing live shows, Molina began to run the day to day management for the Atban Klan, a hip-hop group signed to Eazy-E and Ruthless Records. That is where Molina first met Will.i.am and Apl.de.ap. In 1995, after Eazy-E's untimely death, the group had no outlet, so they disbanded and Molina introduced them to a new artist he managed, Taboo. That is when he discovered what was to become the global phenomenon: The Black Eyed Peas.
Along with managing the Black Eyed Peas, Molina is partners in the longest running B-Boy jam in the world, Freestyle Sessions. Started in 1995 by international B-boy Cros1, Freestyle Sessions was just a local Los Angeles event; but when Molina joined on the team, he revolutionized their brand marketing and helped elevate it to another level. Freestyle Sessions has since become a worldwide phenomenon, now being held in 28 countries, televised and promoted globally through local governments and sponsors. Next year's event is set to take place in the Red Square in Moscow.
Grassroots has also become an exclusive promoter for major corporate sponsors such as Pepsi Co. Verizon, Hard Rock Hotels and T-Mobile. They have produced world tours for various major acts including: No Doubt, Pussy Cat Dolls, Fergie and Rhianna. Grassroots is also a partner in Dipdive.com, a creation of Will.i.am Music, which functions as a global online music community. They continue to be on the frontline of creating new ways to distribute music directly from the artist. Dipdive has just inked a deal partnering with Blackberry for an undisclosed sum and in the future will be collaborating with Grassroots for content and consulting. As the philanthropic arm of the Black Eyed Peas, The Peapod Foundation was created. It began as a canned food drive at a free concert, the food as well as all the recycled can/bottle money was given to a local charity for children in East L.A. Smaller events continued to be thrown until 2004 when the Black Eyed Peas hosted a concert with all proceeds going toward victims of the Tsunami in Indonesia. This was the first time all the friends of the Black Eyed Peas came together to create "Magical Moments in Musical History". In 2005, The Peapod Foundation in conjunction with Miller Genuine Draft threw a free concert for 40,000 people in Cape Town South Africa. The Peapod Foundation had gone global, and Grassroots was now able to affect children on the other side of the world. While in South Africa, the Peapod Foundation teamed up with Nelson Mandela and raised enough money to create a Peapod Academy for Arts and Music in the small South African rural community called Soweto, Mandela's hometown. When they returned to America, another benefit was held. This was the first of the types of events we now associate with the Peapod Foundation. A Gala featuring the biggest names in show business: Justin Timberlake, James Brown, Santana, Snoop Dog, Slash, and Sergio Mendez to name a few. It has since evolved into the vehicle to create Peapod Music and Arts Academies throughout the world in impoverished areas. In Los Angeles, California, the Peapod Foundation has completely retrofitted the Watts Willowbrook Boys and Girls Club for their 50th year anniversary. They installed a music studio, film studio, and arts center complete with a dancing studio and new computers. They also have provided instruction for the children in hopes of creating some sort of vocational training. The next endeavor will be in the Philippines where Alan Pineda, from the Black Eyed Peas, grew up and now wants to give back.
