Nick Cannon Hired By RadioShack To Help ‘Think Through Innovation’
Nick Cannon can add chief creative officer to his already expansive and impressive resume now that the multi-hyphenated entrepreneur has been hired by RadioShack to help develop new products. As The Verge notes, the beleaguered electronics chain may be bankrupt and shrinking, but that hasn’t stopped the company from collaborating with celebrities to help forge lucrative innovations.
According to a press release, Cannon’s role with RadioShack will involve “creating RadioShack-exclusive products and curating the in-store experience.” He’ll also help to “inspire and educate the next generation.”
“Nick is going to play a real role in helping us think through innovation,” said Michael Tatelman, RadioShack’s chief marketing officer, during an interview with FOX Business.
.@RadioShack is back! So excited to announce that I’m officially part of the fam as their new Chief Creative Officer. #RSncredibleCCO
— Nick Cannon (@NickCannon) December 2, 2015
“RadioShack is a brand that matters,” Cannon said in the announcement. “As a kid, spending time in my neighborhood RadioShack was invaluable. The maker mentality and educational approach taught me a lot and encouraged me to explore my own creativity. In return I wanted to give back by fostering creative pursuits in others, and helping kids move to the next level.”
Nick has launched several tech ventures over the years, and previously served as an “entertainment ambassador” for the annual Consumer Electronics Show, apparently to promote a line of “Ncredible” tablets. According to ars technica, “those devices included a built-in multimedia sharing app designed to let aspiring entertainers pitch their acts directly to Cannon’s production company.”
Despite being a tech savvy enthusiast, industry insiders wager Nick is in for a great challenge trying to rebrand the company and turn it around. RadioShack filed for bankruptcy and delisting from the NYSE earlier this year, and was acquired by General Wireless for $26.2 million in July.
While he entertained his father’s church congregation at age 11 by doing Richard Pryor impersonations, Cannon’s career really didn’t kick off until age 15, when he started performing raunchy standup routines that caught the eye of Nickelodeon. In under a year, he went from being the network’s preshow hype-man to writing for the network, making him the youngest staff writer in television history. Nick would go on to acquire a slew of producer credits in both film and TV, including seven seasons of MTV’s hip-hop-improv-comedy show Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out.
Nick married singer Mariah Carey in 2008, and filed for divorce in December, 2014, after six years of marriage, which was finalized in April. They have two children (twins), daughter Monroe and son Moroccan Scott.
COVER: @NickCannon shares how he prepped for @SpikeLee‘s groundbreaking film, #ChiRaq: https://t.co/RhynTfSOWT pic.twitter.com/EMZ9DPZ6ZO
— Backstage (@Backstage) December 2, 2015
Cannon currently serves as host on America’s Got Talent, and gives a dynamic performance in Spike Lee’s satirical drama Chi-Raq, a nickname given to a city that has had more people die on the streets than men in the armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.
“It’s gonna raise some fears, because people are losing their lives daily,” Cannon says. “But there are some things for us to really be upset about, and it shouldn’t be a title. We should be really upset that a 9-year-old [Tyshawn Lee] lost his life last week to gang violence.”
Based on the ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata, Chi-Raq uses humor to address the gun and gang-fueled bloodshed in Chicago.
“When Spike came to me with the idea, the first thing he said was, ‘Yo, we gonna save some lives.’ I was, like, ‘I’m in,'” Cannon explains about the film, during which 65 gun-related deaths were reported over its month-long production, Backstage reports.
Chi-Raq is the first original film to be distributed by Amazon Studios. Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate partnered with the company for a limited release in theaters on December 4, with the film premiering on Amazon Instant Video shortly after.
In addition to his RadioShack deal and music obligations through his Ncredible Entertainment, Nick Cannon is also the chairman of TeenNick for Nickelodeon and the development and creative consultant of the network since 2009.
[Images courtesy Ben Gabbe/Getty Images/Twitter]
