From Slip-N-Slide to Miami NFT Week, Ted Lucas Talks Embracing Tech to Close the Black Wealth Gap

Back in 1994, Ted Lucas was an entrepreneur on a mission. That quest led to his founding Miami-based Slip-N-Slide Records, home to hip-hop pioneers such as Trick Daddy, Trina, Plies and Rick Ross.

Now 28 years later, Lucas is embarking on another mission. This time he’s determined to close the Black and Brown wealth gap through technology and innovation programs. In addition to establishing the non-profit organization TechNolij (pronounced tech knowledge) to support women and minorities seeking to enter the field, Lucas co-founded the inaugural Miami NFT Week conference, which kicked off Friday (April 1) at the Mana Wynwood Convention Center. Wrapping April 3, the three-day event is part of the city’s Miami Tech Month campaign.

Three days before the launch of Miami NFT Week, Billboard chatted with Lucas who is busy as well fostering the next generation of Slip-N-Slide artists including rapper Tyte and singer Teenear. “Music’s in my blood,” he says. “I can’t stop that.”

“When I was coming up in South Florida,” he continues, “there was only sports, the streets and music. Now we’ve got tech. And in that space, you can make just as much or more money than a rapper, football and basketball player or drug dealer. I just want to expose that to the Black and Brown men and women coming up behind me.”

When did you begin pivoting into the world of NFTs, crypto and technology?

Last year around this time I attended the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami. I was just a Joe Blow trying to find out about bitcoin as we were coming out of the pandemic. People were talking about Miami becoming “The capital of capital”; about big companies like TradeStation Crypto [Miami NFT Week title sponsor] and Silicon Valley Bank [one of several VIP sponsors] that are moving into South Florida. But while there, I didn’t see enough people who looked like me or enough local people to network with. That really concerned me: seeing and hearing about all these great things happening in South Florida but without a lot of local people knowing that all this was happening. After the conference, I began wondering about NFTs and why no one was talking about holding an NFT conference here. So I met with Mayor Francis Suarez and began collaborating with the city’s Venture Miami team to put a game plan together. Now a year later I’m back at the same location as Bitcoin 2021 — but this time presenting our own Miami NFT Week. It’s a blessing to be in this situation.

Who are some of the speakers that you’ve lined up?

We’ve got [Dallas Mavericks owner and entrepreneur] Mark Cuban as the keynote speaker. Mayor Suarez, who’s been doing a great job of making Miami a tech hub, will be there as well as Grant Cardone, author and real estate investor who’s a popular YouTube fixture. We just got confirmations from French Montana and Wyclef Jean to talk about what their NFT ventures. There will also be panels, workshops and pitch competitions. While there’s a lot of focus on NFTs in the music industry, there really are so many different categories that can exist within the space. So far we’ve sold 3,500 tickets with attendees coming from around the world. However, the one thing I made sure to do was bring in students from 10 area high schools as well as people from various local organizations and give them a number of free tickets.

And what’s the inspiration behind TechNolij?

The organization’s goal is to educate and prepare women and minority students for opportunities in emerging and advanced technologies. As such, we recently partnered with Florida Memorial University, South Florida’s only HBCU, to help build a talent pipeline. But I’m not just talking college students. I also want to provide a pipeline to others in the community. My ideal is to look across a classroom and see a 40-something mom and her 20-year-old son or daughter both learning together. We’re also bringing back the “When We Code” summer camp for underrepresented students that was created last year with the support of Mayor Suarez.

Overall, there are two things I’m pushing to accomplish. I want to make an impact in my community and I also want to fund my community. I’ve spent most of my life discovering some of the best rappers in the business, putting money behind them to help their careers. Now I’m doing the same thing with Black and Brown tech creators and innovators around the world, especially here in South Florida, and giving them a chance to get their start-ups off the ground.

Pivoting back to music, how do you view Slip-N-Slide’s legacy?

It was about being able to discover some of Florida’s best artists at a time when Luther Campbell was the only music artist from here that you heard about. Artists like Trick Daddy, Trina, Plies and Rick Ross the boss. When you have a vision about someone you believe in and can help them accomplish their goals … that’s what Slip-N-Slide is all about. I told everybody from day one: that if things slipped and I was let into the game, then we were going to slide to the top. And that’s what we’ve been able to do. I still feel like I’m 25 years old, still got the drive and determination and still love to get up and go to work. Now my office is split in two — half music, half tech — and I’m running back and forth all day [laughs].

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