Merging his passion for entertainment and entrepreneurship, Brian Maurice Brown is truly a rising powerhouse in the music industry. He has worked with some of the most prominent names in the scene. He’s an entrepreneur, documentary executive producer, author, angel investor, and an all-around progress enthusiast. Over the years, he has invested his time, effort, and resources into helping thriving careers get to the fore and re-establishing artists through his record company, BMB Records. Now, Detroit Street Legend Brian “Peanut” Brown teams with lifetime friend, Senior Public Relations Expert Treavion Davenport to offer an unprecedented glimpse into his life.
Brian, the author of your memoir and a friend of over three decades is celebrity publicist, Treavion Davenport. When did you decide to turn your story into a documentary?
The idea to create a documentary came after Treavion and I had completed writing my book, Living for the Sacrifice: A Hood Hero’s Guide to Success. She was producing a book trailer for promotional purposes and decided to include shout-outs from people that had been mentioned or featured in the book. While taping the interviews, Trea felt like the responses coming from the people were movie-worthy, and people have always told me that my life is like a motion picture, so we both decided to make a move on the idea.
What do you enjoy most about working with Treavion?
Trea knows me so well, we go way back and have a long history as friends so it was so easy working with her and making the process smooth. Working with her didn’t feel like work and she is great at putting stories together. She could probably put together 10 more books and movies right now based on the stuff we talk about and things that I’ve been through!
Tell us about “Living for the Sacrifice: A Hood Hero’s Guide to Success (BMB Entertainment).
Although the film had been complete for some time, we ran into some brick walls in terms of distribution initially, so for a while, the project just sat on the shelf. I knew that when the time was right, our film would be available to the masses on a broad scale. I kept my nose to the grindstone and continued to move how I move. I had put in the work, ground in these streets, helped who I could along the way, and organically translated my hustle into becoming a formidable player in the entertainment industry.
Then seemingly out of nowhere, Karma did what she does…TV shows like Starz’ Power, Raising Kanan, and BMF, and movies like BET’s Big Fifty: The DelRhonda Hood Story started dropping and millions of viewers began eating it up. Audiences couldn’t seem to get enough of these true-life, gritty, hood tales about real people from the streets. The same streets that I used to dominate. Although some might have forgotten about Living for the Sacrifice, the Universe never forgets. It’s all about timing, and for this documentary, the timing is now – I couldn’t have strategized it better if myself.
What has been the “sacrifice to living” for you?
Sacrifice has been grace and salvation. Making sacrifices is food for my psyche. The “work” I’ve put in makes me confident that I’ll be blessed to see another day in this life. The reality is in the past I’ve done some things, and put certain people in positions; with money and power and they weren’t always of the best character. So as I live for the sacrifice and make spiritual amends, I’m cleaning up not only my transgressions but theirs as well.
An insider’s take on the American dream, Living for the Sacrifice is a must-watch, true tale of love, loss, and thriving in life against all odds. Stream Living for the Sacrifice on Tubi:
https://tubitv.com/movies/618565/living-for-the-sacrifice
In many ways, you are paying your success forward, share a few proud moments.
I am proud to be able to give my son [BJ] the opportunity to advance his life further in a positive way and know he doesn’t have to ever make the choices I was presented with.
As you see in the documentary BJ cries about not being able to spend time with his father, or spend time with his dad like other kids.
This was I sacrifice I had to make while trying to create situations and opportunities that he can enjoy and flourish from now. I was told that I have to take my family further than they took me – and I am proud to be in a position to do this, legitimately. My son is attending one of the country’s top-performing boarding schools for academics – with an intense focus on athletics, the tuition is over $100K annually.
So now while all the the “other kids” are at home spending time with their dads, they also have to wait to graduate to see what’s going to happen, or if they will get an athletic scholarship, with the guidance and structure [and natural talents] that BJ has, it’s almost certain that he will attend a top tier university and be positioned to play sports professionally.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
They would be surprised to know about everything I have been through because of the way I still smile, I’m always happy, and I’m always giving back and helping others. I always get a kick out of seeing people’s faces when they learn that I was once profiled as a fugitive on America’s Most Wanted and that I am a husband to 4 wives with 14 children.
You are revered in your community as “Robin Hood.” What can we find in your documentary?
That nickname came about from how I took care of the people who couldn’t take care of themselves at times or in certain stressful situations. You’ll see in the movie how I used to drive around the hood and hand out $1 bills to people so they could put them to use, buy food, or for the kids to buy candy. I’ve helped strangers stranded on the roadside, paid tuition for promising students, and bought athletes basketball shoes. Many have gone on to carry high political positions and become pro ball players!
What is the greatest lesson that you have learned?
It’s best to be alone than in bad company. Also, to trust your own judgment and your own thoughts, even when in a space with someone who you feel like might know more than you because even someone that seems to have a higher status can make bad decisions for you if you let them.
Share your mission of Living for the Sacrifice: A Hood Hero’s Guide to Success.
My mission comes from my understanding of karma and how it governs our lives and if you live for the sacrifice it balances out different areas of your life. If you are only viewing things from self and thinking of self then there’s no divine protection or success that would come back to you because you aren’t sacrificing your desires or honoring the sacrifices others have made close to you. Living for the Sacrifice: A Hood Hero’s Guide to Success can be found on Tubi, Fox Entertainment’s streaming platform.
Follow Brian Brown @mrbmbrecords and director Treavion Davenport @treadavenport on socials