Ghetto Flava is betting the house on new faces. ‘ Chocolate Rain ‘, the label’s latest all-Black feature, streets Tuesday, February 10 — a 120-minute production directed by Malcolm XXX, with Candice Nicole headlining a ten-woman cast built largely from names most viewers won’t have seen before.
The release
The lineup reads like a casting call for the label’s whole philosophy: Candice Nicole ( Candace Nicole ), Destiny Lane, Sweet Pea, Gen Tilly, Ms. Behave, Precious, Barbiee Express, Stacie Lane, Tiffany Chiles and Geni — ten ghetto-fabulous performers showing off their oral talents in a feature the studio pitches with its usual subtlety. The title, they would have you know, is not a weather report.
Fresh faces as a sales pitch
“There are tons of studios that shoot Black movies, but none like this.” says Craig Jelin, Head of Sales for Ghetto Flava. ‘ Chocolate Rain ‘ has some girls you’ve probably never seen before. Fresh talent keeps our sales for Ghetto Flava up—people want to see new talent, rather than the same girls over and over.”
Jelin is voicing the oldest argument in the catalog business, and it keeps working for a reason. A debut face gives buyers something last month’s box couldn’t offer, and a label that keeps refreshing its roster gives retailers a reason to keep ordering. It is a pattern that repeats across the releases we cover: familiarity builds a brand, but novelty moves the units.
Getting it to shelves
‘ Chocolate Rain ‘ is distributed exclusively through Pulse Distribution. The Ghetto Flava line itself is pitched around the freshest, big booty girls from the streets of the ghetto, who will do anything to pay the rent and get some bling — the label’s own words, delivered with a perfectly straight face.
For a niche studio, an exclusive distribution deal was the practical half of the equation. The distributor put discs into stores and channels a small label could never reach on its own, which left the studio free to do what it actually does well: find new talent and keep shooting.
Quick FAQ
When does ‘ Chocolate Rain ‘ come out? It streets Tuesday, February 10.
How long is the feature, and who directed it? It runs 120 minutes and was directed by Malcolm XXX for Ghetto Flava.
Who distributes the release? Pulse Distribution, exclusively.
