ROB STONE

It is with a heavy heart and sadness we share the news of the passing of Rob Stone. Rob bravely fought cancer over the past year. He chose to keep his diagnosis private in order to focus on his family. He was a truly amazing person who lived an incredible life.

Highlight: Cornerstone on the cover of @billboard with this N*E*R*D @cornerstoneagency @thefader @faderfilms @faderlabel @faderfam

We literally built Cornerstone from the ground up. It started in Steve’s offices. Shout out to @steverifkind who let me in to the Loud SRC family to start Cornerstone 28 years ago yesterday. One of the greatest mentors, leaders and big brothers anyone can ever have. Thank you Steve.

Cornerstone agency founded June 17, 1996. What a ride it’s been. The good the bad the highs the lows, the wins the learnings. Wouldn’t trade it for anything. My brothers, @faderfam @andycohn @anthonysholland @thefader @faderfilms @faderlabel

Happy Birthday to the company that opened the door for me, @faderfam and @anthonysholland - the greatest of partners, friends, brothers. We’ve been able to work with some of the greatest clients and brands in the world with a staff that continues to lead and inspire us. We’re not even close to being done breaking down barriers and creating incredible ideas and platforms for all. Happy 28th to the @cornerstoneagency

My dad did it all. Cliff diving to football for Erasmus High to classical violin and mandolin at Carnegie Hall. He was a lifeguard at Atlantic Beach to make money in the summer. He was an entrepreneur and founded his own warehousing and trucking business for over 50 years in East New York and was proud he never missed a payroll. Humble, confident, filled with integrity and would always stand up for his friends and family no questions asked. He did so much right that his teachings were in his actions and that’s what I realize most. If as a father you act right and do right in front of your children they in turn will learn and act right. To all the great fathers out there grinding it out, wishing you all a great Father’s Day. To all the hostages of October 7th, I hope you are all with your families soon and for all the lives lost in the war since that day, you are all in my prayers.

Melo, you gave us so much. Filled our home with joy, barks and love. We will talk about you often, miss you always and marvel at how much a part of the family you were and will always be. ❤️❤️❤️

Creativity. These came up in my timeline and I just want to express how much this individual @jeffstaple and @staplepigeon has influenced the way I see art, commerce, left brain mixed with right brain. He was there in the beginning when we (me & @faderfam ) started the @thefader @faderfilms @faderlabel Personally, for me, he unlocked the conventional thinking I was struggling to break out of and showed me that when a blank canvas is empty, you can fill it with simplicity to create more simplicity of design. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Accents, straight lines, curves, change the paradigm. Then of course selecting the right talent as we did with the cover stories: Eminem, Beck & D’Angelo, OutKast and photographed by @jonathanmannion who added his energy and spirit. I believe the portraits of Beck and D’Angelo were shot on his Hasselblad camera. Jonathan, then hung the shag yellow rug from the floor as the back drop. Mannion, if you read this please elaborate. Regardless, The Fader was created to document and create the greatest that music and culture has to offer and just like the DJ’s fader, seamlessly mixing from one genre to the next without missing a beat. I remember the incredible article Staple did on @fujiwarahiroshi waaaaay back in the early issue of The Fader. Well, the Fader is turning 25 this year and we are about to announce an incredible year long celebration. We were independent then and we’re independent now. Make ‘em make ‘em clap to this…

1993 - this photo was taken on the first day I met the late great B.I.G. I was humbled that I was able to spend the next couple of years of my life promoting, marketing and traveling around the country with the GOAT and his crew. May 21 will be his birthday and nearly 30 years later his music is as relevant as ever. His storytelling unrivaled and his acumen unmatched. At the end of the day he was a great person with incredible calmness to be around. He saw the world differently. He was open and a listener as well as a teacher. I can only imagine the heights he would’ve achieved if he was still here today. R.I.P. B.I.G.

Who else wanted to be in the Beastie Boys when you were in high school? I did. I wanted to rhyme with RUN DMC @dmcmakescomics and tour with them and the Beastie Boys. One night in front of Club Mars I saw RUN, JMJ and DMC about to go into the club. Me and @elmanfilms would always rhyme with dreams of getting signed. This was our chance. Our moment. We went for it and told the 3 of them we rhyme. They literally stopped before going in the club and asked us to spit something. On the spot we did and I started rhyming. I think in the 3rd line of my rhyme I thought to myself this is it, we’re gonna get signed by RUN DMC and on my fourth line the VIP door swung open and mid flow the 3 of them were gone into the door. Moral of the story there’s a lot of MCs out there but very few legends! God bless my heroes RUN DMC, The Beastie Boys, LL COOL J, @thegodrakim Big Daddy Kane, the Fat Boys, @miked @mixmastermike

@thefader @porscheusa Austin Texas