Cole Bennett is a Plano-born music video director. He grew up with a hard-working mother who took on three jobs to support the family after his father tragically committed suicide. Speaking to Complex, Bennett said that he doesn't bear any resentment towards his father because he believed he took his life to set his family free. As a rap music-loving teenager, Bennett would escape boring old Plano on weekends to attend concerts in Chicago. He also directed music videos for friends and local artists, and eventually, he realized he wanted to do more to fuel his passion.
So, he started a blog called Lyrical Lemonade, a name that came out of a brainstorm with his mother. In Bennett's TEDx Talk, he said that he shared his ideas for the blog with a classmate, who called him stupid. Still, Bennett took it in his stride and used the negativity as motivation. He commissioned some Lyrical Lemonade stickers and distributed them around his high school. And within days, they were all over the place.
Every day, he would come home from school and write blogs about underrepresented local talent. However, it wasn't until after he gathered a big crowd for a free local show that he realized he could grow Lyrical Lemonade. As an average student, Bennett prioritized his college studies to see the outcome of pushing himself and ended up on the Dean's List. He never graduated, however — he eventually dropped out to focus on his passions full-time.
