Marcus Sotelo (’10), Oliver Dark (’11) and Shorty Sadang (’11) have worked together on different projects in the past, but most recently, they’ve been working on a project called “MAKEITRAIN.TV.” This innovative project impressed their executive producer so much that he decided to invest in their talents by purchasing all the equipment needed, in addition to office space in Newport Beach for their business, Currency Productions, LLC.

Seven days a week from 7am to midnight, and beyond, all their time and energy is put into creating the hit web show, “MAKEITRAIN.TV.” As a result of all their hard work and the message of their show, World Star Hip Hop, a highly ranked, popular website, prominently features them, as well as daily shout outs from Tattoo of 93.5 KDay. Television commercials on BET and E! are set to premiere very soon as well.

The concept of their show is focused on giving back to the community – not just showing off how they can “make it rain.” In one episode they head to a market in South LA, a predominantly low-income Latino community, and give out $300-400 cash! In another episode, they help a single mother by writing a check for $850.

Another focus of theirs for the show is suicide prevention – one particular artist tried to kill himself but lived and he is now helping raise awareness and funds for social services. Essentially Makeitrain.tv is a social movement with the videos and website serving as the platform for driving others to follow their example and help others out.

Make It Rain Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit company. Samaraii, the creator of “MAKEITRAIN.TV,” decided to create a reality show to express their motives. Next step was creating a 501c3, that is an even better opportunity, to branch off and help a larger group of people. We have programs that touch on single mothers, suicide awareness, homeless people, orphans, etc. “It simply feels good to put a smile on a persons face at the end of the day, whether if it’s raining money on them, feeding them, or paying their bills.” You can learn more and visit this organization at makeitrainfoundation.org

Originally there were three main characters and it has now expanded to a cast of nearly ten. Samaraii, J.R., Lil Mike, Roscoe Umali (west coast rapper) and Tattoo (Morning Show 93.5 KDay), and the Rain Girlz have joined the ranks, and they continue to grow everyday. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Spice 1, Steve Lobel, Daz Dillinger and TMZ have all been involved with show within the first three months of the project.

“Our original plan was to make it an internet reality show that picks up such a heavy buzz that will haul the right business associates into our project. We have immediate connections to MTV, BET, and VH1, but we aren’t ready for these networks yet. We want to build our movement from our 350,000 twitter followers and our hundreds of youtube followers into creating hundreds of thousands, and produce at least 3-4 more episodes.” Now that’s a smart strategy! These guys haven taken control of their careers and are living the dream; a full production studio in Newport Beach, all the camera and lighting equipment necessary, and a captive audience and fan base who constantly send tweets and emails requesting their presence. However this is only the beginning – they all have aspirations that go much further. Oliver plans on producing feature films; Marcus plans on directing music videos; Shorty plans on editing for both. Considering all the good karma and positivity they are spreading in the world, there’s no doubt that they will achieve their wildest dreams.

Alumni Marcus Sotelo, Oliver Dark, Shorty Sadang Make it Rain!