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Travis Scott straight-up turned tech up a notch on Thursday (April 23) when he performed “Astronomical,” a virtual concert on Fortnite. Over 12 million concurrent players joined the popular online video game to watch the “Astroworld” rapper give an otherworldly concert of hits, including “Sicko Mode.” Scott also debuted a new song, “The Scotts,” featuring his rap namesake, Kid Cudi. Over 12.3 million concurrent players participated live in Travis Scott's Astronomical, an all-time record! Catch an encore performance before the tour ends: https://t.co/D7cfd2Vxcc — Fortnite (@FortniteGame) April 24, 2020 The online show was outfitted in brilliant special effects and theatrics, much like a real-life Cactus Jack show. A behemoth-sized version of the Missouri City artist appeared at the center of Fortnite’s landscape, stepping over floating rollercoaster tracks, hurling lyrics while submerged underwater and glowing from an electrifying light show. It was more of a completely immersive...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. When people hear the word “Apple,” they do not automatically think of the fruit; they think about the company that has been a mainstay in the world of consumer technology since Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded it in 1976. Apple was founded in Los Altos, CA, a suburb of Silicon Valley , in the home of Steve Jobs’ parents. The time Jobs spent building the original vision for Apple in his parents’ garage is why many entrepreneurial stories reference the garage as a symbol of humble beginnings when discussing how their companies first got off the ground. While many millennials and Gen Z remember how life-changing the iPod was when it was released, it revolutionized the way we listened to music, along with iTunes, which changed the way music was purchased and consumed. Long before the iPod, Apple’s first consumer smash hit was the Apple II . Released in 1977, the Apple II debuted alongside other...
The fashion industry is a massive global market that relies on consumer demand to shape trends and production. Every purchase a consumer makes influences how fashion brands operate, from luxury houses like Dior to fast fashion retailers like SHEIN . Consumer responsibility plays a major role in the ethical, environmental and labor aspects of the fashion industry. Trends change quickly, and consumers are always looking for the next big style. Social media and celebrity culture drive these shifts, making people want to buy new clothes frequently. For fast fashion this means the priority is to create low-cost, trendy clothing at a rapid pace. Companies like Zara, H&M and Forever 21 design and produce new styles in just weeks, while SHEIN keeps a stable of designers on hand to release new looks daily. This ensures that customers always have something new to buy . However, this system comes with significant consequences. The Environmental Impact Of Fast Fashion (Fernand De...
A Memphis, TN, restaurant owes NBA star Ja Morant a significant sum of money. Commercial Appeal reports that the Memphis Grizzlies point guard became a brand ambassador for The Wing Guru chain of restaurants in 2022, announcing the partnership via X (formerly Twitter) on March 17, 2022. “Honored to be a Brand Ambassador for @TheWingGuru. I always choose the Guru when I get wings #TheWingGuru #BrandAmbassador #GuruGang,” he wrote on X. The agreement between both parties permitted the restaurant to use Morant’s image for advertising in exchange for a payment of $6,250 a month, adding up to about $75,000 per year. However, according to Commercial Appeal, Morant’s attorneys allege that he had not received any payments starting approximately four months after the contract signing, though the company continued to profit off his likeness in locations such as Nashville, TN; Houston, TX; and Dallas, TX. Morant’s attorneys had sent a letter by November 2022 and requested for “the company to...
People are sensitive about their phones. Want proof? Tell an Apple smartphone user to buy an Android phone, and you’ll be met with the same facial expression as hearing someone say they don’t know how to play Spades . It’s not that 3.3 billion Android users don’t exist. It’s just that Apple has made such a name for itself that the average Apple user is chasing that brand even more than they’re chasing the actual phone. Competitors get dismissed quickly. Even though the average salary for an iPhone worker is $10 an hour , that same phone (ex. iPhone 15 Pro) they made has a price tag of $558. Are Apple Products On The Decline? Last year, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission , Apple’s total net sales were $383.3 billion and its net income was $97 billion, a small decrease of 2.79% from $394.3 billion in 2022 . While that may be alarming to founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, inflation and unemployment ( 6.3 million in 2023, up from 5.9 million at the end of 2022...
The platform formerly known as Twitter has gone through some major changes since Elon Musk’s 2022 takeover. The billionaire renamed the company “X” and eradicated the blue checkmark system used to verify celebrities and public figures; now, anyone can be verified for just $8/month, causing some serious chaos in the early days as parody accounts posed as actual celebrities. For the most part, those who still use Twitter/X have become accustomed to the new features and moved on from mourning what Musk has taken from them. These days, the father of 11 owns 74% of the company , although Forbes estimates his stake “is now worth nearly 70% less than he paid for it” two years ago. This clearly indicates Musk is making less money, but what does this mean for Twitter’s net worth? New Reports Reveal Twitter’s Net Worth Is Down By Billions (Julian Christ/Unsplash) In October 2022 (after trying to back out of the deal), Musk paid $44B for X, then-known as Twitter. A company named Fidelity...
Eric Dickerson was once considered one of the greatest NFL players of all time. Fox Sports, in fact, places him at No. 92 on their All-Time list, citing his “37-year-old record for rushing yards in a season” as one of the myriads of reasons for his placement on the list. And he was also the fastest running back to reach 10,000 yards in his career. All told, Eric Dickerson should have been a multi-millionaire several times over. Instead, he filed for bankruptcy back in 2008 — and according to the Dallas Morning News, he’s one of 78 percent of all NFL players, in that they will file some form of bankruptcy at some point in their career. Today, Celebrity Net Worth reveals that Dickerson has a $10 million net worth. And, it’s safe to say he’s come a long way in such a short period of time after almost losing it all. But what happened? Well, let’s just say it involves a fake Italian count who also happened to be a well-known screenwriter, millions of dollars, and a whole lot of intrigue....
Kanye West did more than just preview his upcoming album at his public listening event, he broke a record for Apple Music too. According to a report from TMZ, the billionaire rap artist not only sold out the Mercedes Benz Arena in Atlanta for his public “DONDA” listening party last Thursday (July 22), he also broke the Apple Music Global Livestream record with 3.3 million total viewers for the live in-person event. The outlet reports that this is an accomplishment no other artist on the platform has come near, far surpassing the 1.8 million viewers who tuned into the Verzuz battle between Jeezy and Gucci Mane on Apple Music late last year. The “DONDA” event was a one-time only occurrence that is not currently available to replay on Apple Music, so the 3.3 million viewers garnered solely happened off Thursday’s event alone. Sources also tell TMZ that upon the release of West’s album — which is set to supposedly drop on Aug. 6 — the listening event will then be posted for fans to...
From media and entertainment to private equity and investments, Black billionaires are proof that despite the odds we can achieve true financial freedom. This year, Forbes released its 2021 Billionaires list with a record-breaking number of 2,755 billionaires making the cut — a jump of 660 from its list published one year ago. Even across age, geographic locations, industries and race, today’s incredible Black businessmen and women are still showing that it’s possible to overcome obstacles and join one of the most esteemed populations in the world. Of the many billionaires on the list, here are the world’s Black billionaires in 2021 who represent amongst the richest group worldwide. Jay-Z – $1.4 Billion Jay-Z broke the glass ceiling for Hip Hop as the culture’s first billionaire, but his fortune continues to grow on account of his many business endeavors. As AfroTech previously reported, much of his wealth stems from sales from Roc Nation, Armand de Brignac, his D’Usse cognac, music...
A 12-year-old genius is making her parents — and the nation — proud with her latest accomplishment. Alena Wicker is set to begin her studies at Arizona State University, where she will have a double major in astronomical and planetary science and chemistry. Wicker’s ultimate goal, she says, is to become an engineer for NASA someday — and maybe even go into space! “I always dreamed of being an engineer because throughout my life I liked the building,” she told Arizona’s 11Alive News. She also said that she plans to finish college by the time she turns 16, and has every intention of not only building space rovers that are sent to other planets, but to drive the rovers in space, as well. Daphne McQuarter, the proud mother of the amazing 12-year-old girl, said that she wanted her daughter to chase her dreams, and was fully behind her efforts in doing so. She also said that when she first noticed her daughter’s special talents, she wanted to encourage her to keep developing them. “She...
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a widespread negative impact on Black-owned businesses throughout the U.S. this year, forcing many to shut down and/or limit their services. However, some businesses managed to prevail in the midst of the global health crisis, even more so exceeding expectations no one could’ve imagined. While the tragedy of George Floyd’s death has played a huge part in this swell of support for Black-owned businesses this year, it’s opened many people’s eyes up to what we should’ve been doing all along — buying Black. The social uproar that ensued during the mass Black Lives Matter protests in June resulted in a huge surge in sales for Black-owned brands, but the wave of national support has also inspired ongoing campaigns to support these businesses beyond the moment that calls for it. While many owners of these brands were worried about how they were going to survive the pandemic early on, it seems to have turned around in their favor with astronomical success....
After years of heavy scrutiny for using targeting tools to impose discrimination, social media giant Facebook has quietly removed the racial targeting option for advertisements on its platform, SFist reports . This ongoing issue with Facebook has been an advertising scandal for the last four years, according to SFist . The first instance with the platform was uncovered back in 2016 when it was revealed that Facebook allowed advertisers to exclude users based on their race. SFist reports that website, ProPublica, then published an article sharing their own investigative report detailing how the new ad-option allowed advertisers to block a housing advertisement from being shown to Black, Asian, and Hispanic users’ feeds. Journalist Julia Angwin and her colleagues are credited for tracking updates on this scandal over the years and have committed to holding Facebook accountable in this matter. Thank you for the shoutout! It is kind of amazing that it took four years of reporting on...
The year 2020 has been dedicated to celebrating Black excellence and giving our community the spotlight we’ve always deserved. For the first time in its history, the Television Academy announced its most diverse lineup of nominations as Black actors and actresses scored a record high of slots for the 2020 Emmy Awards, according to The Hollywood Reporter . As pointed out by Variety , 35 of 102 nominations went to Black performers and artists this year accounting for 34.3 percent of its total nominees. It seems as though Black Hollywood is finally garnering a much stronger presence from the notoriously white, male-skewed awards ceremony. This is quite a refreshing change to see Black artists get their well-deserved flowers from their peers as the better half of the year has already evolved the conversation around the value of Black lives and stories. “2020 isn’t just about the global health crisis,” said Television Academy chairman and CEO Frank Scherma as reported by Consequence of...
One of the best pastimes to come out of quarantine from the music industry just inked a massive deal with one of the top music streaming platforms. According to Billboard , Verzuz — the breakout live-streaming battle series co-created by legendary hip-hop producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland — has just announced an official partnership with Apple Music and Beats 1, where their battles will now be available to stream. In addition to streaming live from its Instagram account, each Verzuz battle will also simultaneously stream live on the music streaming service for free. Following each battle, fans and viewers will be able to recap the musical event on-demand via the series’ exclusive partnership with Apple Music. Verzuz has created astronomical heights for the music world as a healthy alternative to tours and live concerts in light of COVID-19. The livestream battles have consistently made worldwide headlines each time. The platform has previously featured battles between Alicia Keys...
At just 22-years-old, this hacker became an accidental digital security hero that saved the world from the worst cyberattack it has ever seen. Marcus Hutchins, a British computer security researcher, discovered the WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017 and used a “kill switch” to stop the escalating attack, which at the time was spreading around the globe, according to The Verge . The U.K. media revealed him to be the person responsible for halting the ransomware contagion, but soon after his reputation as a hero was tainted by accusations of Hutchins making and selling the Kronos banking malware, Tech Crunch reports . He was later arrested by the FBI, according to Wired , as a result of his teenage work on a code that was later used in banking trojan software. So much time had passed since the news broke of his astronomical effort that when Hutchins was approached by the authorities he assumed that they wanted to know more about his work on WannaCry. During his interrogation, Hutchins...