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E-40 always knew he would be successful. In an exclusive interview with AfroTech, E-40 — whose real name is Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. — revealed he had a self-motivated spirit nurtured early on by those closest to him. He still credits his uncle, Saint Charles Thurman, as a mentor to this day. Saint Charles Thurman owned a painting company and played an instrumental role in teaching E-40 the ins and outs of the business. Outside of his venture, he was well-known as a soul singer and also released his own records in the 1970s. Therefore, E-40 believed he could also pursue his passion for music and all things in between because he saw it firsthand with his uncle. Fast forward and E-40 has become a permanent fixture in Hip-Hop history thanks to a staggering music catalog that includes “Sprinkle Me,” and “Tell Me When to Go.” He has remained relevant for over three decades and has kept his adolescent promises alive by building a business empire that includes Goon With The Spoon and Earl...
E-40 is building a business empire for himself. Apart from having his own wine line — Earl Stevens Selections — the rapper fulfilled his lifelong dream of entering into the food industry with the launch of his food brand Goon With The Spoon, which includes gourmet meat products. As previously reported by AfroTech, the variety of sausages offered are in partnership with Justin Kinder of Kinder’s Meats. At the time of the announcement in October 2021, E-40 shared that the launch was only the beginning and more things were on the way. In a recent Instagram post, the businessman has kept his promise. After teasing the idea during Good With The Spoon’s initial rollout, ice cream is officially one of its new products. “Expanding the brand with Goon With The Spoon & getting into the ice cream game! 100 percent, Black-owned !” the West Coast Hip-Hop legend shared in his Instagram post’s caption. View this post on Instagram A post shared by E40 Mogul 🥂🎩 (@e40) When taking a look at the photo...
E-40 is officially in the food business. The West Coast Hip-Hop legend has dropped GOON WITH THE SPOON gourmet meat products, which features a collection of flavored sausages and burritos in a variety of flavors, including teriyaki pineapple chicken sausage, Philly cheesesteak chicken sausages, hot beef sausages, mild beef sausages and the Choices (Yum) Sausage Bundle. The announcement of GOON WITH THE SPOON comes almost one year to the day after E-40 announced he was entering the food industry. He took to Instagram to celebrate the launch of the company. “Fulfilled a lifelong dream today with the formal launch of my GOON WITH THE SPOON brand & inaugural sausage line!” he captioned a video of him working in the kitchen. “We’re in production and about to take over the food industry now.” Fulfilled a lifelong dream today with the formal launch of my GOON WITH THE SPOON brand & inaugural sausage line! We’re in production and about to take over the food industry now 💪🏾Click the link...
Rappers Chamillionaire and E-40 are upping the ante on investing in women and minority-led startups. The duo previously shelled out $25,000 to contest winners who pitched their companies via the Convoz app and now they are giving founders the chance to win $100,000 for their startups. The rappers are also partnering with Republic and Daymond John — a “Shark Tank” investor and the founder of FUBU — to invest in underrepresented founders. Chamillionaire said that he wants to invest in more minority-led companies because of the lack of diversity in the startup space. “I don’t get pleasure when I say things like this but it’s the reality of the startup and investment world we are living in,” he said in an Instagram post. View this post on Instagram A post shared by @chamillionaire Chamillionaire is not a newbie to the investor world. The rapper put money into Lyft before the ride-hailing service went public and has invested in other tech companies. “I’ve been seeing a lot of people...
Most people know Chamillionaire from his 2006 hit “Ridin’,” which snagged him a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. What they may not know is that Chamillionaire also has a keen interest in the tech industry. Now, he’s looking to invest $25,000 in a startup founded and managed by a woman or person of color. For this venture, Chamillionaire teamed up with E-40 and the portfolio company Republic . Chamillionaire originally made the announcement on his Instagram last week. “I’ve been in this tech industry for a while and I’ve been seeing a lot of people out here trying to raise capital and a lot of time it just doesn’t go to people of color or women,” he recently told Yahoo Finance. View this post on Instagram A post shared by @chamillionaire It’s definitely true that women and people of color have a harder time getting funding for their projects. In particular, Project Diane found that Black women have raised .0006 percent of the $424.7 billion in total tech venture...
In East Oakland, CA, a powerful coalition of Black-led organizations has secured $100 million to fund Rise East, a decade-long effort to transform 40 blocks into a model for what real community-led development can look like, Shoppe Black reports. According to the outlet, after decades of disinvestment and promises not met, the project marks one of the most significant grassroots investments in Oakland’s history, aimed at reversing long-standing patterns of displacement and economic exclusion. A Vision Rooted In Community At the center of Rise East is the 40×40 Council, a group of Black-led nonprofits working together to create long-term stability by focusing on three key areas: education, public safety, and housing. The 40-block area, according to Shoppe Black, spans from Interstate 580 to the San Francisco Bay and from Seminary Avenue to the San Leandro border. It’s home to Oakland’s largest concentration of Black residents, a community that has long endured the ongoing effects of...
New changes are underway at LeBron James’ media company. Bloomberg previously reported that the SpringHill Co., owned by James and Maverick Carter, had been in talks for several months with Fulwell 73, a British television, music, and film company known for “The Kardashians” and “Carpool Karaoke .” Sources close to the discussions mentioned plans for unscripted and live programming, with both parties aiming to leverage their resources across Europe and the United States. Now, it has been confirmed that the two companies will merge, however without any money being exchanged. The merger will instead be supported by a $40 million investment toward future growth from entities such as Fenway Sports Group, RedBird Capital Partners, UC Investments, Nike, Epic Games, Main Street Advisors, and Eldridge Industries, according to Variety. “We didn’t want to stand still and ultimately just be a production company where more and more you are in the services business. We’re producers for hire,”...
As a Black woman tech executive at Amazon, Mamar Gelaye is on a mission to diversify the industry. Gelaye, an Ethiopia native, has a decades-long career spanning more than 20 years that dates back to her time as a management consultant at Accenture. Her interest in technology was evident while attending the University of Tennessee, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. She even worked on a hybrid electric vehicle project during this time. Belief In Technology Her faith in the advancements of technology remained strong, and following her time at Accenture, she pursued roles that reflected this. “I just really understood that technology was going to transform a great deal. I just understood that software was gonna control the machine,” she explained. “So when I left management consulting, I went into large industrial companies that were kind of big manufacturing, but manufacturing through automation, through kind of transformational engineering.” In...
Most who make a name for themselves in the world of rap don’t plan on spitting bars forever. Instead, many of the best lyricists hustle hard to stack cash and then invest it accordingly so they’re set for life. Thanks to this approach, Chamillionaire’s net worth continues to grow long after he stopped rapping full-time. The Houston-bred entertainer came up in the early 2000s and is best known for his The Mixtape Messiah series (the original of which is the longest and most bought mixtape in Texas history). Early on, Chamillionaire started making smart financial decisions that eventually landed him the role of entrepreneur in residence at venture capital firm Upfront Ventures. Read on to learn more about his journey! Chamillionaire’s Confidence Helped Get Him Started In The Rap Game (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage) Strong networking skills helped Chamillionaire get his foot in the door of hip-hop alongside his friend Paul Wall. The ambitious duo connected with Michael “5000” Watts,...