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Usher is giving back to the place where it all started. The R&B singer, who is currently embarking on his “USHER: Past Present Future” tour, credits the Boys & Girls Club for fostering his artistry. For those very reasons, he has kept the volunteer organization close to his heart and has launched the Usher Raymond IV Spark Lab and Entertainment Industry Club, in partnership with his nonprofit, New Look, according to Billboard. The new content space celebrated its grand opening at the Joseph B. Whitehead Boys & Girls Club in Atlanta, GA. “I’m happy that the work that I’ve put in has led me to become an inspiration to so many people,” Usher explained to The Atlanta Voice. “The most important part of all of this starts with a spark. An idea. A concept that says, ‘I can have a definition and an idea of what I found passion in.’ And that’s really what New Look started. But the catch is it had to start somewhere before it became a spark. And what was that? The Boys & Girls Club.” The Grio...
If you’re at all tapped into the modern hip hop sound , you’re no doubt familiar with Metro Boomin, the Grammy-nominated beat-maker extraordinaire responsible for producing such hits as “Father Stretch My Hands” by Kanye West, “Mask Off” by Future, “ Bad And Boujee ” by the Migos, and “Like That” by Future and Kendrick Lamar. Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past few months, you’ve probably also heard Metro’s sampling and drum patterns on the viral instrumental track “BBL Drizzy,” which has been playing all over TikTok and other social media platforms. Through his multiple landmark contributions to modern music, Metro Boomin has amassed a sizable net worth of over $45 million, per Celebrity Net Worth . So, how did Metro Boomin establish himself in the highly competitive hip hop industry? How did the multi-talented multi-instrumentalist take his talents from the underground to the forefront of music, building long-standing relationships with some of raps heaviest hitters?...
Fans of 50 Cent’s “Power” franchise may have been first introduced to Michael Rainey Jr. in 2014 for his breakout role as Tariq James St. Patrick, but his acting days started years before. In an interview with Forbes’ “New Money” podcast, the actor recalled landing his first movie, “Un Altro Mondo (Another World),” at age 9 in 2010. Before the starring role, Rainey’s acting journey began when a talent agent approached his mom to consider placing him in the business. “She literally just walked up to my mom and said, ‘Your son has a great face for acting or modeling. Does he do any of that?’” Rainey told host Rosemarie Miller. “And she was like, ‘No.’ And then, like a week after, they had a meeting in the office and after that, they just started getting me auditions.” The auditions that rolled in included TV time for shows like “Sesame Street” and more. The progression of Rainey’s gigs led to landing his bigger role on “Power.” However, prior to the hit Starz show, he says that his...
Lionel Richie is arguably one of the most iconic voices, faces, and mustaches in all of music history. The singer-songwriter rose to prominence in the 1970s as a leader of the Motown movement and fronted the platinum-selling funk soul group Commodores before eventually going solo. He has written numerous hit records for himself and other artists, including instantly recognizable tracks such as “Hello,” “All Night Long,” and “Endless Love.” Richie has taken home Grammy Awards , Golden Globes, and even the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress. In 2022, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, due to his unmatchable achievements in music and culture. Richie has developed a reputation as one of the most successful balladeers of the 1980s, and sold hundreds of millions of records across the Earth over the course of more than 5 decades. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Lionel Richie touts a massive net worth of over $200 million,...
Nimay Ndolo’s road to success in the creator industry took a lot of work and determination. Before her pivot into content creation, the Nigerian-American delivered food in a 2004 manual transmission car (stick shift) with no air conditioning (AC) for an entire summer in Atlanta, GA . On Ndolo’s delivery route, she would often deliver to people working in skyscrapers — AC there thankfully was blasting. Escaping the blistering heat ultimately freed her from the shackles of being “a starving artist,” she says. “I used my Postmates bag to sneak into a startup for a software company,” Ndolo recalled to AFROTECH™. “I ended up taking them donuts and my resume. I got an interview and didn’t get the job, but I ended up at a freight brokerage.” Even though Ndolo was able to secure a more stable job, she shared that after nearly a year, she was fired from the position six days before Christmas. However, being let go allowed her to go back to the drawing board, which, she says, reminded her of...
Without the influence of those before them who laid the groundwork, this generation’s artists wouldn’t be where they are today. Ronnie DeVoe, a member of New Edition, and Shamari DeVoe, one-third of Blaque, know all about putting the work in. The two music veterans have both respectively stamped their footprint in the music business. As proof of their long-lasting impact, earlier this year, Ronnie was on the road with New Edition — who have been in the game for over four legendary decades — for The Culture Tour. The shows were led by the Black Promoters Collective, which recently secured a $60 million quarter, Billboard reports. For Shamari, she continues to tour for Blaque — who topped the charts in the 90s and 2000s — and the group has an upcoming performance at Groove Fest IV with fellow R&B greats Keith Sweat, Ginuwine, Blackstreet, and Dave Hollister. Additionally, she appeared on BET’s “The Encore” in 2021.
Tammy Williams is history in the making. Williams, who has an impressive track record in the entertainment industry spanning 25 years across film, biographies, documentaries, entertainment, and network news, has taken her pursuits to historic heights with the creation of Cinema South Studios. Tammy Williams says “she will be the first majority Black female owner of a studio she knows of in the state,” according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Williams’ moves are backed by her partner, CEO, and investor of G-Square Events and Black Promoters Collective Gary Guidry. “The demand for soundstages is happening globally and the ownership rarely looks like us, let alone an African American woman,” Guidry said, according to the outlet. “When I choose to invest, I evaluate the need of the business and the ownership. Investing in Tammy Williams and her team of professionals convinced me that buying the land in Fayetteville, GA was a sound decision with the talents of her at the helm.”
Award-winning Senegalese-American recording artist and entrepreneur Akon has been known to dabble in Africa’s business dealings for years, and now his wife is gearing up to do the same. Rozina Negusei — President and CEO of Zanar Entertainment, Entreeg Records, and Entreeg Entertainment Group — recently announced that she plans to invest a total of $12 million in the Ugandan entertainment industry to explore a plethora of available business opportunities worth backing, according to local outlet Sqoop. “We are here to explore new opportunities in Uganda, we are focused on investing in Agriculture, solar, and real estate,” she said. “Our main focus is to see how we can bridge the gap between East Africa and West Africa in terms of business and trade.” Negusei was reportedly invited to Uganda by East African Partners (EAP) managing director, Isaac Kigozi. Along with her came a group of Turkish investors, who are set to visit a few government departments, agencies, and private sector...