Jay-Z intervened to help Hit-Boy out of a music deal he signed when he was a 19. During an interview on “The Shop” podcast, Hit-Boy, born Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr., reflects on an ongoing deal with Universal Music Group. When he first signed with the record label in 2007 a $50,000 check sounded like a must-have opportunity at the time, he says. He had come from a home where his father had lived in prison for most of his life and his teen mother was not financially stable. It was Hit-Boy’s upbringing that pushed him to set higher goals for himself. “I never really had the sh-t I wanted. I always had what I needed, you know what I mean? Something to eat, place to stay, but I wanted more for myself,” he explained on “The Shop.” “So, you know, just like, I took that opportunity and didn’t know, didn’t have the guidance, didn’t have those figures around me to tell me like, ‘Nah, they got you locked in this for a long time.'” The deal would be “the worst publishing contract” Hit-Boy’s...

Cash Money Records Founder Birdman experienced several losses by the age of 16, and he was determined to steer clear of any losses in the music business. Birdman, born Bryan Christopher Williams, started the label in 1991 alongside his brother Ronald “Slim” Williams, according to BET. They were able to gain traction and had the support of independent distributors such as Gonzales Music and SouthWest Distribution, XXL Magazine reports. Building popularity in the South, the label caught the attention of Universal Records and signed a deal with the company on May 10, 1997, per a Max Volume Media interview Birdman gave. He later discussed the deal during an interview on the “Wilde Ride!” podcast, revealing that he was looking to retain ownership of his music due to his upbringing. “I felt like I lost everything already. I lost my family,” he explained on the podcast. “Nothing can repay me for what I already lost. I lost my mama, my daddy, my brother, my sister… I lived a hell of a life...

The company you keep can make or break you, and artist Fat Joe found this out the hard way. According to Forbes, Fat Joe shared that he once lost out on $2 million because of the large entourage he rolled with during an earlier part of his career. “We fall into this trap all the time when we try to help everybody, and it’s detrimental to you and your finances,” Fat Joe told the outlet. What’s more, the Bronx native revealed that on a day-to-day basis, he surrounded himself with over 30 people, all of whom he took care of financially. However, Fat Joe’s commitment to his people would take an interesting turn when the chief financial officer (CFO) of a marketing company attempted to contact the “What’s Luv” emcee with an offer to promote a beer company. This offer would quickly fall short. To close the deal, the executive planned to present Fat Joe with a $2 million check “with Fat Joe’s name on the ‘pay-to-the-order-of’ line,” Forbes mentioned. Unfortunately, the business opportunity...

“I’ma spend his cream, seduce, and scheme.” If you’re not familiar with those lyrics, get hip as they are the catchy words to the single from the fictional characters “Shawna” and “Mia” from Issa Rae’s “RAP SH!T.” And it looks as if New York rapper Fat Joe is on the opposite side of those lyrics in real life. According to a report from Billboard, the “Lean Back” rapper is suing his accountants after claiming they stole millions of dollars in a “fraudulent scheme.”

To help people of color find reliable information about skincare, Vaseline and digital health company HUED have joined heads to launch online database See My Skin . According to a press release, See My Skin will be helpful to find quality care from board-certified dermatologists and find skincar e conditions for people of color. The newly established skincare database is timely as research published by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology revealed fewer than six percent of image-based results reflected  skin conditions specific to Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

Wendy Williams has been a prominent voice in entertainment journalism for over thirty years. Known for her witty catchphrases and hot tea, her voice is one that fans can count on for the hottest news. However, her tea isn’t the only thing that’s hot. According to Celebrity Net Worth , Williams is worth a scorching $40 million. They estimate that she makes $10 million per year from her nationally syndicated television talk show “The Wendy Williams Show” that she’s been hosting since 2008. Clearly, she’s come a long way from making $3.75 an hour at her first radio gig back in 1986, according to Closer Weekly . Williams was a fresh college graduate from Northeastern University and landed an on-air talent position at a radio station in the Virgin Islands, Williams shared in an Instagram post . https://www.instagram.com/p/BUhQRQpB04j/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link “I made $3.75/hour and loved every second of it. I was on my own and lived in a small apartment,” she wrote on Instagram. “It...