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Mike Will Made-It has revealed that he did not understand how to make money from music when he first entered the industry. The producer, born Michael Len Williams II, behind some of this generation’s top hits, fell into music by playing on a keyboard owned by his sister, Chonte. He created beats with his father, former IBM computer engineer Michael Len Williams Sr., Forbes reported. He later learned to play the saxophone, and by his early teens, his father bought him a $600 Korg Electribe drum machine. “Inquisitive kid,” Michael Sr. said of his son, per Forbes. “He wanted to know everything.” After one semester at Georgia State, he convinced his father he could put school on the back burner to pursue a career in the music business as a producer. Mike Will Made-It recalls having no footing in his early days in Atlanta’s underground. He also had no management at the time, even during a breakout time for him thanks to producing singles including “Bandz a Make Her Dance” by Juicy J, “No...
Manifested in his nickname, Michael Williams quite literally made it. The producer, known professionally as Mike Will Made-It, started his career in Atlanta’s underground. His journey led him to work on hits like Rihanna’s “Pour It Up,” Beyoncé’s “Formation,” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble.” In 2013, he took greater control by launching Ear Drummer Records and signed the label to Interscope Records. The label birthed the Hip-Hop duo Rae Sremmurd, and he helped produce their singles “No Flex Zone” and “Black Beatles.” Today, Mike Will Made-It can see how he “made it” from his earnings. He estimates he’s made $40 million within the last two years thanks to his music production catalog and publishing fees, notes Forbes. “I’m great,” Mike Will Made-It told Forbes. “I’m in a position I never imagined.” With his multi-million-dollar fortune, he has invested in Atlanta, Georgia, real estate. In 2017, he opened The Wxllxm Culture Center after purchasing a warehouse located on Joseph Lowery NW...
Fearless Fund has made a new investment, following a court victory. Fearless Fund is more than one month removed from the settlement of a major court battle that centered its Strivers Grant program, which allocated $20,000 in funding to Black-woman-owned businesses. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, a lawsuit had been filed by the American Alliance for Equal Rights group as it claimed the program operated with “explicit racial exclusion.” The case has been settled between the parties, resulting in the grant program’s closure. However, the move was viewed as a victory by Fearless Fund, which only had one grant left to disperse from the program, and the final decision allowed the firm to “strategically” avoid a Supreme Court ruling — something that could have impacted the greater population of Black business owners seeking funding. “This is a WIN and positive outcome for the Fearless Fund and our community,” Fearless Fund stated on AFROTECH™’s Instagram at the time. “We strategically...
Embracing technology has helped Tems evolve her artistry. Born Temilade Openiyi in Lagos, Nigeria, the Afrobeats R&B star had a deep passion for music from a young age — even joining a choir as a teenager — and recognized the art of making music was always more than just a side interest for her. “The way I love music, the way I loved writing and making music, producing, it was more than a hobby,” Tems expresses on “The Breakfast Club” podcast. “It’s just something that I just genuinely enjoyed. I didn’t expect ever to make anything from it. I was just like, ‘Yeah I could do this all day. If I can get a job to sustain me, and I’ll just be doing this all day.’ Literally that was my mindset.” Tems’ fire for music followed her in higher learning. She attended Monash South Africa, a university in Johannesburg, South Africa, GQ reports. In her dorm room, she continued to write songs and relied on YouTube to learn how to make beats. She also used Logic software to record and produce....
Former Morehouse College President Dr. Robert Michael Franklin Jr. once called the institution the “International Headquarters for Black Male Excellence” during a school-wide address. As the president at the time and an alum, many could argue his opinion was slightly biased. However, the institution makes a solid case for the claim when considering notable alums like Spike Lee, P.J. Morton, Samuel L. Jackson, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Morehouse College, one of many Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), develops young Black men who impact industries and make waves across various sectors. One of those individuals in this emerging vanguard is Atlanta, GA-based creative Cam Kirk. Cam Kirk’s Big Move Cameron Kirkland, a native of Prince George’s County, MD, moved to Atlanta, GA, to pursue a business degree from Morehouse College. This decision, however, eventually led him from his initial goal of becoming a music executive and into visual storytelling. “I moved to...
AJ Nettles wants to work at Apple one day after meeting CEO Tim Cook. The second-year student attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham has affirmed his journey in cybersecurity, one that began at an early age tinkering with computers while living in the small town of Monroeville, AL. “Our family had our first computer near when I was 5, and I really had fun interacting and playing around with it, learning about the internet and things like that,” Nettles told AFROTECH™. “Then I like to play games, so that kind of helped feed back into learning about technology overall, like computer science, and thinking about how it works and stuff. I was first exposed to it when I was young.” By the time Nettles reached the end of his time at Monroe County High School, he gained robotics experience and became more interested in learning about computer science and building technologies. “I had a bunch of different accounts for everything to play my games and email and all that. And I used...
Black actors and actresses’ public display of gratitude for Tyler Perry’s support is ongoing. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Meagan Good shared on NBC’s “Today With Hoda & Jenna” that Perry was the first person to properly compensate her throughout her three-decade career. While Good was anxious to share with Perry what she desired to earn for her leading role in his “Divorce in the Black,” she says that the media mogul was already set on that offer. “He [Perry] was like ‘You deserve this’ ’cause I was already thinking in my head like, what I was going to ask, and I was like, ‘Oh, is this too much?’” Good recounted. She continued, “I was like, ‘I don’t want to lose the job.’ ‘Cause I come from that generation when you’re working in the ’90s and 2000s when women ask for something you are perceived to be a certain kind of way or when you show up a certain way. When you’re assertive, you’re perceived to be a certain kind of way… But that’s what I love about Tyler, ’cause he was...
For over a decade, Stephen A. Smith has been recognized as one of the faces of ESPN. Before becoming a host on “First Take,” the veteran sports broadcaster hosted “The Stephen A. Smith Show” on ESPN Radio from 2005 to 2008, per ESPN Press Room. By 2011, Smith returned to host a weekday local show on ESPN Radio 98.7FM in New York, NY, and a local show on ESPN LA 710AM in Los Angeles, CA. In an interview with “Earn Your Leisure” podcast, Smith recounted being fired from ESPN in 2009. He explained that the reason for his departure was that his contract at the time did not align with what he believed he should earn. “I thought that I deserved more than they offered,” Smith shared on “Earn Your Leisure. “I was appalled at the offer they made me. I did not like it. I did not appreciate it. I felt disrespected. And I said ‘No.’” Smith admitted that his disapproval with the offer he received was based on the acclaim and accolades that were pouring in for him. However, he says when he...
Dr. Kari Williams is bringing her expertise to Beyoncé’s newly launched hair care company , Cécred. According to a TikTok shared by the company, Dr. Williams serves as its director of education. In the clip, she provides insights into the burning question, “How often should you wash your hair?” @cecred So how often should you be washing your hair? We heard you yesterday and we’re back with our Head of Education, Dr. Kari Williams, to deliver some truths on keeping your hair and scalp clean. ♬ original sound – CÉCRED In February 2024, Dr. Williams took to Instagram to confirm the news with the caption, “Introducing the DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION for @cecred. I am in my season. It’s my time.” Dr. Williams’s expertise encompasses more than 20 years as a natural hair specialist, per an Instagram post. View this post on Instagram A post shared by PhD, Trichologist & Celebrity Stylist (@dr.kariwill) According to her website, she earned a Ph.D. in trichology, which focuses on the management and...
It’s one thing to put the spotlight on Hip-Hop culture, but it’s another to properly give its pioneers their dues. Nas, Steve Stoute, Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz, and his wife, Felicia Horowitz, have joined forces to not only pay homage to Hip-Hop greats but also provide financial support. The group is behind the first-ever Hip Hop Grandmaster Awards, which is set to honor artists Rakim and Scarface, according to The Paid in Full Foundation’s website. Of the event’s proceeds, 100% w ill go to the foundation’s programs “ to support hip hop greats and other creatives.”
One minor health scare was all the motivation this founder needed to launch this athleisure wear line dedicated to women. On Jan. 19, Forbes reported that Oya Femtech Apparel founder Mitchella Gilbert — a former athlete and product designer — raised a $1.3 million oversubscribed pre-seed funding round. According to the outlet, Sixers Innovation Lab led the round with participation from REI Path Ahead Ventures, R/GA Ventures — a Special Purpose Vehicle managed by Union Heritage Venture Partners — and Techstars Sports.
March of Dimes is enhancing its efforts to raise awareness towards bias in maternal and infant health. According to a press release, the nonprofit organization has announced new changes to its implicit bias training, Awareness to Action: Dismantling Bias in Maternal and Infant Healthcare, designed for professionals and students in healthcare. The program aims to remove inequities plaguing maternal and infant health. According to recent data from the 2021 March of Dimes Report Card Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native women had disproportionate health outcomes in comparison to their white counterparts. “Every person has some level of unconscious bias, but unchecked stereotyping or negative biases about a group of patients can foster misplaced beliefs and lead to poor decision making by providers,” said Dr. Zsakeba Henderson , Senior Vice President and Interim Chief Medical and Health Officer, according to a press release. “Knowledge and behavior change are the first steps to...
Since its inception in 2009, Genius has grown from a digital platform that solely interprets songs lyrics to a dominating entity in music media . Now, the company, which produces content about music construction , is launching sound creation software to help facilitate artful collaborations. On Monday (July 20), Genius announced “Genius Home Studio,” a multi-part program in partnership with HP that allows artists to create an original song using the Genuis Home Studio soundboard pre-loaded with beat packs. “Genius Home Studio celebrates the special community that forms around the creation of a song. Artists have always found ways to create and collaborate using whatever tools at their disposal, and that spirit of ingenuity is especially poignant today,” said Michael Heal , Genius’s Head of Branded Content. “We’re excited to team up with HP and give fans a look inside what that creative process looks like right now.” The news kicks off a competition, where contestants can win an HP...