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Breakr continues to find new ways to improve the creator economy. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the platform was created by Historically Black College and University (HBCU) alums and brothers Anthony and Ameer Brown to ensure artists can connect with brands and agencies and establish creative campaigns they are compensated for. With an early focus on music, Breakr partnered with BMG and Sony Music and built a roster of clients that included Ye (formerly Kanye West), Young Thug, Megan Thee Stallion, Rick Ross, Future, and Gunna. Additionally, Nas is involved not only as an artist on the platform but also as an investor. He participated in a $4.2 million seed round led by Slow Ventures in 2021. Breakr has expanded its scope beyond the music industry, adding partners such as Hershey, Billboard, Celsius, Samsung, and UMG, information shared with AFROTECH™ notes. In 2022, 30,000 creators had onboarded onto its platform. In 2025, that number has more than doubled, reaching a community...
Steve Madden shoes have been confidently carrying women for decades, with an estimated 120 locations in America, plus 250 more across 65 other countries. The man behind the brand was born in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York in 1958. Interestingly, Madden’s interest in footwear began as a teenager when he started working at a local shoe store. After high school, the creative went off to the University of Miami, but wound but back in Long Island after his sophomore year. At the time, Madden felt called to spent more time selling footwear and learning about the female consumer’s preferences to perfect his own designs. People associate Steve Madden with the company itself more than the visionary behind the products, but the fashion icon actually has a very interesting story. Outside of starting a family with his former director of operations (and eventual wife from 2005 to 2015), Wendy Ballew, the East Coast native managed to secure a $700K salary during his 31 months in prison, even...
Power company Entergy has announced a new multi-million commitment to advance Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). According to a news release, Entergy plans to deploy $20 million to HBCUs over 10 years. The funding will impact students in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas and is intended to support them through education, academic scholarships, career readiness, internships, and workforce development programs. Specific plans include $5,000 in scholarships granted to 20 “high-achieving” students over the next 10 years and an annual grant program to support facility improvements, research, and endowments across HBCUs located in the states where Entergy provides service. HBCU students will also have access to employment opportunities, including 10 internships each year and college recruitment events. “With roots in our service area for more than 100 years, what matters to our neighbors and our communities matters to us,” said Drew Marsh, Entergy’s chair and...
Rene McLean, partner and founding advisor at Influence Media Partners, has a new music venture to share. Influence Media and McLean have announced SLANG, a new independent front line label under the music and entertainment company, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™. One of the label’s first signees is Will Smith. Prior to the announcement, the winner of both Grammy and Academy awards debuted his single “You Can Make It,” featuring Fridayy and Sunday Service Choir, at the 2024 BET Awards, per Variety. Marking Smith’s first time performing at the award show, he was joined by Kirk Franklin, Chandler Moore, and Sunday Service Choir. “Through some of my darkest moments, music has always been there for me – to lift me and help me grow. It’s my humble wish that it can do the same for you and bring you all the joy and light you deserve,” Smith wrote in an Instagram post ahead of dropping the single, according to Variety. Along with Smith, SLANG’s roster includes...
In November 2023, Brick City Vegan became Montclair, New Jersey’s only 100% plant-based vegan restaurant. Today, its culinary commitment is rooted in changing the culture’s mindset about eating plant-based foods. Brick City Vegan founders Adenah Bayoh and chef Emeka Onugha provide an array of dishes, such as made-from-scratch biscuits and plant-based burgers, that are not only better for its diners but for the planet overall, KGET.com reports. “I made the choice to become a vegan due to some health issues that I found myself dealing with,” Bayoh recalled in an interview with Blavity. “The food I loved growing up suddenly started making me sick, so I knew I had to listen to my body. It hasn’t always been easy because I’m a big foodie! I absolutely love good-tasting, satisfying food, and for a long time, people believed that being vegan meant we only eat lettuce, fruits, and veggies. Brick City Vegan is here to show the world that a plant-based diet can be just as tasty and fulfilling...
When Chris Paul was drafted to the league he turned down a substantial amount of money. The NBA player had been drafted in 2005 as the No. 4 draft pick by the New Orleans Hornets, Fox News reports. He was just 19 years old at the time. During an interview with Forbes, Paul mentioned he had just $151 in his bank account as a college student at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, when he entered the league. One of his earliest actions was to bring on board a financial advisor, which ultimately resulted in him receiving an upfront offer of $100,000. However, his parents interceded, leading Paul to accept nearly a quarter of the initial offer. “My financial advisor who we hired, they said they would send me $100,000 and my parents said, ‘No that’s too much,'” he told Forbes. During an appearance on “The Shop,” he elaborated further stating, “Y ou know what happened? I was at Wake in Winston. I went to the bank right up the street just so I could see what the statement looked...
Shaquille O’Neal’s Big Chicken is heading to his home state of New Jersey. As previously reported by AFROTECH™, the former basketball-player-turned-serial- entrepreneur became a co-owner of Big Chicken in 2018 and opened the first location in Las Vegas, NV, alongside his friend Matt Silverman and agent Perry Rogers. Since, thanks in part due to its popular menu items including chicken tenders, various chicken sandwiches, crinkle-cut French fries, and mac n’ cheese, the business has proven to be a success and has adopted a franchise model. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 312 Craves (@312craves) Big Chicken signed a 20-unit development deal in partnership with H&D Group Investments to expand to Michigan in 2023, Franchise Times reports . Prior, a 50-unit deal had been signed to open storefronts in Texas, with locations already springing up in the city of Houston and nearby Richmond. It can also be found in California and on Carnival Cruise ships. View this post on...
Mary J. Blige’s fans have been asking her for a boot collection for years. Now, the music legend has delivered on her promise. In May 2023, the “Good Morning Gorgeous” singer exclusively shared with AFROTECH™ that her signature boot line was on the way. “It’s in the works,” Blige told AFROTECH™ at the time . “For some reason, this is taking longer than everything else, but we’re gonna get there. Trust me. Everything else is here so that’s on its way.” The time has officially arrived as Blige teamed up with Giuseppe Zanotti in May 2024 for “The Mary Boot.” What’s more, she was a part of the design process. “Giuseppe Zanotti and Mary J. Blige have transformed their longtime friendship into an exclusive, limited-edition collaboration,” Giuseppe Zanotti shared on its Instagram page. “‘The Mary Boot,’ a stunning over-the-knee boot co-designed by the two talents.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Giuseppe Zanotti (@giuseppezanotti) During the 2024 Strength of a Woman Festival...
Mary J. Blige’s Strength Of A Woman Festival (SOAW) returned for a Mother’s Day takeover in a new city this year, along with new faces and places to support. “We started doing pop-ups at bars, and it was just me and my daughter,” Chef Shelly Flash of 2 Girls & A Cookshop told AFROTECH™ during the third annual SOAW, the festival’s first time appearing in Blige’s home of New York, NY. “We used to get kicked out all the time, and it’s like we just had a mission. We were like, ‘We should share our food with the world because we’re first-gens, and a lot of times first-generation Jamaicans, we’re not represented.’ Either you’re all in the culture or you’re in this melted pot. We are always in this floating melting pot. We live in the best city in the world — that’s New York — and so what we decided to do is just keep putting out one Jamaican taco at a time.” She added, “And in Jamaica, we always say ‘Out of many, one person.’ At 2 Girls we say, ‘Out of many, one culture.’ We believe that...
University of Michigan (U-M) graduate Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi has made history! The Street Journal reports she has earned a Ph.D. in robotics, the first for a Black woman at the institution. Reflecting on her milestone and speaking in front of thousands of people during the university’s 2024 commencement ceremony, she said, “If you do not know me right now that is OK, but I want you to remember me as the University of Michigan’s first Black woman to get a Ph.D. in Robotics. We did it class of 2024. We can officially call ourselves Michigan engineers.” She later took to LinkedIn and commented further stating, “Speaking at Commencement was the experience of a lifetime! To receive a standing ovation from a crowd of over 70,000 people in the largest stadium in North America…. Oh how far have I ascended! That little girl with big dreams is not so little anymore. She has become a GIANT.” Dosunmu-Ogunbi’s road to her doctoral started in high school. She recalls being “fixated” on the “funny...
Jatee Kearsley refers to herself as a “generational starter.” The Queens, NY, raised pastry chef is the owner of Je T’aime Patisserie, a business located in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. The naming of the restaurant was intentional as her love for cooking was born in her teenage years while hosting weekly bake sales in front of a building she used to reside in. “You’re a kid and you want money. So what do you do when you want money? You do what you’re good at. And I was always good at baking cakes and cupcakes for my family,” she tells AFROTECH™ during the Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit. “I would invite my friends over and they’ll come and eat cupcakes. I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m going to make money.’ So I took a table outside and just started selling these cupcakes that I was making. Then it just elevated into a passion.” Kearsley would continue to opt for self-teaching even as she pursued culinary education, honing her skills in baking intricate pastries such as macarons and...
In recent years, musicians have been pushing for regulations around artificial intelligence (AI) in the music industry. As previously reported by AFROTECH™, in February 2024, artists such as Mary J. Blige, Cardi B, 21 Savage, and more signed an open letter in support of the bipartisan bill No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas and Unauthorized Duplications Act (or No AI Fraud Act), which aims to regulate AI deepfakes and AI cloning of both voice and likeness. While the movement against AI deepfakes continues, one artist is using the controversial technology to her advantage. BBC reports that FKA Twigs went before the U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee to say that artists should have ownership over how AI uses their voice and overall likeness in addition to how there is music online that she didn’t create yet it emulates her voice. The British singer revealed that she had created her own deepfake, AI twigs, with the purpose of allowing her to focus on her artistry. “These and...
Dexter and Marilyn Meadows are not only united in marriage but in business too. Love Story The couple of 52 years grew up in a small town in Tuskegee, AL, attending the same church and high school. They would establish a steady friendship and begin dating when they attended Tuskegee Institute, now known as the Tuskegee University. By their junior year of college, the two officially tied the knot. Upon graduating in 1972, they packed their bags and moved to the University of Michigan so Dexter could advance his education in landscape architecture. “All we had with us was our ambition to succeed and a few hundred dollars,” Marilyn, a biology graduate with a minor in chemistry and mathematics, told AFROTECH. Dexter would ultimately obtain another degree and land a job offer at the Forest Service in Southern California. Marilyn recalls working several jobs at the time, which included a role at a Steward Pharmaceuticals in quality assurance and as a substitute teacher in math and science...
Shalanda Armstrong is a managing partner who wants to push for firms to be more intentional about investing early on in companies led by diverse founders rather than waiting for them to embark on an IPO. During her time as an undergrad in computer science, the Hampton University alumna leaned into her longtime curiosity about learning who funds startups. Then, she went on to shift her inquisitiveness into action. “Coming out of business school, my goal was to get into venture capital — not really realizing at the time that it was such a small industry and it was very hard to get in, so to speak,” Armstrong told AFROTECH.
