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As Kendrick Lamar prepares to take center stage at Super Bowl LIX, alongside SZA, keep a close eye on the production. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Apple Music (@applemusic) It will all be spearheaded by Lamar’s agency pgLang, which embraces creators from authors, film and television directors, producers, musicians , and more who are aligned in the vision to produce “quality” and “unconventional concepts,” its website mentions. Currently, 30 individuals and five executives are on board the pglang team, and they will have a hand in Super Bowl LIX — held Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans, LA — working on edits, production, stage design, sound tech, and more. During a press conference with Apple Music, the Super Bowl’s main sponsor since 2022, Lamar highlighted the importance of pgLang’s team, giving them their flowers and acknowledging that their collective efforts are what made it all possible for the show to reach its finish line. “Shout out to pgLang…That’s my...
New phones with an array of innovative features are released each year like clockwork. In the age of the rapid rise of technology, Kendrick Lamar wants to take things back to simpler times.
Pulitzer prize winner, Kendrick Lamar, and Dave Free — a longtime partner at Top Dawg Entertainment — announced the launch of pgLang , a creative service company. Kendrick took to his Instagram to give the world a first look at the new company. View this post on Instagram pg-lang.com A post shared by Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) on Mar 5, 2020 at 10:04am PST The company’s website describes the new endeavor as “multilingual” and further goes on to explain its mission: pgLang is multilingual. Our community speaks music, film, television, art, books, and podcasts — because sometimes we have to use different languages to get the point of our stories across. Stories that speak to many nations, many races, and many ages. That is why our writers, singers, directors, musicians, and producers break formats when we build ideas and make them real for the curious. Putting round pegs through square holes is not a process, but we embrace the idea of anarchy and challenges that make us...
Howard University graduate Olympia Auset is combating food deserts in South Los Angeles, CA. Auset launched SÜPRMARKT, a grocery store that began as a pop-up and subscription service in the area, Forbes reports. Its inception was the result of her reaching a breaking point when traveling over two hours by bus to find affordable organics grocery products that would adhere to her vegan diet. At the time, South L.A. had 1.3 million residents and only 60 grocery stores, classifying it as a food desert. “It became difficult to eat healthy simply due to access,” she told the outlet. In 2016, SÜPRMARKT launched as a pop-up in Leimert Park with community support, according to its website. Four years later, Auset purchased land that would become SÜPRMARKT’s first brick-and-mortar location thanks to assistance from partners Open Architecture Collaborative Los Angeles and Engineers Without Borders. View this post on Instagram A post shared by LOCALE (@localemagazine) The grocery store prides...
Corporate Executive Justin Grant wants to see more Black executives sponsor people within their community. Sponsorship allows an individual in a higher position than you to advocate for you in rooms with the goal of helping your career reach new heights, unlike mentorship , which typically is intended for skill building and obtaining more knowledge. “You want your boss’s peers in other departments to know who you are and to be in your network and to be folks that will, when your name comes up, when they’re deciding who to promote or who to give the bigger bonus to. ‘Yeah, I know that person. I vouch for them.’ So I think that’s the distinction,” Grant said on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas. Grant credits three white individuals for serving as executive sponsors throughout his career and speaks to an alarming trend that he witnessed that has prompted a call to action. He notes that Black executives have been less inclined to open...
The Supreme Court appears to be in favor of lowering the standard for what is required to prove job discrimination when it comes to people who are white, straight, or male. According to The Washington Post, a discrimination lawsuit had been filed in 2020 by Marlean Ames. She had previously been employed at the Ohio government agency managing juvenile corrections. Ames says her position was given to a young gay man in 2019. Then someone else she considered less qualified later received a promotion that she thought she deserved. Ames is a heterosexual white woman and stated that this person was a lesbian. The lower court did not see enough evidence to prove job discrimination had taken place, therefore it ruled against her. For those from majority backgrounds, more evidence is required to show proof that discrimination in the workplace occurred. However, a ruling in Ames’ favor could lead to more “reverse discrimination” lawsuits, Reuters notes. A strong defense would be that majority...
Last week, Apple announced plans to launch the latest product in their long-running line of budget-friendly phones . The device, which many consumers tentatively titled the iPhone SE 4, is expected to release later this month, with a presale kicking off on Feb. 21. The initial announcement came jam-packed with surprises and updates, leaving Apple loyalists with plenty of new specs to pour over. If you’re interested in learning more about the iPhone SE 4, we’ve got you covered, with a brief but thorough deep dive into the latest Apple announcements , and a look ahead at what we can expect from the actual smartphone hardware. What Is The iPhone SE 4? The iPhone SE series dates back to 2016, when Apple execs decided to offer a budget-friendly alternative to their standard numeric line of smart devices. Unlike its contemporaries, including the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the SE would offer the latest in iOS services crammed into the outdated body of a previous model. While the device...
Technology is enabling fans to immerse themselves in the music of legendary artists like Janet Jackson. The “Anytime, Anyplace” songstress is currently headlining a residency at Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas, NV, running through May 31, 2025. Fans can relive 42 of her timeless hits, including “I Get Lonely” and “When I Think of You.” The latter, released in 1986 as the third single from her “Control” album, became her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as Billboard notes. Jackson’s Vegas residency carries deep significance. Her career began when she was seven years old at MGM Las Vegas. She performed alongside sisters Rebbie and La Toya, as noted in Las Vegas Magazine. “I will always have a very, very special place in my heart for Las Vegas. I started my career here 51 years ago. I love you so much,” Jackson said during her performance on Wednesday, Feb. 12. Photo Credit: Resorts World Theatre L-Acoustics With a career spanning five decades, Jackson’s passion for performing...
Megan Thee Stallion has stepped into the spirits industry following advice from Beyoncé. The “Savage” rapper, born Megan Pete, has long admired the fellow Houston artist and credits their first interaction in 2020 with a major career milestone. “My favorite moment was definitely meeting Beyoncé. I met her first in 2020, I think. Every time I see her, I act like a little kid. And I really need to stop that at this point. Like I’m always fanned out,” Megan Thee Stallion told Forbes. Beyoncé’s support for Megan goes beyond music. In addition to their collaboration on the hit record “Savage Remix,” which they performed during the “Renaissance World Tour” in Houston, TX, Beyoncé has also shared valuable business advice — encouraging Megan to launch her own spirits brand. Leading by example, in 2024, Beyoncé made her official debut in the spirits industry with the launch of SirDavis in partnership with Moët Hennessy. The brand offers an American rye whiskey that pays homage to her...
Issa Rae proudly represents her home state as a powerhouse actress, producer, and entrepreneur. The Los Angeles, CA, native, well known for her rise from “ Awkward Black Girl” to “Insecure” continues to stretch herself in new ways. “ One of Them Days,” featuring SZA and Keke Palme r, made its way to the big screen in 2025, marking Rae’s first feature film released under her production company, Hoorae. According to Variety and Collider, the film made $22.2 million after its first two weekends, including the extended Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Issa Rae (@issarae) Just a few months earlier, Rae made a new dent in the hospitality space, opening Somerville in South Los Angeles, a restaurant offering a “progressive American dining experience.” This marked her second food and drinks venture, as she had expanded Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen to the city in 2023, per Forbes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Issa Rae (@issarae) Rae has...
Kendrick Lamar received mixed reactions from the public over his Super Bowl LIX halftime performance — but it led to a nearly 175% increase in Spotify streams across the United States. According to an Instagram post shared by Spotify on Feb. 10, 2025, several songs from Lamar’s halftime setlist experienced significant boosts. “Not Like Us” — the popular Drake-aimed diss track released in May 2024 — saw a 430% increase, followed by “HUMBLE,” which rose 300%. “DNA,” which, along with “HUMBLE,” is from the 2017 album “DAMN,” experienced a 260% increase. “Luther,” performed with SZA, and “tv off,” featuring lefty gunplay, both experienced a 170% increase in streams. SZA also benefited from the performance, with an 80% increase in her Spotify streams. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Spotify News (@spotifynews) Exactly one week after winning five Grammy Awards — bringing his total to 22 — Lamar performed 10 songs at Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, 2025, including five tracks...
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...
