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Ray J, the businessman, strikes again! According to The Jasmine Brand, the superstar has officially announced plans to sell his shares in Raycon to launch a television platform, Tronix Network. The move includes his departure from Raycon Global, the company responsible for taking him to greater heights as an entrepreneur. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ray J (@rayj) Per sources, Ray J aims to reshape the entertainment landscape through the launch of Tronix Network. “This isn’t merely about transitioning from one venture to another; it’s about seizing control of destiny’s helm and steering it towards his ultimate vision,” a source told the outlet. No stranger to making deals to propel him to the next level, Ray J previously described the sale of his Scoot-E brand as a blessing in an interview with AFROTECH™. “It was an interesting deal,” Ray J told AFROTECH™. “It was right before the pandemic, we sold it to a company called LOOPShare, out of Canada. Really good...
Five years ago, Ray J was looking to diversify his investments when he founded his own scooter company. The company proved successful — but the actor, rapper, and reality star realized that he needed to give the general public something more. Thus, RAYCON — a Black-owned earphone company — was born entering into the global earphones and headphones market which, according to a report, was valued at $25.1 billion in 2019. Billing itself as a “tech disruptor,” RAYCON was co-founded by Ray J with Ray Lee back in 2017. Despite its newfound status, the company surpassed the 1 million mark in sales in less than three years…and, Ray J says, that success was all due to the founders’ good old-fashioned grit. “We have no outside funding,” said Ray J to AfroTech. “No crowd-funding, no investors…it’s just us, and our faith in God, and following our hearts and believing in ourselves.” Black Friday, especially, proved to be a true financial boon for RAYCON, as it exceeded more than $4 million in...
High-performing women reportedly face more judgment compared to their male counterparts. Management software company Textio released a report surveying 450 participants that reveals a drastic difference among workplace feedback depending on a person’s gender or race. In fact, 67% of men said they were described as “intelligent,” while only 32% of women said they received the same description. When considering race, the numbers dwindle with 18% of Black workers saying they were labeled as intelligent in comparison to nearly 50% for white and Asian workers. With traits that include “likable,” “brilliant, “genius,” “gifted,” and “talented,” women still reportedly heard that feedback less than men. Even when surveyed on receiving negative feedback, women stated they experienced this at a higher rate with 56% being labeled as “ unlikable” in comparison to 16% of men, and 78% of women said they were called “emotional” in comparison to 11% of men. On top of this, women are seven times more...
Journalist Don Lemon has sued Elon Musk. Lemon was a co-host on CNN until he was let go from the network in April 2023, AP News mentioned. After his exit, Lemon was presented an offer from Musk, who acquired X in 2022, to form a partnership that would allow him to host his own show, “The Don Lemon Show.” According to a new lawsuit, Lemon claimed to be a “top prospect” for Musk who was seeking to onboard “reputable figures” to maintain advertiser interest, per CNBC. Variety noted the show was intended to allow Lemon to be “bigger, bolder, freer,” and he said it would “be available to everyone, easily, whenever and wherever you want it, streaming on the platforms where conversations are happening. And you’ll find it first on X, the biggest space for free speech in the world. I know now more than ever that we need a place for honest debate and discussion without the hall monitors. This is just the beginning so stay tuned.” Taping for the show kicked off with Lemon interviewing Musk....
NFL quarterback Caleb Williams made an unconventional ask in his rookie contract. Williams is signed to the Chicago Bears as a first-round draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, ESPN reports. View this post on Instagram A post shared by USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) The outlet added that the stakes are at an all-time high at the moment, as the team has not had an All-Pro since 1939. The team is currently working to ensure Williams is prepared for the 2024 season in training camp, which began July 20, 2024. Athlon Sports mentioned that Williams is expected to start in the preseason game against the Houston Texans on August 1, 2024. “You can just tell he’s in a better space,” D’Andre Swift, Chicago Bears’ running back, said, per NBC Sports. “That comes along with time. Getting a better understanding of the offense. He had time off, so he had more time to study the offense. So you can tell he’s made strides since he’s been back [from the break]. I know he’s got a lot on his plate, a lot being...
President Joe Biden is unveiling plans that will provide relief to minority borrowers. A press release shares the Biden administration is looking to build on its efforts to eradicate debt for Americans. Already, it has provided financial relief to 4 million borrowers. Now, pending on approval of its latest proposal, the Biden administration is looking to scale its efforts to more than 30 million borrowers and projects it will positively impact Black borrowers, among other targeted demographics including Hispanic borrowers as well as working- and middle-class families. According to Education Data Initiative, Black graduates owe an estimated $25,000 more in student loan debt than their white counterparts. Furthermore, four years after graduation, Black students will be burdened with over 188% more debt than white students. A separate study looking into students who started college between 1995 and 1996 showed the median debt for white borrowers decreased by 94% 20 years later, with...
Ray J has launched a new television network. The singer and entrepreneur just launched a television platform, Tronix Network, on Monday, March 25, 2024. While the R&B singer started out in the music industry, creating hits such as “Wait A Minute” in 2001 and “One Wish” in 2005, he has since tapped into his business side and ventured into other areas to generate revenue. Before deciding to create a new TV network, Ray J was known for his time investing in the tech industry. He first broke ground in 2016 with his Scoot-E bike brand, which launched through his electronics company Raytroniks. In 2019, the brand was acquired by micro-mobility and ride-sharing company LOOPShare in a deal reportedly worth about $34 million, per The Source. Ray J also supposedly walked away with more than 18 million common shares in LOOPShare, according to the outlet. He strengthened his presence in the sector, pivoting to Raycon Global, which he co-founded in 2017, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. “We...
Encouraged by rap-artist -turned-businessman Bun B, Derrick Turton elevated his interest in cooking. Turton, who was born in Brooklyn, NY, moved to Miami, FL, in 1998 and enrolled in culinary school. Upon graduation, he secured his first job as a line cook at a Red Lobster, according to The New Tropic. However, he disdained his time at the restaurant and made his exit. “I thought I was going to be a ‘Top Chef,’ and I got my first job at Red Lobster,” Turton told the outlet. “It was either Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day, and [orders] were coming out of the register [nonstop]. I was just staring at it, and I was like ‘I’m out.’” He then pivoted, becoming a club promoter, which was his entry into the music scene. As he moved into record label promotion, this put him under the radar of rapper and record executive Luther Campbell, and he began to work for Campbell’s record label, The New Tropic reports. Turton was introduced to Armando Christian Perez, who is widely recognized as...
A ban on TikTok may be imminent in the United States. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, a 12-page bill was proposed by the House of Representatives to eliminate its use and access in the United States if its China-based parent company ByteDance doesn’t sell the platform. This would cause great disruption to many as more than 150 million individuals in the United States are TikTok users, according to the social platform’s website. The bill, which was introduced as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act , serves to “protect the national security of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary controlled applications,” per CBS News. If the bill is green lit by the Senate and President Joe Biden and signed into law, ByteDance will be required to sell the platform within 180 days — or it will be banned from distributing the app and any others through its subsidiaries or firms “controlled by a foreign adversary.” On March 13, 2024, the...
A new Black-owned financial institution could emerge west of Texas. The Sacramento Observer reports that the Black-led investment group Redemption Holding Co. (RHC), led by former White House Policy Advisor Ashley D. Bell, wants to acquire Holladay Bank & Trust in Holladay, UT. If planning is approved, the Utah financial institution will be renamed Redemption Bank , per the outlet . What’s more, it would become Black-owned and serve as the only Minority Depository Institution, which offers financial services to underserved populations, west of Texas. As CEO of Black-owned fintech startup Ready Life , Bell helps underserved communities start on the path to homeownership. “All of us require a bank to operate, and the reality was there was no Black-owned bank that we could sit on top of to operate with the way we’re currently constructed,” he told The Sacramento Observer. He continued, “Therefore, we are dependent on other communities and banks to allow us to do that service. So the...
In January 2022, Bow Wow and Ray J released a joint statement claiming that they were working on a new project together. Atlanta Black Star reported that the pair didn’t specify what they were working on at that time, though the RAYCON mogul teased that he and the “The Price of Fame” rapper (whose birth name is Shad Moss) were working on a new television show. This business move is just the latest of many that Bow Wow has made over the course of his career. Starting out at the tender young age of nine-years-old, when he was going by the name “Kid Gangsta,” Moss had a burgeoning career. During a show in Los Angeles, he was discovered by none other than Snoop Dogg, who gave him a guest spot on the song “Gz and Hustlas.” It was, reportedly, Snoop himself who gave Moss his stage name “Lil Bow Wow.” Since then, of course, Moss has grown up significantly. He’s also expanded his business ventures to include acting, investments, and even a du-rag line. All this hard work, reports Celebrity...
Live voice translation for over 30 different languages from across the globe is now available thanks to these wireless earbuds! Danny Manu created Cliks with a mission to become “the world’s first truly wireless earphones.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mymanu® (@mymanuofficial) Per reports from Keepthefaith, the wireless Bluetooth headset simply has to pair with a smartphone to work. Unlike its competitors, Cliks does not require internet for use. The earbuds automatically detect what language is being spoken and from there they provide a spoken translation within a sentence or two. What’s also interesting is that Ghanaian -British entrepreneur Manu built Clik through his business Mymanu strictly through self-financing. “Like all the other ethnic minority-run businesses within the UK, I had a hard time getting the funding and financial support from banks and government-funded programs that I needed,” he shared in an interview. Not only did he begin to use his own...
Yes, folks, Ray J and Brandy are brother and sister. Approximately once a year, Twitter shows up and shows out with shock about who’s related to who in the entertainment industry. And, apparently, this time around went to the Norwood siblings. According to Revolt TV, Ray J surprised his big sister with a tattoo featuring her name prominently scrawled across his lower arm. “This is real love,” she captioned a screenshot of the two on Facetime, on September 30. “I couldn’t have asked for a better brother. I love you @rayj #bestfriends #rayjXbrandy #rayjsis #rayjsister.” For the rest of the day, the Norwoods were trending on Twitter with the realization. If only there was a search engine that was easily accessible that provided this information, and more, with just a few clicks of a button. If only , right? Anyway, in light of these recent revelations, we decided to break down the musical family tree of the Norwood family. Believe it or not, Ray J and Brandy aren’t the only ones who...
Grammy award-winning super-producer Pharrell Williams is always finding new ways to give back to his community, and now his latest project is focusing on youth in his home state. According to The Virginian-Pilot, Williams recently called out the unjust public school system in Virginia and revealed his own master plan to open a group of small private schools for students from low-income families. Pharrell strongly believes the state’s public school system needs to be refined in a way that doesn’t allow it to turn its back on underprivileged students. Now he’s using his nonprofit organization to pay it forward and get all students the education they deserve. “If the system is fixed and unfair, then it needs to be broken,” he said in a news release. “We don’t want lockstep learning where so many kids fall behind; we want bespoke learning designed for each child, where the things that make a child different are the same things that will make a child rise up and take flight.” The new...
Last year, founders Layla Nielsen, Natalie Robinson and Love-leigh Trimiew announced plans to launch HellaBlack, a new e-commerce marketplace for Black retailers and enthusiasts — now the digital shopping platform is officially live. In an op-ed for Blavity, Trimiew previously wrote about how her family’s story and desire to own her historical narrative inspired her to start her own Black-owned business. “In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, there have been many important articles written about the history of Blacks being denied the opportunity to thrive economically — Wilmington, North Carolina, and Tulsa, Oklahoma are often cited,” she wrote. “A lot of Black thought-leaders have written think pieces about the necessity of Black economic empowerment. I am neither a philosopher, historian or expert in African-American studies. I am a Black woman business owner, the descendant of West African slaves and an East African immigrant, looking to my own historical narrative of hope amid...