Black creatives push the culture forward, period. Premium bottled water brand LIFEWTR has remained committed to serving as a source of inspiration and hydration through its latest initiative alongside actress and creative Marsai Martin. Martin will serve as the Creative Curator of Black Art Rising, where she will contribute, collaborate with, and spotlight some of the best in the game when it comes to Black content creators in the newly formed LIFEWTR TikTok medium. Courtesy of Life Water “Having grown up in the entertainment industry and being a creative myself, I’ve seen the lack of resources and representation within the Black content creator community,” said Martin in an official statement. “That’s why I’m excited to partner with LIFEWTR and their Black Art Rising campaign. Being able to create opportunities that spotlight and celebrate Black digital creators who are pushing the culture forward is something I will always support.” Continuing the digital content leg of the...

Akon is merging the world of crypto with the music scene, announcing that his next album will be sold as a non-fungible token (NFT) , Esquire reports. “Throughout my career, I have always believed that artists never really got their fair share of the profits for the work they produced and people listen to,” Akon told Esquire. “So with the idea of owning a piece of digital art, via an NFT, it allows the creator to benefit more and actually get more of the pie.” While his plans further affirm cryptocurrency’s ability to allow artists to maximize earnings from their content, it appears profit is not the only interest to Akon as he cites the NFT drop will allow for transparency and access to information from album buyers. “ My next album is going to be an NFT album. With that, I’ll be able to monetize it from the day it drops on every platform that exists. What that means is that it opens the door to full transparency where your music is being played, who’s playing it, where they’re...

LIFEWTR is making a statement on behalf of the Black Lives Matter movement in a move that merges Black art and technology together. PepsiCo brand LIFEWTR — a premium water brand with a history of amplifying social progress through art — recently announced the launch of Black Art Rising , an infinite digital gallery that documents the diverse responses to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. View this post on Instagram A post shared by LIFEWTR (@lifewtr) In an effort to further amplify the Black Lives Matter movement, the brand has turned its channels over to eight purpose-driven artists to preserve this moment in time and immortalize our progress as a people through a historical exhibition, a press release reports . “People get easily distracted. It’s necessary we keep the conversations going and people focused on what really matters. Art is influence. Why wouldn’t we use our platform,” burgeoning hip hop artist, Tobe Nwigwe , said in a statement. In addition to Nwigwe, the...