For years, Victoria Monét has been behind the scenes penning some of the culture’s biggest hits for artists such as T.I., Chloe x Halle, and a host of others. Now, she is racking up her wins as an independent artist, showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. During the 2024 Grammy Awards, Monét was a force to be reckoned with, attaining seven nominations and walking away with three awards, including making history as the first Black woman to win Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical), according to The Hollywood Reporter. This feat hits close to home for the “How Does It Make You Feel” crooner whose entry into engineering emerged following frustrations from studio sessions she was having in the past. “The story of why I even know how to engineer is because I was working in a studio and wanting to record, and the people I was working with were getting sick of recording me,” she told Blavity in an interview earlier this year.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Victoria...

Nearly two decades later, Chris Webber is still making the right shots. The former NBA player is diving headfirst into the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) space, taking a seat at the table as president of Coinllectibles. Webber’s introduction to the technology company began after a conversation centering around The Chris Webber Collection of African-American Artifacts and Documents, which includes a postcard Malcolm X sent to Alex Haley when he was in Mecca and the first poetry book written by an African author. Now Webber will continue developing more groundbreaking collections — this time by disrupting the NFT space. “The business has allowed me to stay competitive, empower people, and learn. What attracted me to Coinllectibles was the opportunity to work with arguably one of the best when it comes to NFTs, especially cryptocurrency, but also the fact that I can merge sports,” Webber told AfroTech exclusively. According to a press release, Webber’s role will bridge the crossroads of...

The daunting reality many women face navigating the music industry is one of concern. Prevalent issues such as misogyny, harassment, and sexual violence are some of the evils preventing women from thriving in the industry. It was to Selena B. Hunter’s dismay when she realized her musically inclined daughter, Nia Hunter, desired to have a career in the very industry that was dysfunctional. Rather than dismiss the idea and shield her daughter from entertainment, she decided to create a safe space for all women. “I had to figure out a way that her father and I could be comfortable with her being in this industry,” Selena told AfroTech. “The only way was with me stepping up and supporting her by building an infrastructure around her where I felt comfortable as a parent first because she’s a woman as well.” In a pursuit to not only keep her daughter’s vision alive, and even beyond that, Hathor Entertainment was born in Los Angeles, CA. The mother-daughter duo debuted the record label on...

Black History Month is always a beautiful (albeit too short) celebration of Black excellence across the diaspora throughout the years. And let’s be honest, there’s a host of things that wouldn’t exist without Black women, including much of today’s modern-day entertainment. Black women, like Dr. Shirley Jackson, invented technologies that changed communication, and as a result, enhanced the way we are entertained, whether watching a basketball game on TV, streaming a movie on Hulu, or throwing a party via Zoom. Without further ado, tip your hat to these four Black women inventors who laid the groundwork for modern-day technology. Martha Jones Before we honor the women who are responsible for modern-day entertainment, we must salute Martha Jones from Amelia County, VA. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Jones became the first Black woman to be granted a U.S. patent in May 1868. Although her invention, a cornhusker, is unrelated to entertainment, we can assume...

Now is as good a time as any for young people to tap into the initiatives and resources companies are providing as stepping stones to getting involved in the entertainment realm. In conjunction with its recent announcement of the upcoming premiere of HBO special “Between The World and Me”based on the NYT best-selling book by Ta-Nehisi Coates, premium cable network HBO is pledging a $1 million gift to Howard University students who are looking to pursue entertainment careers, REVOLT reports . Howard University announces the Coates-Forbes-Watson-HBO Dream Seekers Endowed Fellowship, made possible through a $1 million gift by @HBO in partnership with alumni Ta-Nehisi Coates, @Kamilahf and @skelechiwatson . Thank you for this generous gift! https://t.co/pssVvfO36i pic.twitter.com/ARAWpmgCDI — Howard University (@HowardU) July 27, 2020 Howard alumni Coates, as well as director Kamilah Forbes and award-winning actress Susan Kelechi Watson, have not only joined forces to bring “Between The...

In light of social distancing, The Apollo Theater is staying ahead of the curve and going digital for the first time in its 86-year history. The Harlem theater closed its doors due to the coronavirus outbreak, but that’s not stopping the show from going on. The iconic Amateur Night segment will conduct remote auditions and as an alternative, the theater asked participants to submit videos online. Stay home, stay safe and settle in because Amateur Night at the Apollo is coming to you LIVE ON FACEBOOK, tonight starting at 7:30pm! https://t.co/Eu3lcDPMn1 🔴 #AmateurNightApollo pic.twitter.com/VJdjF1sFBf — apollotheater (@ApolloTheater) March 25, 2020 “Digital technology has enabled us to stay more connected than ever before, and during these uncertain times it is incredibly vital for the Apollo Theater to continue to engage with artists and audiences around the world,” Kamilah Forbes, Apollo Theater Executive Producer, said in a statement . The Apollo is inviting singers, dancers,...

Chasing your dreams is no easy task, but when you’re determined to beat the odds nothing can stand in your way. Take it from Angela Marie Hutchinson — producer, casting director, scriptwriter, and media entrepreneur of her own entertainment empire. For over ten years, Hutchinson fought to get her screenplay “Hollywood Chaos” funded and produced, but her efforts were of no avail. Fed up with rejection after rejection, she took matters into her own hands and found the means to produce the feature film herself. The film was also successfully picked up by Hulu. “Sometimes we feel like it’s bad to quit so we keep on going. We keep receiving the rejection thinking that eventually a yes will come along. And that’s just not the case. Sometimes the yes will never come until you create it. You have to do something different than what you were doing before,” Hutchinson said, according to Black Enterprise. No longer operating on the scale of getting rejected, Hutchinson created the opportunity...

For moviegoers everywhere, MoviePass has been a game-changer. The subscription service became well-known for allowing users to sign up to watch one movie per day at participating theaters for just $9.95 per month — but that stellar offer is gone, at least for the time being. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter , CEO Mitch Lowe said he didn’t know whether that original plan would return or not. And to be fair, MoviePass claims that 88 percent of its users see a maximum of two movies per month anyway. “Every time we try a new promotion, we never put a deadline on it,” he said. But later, MoviePass clarified what that uncertainty means. The company noted that they made some updates to the Terms of Service in order to limit fraud (For example, you can currently only use the pass to see movies once — so no going back to see Avengers: Infinity War over and over again). In addition, they clarified that although the current bundle includes four tickets per month and a three-month...