A group of students claims a New York school backed by Jay-Z underdelivered on its promise. According to the Gothamist, a group of students is alleging that the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment at Long Island University (LIU) Brooklyn overpromised on financial awards to fund their eduction. Several offer letters the students have received from the school describe incentives such as a “full-tuition scholarship” and “financial grants” that would allow them “to graduate without debt.” However, the letters did not mention that the financial awards would not cover housing costs or certain academic fees, which can add up to more than $22,000 per year. “I am pleased to share that you have been awarded a Hope full-tuition scholarship… This scholarship, combined with financial grants will allow you to graduate without debt. As a Hope scholar, you don’t have to worry about tuition charges,” an email from the school’s academic adviser read. One student, Justice Stephenson,...

Jay-Z will be launching a groundbreaking partnership, marking a first in the United States. Billboard reports that Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, a full-service entertainment company, has partnered with South Korean fintech company Musicow to introduce “the first Music Equity Service Provider in the United States.” This will give U.S.-based music fans a rare opportunity to obtain partial ownership of songs created by their favorite artists, while also earning a share of the revenue generated from sales. This will be made possible by giving artists the ability to fractionalize their royalty revenue and sell shares of their tracks to individual investors, creating an all-around win for everyone involved. “The music industry is evolving into a shared ecosystem where fans and creators can earn together,” Roc Nation Vice Chairman Jay Brown said in an interview with Billboard. “Our mission is not only to support and empower artists by providing the tools and services they need to build a better...

Jay-Z is reportedly no longer affiliated with The Parent Company, which suffered significant revenue losses starting in 2022. In 2020, the rap mogul, born Shawn Carter, launched his luxury cannabis brand Monogram under The Parent Company, where he served as chief visionary officer, mentions Lawyer Monthly. Its flagship product, the OG Handrolls, was priced at $50, with the full lineup of strains primarily available at eight California-based dispensaries, including Caliva, Coastal, and Zen Garden, as well as an Arizona dispensary called Ponderosa. However, since then there appears to be trouble in paradise for both Monogram and The Parent Company. S FGATE mentions Monogram’s pricing did not fair well for cannabis consumers, especially since its products were marketed as high-end and premium. “Like many other things we’ve seen in cannabis surrounding rappers, the hype hasn’t met the reality. Monogram was supposed to be an ultra-premium product, and I don’t know anyone who tried it and...

Beyoncé is seeking to gain the trademark of her firstborn. Back in 2012, Beyoncé’ had made an effort to secure the trademark through BGK Trademark Holdings LLC. Jay-Z shared his thoughts on the matter in a conversation with Vanity Fair in 2013. “People wanted to make products based on our child’s name, and you don’t want anybody trying to benefit off your baby’s name. It wasn’t for us to do anything; as you see, we haven’t done anything,” Jay-Z told the outlet. “First of all, it’s a child, and it bothers me when there’s no [boundaries]. I come from the streets, and even in the most atrocious sh-t we were doing, we had lines: no kids, no mothers — there was respect there. But [now] there’s no boundaries. For somebody to say, ‘This person had a kid — I’m gonna make a f-ckin’ stroller with that kid’s name.’ It’s, like, where’s the humanity?” In the years that followed, Beyoncé and her team had ongoing issues with a lifestyle event planner, Veronica Morales, as she used Blue Ivy in her...

At this moment in time, a judge is washing his hands of a decision involving Jay-Z and Dame Dash’s shares. As AFROTECH™ previously mentioned, Dame Dash is soon having his shares in Roc-A-Fella Records sold at auction following an $800,000 judgement from a copyright infringement and defamation of character lawsuit. The auction has been gaining significant attention as the buyer and new stakeholder would have the rights to Jay-Z’s debut album, “Reasonable Doubt.” Even Drake reportedly showed interest in purchasing the shares through a direct message, Dame Dash had said. “Based on feedback I have received from interested parties (and I can’t mention names), this auction will likely bring out many household names in the sports and entertainment industries as well as those interested in a piece of a historically significant company, which holds an interest in a timeless debut album,” Dame Dash’s attorney Natraj Bhushan explained to Billboard at the time. Jay-Z’s attorney’s has since...

Very few events grasp the nation’s attention like the Super Bowl. Each February, the NFL’s top teams come together for a head-to-head competition to determine who will be crowned the national football champion for the year. Although the game is the primary reason for the gathering, the Super Bowl is also home to one of the biggest cultural gatherings — the Halftime Show. The History Of The Super Bowl Halftime Show The Halftime Show didn’t have a lot of excitement in its early iterations. According to the New York Times, the first Super Bowl, in 1967, included collegiate marching bands, with Grambling State University and the University of Arizona being the first to perform. This mid-show performance would set the standard for the next two decades. Though New Kids On The Block signaled a shift in 1991 to modernize the format, things drastically changed in 1993 when Michael Jackson took the field in an iconic performance. This set the stage for some of the entertainment industry’s...

There’s been an update in Dame Dash’s sentiments regarding ownership of “Reasonable Doubt.” In a recent Instagram video, Dame Dash acknowledged that there is “a lot going on” but he was surprised the media hadn’t covered what he considers “very relevant” news regarding his dispute with Jay-Z over the 1996 debut album. Dame Dash asserted that the City of New York, not him, filed a significant court document on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, stating its concern over alleged misleading comments by Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella Records (RAF). Per a report by All Hip Hop, the City, represented by the NYC Department of Social Services, requested a pre-motion conference as well as a stay of Dame Dash’s auction sale as a result. The petition was reportedly submitted to U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger. “’Jay-Z’s statements to the press have poisoned the environment for the auction,'” Dame Dash read from the City’s alleged statement. “‘He has claimed that he has a termination right under the...

The year was 2003, and Jay-Z’s iconic “Black Album” would be released on Nov. 14. According to the Grammy Awards website, the album would also be his sixth-straight No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 and was initially signaled to be his retirement project. All of this was riding on the moment of an earlier debut that summer, with the launch of Sean Carter’s 40/40 Club. A New Type Of Night Club Situated in New York, NY’s Flat Iron district, the 40/40 Club was created as a luxury sports bar that doubles as a nightclub. Based on a report from Rolling Stone, the name pays homage to a rare achievement in baseball: hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases in a single season. The nightlife concept saw success. Two years after opening, additional locations opened in Atlantic City, NJ; Las Vegas, NV; Atlanta, GA’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and Brooklyn, NY’s Barclays Center. “I love sports,” Jay-Z said via Flatiron Nomad. “[I] wanted to create an environment that is conducive...