It’s one thing to put the spotlight on Hip-Hop culture, but it’s another to properly give its pioneers their dues. Nas, Steve Stoute, Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz, and his wife, Felicia Horowitz, have joined forces to not only pay homage to Hip-Hop greats but also provide financial support. The group is behind the first-ever Hip Hop Grandmaster Awards, which is set to honor artists Rakim and Scarface, according to The Paid in Full Foundation’s website. Of the event’s proceeds, 100% w ill go to the foundation’s programs “ to support hip hop greats and other creatives.”

This may be the plot twist of all plot twists! M.C. Serch is breaking down the ins and outs of music publishing by recalling a deal in which he landed Nas an ownership stake in Jay-Z’s debut album.

Fans will get a more in-depth look into the life of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur, thanks to an incoming soul food restaurant debuting in Los Angeles, CA, for a limited time only. AllHipHop reports The Shakur Estate will be opening the Powamekka Café in honor of the life and legacy of the late Shakur. The vision will be brought to light in partnership with Fixins Soul Kitchen and will be located near the Wake Me When I’m Free exhibit at LA Live.

Taking a trip down memory lane has gotten Nas wrapped up in a new lawsuit. After posting a photo of him, Tupac, and Redman from July 1993 to his Instagram, Hip-Hop photographer Al Pereira filed a lawsuit against him in February for sharing it without permission or licensing the work, according to HotNewHipHop. The popular photo was uploaded by the rap legend in 2020, which is three years after Pereira registered copyright, according to the outlet. He claims that the Instagram post took away from his work’s worth. Court documents reportedly show that Pereira “accused Nas of ‘profiting from the work’ while ‘using it to increase his social media status.'” Nas has yet to comment on the lawsuit.

The African continent is the next stop for Nas’ investment portfolio. Bloomberg reports that the rapper has joined Andreessen Horowitz in a $20 million funding round for Carry1st, an African mobile games publisher. Google, Avenir Growth Capital, Riot Games, Konvoy Ventures, Raine Ventures, and TTV Capital were also investors in the round.  

Nas was in a Twitter Space earlier today talking about the importance of his partnership with Royal, and he explained how this partnership wasn’t about the money for him. Instead, it was about empowering people to make financial decisions best suited for them. Join the party and tune into @Twitter Spaces live today at 2PM ET / 11AM PT 🌐🔐 THE DROPS ⬇️ 💎 Ultra Black: 1PM ET / 10AM PT 💎 Rare: 9PM ET / 6PM PT pic.twitter.com/4TezZdC6RF — MASS APPEAL (@MassAppeal) January 11, 2022 “Fractional ownership probably means a lot more to a lot of other artists than it does for me, but this isn’t really for the money for me,” Nas said on Twitter Spaces. “This is just a way to see how doing something like this can build and expand with the core base that I got and encourage artists.” For Royal CEO, co-founder, and renowned electronic artist Justin “3LAU” Blau, the partnership with Nas also meant democratizing the opportunity for NFT ownership, which can prove cost-prohibitive for the average...

Investment firms are a necessary part of the business world. But did you know that these celebrities helm up their own? From a tennis legend to several rappers, these twelve celebs are redefining what the names and faces of investment firms look like. No longer tied to “old-money white wealth” like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank Of New York Mellon, these celebrities have proven that investments made back into the Black community pay off in much larger dividends…and cultivate goodwill in the long run. For example, Karan Wadhera — the managing partner for Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde — even left his position in the “traditional” investment firm world to work with the legendary Doggfather on his venture. He told TechCrunch that he was driven to do so to shift people’s focus onto things that weren’t getting enough attention at the time (in Casa Verde’s case, Black ownership and cannabis investment). “We have a decent-size checkbook and a fairly high profile in this space, so we see...

Audius — a free-to-use streaming platform built on blockchain technology — is coming in swinging to compete with Apple Music, Spotify and TIDAL . According to Rolling Stone, on Sept.16, the platform announced a $5 million round of strategic funding with investments from artists, such as businessmen Nas and Pusha T. “I believe [blockchains] might be the most important technology to ever hit the music industry,” Nas said in a statement. “Everyone who uploads to Audius can be an owner. You can’t say that about any other platform.” It’s known knowledge that artists’ pockets barely rely on the slow and minimal income from streams — but Audius is on a mission to change this misfortune. With the platform, artists will get paid promptly. Rolling Stone reports that with Audius, “90% of earnings move in real time — with 10% going to the community that makes the system run.” “The blockchain is enabling entirely new revenue streams for artists and creators, like NFTs, social currency, and...