DJing is a non-traditional career path for sure and these days, with very few barriers to entry, anyone with a passion for music and enough money to spend on equipment can call themselves a DJ. But though there are legions of people who call themselves DJs there are few who make a good living...

His full name is Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr.; his stage name went from Common Sense to just Common. While he may be a man of many names, he has just one brand: authenticity. Common, a conscious, Southside Chicago wordsmith, has used his brand to carry him into the world of film and television...

Singer/songwriter Shaffer “Ne-Yo” Smith is having quite a year so far. “Red Tails,” a film in which he co-stars, debuted at number two at the box office last weekend and now it’s been announced that he is leaving Def Jam records to put out music on Motown where he...

Last week, the Internet was abuzz with news about file-sharing Megaupload. First there was the news Megaupload was suing Universal Music Group in retaliation for a promotional video UMG blocked on YouTube. (It would later drop the suit against Universal.) Later in the week, the site was...

On Wednesday BE Next told you about the legal battle between Universal Music Group and Megaupload, a popular file-sharing site of which Kaseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean is part owner and CEO. [Editor's Note: Megaupload's top lawyer has recently denied reports that Swizz Beatz is the...

Swizz Beatz  is a music producer, artist and a multifaceted mogul-in-the-making but is he also a pirate? According to Universal Music Group, indirectly, he is. Swizz Beatz, born Kasseem Dean is the CEO  and a principal investor in Megaupload, the second highest trafficked file-sharing site...

Ask any black filmmaker and they’ll tell you that getting black films made and subsequently released is a difficult task unless your first name is “Tyler” and your last name’s “Perry.” Now George Lucas, the Hollywood heavyweight that brought us “Star...

Rev. Run’s little girls are all grown up. If the success of their footwear line Pastry wasn’t evidence enough, they launched their fashion and beauty site AngelaAndVanessa.com last week and now older sister Vanessa Simmons is taking her design talents to the boudoir with her new...

Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am is once again putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to giving back to his community. Back in August Black Enterprise sat down with him to talk about his back-to-school TV special that encouraged kids to learn about science and technology and now...

You can’t tell him nothing. It looks like Kanye West hasn’t been deterred by the critical beatdown fashion writers gave his “DW” womenswear line last fall. Just days before the New Year a mysterious Twitter account for his ‘Dw’ clothing appeared with the...