‘Take That, Rewind It Back!’ Usher’s Streaming Numbers Rise Following Super Bowl Announcement
Following Apple Music’s announcement that consummate showman Usher would be headlining the 2024 Super Bowl halftime slot at February’s big game, the R&B icon’s streaming numbers have gone through the roof.
After fans rallied for the singer to take on sports’ biggest stage, the NFL, in partnership with Roc Nation, made it official, sending people into a frenzy of nostalgia to “pregame” for his performance. The 44-year-old’s old and new music saw a significant bump in streams since Sunday, Sept. 24.
According to Billboard, Usher’s music received a 16% increase in overall listens, with certain tracks dominating replays. His latest single, “Good Good,” features Summer Walker and 21 Savage, reportedly gained 1.1 million streams in the two days following the Super Bowl announcement.
Earlier Usher tracks also benefited from the momentous announcement. Tidal reported that “You Make Me Wanna,” the lead single from the singer’s My Way album, saw a 55% streaming boost, while “Superstar” from Usher’s diamond-certified Confessions album was the most popular track after the announcement. “Yeah!”, “My Boo” and “DJ Got Us Fallin in Love” are other Usher songs that music lovers have streamed back into popularity, bringing in an additional 2.4 million listens. Usher’s massive hit “Yeah!” also brought users to Amazon’s music streaming service, with a reported 140% increase in listens since Sunday’s big news.
Usher has completely cemented his icon status, starting with an appearance on NPR’s “Tiny Desk Concerts” in June 2022, the most watched in the series history, which led to his newfound reign as the King of Las Vegas due to his My Way: Residency popularity. From festival appearances to making headlines for being as talented, charming, and drool-worthy as ever, the dimpled superstar has claimed his rightful place on the Mount Rushmore of the world’s greatest entertainers, and it seems his next chapters will be even better than those of his past.
Recent Study Says Black Entrepreneurs Strive For Business Success Despite Challenges
Whether in success or in adversity, Black entrepreneurs keep fighting to flourish, despite facing a challenging business climate. A new study shows some encouraging signs, as almost 70% of Black business owners recently surveyed reported they are either breaking even or making a profit with their enterprise.
Yet the owners are vulnerable to economic challenges and emergencies, as 80% have less than three months’ worth of cash reserves, and fewer than one in three possess just a few weeks worth of those resources.
The latest findings were shared exclusively with BLACK ENTERPRISE by the Accion Opportunity Fund (AOF). For its “Empowering Excellence: Building Ecosystems for Black Entrepreneurs” report, AOF received 660 responses from Black entrepreneurs. Examining areas such as entrepreneurs’ business, support, and financial health, the study exposed how owners keep facing barriers impacting their ability to pursue and achieve long-term growth.
Calling itself one of the nation’s top nonprofit small business lenders, AOF reported it originated $113 million loans to 2,421 borrowers in 2022. Over 90% of its clients are women or people of color.
Another top disclosure in the report was that 76% of respondents said access to capital was a challenge. Based on those who have never received money for their business, about 80% reported they either could not find the right support or were unable to pay for services connecting them to the capital.
According to Joshua Miller, AOF’s VP of research and policy, the report shows women respondents were more likely than men to face significant disparities. For instance, they have lower average revenues and less than one month of cash on hand.
The study also revealed that many Black entrepreneurs are looking to start businesses that not only generate a profit but also will have a positive impact in their communities.
“We would all benefit from the boost in jobs, business activity, and economic output they would create,” Miller noted.
To help Black business owners boost access to capital, Miller suggested they seek lenders, including AOF, that have an explicit mission to provide responsible, accessible financing to under-invested entrepreneurs.
He said that many of the lenders provide free coaching services to help business owners improve their financial management and position themselves for successful loan applications. He also suggested researching specific loans or grant programs for minority-owned businesses.
Shanayla Sweat, founder of A Few Wood Men, reflected on how AOF has helped her watch and accessories business.
“I struggled to understand my options in terms of growth and equity and felt excluded from traditional financial institutions,” she shared via email. “I was so glad to have found AOF this year because not only did they provide funding options, but they also provided business advising support that has helped me form strategic and lasting relationships, taking my business to the next level.”
An AOF webinar will take place Oct. 5 at 11 a.m. PDT and 2 p.m. EDT; register here.
Angelina Jolie Admits Disparities Black Shoppers Face ‘Never Crossed Her Mind’ Until She Shopped for Daughter
Actress Angelina Jolie is speaking out against the disparities Black people face when shopping and trying to find clothes that match their skin tone.
As Jolie, 48, prepares for the launch of her fashion brand, Atelier Jolie, she’s noting the struggles her daughter Zahara, 18, faces when shopping for clothes. The collection includes a silk slip dress that comes in various shades of nude, a touch recommended by her Ethiopian daughter.
For Jolie, disparities in shopping are something that “never crossed her mind” as a white woman. She didn’t take notice of the issue until she started shopping for Zahara.
“Obviously, as a white woman, I’ve never had this experience,” Jolie toldVogue.
“It never crossed my mind until we went shopping together and I saw that there’s so much room for improvement.”
This isn’t the first time Jolie has served as an advocate for the disparities faced by people of color. With Jolie having adopted multiple children from different racial backgrounds, she has seen the harsh reality many people of color face when simply going to the doctor.
In July, the Maleficent star penned an op-ed for the American Journal of Nursing calling out the disparities in health care that have “endangered” her children of color. Jolie noted how most medical research imagery and training centers focus on white skin, which results in medical professionals who “often miss injuries depending on race and ethnicity.”
“As the mother of children of multiple races, I have seen my children of color be misdiagnosed, at times in ways that endangered their health,” Jolie wrote.
While Jolie’s family has the benefit of “access to high-quality medical care,” she recognizes that “simple diagnoses are missed because of race and continued prioritization of white skin in medicine.”
“Reflecting personally, when my daughter Zahara, who is from Ethiopia, was hospitalized for a medical procedure, the nurse told me to call her ‘if she turns pink near her incisions,’” Jolie recalled. “I stood looking blankly at her, not sure she understood what was wrong with what she had said. When she left the room, I had a talk with my daughter, both of us knowing that we would have to look for signs of infection based on our own knowledge, not what the nurse had said, despite her undoubted good intentions.”
Jolie adopted her eldest child, Maddox, from his birth country Cambodia in 2002. She adopted Zahara in 2005, and her son Pax was born in Vietnam and she adopted him in 2007. Jolie also shares three biological children with ex-husband Brad Pitt; daughter Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne.
The Housing Market Is Stagnating While The Feds Tries To Manage Inflation
The housing market is feeling the effects of the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates to fight inflation.
According to Markets Insider, mortgage rates have skyrocketed following the Fed’s choice to raise the federal short-term interest rate from near 0% to 5.5%. Because of this ripple effect, homeowners are unwilling to sell their homes. With prospective buyers facing an increased cost burden, many would-be buyers are instead choosing to rent, which has pushed the national average price of a home up to $420,846 as recently as August.
Insider notes that the only people currently selling homes are selling them out of necessity due to life events like marriage or finding a new job, which Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman calls rock bottom.
“The only people who are moving are the ones who absolutely have to,” Kelman added. “I wouldn’t call that a Goldilocks scenario; I would call that rock bottom. But that’s where we are right now, and the only relief is that it can’t go much lower. Kelman concludes his warning by saying that the slump will be here “a long, long time.”
The hikes were made to combat skyrocketing prices, and over the past year and seven months, the average monthly mortgage has risen from $1,212 in January 2022 to $2,246 in August 2023. Tom Hainlin, a national investment strategist at U.S. Bank, says to bear in mind that the housing market is an indicator of where the American economy is, saying:
“The formation of households is one of the main drivers of economic growth in the U.S.,” Hainlin said. “It has a large spillover effect on the economy, including materials that go into building or remodeling, and furnishings for homes.”
According to a February 2023 NBC News article, in early 2022, some homes in Atlanta received strong offers. Courtney Phillips, a realtor for EXP Realty, told NBC News those offers had slowed to a crawl by summer:
“We were getting one, two offers towards the summer, And then it just kind of slowed,” Phillips said, “where you’re on the market a couple of weeks, and you get one really strong offer at list price.” Eventually, home sellers started dropping their prices to try and entice people to buy. No relief is coming soon, as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell did not mince words, telling NBC News at the time,“We expect ongoing hikes will be appropriate,” Powell added, “I don’t see us cutting rates this year.”
Actor Omar Epps Unpacks His Latest Dystopian Sci-Fi Novel In Exclusive Interview
This week, NAACP-award-winning actor, rapper, and producer Omar Epps joined BLACK ENTERPRISE‘s The New Norm With Selena Hill to discuss his new young adult sci-fi novel, Nubia: The Reckoning.
Co-written with author Clarence A. Hanes, the book follows three teens struggling to navigate a futuristic New York City after being displaced from their African homeland. This is Epps’ third novel; the actor previously published the series’ first installment, Nubia: The Awakening, as well as an autobiography, From Fatherless to Fatherhood, which chronicled his journey into stardom and his complex relationship with fatherhood.
The concept of the Nubia series has been an idea of Epps’ for over a decade.
“I consider myself the consummate creative. I just sort of [followed] my ambition and this story just kept speaking to me. I just started, you know, working away,” Epps shared.
He added, “The original idea was, you know, we live in such a tumultuous world, and I was just wondering one day, well, what if love itself was illegal and just like, what would the world look like?”
The story takes place in New York City, which Epps himself hails from. He discussed the importance of this detail with Hill, saying, “I’m a native New Yorker, born and raised and, for me, imagining a different geological design of the world, it was just natural for me. It had to be in New York because I know that state like the back of my hand, right? So, you know, I let my imagination take me, but it had to be a place familiar to me.”
Nubia: The Reckoning is as entertaining as it is reflective of society, highlighting some of the more pressing issues that we’ve witnessed in recent years. Epps revealed that the story was intended to explore the struggles of adolescence.
“It was important to me to tell the story through the eyes of a developing mind, you know. And that’s that age right there – 13 through like 17,” he stated.
He continued, “You know we’ve all been that age or when you are of that age, you think you know it all, but you don’t. But in the back of your mind, you know you don’t. But you think that all the older people are kind of dumb. But that’s kind of that age where our ideologies are really shaped and formed, right?”
In line with the mission to shine a light on societal concerns, the book also examines the role of climate change. Epps discussed why he made this subject a central aspect of the story’s plot.
“It takes place 100 years from now. The story in the book does, but it felt so important to make that immediate parallel, something that this young reader of now could be like, ‘Well, hey, that’s happening right outside my window,'” he said. “So that’s when they take that emotional journey that the infighting as you described. They start to really focus in on what the resolutions look like because the world will be here long after we’re gone. It’s just, what will the world be like?”
If the positive public reception is any indication, this book may very well be adapted into a film or television show.
“I mean, as people keep reading the books — and the feedback from the young people has honestly been mind-blowing, it’s been amazing — it’s just about spreading the word that the books are out there. And I think as people really make that emotional investment into the story and into the characters, it’s only natural that, you know, we keep the Nubia world evolving, and I definitely have ideas for film and television and animation and a few other things,” Epps said.
Ultimately, however, he hopes that this novel will encourage young people to think critically about some of our world’s pressing issues and to not only acknowledge but take pride in their culture.
“I think one of the main themes I want the reader to take away is the idea of unity and exploring the levels of unity, because we’ve been unified in some shape, fashion, or form throughout all of history. And right now, especially right now, specifically in America, everything seems very divided along a multitude of issues. But there once was a time where we could agree to disagree, and there was even a better time where people wanted to learn,” he said.
“I want the reader to take away as well as the idea of heritage. Knowing from when you came in your bloodline is supremely important because I think it informs not only your current footsteps but the path that you will set forth for those coming after you,” he continued. “Especially as you know, a Black person, there was a point in history where our literal history was stolen from us, you know: our native tongue, the way we worshiped, the foods we ate, and all of this. But somehow, through our heroes, our griots, you know, we kept our history going through the form of song, through the form of dance, through all of these things. But we truly as a people know how to make lemonade out of lemons, you know, so giving the reader that sense of cultural pride was very important to me.”
Watch the full interview with Omar Epps on The New Norm below.
Kevin Hart Gets Cold Shoulder Over Comments About Lack Of People With Bank Accounts From Low Income Areas
Comedian Kevin Hart is one of the most celebrated comedians of this era, with a massive following across the globe; however, the funny man gave fans something to frown about when he referred to people in the hood as not being “smart enough” to open bank accounts, in a now-viral video.
Kevin Hart says the hood is full of liquor stores and check- cashing payday loan places because people aren’t “smart enough” to have bank accounts.
These celebs get a little $$ and think they can comment on planned systemic poverty + financial exploitation. pic.twitter.com/iiGidvNXws
The clip, pulled from Hart’s 2021 panel at the 10X Growth Conference hosted by Grant Cardone, began making the rounds on social media on September 26 and caused a firestorm of responses about the tone-deaf nature of the comedian’s comments.
“If you look in the hood, there’s liquor stores and check cashing places. You know why? Because they know the people in the hood aren’t smart enough to open up bank accounts. They’re gonna get a check, they gon’ cash it, and it’s a liquor store right next to it,” Hart said while attempting to address socioeconomic inequality.
“Let’s just put that around them. Let’s also put a bunch of s–t that’s easy and cash available. We don’t want you to gain credit. We want you to be cash-driven. That’s how we keep the poor poor. It’s not until you understand that you get out.”
Hart’s words hit a sour chord with listeners who believed the comedian was unfairly aiming at people who have been historically disenfranchised and systemically oppressed.
As Black people instead of insulting each other when we make it we need to work harder for their to be financial literacy taught in schools & talk money in our homes. We have kids about money. As in savings 😳Encourage each other to take economics & marketing.
“As Black people, instead of insulting each other when we make it, we need to work harder for [there] to be financial literacy taught in schools & talk money in our homes,” writer Kathia Woods said.
Woods’ feelings were echoed by many who expressed similar sentiments about the power of educating one another rather than pointing fingers. At the same time, there were others who felt Hart’s comments were much more pointed.
This is a specific type of explaining that these brothers do when they want to sound smart by saying things they think rich white men want to hear. Like intellectual minstrelsy or something. https://t.co/3wjHqshhvs
The 52-year-old actress shared a clip from the We Can Do Hard Things podcast, in which host Yaba Blay detailed the difference in reaction to white women’s pain compared to that of Black women, alongside a caption that read, “Where was this level of awareness a year ago @celtics ??? #kathleenlynch.”
In the post, Long called Udoka’s alleged mistress by name for the first time since news of their affair was made public by the Boston Celtics organization in September 2022. “Thank you @yabablay for your fearlessness and speaking facts for all of us”, she continued. “This is such an important conversation that needs to be heard and understood.”
At the time of the affair, the Celtics protected the identity of Kathleen Lynch, while failing to honor the privacy of Long and the child she shares with Udoka, 11-year-old Kez. The Soul Food actress had been dating the former Celtics head coach since 2010, before confirming their separation in December 2022.
Long, also mother to 22-year-old Massai from a previous relationship, had relocated to Boston to be close to Udoka weeks before rumors began to circulate of an alleged affair between him and another member of the team’s organization. Allegedly, Lynch coordinated travel for the team and their families, including overseeing the relocation of Long and the couple’s son.
The actress previously called out the Celtics for making her family’s most difficult moments available for public consumption, while ignoring the harm they caused, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public,” Long said. “It was devastating, and it still is. He still has moments where it’s not easy for him. If you’re in the business of protecting women — I’m sorry, no one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I’m OK, to see if my children are OK. It’s very disappointing.”
Long was honored for her contributions to TV and film during the 22nd annual ChangeMakers Gala in May 2023 and announced plans to release a memoir that will chronicle her long-running career. Udoka was suspended for the entirety of the 2022-23 NBA season before being fired by the Celtics. He is now the head coach of the Houston Rockets.
Black-Owned Restaurant Struggles To Pay More Than $100K In Damages Following Vandalism
Black woman-owned restaurant Winnie’s International Takeout is receiving no restitution for damages after a group of suspects described as “thugs” vandalized the location.
Twimonisha Mason, owner of the soul food restaurant in Massapequa, New York, has been hard at work trying to open the location since 2019, according to the GoFundMe page set up by Taisha Mason.
“For everyone wondering why we haven’t opened yet, we have been dealing with a few setbacks,” a statement read on Winnie’s Instagram page.
She has been unable to open because the restaurant was vandalized several times.
According to a GoFundMe page, the perpetrators left Twimonisha with over $100,000 in damages since she moved her business from its previous location in Long Island’s Amityville Village. To add to the issue, the store’s $2 million insurance policy only covered $5,000 worth of damages “due to a clause on page 87,” the fundraising page states. All other costs are coming out of the owner’s pocket.
Multiple videos have been posted to the restaurant’s social media page, including one that shows the young vandals’ parents, whose information was not released to Twimonisha by police.
“They refused to give us the parents’ information, so we couldn’t sue them either,” the fundraiser page included from the video’s Instagram caption.
The restaurant posted a video showing the dumpster crowded with debris from the vandalism at its Sunrise Highway location, including a tree stump allegedly dumped onto their property, another cost that had to be paid out of pocket. In the video, two young vandals are seen climbing from the restaurant’s roof.
The takeout restaurant has been hit before by intruders, which caused the owner to spend thousands of dollars on previous repairs.
“The fact that the first kids got off with just trespassing when they should have been charged with vandalism is the reason these thugs keep coming back time and time again,” the caption read.
Taisha launched the GoFundMe for Winnie’s International Takeout to collect funds for repairs and to keep the restaurant running as they work to “hire an attorney to fight Nassau County police department on the mishandling of the crimes against the store.”
The Mason family also claims members have been “stopped and harassed” by police over 15 times at the location. According to the Masons, they are beginning to feel like their lives are in danger but remain resilient in seeking justice.
ACLU Says Cop City Protesters Have Been Hit With Excessive RICO And Domestic Terrorism Charges
The American Civil Liberties Union is blasting Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr for hitting Cop City protesters with racketeering and state domestic terrorism charges.
Cop City, a $90 million Atlanta-area police training center being built by the state of Georgia, has been protested by residents since former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced its construction in 2021.
Atlanta residents believe the training center will lead to greater militarization of the police and that its construction will aggravate environmental damage in the majority-Black city. Activists and protesters have been fighting the Cop City effort for two years, and protests have led to violence and property damage.
Earlier this month, Carr obtained indictments against 61 protesters and charged them with the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law. Each protestor now faces up to 20 years in prison. Three bail fund organizers also face additional money laundering charges, and five protestors have been charged with state domestic terrorism charges.
The ACLU called the charges excessive, shocking, and unprecedented. The organization says RICO charges are intended to combat organized crime, not to punish protest, civil disobedience, and isolated crimes, adding Carr is trying to prosecute the protest movement as if it were a full-fledged criminal organization, even though the alleged conduct is much less severe.
The indictment’s list of alleged criminal conduct included people trying to occupy the forest where Cop City would be located and characterized as individuals attempting to join a “mob” to overwhelm the police. Even non-criminal acts, including buying food and distributing fliers, are being made out to be the cornerstone of a coordinated criminal scheme in the indictment.
This isn’t the first time Cop City protesters have been hit with excessive charges. In April, police arrested Caroline Hart Tennebaum, Abeeku Osei Vassall, and Julia Dupuis after they left a flier on mailboxes in Cartersville, Georgia, calling officer Jonathan Salcedo, who lived in the neighborhood a “murderer” for his part in the January shooting and killing of activist Manuel Paez Terán.
The three were charged with stalking and were later hit with felony intimidation of law enforcement. Language was added to the intimidation charge in 2012 to a statute on intimidating “any officer in or of any court.”
According to Dupuis’ mother, Caroline Verhagen, they were also placed in solitary confinement for four days.
“It raises serious First Amendment concerns,” the ACLU of Georgia wrote, according to The Guardian. “It is also part of a broader pattern of the state of Georgia weaponizing the criminal code to unconditionally protect law enforcement and to silence speech critical of the government.”
Delta Air Lines CEO Says Airline Went ‘Too Far’ With SkyMiles Crackdown, Vows Revisions
The CEO of Delta Air Lines admits the airline probably went too far with the changes it made to its frequent flier program, SkyMiles.
During a recent event at the Rotary Club of Atlanta, Ed Bastian announced more changes coming to the airline’s SkyMiles program and lounge access policy, CNN reports, but took accountability for the changes that caused an uproar on social media a few weeks ago.
“No question, we probably went too far in doing that,” Bastian said on Sept. 25. “Our team wanted to kind of rip the Band-Aid off and didn’t want to have to keep going through this every year with changes and nickel- and-diming and whatnot, and I think we moved too fast.”
In early September 2023, the company stamped changes that would take effect in 2025, making it more difficult for American Express cardholders to access Delta Sky Clubs and earn Medallion elite status. Fans weren’t too happy with the changes, and an uproar on social media ensued.
The way the airline awards Medallion elite status will also change in 2024, using only one metric: Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQD). It’s also eliminating the popular MQD waiver offered to Delta credit card holders.
Bastian finally explained why things changed, saying the jump in elite status holders was too much for Delta’s premium services to handle, including airport lounge access. The CEO said it got to a point where Delta couldn’t serve its members for basics like upgrade certificates and getting agents on special phone lines.
Shortly after Delta’s policy changes went viral, competing airlines decided to recruit new customers with their own. Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways jumped in, saying they would match their loyalty status in those carriers’ programs.
“Know someone who fell out of love with their airline loyalty program?” Alaska Airlines tweeted with a broken heart emoji. “We’ll match their status and more with the #1 Airline Loyalty Program in the U.S.”
Delta is now part of a long list of corporations, such as Best Buy, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Starbucks, to be attacked over their rewards program changes.
