Forbes released the list of The World’s 10 Highest-Paid Athletes of 2023, and eight out of the 10 have made more than $100 million. Three of the top 10 are Black basketball players, and all three men have signed lifetime contracts with sports apparel companies.

The calculations are based on collective earnings from on-field and off-field between May 1, 2022, and May 1, 2023.

They call him The King for a reason! Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in history, LeBron James, is a top-five earner on this list, coming in at the fourth spot. With several businesses, endorsements, and investments on top of making $44.5 million on the basketball court, he has brought home $119.5 million. The 38-year-old NBA champion became the first active athlete to be certified a billionaire by Forbes last June. Showing off his business acumen is just as strong, if not stronger, than his ball-playing skills.

Some of the companies the Ohio native is involved with include sports nutrition company Ladder and his entertainment production company, SpringHill Co. He is part owner of Fenway Sports Group, which owns sports teams the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He’s an investor in Lobos 1707 tequila, Mitchell & Ness, and Canyon Bicycles, to name a few, and of course, has a lifetime contract with Nike.

The current NBA champion, who is locked in battle with The King in the playoffs right now, Stephen Curry, sits at No. 8 on the list. While he makes $48.4 million working his day (night) job, he pulls in $52 million when he isn’t wearing basketball shorts in an arena. This is the first year his reported income was over $100 million.

His salary for the current NBA season was the most any player has made in the league, and with next year’s salary, he will make history by becoming the league’s first $50 million man. In the upcoming 2023-24 season, he will make $51.9 million. Less than two months ago, he extended his long-term agreement with Under Armour by signing an exclusive lifetime contract with the sports apparel company. He has partnerships with Chase Bank, Tiger Woods’ VR platform Golf+ and TMRW Sports, as well as his own multimedia company, Unanimous Media.

Kevin Durant came in slightly under $100 million with total earnings of $89.1 million. He makes his money equally between basketball and his business dealings. After being traded to the Phoenix Suns by the Brooklyn Nets earlier this year, his yearly salary is now $44.1 million, and his businesses and investments combined bring in $45 million. He recently joined Curry and James as the only active basketball players with lifetime apparel contracts when he re-signed with long-term partner Nike.

The companies that help Durant secure the bag are:

• The Premier Lacrosse League.
• The nutrition brand Happy Viking.
• Sports software startup ScorePlay.
• A Major League Pickleball team.

These men are definitely at the top of their game, playing it smart on and off the court while securing the bag. 

RELATED CONTENT: LeBron James and Tiger Woods Only Two Active Billionaire Athletes

• Lifestyle

by Ida Harris

May 4, 2023

Pay Just $25 For Tickets To See Your Favs Perform During Concert Week

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Just in time for the summer concert season, Live Nation has announced the return of Concert Week, the annual program that allows concert-goers to purchase $25 tickets to more than 3,800 shows across the U.S. and Canada.  

Concert Week will include events in both small and large venues and will feature some of today’s hottest acts, including WizKid and Wiz Khalifa. Don’t fret, GenX. Live Nation has you covered too. Take a trip down memory lane with acts such as TLC, En Vogue, Shaggy, Janet Jackson, Wu-Tang Clan, LL Cool J, Too $hort, Snoop Dogg, Anita Baker, Janet Jackson, and more. Musical legends Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind, and Fire will join forces to bring what will undoubtedly be an epic night of musicality and nostalgia. 

This unbeatable deal will include live performances by some of our favorite funny men, Kevin Hart, KevonStage, and Kountry Wayne. 

Verizon customers and members of Rakuten, an online rewards program that offers promo codes and cashback rewards, will have access to presale tickets. The presale begins Tuesday, May 9, at 10 am EST. General sales will start on May 10 at 10 am EST and go through Thursday, May 16 at 11:59 pm.  

Ticketmaster also teamed up with Hilton Hotels to offer a special perk for members of its loyalty program. Hilton Honors members can use points to pay for all or a portion of their tickets by linking their Hilton Honors and Ticketmaster accounts. For more information, visit the Hilton website.   

Visit Live Nation to see a list of events, and to get the discounted rate, look for the ticket labeled “Concert Week Promotion” and add it to your cart. 

To join Rakuten, visit their website or download from the App Store or Google Play.

RELATED CONTENT: Fat Joe Recruits Busta Rhymes, French Montana, Rick Ross To Give ‘Power To The Patients’ For Upcoming D.C. Concert

Thanks to artificial intelligence, super producer Timbaland finally landed his dream collaboration with the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. But it’s receiving mixed reactions on social media.

On Wednesday, the Grammy Award-winning producer took to Instagram to share a snippet of a new song he created using AI-generated vocals of the late Biggie Smalls.

“Alright so, I’m sitting here with my brother, Creatr God, and we know that it’s a lot of talk about AI and we know how the feelings of violating certain things,” he says in the video. “But let me tell you something: I got a solution, I’m working on it. It’s gon’ be beneficial to everybody.”

“But, in the meantime, I gotta share something I’ve been working on because I always wanted to do this and I never got a chance to,” he continued.

“I always wanted to work with Big and I never got a chance to — until today. It came out right! Play!”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Timbo the King (@timbaland)

In the caption for the Instagram post, Timbaland tagged JAY-Z’s longtime engineer Young Guru, who has been an outspoken critic of using AI voice technology.

“This rite here [eye emojis] [rocket emojis] [exploding head emojis] @creatrgod @youngguru763 I had tooo [shocked face emojis],” Timbaland wrote. “A I [crown emoji] is timbo [key emoji] everything original timbo x biggie.”

But after sharing the song snippet, Timbaland’s followers disapproved of the AI-generated feature.

“Nah, this ain’t it. It’s not Big either so what is there to be excited about really,” one user wrote. “We got enough bull destroying Hip Hop and the Culture.”

“I really don’t know how to feel about this (as a huge BIG fan),” added someone else. “This is hard asf but, all I keep asking myself is…if I was Big would I want people making their own version of me?”

The responses were stronger on Twitter after Timbalands’ AI song snippet was reposted by one user who deemed it a “momentous moment in music history.”

https://twitter.com/KingzTheCreator/status/1653794985077010433

“Idk but him making it sound like this is him finally getting to work with Big but its AI is weird,” one user wrote in response.

“Please pass this to Ross,” added someone else.

However, many have shared their approval for the AI-generated feature, and the support highlights what could come from the emergence of AI-generated music.

RELATED CONTENT: New Study Shows ChatGPT Provides Better Answers Than Human Doctors

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

May 4, 2023

Writer On Strike Was ‘Broke’ And ‘On Medicaid’ While Working On Award-Winning Series ‘The Bear’

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One writer taking part in the Writers Guild of America strike is shedding light on the extremely low pay he received while working on the award-winning series The Bear.

WGA members have been on strike since Monday, May 1, the same day their contracts expired, Business Insider reports. The members are seeking better pay and regulation on the use of AI that’s been replacing writers, among other demands.

Amid the strike, which has caused closures of late-night talk shows and more, a writer for FX’s award-winning series The Bear shared his story of being “broke” and “on Medicaid” while working on the acclaimed show.

“Working as a staff writer, I was still broke, still on Medicaid. The studio wouldn’t fly me out to the writers room in LA, so I worked from my Brooklyn apartment,” he shared in a Twitter thread last month.

“My heat was out that pandemic winter; my space heater blew out the lights. I worked on episode 8 from a library.”

https://twitter.com/AlexOKeefe1994/status/1647938635747201027?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1647938639832449024%7Ctwgr%5Ea940ef07b9e0d4fdba980a9e06a1a92f7f43277c%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fthe-bear-writer-wga-awards-writers-guild-of-america-strike-2023-4

“All I can say about Hollywood is this: all that glitters is not gold,” he continued. “I won the lottery, and landed a gig on a low-budget show that became a national sensation. The Bear was a gift, but in the end, The Bear was a gig. And between gigs, I barely survive.”

When The Bear was nominated for Best Comedy Series at the Writers Guild of America Awards in March, O’ Keefe attended the ceremony with a negative bank account and purchased his suited fit using credit.

Now, as O’Keefe joins other WGA members in striking for better pay, the former speechwriter for Sen. Elizabeth Warren is looking for jobs at movie theaters to get by.

“It’s a very regular-degular, working-class existence,” O’ Keefe told The New Yorker.

WGA members seek better compensation and residual rates or pay for reusing a writer’s work. It comes in response to streaming services offering lower residual rates than traditional broadcasting outlets on shows that they might cancel and wipe from their libraries.

Other concerns include “mini rooms,” where studios craft an entire script using fewer writers before having a show greenlit. As well as the use of artificial intelligence to produce material.

Now, 98% of WGA members are striking after a deal was not struck between the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) by their contract’s May 1 expiration date.

“Writers are facing the most comprehensive assault on compensation and working conditions that we have seen in a generation,” WGA said in a statement.

“In this negotiation, we are fighting for a contract that increases writer pay and makes writing a sustainable career again. When the studios invest millions into producing a certain film or series, they can find it in their budgets to pay us for the value we create.”

Mary J. Blige‘s Strength of a Woman festival will again descend upon Atlanta, and Pepsi is set to return as a brand partner in a major way.

During Mother’s Day weekend, Blige and Pepsi will co-present the second annual festival and summit to empower women to create opportunities for connection and growth within the Atlanta community and beyond, including a scholarship for one HBCU student awarded later in the year. “The whole mission of this festival is to celebrate and advocate for Black women,” said the Queen of hip-hop and R&B,” so to have Pepsi show up and show out in the way they do is overwhelming. With their support for the Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit, we are able to pay it forward in so many impactful ways, and to be able to grant an HBCU scholarship for a deserving student is nothing short of incredible.”

This year, an extra day of programming takes the exciting weekend to the next level, allowing more time for attendees to connect and network. Among the new moves will be Pepsi’s Dig In- designed to drive access, business growth, and awareness for Black-owned businesses—offering complimentary food from several Atlanta restaurants, including Ms. Icey’s Kitchen, Gocha’s Breakfast Bar, Twisted Soul, and Local Green Atlanta. PepsiCo will donate $200,000 to drive long-lasting change for women in need in the Atlanta area and beyond; the funding will also aid local organizations that align with the summit’s programmatic pillars, according to the official press release.

“The Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit has proven to be a powerful platform for Pepsi and its brands to create opportunities that bring long-lasting change to amplify and elevate women. This year, with even more events for fans to experience, we want to recognize, celebrate, and support the voices of the community, from the incredible on-stage talent, including the iconic Mary J. Blige, to the on-the-ground local restauranteurs and entrepreneurs whose vision and passion inspire others,” said Kent Montgomery, Senior Vice President, Industry Relations and Multicultural Development, PepsiCo.

Tickets for all events are available on the event’s website.

• News

by Sharelle B. McNair

May 4, 2023

Detroit Pistons Fire Assistant GM After 6 Month Investigation Into Female Staffer’s Misconduct Claim

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There’s drama within the Detroit Pistons family. Detroit Free Press reports the NBA team has fired assistant general manager Rob Murphy, six months after he was placed on leave after a workplace misconduct allegation from former employee DeJanai Raska.

The team launched an investigation and concluded that Murphy, 50, violated “company policy and the terms of his employment agreement.” “Rob Murphy no longer works for the Detroit Pistons or Motor City Cruise, in any capacity,” according to a statement. “The facts that gave rise to his termination surfaced during a review, assisted by a national law firm, of allegations made by a former employee.”

Raska broke her silence and told Detroit Free Press her story. She claims that Murphy sexually harassed her for months while she worked as his executive assistant. She said he groped her private parts in front of her 4-year-old daughter, grabbed her behind multiple times, and subjected her to unwanted kissing. She also said he would often tell her she aroused him and that he wanted to “put a baby in her.”

Things turned for the worse when he tried to force her to have sex, but she managed to push him off of her as he held her down on a bed. The former Pistons employee feared for her job safety if she told but reminded herself that her mental stability meant more. “Silence is not an option,” Raska said. “It’s not for me. It shouldn’t be for any woman … This is my chance to voice the truth … and to take my power back.”

TMZ reports the team couldn’t provide further details about the investigation because it was a “personnel matter” and had no choice but to part ways with the 50-year-old former manager.

Murphy wasn’t new to the management side of the franchise after being promoted to the position during the last off-season in June 2022. He spent his time previously as the president of the Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise. After just one season, he was promoted to the Pistons’senior director of Player Personnel.

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has a few ideas on who owes the bill for slavery.

A previous speech Robinson made during the North Carolina Republican Party 2021 State Convention addressing reparations is circulating as the Republican politician runs for the governor’s seat.

“Nobody owes you anything for slavery,” Robinson said in the speech, mentioning that he made the statement in the face of an “angry” liberal.

“If you want to tell the truth about it, it is you who owes,” he said, emphasizing the word “you” seemingly as if his comments were directed toward Black people. “Why do you owe? Because somebody in those fields took strikes for you. After those fields were ended and slavery was ended, somebody had to walk through Jim Crow for you. Somebody fought wars and died for you. Somebody lived less than because they didn’t have what you have, and they did it for you. There are people in their graves right now, and they are there because they were willing to stand up and fight for you.”

Robinson mentioned those who marched on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, and shaded Colin Kaepernick by stating that civil rights activists carried American flags as they marched. “When they were hit upside the head with nightsticks and shot with water hoses and knocked to the ground, they got up and picked those flags up and kept marching,” Robinson stressed. “They did it for you!”

“Nobody owes you anything. If anybody owes, it’s you. Because you’ve been the benefactor of freedom, you are the one that owes,” he added.

Robinson implied that slave descendants owe a bill for the sacrifice in blood laid out in the nation on their behalf. “It’s time you got up off your tail,” he said, emphasizing education, employment, marriage, and caring for children.

• News

by Stacy Jackson

May 4, 2023

Mom of Atlanta Shooting Suspect Says Son Opened Fire After Receiving ‘Messed Up Medication’

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The mother of the suspected shooter at an Atlanta hospital blames a medication regimen.

Minyone Patterson, the mother of 24-year-old Deion Patterson, who allegedly killed 39-year-old Amy St. Pierre, and left five others injured at Northside Hospital Medical Midtown, said her son received “messed up medication” used to treat seizure disorders before acting out.

“The damn VA gave him some messed up medication, and all he wanted was an Ativan,” the mother told The Daily Beast following the release of her son’s name by the Atlanta Police Department.

Staff and visitors were escorted out of the Atlanta hospital on Wednesday after Patterson became enraged and pulled out a handgun. Police said Patterson visited the outpatient facility with his mother for an appointment and opened fire on the 11th floor around noon. Patterson highjacked a white car and went on the run, causing what Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer said was a “fairly chaotic” search.

Patterson’s mother cooperated with Atlanta officials as they searched for her son, later taking him into custody after locating him at a Cobb County apartment complex.

Video shows the moment Deion Patterson was taken into custody at a Cobb County apartment complex after a Midtown shooting that killed one and injured four more: https://t.co/rc7DYutOFu pic.twitter.com/zMj10tpOKe

— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) May 4, 2023

Surveillance images were released by the Atlanta Police Department shortly after the shooting, where the suspect is seen wearing a gray hoodie, a bag, and gloves. The images showed the suspect holding an object that appeared to be a gun.

https://twitter.com/Atlanta_Police/status/1653808209537249526

“We are heartbroken by today’s tragedy in Midtown Atlanta and join all Georgians in praying for those impacted and their loved ones,” Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement released Wednesday night. “We’re also thanking God for the brave local and state law enforcement who responded forcefully and without hesitation.”

pic.twitter.com/xPfTBbeiSW

— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) May 4, 2023

According to Atlanta NPR affiliate WABE, Patterson was enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 2018 and was discharged in January as an electrician’s mate second class.

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

May 4, 2023

YSL Gang Trial Attorney Calls Out Lack of Funding For Defense Attorneys, ‘I Need To Start An OnlyFans’

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The Young Slime Life gang trial against rapper Young Thug is expected to last another year, and some state-appointed attorneys are speaking out against the low pay they’re receiving.

On Monday, defense attorney Angela D’Wiliams called out the Georgia Public Defender Council, who appointed her to represent one of the defendants in the YSL trial, WSB-TV reports. Her outcry was in response to Judge Ural Glanville’s ruling against a motion to recuse himself from a hearing.

“This case is slated to last for about a year, and if you were to do the math, it would be six dollars an hour,” D’Wiliams said. “I can’t take any new cases. I can’t close any cases. I need something to survive off of.”

“We were under the impression that GPDC was advocating for us, and once they put those walls up, I’m thinking I need to start an OnlyFans,” D’Williams added.

D’Williams hoped to meet with GPDC’s executive director Omotayo Alli, who was expected to take the stand. But instead, Alli had a lawyer represent her.

“I asked for additional funds back in March, and that was met with a letter from the director saying she doesn’t need to meet with me anymore,” D’Williams said. “I need to know what she has done to advocate for the appointed counsel in this case.”

The public defender got a 10-minute closed-door meeting with the GPDC and agreed to meet again in two weeks. A spokesperson for the GPDC confirmed they are working to find new funds to pay the attorneys more than the $15,000 allocated for each lawyer for the entire case.

“If they really cared about those that are indigent, they would use taxpayer’s money wisely,” defense attorney KR Chowbey said.

The incident highlights the lack of funding for Georgians who don’t have enough money to afford their own defense. Findings show 85% of defendants in Georgia are impoverished, with more than 600 being unrepresented as of last August.

RELATED CONTENT: Lawyer In Young Thug’s and YSL Rico Act Case Tells Judge’ It’s Cap’

Billionaire entrepreneur and singer Rihanna has reached another milestone in her storied music career. 

According to American Songwriter, Rihanna, who has a previous diamond record with hip-hop recording artist, Eminem, has just achieved her first diamond status (10 million-plus units sold) from The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as the lead artist on her song, “We Found Love.” The song was recorded with Calvin Harris and released on Sept. 23, 2011. The single was certified gold on Dec. 13, 2011, and she received her diamond recognition on April 27. 

The biggest-selling record in her catalog dates back to 2011 to Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie,” which featured the Fenty entrepreneur. The single was certified diamond status on May 9, 2013, and on Mar. 8, 2022, it was counted as 13 times platinum.

Although she has yet to release a full-length album since 2016, we wouldn’t be surprised if she added a few more diamond records to her catalog.

The Barbadian businesswoman has three other recordings that have already reached nine times platinum –”Needed Me,” “Work,” and “Stay.” 

While she has conquered the music game and made a killing in the fashion world, she isn’t stopping there as she prepares for her next album. After having her first child with hip-hop artist A$AP Rocky, the couple is expecting baby number two! Its apparent pregnancy isn’t stopping Rihanna’s hustle. She has reportedly just signed on for the role of the female Smurf, Smurfette, in Paramount’s upcoming animated film, The Smurfs Movie.

In addition to a starring role in the upcoming film, the “Umbrella” singer will also be producing the project and penning and recording original new music for the movie. This won’t be her first time voicing a character in an animated film; she previously lent her voice to the DreamWorks’ 2015 animated film Home, which grossed over $380 million.

RELATED CONTENT: Rihanna Lands Smurfette Role In Animated ‘The Smurfs Movie’