• Lifestyle

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

March 9, 2022

Chris Brown Drops Voice Message Receipts From Alleged Rape Accuser After She Made Assault Claims

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Earlier this year, a young lady filed a $20 million lawsuit against R&B singer Chris Brown alleging he assaulted her in December 2020.

Brown has denied the allegations. Now, the entertainer has posted on his Instagram account a voice recording allegedly from the woman claiming she wants to see him again as she stated Brown was giving her “mixed signals.”

According to Radar Online, “Jane Doe” filed a lawsuit against him accusing the singer of drugging and raping her on a yacht outside Diddy’s residence back in December 2020. Now, Miami police officials are in possession of text messages between Brown and the woman that shows she was in contact with Brown after the alleged incident.

The messages between the two reveal that the young lady sent Brown selfies of herself while using racy dialogue towards the Run It singer. The exchanges took place after the alleged assault she describes in her lawsuit.

In a series of Instagram Story posts, there is a voice recording of a message she left Brown which may give doubt to the story she has stated in her lawsuit.

“Well, you’re giving me mixed signals. You’re like reading my messages and stuff and you haven’t blocked me yet so I’m guessing you don’t hate me. I just wanna see you again, I mean, you just answered the phone and then you just hung up. Like, just let me know. Like, if you want me to leave you alone I definitely will, but I really just want to f**k with you again.”

In response to the proof Brown has publicly released, he has a message towards the media as he expresses if they will “keep that same energy” they had when reporting the alleged assault charges against him.

“No more dragging me through the mud. “CLEARLY YOU CAN ALL SEE THE 🧢. Now let’s see if the media will keep that same energy they had trying to destroy me, to Run the real story.”

Brown also says that his legal team is “taking action on this situation.”

Chris Brown shares an alleged voice message from the woman suing him of r*pe and says he plans to take legal action against her. pic.twitter.com/anKszbKWJI

— Rap Alert (@rapalert6) March 8, 2022

Brown attorney George Vrabeck of Vrabeck Adams & Co. Inc., said in a written statement that they intend “to hold ALL parties accountable so that we might begin to eradicate this behavior from our society. Our client deserves justice. The same justice that all victims of sexual abuse deserve.”

• Men

by Derek Major

March 9, 2022

Quarterback Russell Wilson Has Been Traded To The Denver Broncos And Could End Up Playing For The NFL’s First Black Owner

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After several weeks of quiet negotiations, the Seattle Seahawks have traded their franchise quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos.

ESPN reports in return for Wilson and a fourth-round pick, the Seahawks will get quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and a fifth-round pick.

Wilson, who is married to the recording artist Ciara, took the Seahawks to Super Bowl XVLIII, in 2014 where they defeated the Broncos 43-8. He then took the Seahawks to a second consecutive Super Bowl in 2015, but the Seahawks lost to the New England Patriots 28-24.

During the 2020-21 season, Wilson carried the Seahawks to a 12-4 record, but this year the Seahawks went 7-10 as he missed multiple games after having surgery on one of the fingers on his throwing hand during the season.

Wilson, who played college football at North Carolina State University before transferring to the University of Wisconsin waived his no-trade clause in order for the trade to go through, which will end his ten-year tenure with the Seahawks, which included nine Pro Bowls.

The quarterback will still have to pass a physical for the trade to become official, but he preferred being traded to Denver over other teams including the Washington Commanders.

Wilson could become the first Black quarterback to play for the NFL’s first Black owner. The Broncos are currently being sold by the family of their previous owner Pat Bowlen, who died in 2019. Both Black media mogul Byron Allen and Black billionaire Robert Smith have expressed interest in purchasing the team.

While Wilson did not outright request a trade, there was interest from both Wilson and the Seahawks to get a deal done. Wilson was expected to count for $37 million against the NFL’s hard salary cap next season for the Seahawks. With the trade, the Seahawks will now save $11 million towards next year’s salary cap.

However, the Seahawks will also pay Wilson $26 million in dead money (money that goes to a player no longer on that team paying him).

It’s no secret that Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook hasn’t been having a very productive season since joining his hometown team.

Adding to the frustration of the team not jelling with Westbrook, sports pundit Skip Bayless has been relentless in chastising LeBron James and purposefully misspelling and mispronouncing Westbrook’s name.

Westbrook’s has had enough and has called out the Fox Sports host for calling her husband “Westbrick.”

Nina Westbrook took to her Twitter account to let Bayless know she is not going to allow the name-calling to continue. In defense of not only her husband but to her and any family member who shares the last name, she told the announcer “to stop calling people out of their name.”

You’ve got to stop calling people out of their name. You are very disrespectful and a bully. This is why so many young people think it’s okay to exhibit this type of behavior. Social media has become such heinous place because of people like you. My name is Westbrook.

— Nina Westbrook (@ninawestbrook) March 4, 2022

I’m tired you you @RealSkipBayless calling my husband out of his name. It is extremely childish. That is my name as well, and many other peoples name. You’re disrespectful, and I’m extremely offended by your behavior. You should apologize.

— Nina Westbrook (@ninawestbrook) March 4, 2022

As Nina Westbrook went on her Twitter rant, she expressed the frustration of having to constantly hear him disparaging the Westbrook name. She reminded Bayless that there is a difference between name-calling and “telling one’s truth” and that having a platform “requires a certain level of responsibility.”

Russell commented on the situation after last night’s basketball game, according to NBC Sports.

“I a hundred percent stand behind my wife and how she’s feeling because it’s not just about this year. Right now, she’s reached a point, and my family has reached a point, to where it’s really weighing on them. And it’s very unfortunate just for me personally because it’s just a game. This is just a game. This is not end-all, be-all. And when it comes to basketball I don’t mind the criticism of missing and making shots. But the moment it becomes where my name is getting shamed, it becomes an issue.”

• Business

by Black Enterprise Shop

March 9, 2022

Give Your Business Ideas A Boost With This Private Labeling Bundle

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Over the past two years, many people have turned to side hustles to supplement their incoming. While some efforts have turned into reliable secondary income, some people have realized new significant income streams.

With the internet, the possibilities to create and run any type of online business are endless. There’s a market for everything, and you can tap into the market and capitalize on that earning potential.

The 2022 Private Label Business Bundle is the perfect masterclass for anyone looking to delve into the world of e-commerce. For a limited time, you can purchase it for just $19.99. That’s a savings of 97% from its MSRP ($796). Four courses are included in this bundle. Individually, each costs $199.

By the end of this course, you’ll know exactly how to launch your first private label product, how to decide on a private label product, among other potentially lucrative ideas and tips to help you along the way.

With the “Launch Your First Private Label Product Using Amazon FBA” course, you’ll have a step-by-step guide to selecting, launching, and selling your first private label product via Amazon’s FBA service. You’ll learn how to use product research to select a profitable product. You’ll learn ways to find a reputable private label manufacturer from which to order inventory, among other useful tips and information.

The “Shopify Store for Private Label Products” teaches users how to diversify their income by creating an e-commerce store with Shopify. Users will learn how to create targeted paid ad campaigns and promotions to market their Shopify store and products. By course’s end, users will be able to build a Shopify store from scratch and launch an e-commerce building.

Other courses include “Amazon FBA: How to Pick Profitable Products in 2 Hours” and “Sell from Home by Launching a Profitable Amazon FBA.”

There’s never been a better time to explore the e-commerce world and create new income streams. Find out the best way to use a private label product to your advantage, financially, and purchase this bundle today.

Prices subject to change.

• Entertainment

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

March 8, 2022

Second ‘Aunt Viv’ Daphne Maxwell Reid and Will Smith’s TV Mom Guest Star on ‘Bel-Air’

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As Bel-Air continues to grow in viewership with its modern rendition of the hit 90s sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, two original cast members are gearing up for a guest appearance.

Daphne Maxwell Reid, who played Aunt Viv, and Vernee Watson-Johnson, who played her sister and Will Smith’s mother Viola “Vy” Smith, are set to guest star on Bel-Air, Deadline reported.

In the ninth episode airing March 24, Reid and Watson-Johnson will play Helen and Janice, members of the Art Council Board of Trustees.

Peacock’s Bel-Air reimagines the classic ’90s sitcom that turned Will Smith into a household name. Actor Jabari Banks gives a new perspective on Will’s complicated journey from West Philadelphia to the lavish, gated community of Bel-Air.

The series came about after Will Smith saw Morgan Cooper’s viral trailer that showed a more serious rendition of Will’s classic character. The debut season follows a young Will as he battles with embracing the second chance he was given in Bel-Air and letting go of his past in Philadelphia. Cooper executive produces the show with Smith and show runners, T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson, according to Variety.

“If you notice, I’ve never put my name on something in this way as an executive producer,” Smith told Deadline. “It’s such a perfect balance and a reimagining of this world.”

Reid was originally cast as the second Aunt Viv after the original Aunt Viv, Janet Hubert, left the show following issues she experienced at the time with Smith. During the Fresh Prince reunion that aired in 2020, Smith and Hubert sat down for the first time since they worked together and hashed out all of their differences.

New episodes of Bel-Air air on Peacock every Thursday. The first season finale of Bel-Air will be March 31, one week after Reid and Watson-Johnson’s guest appearances.

Time has released its 2022 Women of The Year list that highlights bold women leading the charge to create a more equitable world for all.

Allyson Felix, Amanda Gorman, Sherrilyn Ifill, Jennie Joseph, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, and Kerry Washington are the Black women included in Time’s list of 12 honorees.

Olympic track and field star Allyson Felix highlighted her two gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics last summer that she won while wearing sneakers from her own company, Saysh.

“When you speak your truth, things happen,” Felix said. “You draw power from one another.”

Since retiring from the Olympics, Felix is considering returning to the field to race in the world championships in Eugene, Ore., in July. But in the meantime, the most decorated female track and field athlete wakes up to manage her primarily female-led athletic apparel brand.

Felix was inspired to launch the company after Nike offered her 70% less following her pregnancy. Modeling Saysh to include a four-month parental leave policy was Felix’s response to many of the rules that “are still mostly made for and by men.”

American poet and activist Amanda Gorman made the list for her passionate work to inspire more young women and people of color to express themselves through art.

“Girls have spent so much of their lives being told to be seen and not heard, and you can see how they might bring that fear to the page,” Gorman said. “So the core aspect of any conversation I have with someone who wants to start writing is: How do you stare at the monster of fear, know that it’s there, but not let it take up so much space?”

Actress Kerry Washington’s portrayal of powerful women in TV and film isn’t the only reason she made the list. It’s the Scandal star’s real-life activism and upliftment of women that helped her receive the honor.

“In a world that marginalizes people of color and women, to center a Black woman and make her fully human became perceived as a political act,” Washington said.

Midwife Jennie Joseph’s passionate work to address the Black maternal health crisis helped with her inclusion into Time‘s 2022 Women of The Year.

“There’s the calling to midwifery. It’s been my entire life,” Joseph said. “Because you cannot stand by and tolerate injustice. Not when you’ve found ways that do actually make a difference.”

Sherilynn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, is set to retire from her post but only after nine years of advocating for equality and its direct impact on women.

“I think it has mattered, my voice not only as a Black civil rights leader but as a Black woman civil rights leader, to speak with power, authority, and knowledge,” Ifill said.

“It is important to show that women who have chosen a path of service [can] rise to the highest level.”

After making history in January as the first trans actor to win a Golden Globe, Pose star Michaela Jaé Rodriguez continues to lead the pack in transgender awareness in Hollywood.

“When I was younger, I didn’t have representation for anyone of color in the LGBTQI community,” Rodriguez said. “Now, I want to be the example. I want to show them that it’s possible.”

In honor of International Women’s Day, KITH released a collection of never-before-seen photos of the late singer Aaliyah that reportedly sold out in a few hours.

The collection is a partnership between Aaliyah’s estate, photographer Robert Whitman, and KITH Women with all proceeds going to the Detroit School of Arts and the I Support the Girls foundation, according to an Instagram post. It’s a personal one for KITH founder, Ronnie Fieg, who grew up being a big fan of Aaliyah’s music.

“Aaliyah was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Detroit, and went on to touch the whole world with her light and creativity,” Aaliyah’s brother Rashad Haughton said.

“That’s why I felt that Kith would be the perfect partner to release unseen photos of my sister on their incredible fashion designs.”

A two-minute video highlighted the school’s dance team and current principal, Dr. Mayowa Lisa Reynolds.

“We worked with Kith and the renowned photographer Robert Whitman on a project to honor the life and legacy of Aaliyah,” the estate captioned an Instagram video.

“Together we created a clothing capsule using never-before-seen pictures of Aaliyah taken by Whitman, as well as a short film with students from Aaliyah’s alma mater, the Detroit School of Arts, and a capsule collection.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Aaliyah Haughton (@aaliyah)

Aaliyah graduated from Detroit School of Arts in 1997 with a 4.0 GPA, the same year she released her sophomore album One in A Million and was continuing her rise in entertainment.

The school, founded in 1992 by Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton, offers training in fine and performing arts including dance, vocal, and instrumental music, theatre, and visual arts, AfroTech reports.

The Kith collection comes on the heels of Aaliyah’s music catalog being added to streaming platforms for the first time earlier this year. The move helped to introduce a new generation of music lovers get to the smooth sultry sound that helped Aaliyah build a solid fan base that continues to support her long after her 2001 passing.

• Business

by Derek Major

March 8, 2022

Black-Owned Brands Boosted By Large Retailers Helping Them Scale Up

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Corporate pledges made by large retailers, including Walmart, to direct more money to Black-owned businesses have led to a new mix of products on shelves and a significant increase in dollars for Black entrepreneurs .

According to Bloomberg, Macy’s, Walmart, Amazon, and Target have all increased the number of black-owned brands they carry in-store and online.

Macy’s says it has increased the Black-owned brands it carries by five-fold after signing the Fifteen Percent Pledge. Sephora has doubled the number of Black-owned brands in its stores after making the same pledge.

However, as retailers continue to work with Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs, some are realizing there aren’t a lot of large-scale Black-owned businesses that can immediately fill big orders from large U.S. chains.

Shelley Stewart III, who leads McKinsey & Co.’s Institute for Black Economic Mobility, told Bloomberg the reason for that is these same large retailers are coming “to the realization that these businesses need additional capital and support—not just shelf space.”’

Many of these retailers are addressing the needs of Black entrepreneurs by launching and expanding business accelerators or incubator programs to provide mentorship and feedback on the products they sell.

Megan Graham, the owner of Ries, which sells face and beauty products in reusable travel-size bottles, was among a group of entrepreneurs selected by Sephora for its accelerator program last year.

Despite the good news, one specific area Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs are still significantly struggling with is raising capital. Large banks are still apprehensive about giving capital to small Black businesses, which Graham knows all about.

“Raising [capital] is difficult and raising as a Black woman, we know, is that much more difficult,” Graham said, adding when she pitched to Sephora, its group of diverse executives immediately understood her capital raising problem.

Venture capital firms, seeing the Black businesses boom, are trying to get in and support black brands that need an infusion of cash.

• Technology

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

March 8, 2022

Three Black Women Create Instagram Feature to Ensure Black Creators Get Credited for Their Work

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As TikTok continues to face criticism for white creatives who receive more visual representation than Black creatives, Instagram added a new feature to help address the issue.

On Monday, Instagram announced a new special tag where professional accounts and influencers will receive credit for their original creations. The feature was made in direct response to the Black creators who feel overlooked or shut out from trends that they create, NBC News reported.

“We want to ensure that as Black creators’ content is being distributed as it already is, they are getting the proper attribution,” Instagram engineer Cameryn Boyd said.

The tag comes after Black content creators boycotted creating dance challenges on TikTok after noticing white creators were receiving more recognition from the trends created by Black users.

Alexis Michelle Adjei, a data analyst, worked with Boyd and Alexandra Zaoui, a data analyst at Meta, to address these disparities on Instagram in an effort to amplify more Black creators and get the influencers to transition their viral content from TikTok over to Instagram.

“Black creators and addressing that inequity in the creator ecosystem” was a central focus when developing the new feature, Adjei said.

To use the new enhanced tags, users will need to tap “Tag People” when creating a post, Tech Crunch reported. The next step is to tap on “Add Tag” where users can search and select their contributors. Click “Show Profile Category” to display the creator category that includes roles such as “stylist” or “photographer.”

The feature will help ensure that all who were involved in the content receive their proper credit.

“Proper creative credit and recognition is a starting point for discovery, new opportunities, and economic empowerment,” Instagram s n a blog post.

“For many Black and underrepresented creators, crediting is an entryway to building a sustainable career as a creator, while combating cultural appropriation and ensuring the world knows who is driving culture. Simply put —if you’re a makeup artist, songwriter or another significant collaborator on a post, your contributions will be more visible in the post.”