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Technology is enabling fans to immerse themselves in the music of legendary artists like Janet Jackson. The “Anytime, Anyplace” songstress is currently headlining a residency at Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas, NV, running through May 31, 2025. Fans can relive 42 of her timeless hits, including “I Get Lonely” and “When I Think of You.” The latter, released in 1986 as the third single from her “Control” album, became her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as Billboard notes. Jackson’s Vegas residency carries deep significance. Her career began when she was seven years old at MGM Las Vegas. She performed alongside sisters Rebbie and La Toya, as noted in Las Vegas Magazine. “I will always have a very, very special place in my heart for Las Vegas. I started my career here 51 years ago. I love you so much,” Jackson said during her performance on Wednesday, Feb. 12. Photo Credit: Resorts World Theatre L-Acoustics With a career spanning five decades, Jackson’s passion for performing...
Travis Scott has launched a new program that will fuel the design and creativity of students. In 2020, the rapper and songwriter extended his impact in his hometown of Houston, TX, by launching the Cactus Jack Foundation in November 2020, providing the next generation with educational and creative resources, Variety notes. One year after its inception, the foundation launched the 60,000-square-foot Cact.us Design Center at TXRX Labs, serving at-risk middle and high school students. It offers training, mentorship, and exposure to career paths in graphic design, fashion, and music, according to information shared with AFROTECH™. The foundation also provides $10,000 scholarships to college students in partnership with the Fashion Scholarship Fund through the Design Ethos Program. It has awarded scholarships to two cohorts since 2024. Recipients include: Gerald Baano-Stewart II (Morehouse College, 2024) Amanda Kerr (Savannah College of Art and Design, 2024) Satchel Smith (Thomas...
Shonda Rhimes is stepping down from her position on the Kennedy Center board. Deadline reports that the award-winning producer had served as treasurer of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which exposes art to 2 million annual visitors and is guided by a mission to promote a “culture of inclusiveness,” according to its website. The center has served 1.4 million students and offers education and outreach programs throughout the United States and in 29 countries. Now, the center’s leadership, which contributed to its direction and impact, will shift in response to Trump becoming more involved. He previously shared on Friday, Feb. 7, 2024, his intentions to become its chairman and stated that he would remove board members as part of his plan to pursue “a golden age in arts and culture,” the Los Angeles Times reports. This resulted in 18 board members being removed from the roster on the center’s website by Feb. 10, including chairman, David Rubenstein. Most of the...
Kendrick Lamar received mixed reactions from the public over his Super Bowl LIX halftime performance — but it led to a nearly 175% increase in Spotify streams across the United States. According to an Instagram post shared by Spotify on Feb. 10, 2025, several songs from Lamar’s halftime setlist experienced significant boosts. “Not Like Us” — the popular Drake-aimed diss track released in May 2024 — saw a 430% increase, followed by “HUMBLE,” which rose 300%. “DNA,” which, along with “HUMBLE,” is from the 2017 album “DAMN,” experienced a 260% increase. “Luther,” performed with SZA, and “tv off,” featuring lefty gunplay, both experienced a 170% increase in streams. SZA also benefited from the performance, with an 80% increase in her Spotify streams. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Spotify News (@spotifynews) Exactly one week after winning five Grammy Awards — bringing his total to 22 — Lamar performed 10 songs at Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, 2025, including five tracks...
The Grammy Awards marked a major moment for Beyoncé — and her Spotify streams. After taking home the Album of the Year award for the first time on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025 — following four previous nominations without a win — the singer’s eighth studio album “Cowboy Carter” saw a 795% increase in streaming on Spotify compared to the previous day, according to Variety. Tracks such as “My Rose” and “Oh Louisiana” experienced a 175% increase, while “Ameriican Requiem” rose by 170%. “Protector” increased by 150%, “Alligator Tears” by 140%, and “II Most Wanted” by 135%. “I just feel very full and very honored. It’s been many, many years,” Beyoncé said during her Grammy acceptance speech. “I just want to thank the Grammys, every songwriter, every collaborator, every producer, for all of the hard work.” Beyoncé’s Album of the Year win made her the first Black woman to win since Lauryn Hill for “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” in 1999. The Houston, TX, native also won the Best Country Album...
A judge is no longer considering retracting a multi-million-dollar award that rapper T.I. and Tameka “Tiny” Harris were to receive from a lawsuit. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the couple sued children’s toy company MGA Entertainment Inc. for infringing upon the name, image, and likeness of their girl group, OMG Girlz. The group was created by T.I. and Tiny in 2009 and includes members Bahja Rodriguez (Miss Beauty), Breaunna Womack (Miss Babydoll), and their daughter Zonnique Pullins (Miss Star). Known for their colorful hair, makeup, and fashion looks, the group peaked in 2012 with their singles “Where The Boys At?” and “Gucci This (Gucci That).” MGA Entertainment Inc. released its ‘L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. (Outrageous Millennial Girls) Dolls in 2019, earning hundreds of millions of dollars in the process, and was recognized with the Toy Association’s Doll of the Year Award, notes American Bar Association (ABA). Some of its dolls, however, had closely resembled the OMG Girlz...
Jay-Z will be launching a groundbreaking partnership, marking a first in the United States. Billboard reports that Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, a full-service entertainment company, has partnered with South Korean fintech company Musicow to introduce “the first Music Equity Service Provider in the United States.” This will give U.S.-based music fans a rare opportunity to obtain partial ownership of songs created by their favorite artists, while also earning a share of the revenue generated from sales. This will be made possible by giving artists the ability to fractionalize their royalty revenue and sell shares of their tracks to individual investors, creating an all-around win for everyone involved. “The music industry is evolving into a shared ecosystem where fans and creators can earn together,” Roc Nation Vice Chairman Jay Brown said in an interview with Billboard. “Our mission is not only to support and empower artists by providing the tools and services they need to build a better...
Entertainer Jason Derulo is forging a deeper connection with will.i.am that extends beyond their shared passion for music. The pair are working together on the technology front, in alignment with their individual ambitions within the space over the years. Derulo has made several investments in the tech space. He participated in a funding round for Moonpay — a fintech company that allows users to quickly buy and sell cryptocurrency — which amounted to $87 million in 2022, along with other investors such as Brent Faiyaz , Snoop Dogg, Drake, Lil Baby, and Lil Durk, its website lists. Derulo also joined a $40 million funding round for Christian app Glorify in 2021, according to a news release, and is an investor in blockchain-enabled music platform Audius. Derulo is an advocate for artificial intelligence (AI) within artistry as well. He sees it as a helpful tool. “When it is good enough, I will embrace it because I just feel like with my wealth of knowledge of music I can utilize...
Despite releasing three albums, Common found himself struggling to sustain his music career. The rapper’s career took off in Chicago, IL, in the ’90s. He released three albums during this decade: “Can I Borrow a Dollar?” (1992); “Resurrection” (1994); and “One Day It’ll All Make Sense” (1997). Common explains that his first album received limited attention and credits his second album with putting him on the radar of some of the industry’s greats. “I remember Biggie doing one of those promos for me, being like ‘Yo this I wish this kid was from Brooklyn.’ I remember seeing Nas, and he was like ‘Keep doing your thing,” Common recalled on the “Earn Your Leisure” podcast hosted by Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings. The rapper also opened up about the challenges he faced in the music industry early in his career, which caused him to question whether it was a sustainable path. “It was hard being in Chicago and trying to get even signed or get heard… I still wasn’t planted in the industry. I...
Despite earning millions, Lil Baby did not pay taxes for his first two years in the music industry. The Atlanta, GA-born rapper, known for chart-topping hits like “Drip Too Hard” and “We Paid,” appeared on the “A Safe Place Podcast,” hosted by Yachty, and discussed the financial learning curve. While he acknowledged having some understanding of investing and saving, he was unaware of the importance of taxes when he first entered the industry. His debut album, released in 2018 under Quality Control Music, marked the beginning of his rise to stardom. “I done got over $100 million from labels and deals. Not one time nobody still haven’t told me how to pay my taxes. Nobody even never told me pay my taxes,” Lil Baby explained on the podcast. “I always knew from growing up, like from being around, I heard people have tax problems, people don’t pay their taxes. I was doing it so wrong, my first tax bills was so high ’cause I was on some hustling sh-t like saving all my money. The more...
GloRilla has paid it forward to her former high school. The Memphis, TN, rapper, born Gloria Hallelujah Woods, made an appearance at Melrose High School on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. She graduated from the school in 2017 and has returned as a Grammy-nominated artist with hit songs such as “Yeah Glo!” and “Tomorrow 2.” During her visit, she donated $25,000 to the school, which will be used to build a media center, Commercial Appeal reports. “The fact that I have the ability to do it now warms my heart,” she expressed, according to the outlet. The center will “offer students the chance to engage with technology that enhances their learning, provide a comfortable, safe space to study with flexible seating, and promote literacy for both Melrose High School and the surrounding Orange Mound community.” The outlet also shared that the space will be named the Gloria H. Woods Media Center in her honor, pointing to “GloRilla’s representation as a Golden Wildcat alumna and her continued...
Beyoncé’s influence is undeniable. Spotify has finally released Spotify Wrapped 2024, revealing that the music icon inspired over 36 million people to listen to country music for the first time this year. Beyoncé released “Cowboy Carter” on March 29, 2024, in collaboration with Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records, according to AFROTECH™ . The album’s 27-song track list includes “ Blackbiird ,” “16 Carriages,” “Jolene,” and “Levii’s Jeans.” While creating the album, Beyoncé noted that in the rising age of artificial intelligence (AI), she wanted to focus on authentic sounds, as reported by AFROTECH™ . She made good use of various instruments, such as the accordion, harmonica, washboard, acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, fiddle, tack piano, banjo, and her fingernails as percussion. On its release day, Spotify announced on X that the album was the most streamed on the platform in a single day in 2024, marking the first time a country album held this distinction...
Jay-Z is reportedly no longer affiliated with The Parent Company, which suffered significant revenue losses starting in 2022. In 2020, the rap mogul, born Shawn Carter, launched his luxury cannabis brand Monogram under The Parent Company, where he served as chief visionary officer, mentions Lawyer Monthly. Its flagship product, the OG Handrolls, was priced at $50, with the full lineup of strains primarily available at eight California-based dispensaries, including Caliva, Coastal, and Zen Garden, as well as an Arizona dispensary called Ponderosa. However, since then there appears to be trouble in paradise for both Monogram and The Parent Company. S FGATE mentions Monogram’s pricing did not fair well for cannabis consumers, especially since its products were marketed as high-end and premium. “Like many other things we’ve seen in cannabis surrounding rappers, the hype hasn’t met the reality. Monogram was supposed to be an ultra-premium product, and I don’t know anyone who tried it and...
Spotify Wrapped has returned, and this year, the company has partnered with Google’s NotebookLM to launch the Spotify Wrapped AI podcast . While Wrapped curates customized end-of-the-year lists for users to reflect on their musical favorites, the AI podcast takes it a step further by providing an engaging audio recap, according to Google Labs. In the podcast, two AI hosts from NotebookLM explore users’ favorite tracks and artists, highlighting how one’s music taste has evolved throughout 2024. Each podcast is a unique conversation tailored to the specific user, created using the technology behind NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews. Molly Holder, senior director of personalization, spoke with Spotify on Wednesday, Dec. 4, about the magic behind Wrapped. “The beauty of Wrapped is how much it reflects each individual user,” Holder said, according to For The Record. “Whether it’s your top song, total minutes listened, or favorite artist, 2024 Wrapped celebrates how you listened this year.”...
Shaboozey is hopeful about artificial intelligence (AI). The country artist has had quite the year. He was first featured on Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” album, collaborating on the songs “Spaghettii” and “Sweet Honey Buckiin.” “It’s just so surreal and humbling for me for them to choose me to be a part of the album,” he expressed to Forbes in an interview. Shortly after the launch of “Cowboy Carter,” Shaboozey teased “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which officially launched April 12, 2024. It became a Grammy-nominated single and earned the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for 19 consecutive weeks, according to Forbes. What’s more, it garnered 2 billion streams and earned over $10 million. “I feel great. Dream come true. I can’t complain,” he told the outlet. Catch Shaboozey on Dec. 4 during Art Basel in Miami, FL, as well. He’ll be among the performers for an exclusive event hosted by Capital One and The Cultivist to amplify artist Hassan Hajjaj and his installation DAR MIAMI 1446. As part of...