As a child, Oprah Winfrey understood she was destined for greatness. While many are familiar with her industry start as a broadcast reporter turned television host, she initially aspired to be an actress. However, that was frowned upon by her father, she admitted on the “NXT Chapter Podcast,” hosted by Bishop T.D. Jakes. “I had to make a decision. I’m going to go to college , and I’m going to end up, I thought, teaching. I will teach acting,” she explained. She then received a call during her sophomore year at Tennessee State University from a local television station, which she described as being divinely orchestrated. The station learned about her through a competition she had won in Nashville, TN. She was 16 years old at the time and the only Black girl in the contest. At age 17, Winfrey began working as a part-time radio announcer at Nashville’s WVOL Radio Station. She became the city’s youngest and first Black female news anchor at a station, Poynter reports. She later became...

Paul Pierce balled out with his first check in the NBA. Getting Drafted The California native was drafted in 1998 by the Boston Celtics, where he would later win his first and only championship ring in 2008. He signed a four-year deal valued at $6.3 million, which amounted to an average salary of $1.6 million annually, per Spotrac. Splurging First Check Pierce said his first check in the NBA amounted to $1 million during his rookie year. However, most of it was gone within the blink of an eye. “When I got drafted No. 10, my check for the year was $1 million,” Pierce said on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast. “We had a lockout (a pause in pay during league negotiations), so cut that in half. So then $500,000, right? Taxes. Cut that in half. So really all I had was about like [$200,000].” Shannon Sharpe, the podcast’s host, interjected about having to pay an agent, which would lower Pierce’s cut further. “Yep. So knock that down,” Pierce said in response. “I needed me an apartment to rent,...

Usher is teaming up with Big Sean to invest in Detroit youth. According to a news release, the pair is investing $1 million to launch an innovation incubator that will support youth looking to become content creators. The investment is poised to tap into the growing creator economy, which, according to Goldman Sachs, is projected to become a $480 billion industry by 2027. The incubator will be situated within the Michigan Central Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan, which is set to open in February 2026, notes the press release. Both Usher and Big Sean bring their experiences as Boys & Girls Club alumni, to this investment. The incubator will offer young people ages 14–24 access to creative technology, hands-on learning, and mentorship from executives and creators, preparing them to pursue careers in film, television, and music production, as well as in AI, 3D, immersive technologies, and special effects. What’s more, it will also provide seed funding to launch paid creative...

Kimora Lee Simmons’ business empire is not to be played with. Modeling Simmons today wears many hats in the industry, but one of her earliest was as a supermodel. She began modeling at 13 when she signed with the house of Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld, according to WWD. Chanel was her first casting, and she moved to Paris at the time. However, she had to make the move alone because her mother wasn’t able to go with her, She was working for the government in social security at the time. “I was homesick. I was running up $5,000 a month phone bills,” Lee recalled on “The Skinny Confidential” podcast. Simmons remained under contract with Chanel. She acknowledges that times were hard, but she wasn’t happy with her life in St. Louis. She ultimately chose a lifestyle of being surrounded by supermodels at 31 Rue Cambon, Chanel’s headquarters. She has also walked the runway for Armani, Fendi, Valentino, Tracy Reese, Isaac Mizrahi, and Marc Jacobs, WWD reports. Simmons did want a game plan to...

David Robinson is suing his business partner for millions. Robinson and Daniel Bassichis are co-founders of private equity firm Admiral Capital Group, which launched in 2008. The pair also has real estate under Admiral Columbus LLC. According to the San Antonio Express-News, now Robinson, Admiral Capital, and two associated firms have filed a lawsuit seeking more than $34 million in damages, alleging that Bassichis committed fraud, conversion, civil conspiracy, and more. Robinson’s stake in Admiral Capital is 51% while Bassichis owns the remaining stake. Separately, Bassichis owns an investment firm focused on real estate, Vero Capital. According to Bassichis’s LinkedIn profile and the firm’s website, it was founded in 2007. However, the lawsuit claims Bassichis launched the firm in 2022, a year after receiving “the blessing of Robinson,” with the goal “to expand his individual investment opportunities” and “to create a separation” from Admiral Capital. Reportedly, Admiral Capital...

An affordable housing project supported by NBA great Allen Iverson in Newport News, VA, is moving forward. Iverson Landing 13 News reports that Iverson teamed up with developer Alvin Keels Jr. on the project named Iverson Landing, which is geared toward working families and part of an overall effort to increase housing options in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones has also been vocal about affordable housing options with a goal of opening 21,000 affordable housing units by 2050, and he intends to reach it by working with emerging developers “who will shape the future of our communities,” he said in a Facebook post. This puts Iverson and Keels’ project squarely in line with a broader agenda to invest in affordable housing. The Iverson Landing will be based in Newport News, Iverson’s hometown, which he credits with shaping the person he is today — an NBA legend, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, tech investor, and vice president of Reebok...

The Weeknd has closed an unconventional catalog deal. AFROTECH™ has reported various master’s and publishing deals over the years, which include Nelly, Hit-Boy, Wiz Khalifa, and T-Pain, who all secured deals with Black woman-owned HarbourView Equity Partners. The Weeknd — also known as Abel Tesfaye — appears to be the next artist in line to secure a deal tied to his catalog. Variety reports the “Wake Me Up” artist has finalized a deal with Lyric Capital Group, an investment firm focused on music royalties, to invest in his master’s and publishing catalog through 2025, while he and his team maintain creative control and continue as shareholders and owners. Additionally, half of the artist’s publishing rights were owned by Chord Music Partners. The exact value of the deal was not disclosed . The deal is said to be a “first-of-its-kind,” per Variety. The Weeknd was not interested in the sale of his catalog, which opened doors to an agreement that allows him and his team to maintain...

Is T-Pain taking over Twitch? The “I’m Sprung” artist currently has 1.1 million followers on the platform. While speaking on “Club Shay Shay,” he shared that he’s using Twitch to take fans behind the scenes on how he develops his music, starting with the first beat, leading up to the release of a song, which can sometimes be done in the span of a week. He says most of his studio workflow is a solo grind, with his wife and children occasionally joining him to help write a few bars. “I’m making all my music on Twitch,” he said on the podcast. “Every single that I release, everything that happens right now, you can clock it from me making the first sound to putting it out. Like all the way from me making the first sound of the beat, making the whole beat, recording the vocals, and then putting it out. I can show you the entire process on Twitch. It’s been not only a liberating thing for me, but it’s turned into an eyeopener to the viewers, for other artists,” he added. And he’s not the...