It’s been two decades since Fantasia Barrino’s “American Idol” win. The Grammy Award-winning singer was crowned in the show’s third season in 2004, at just 19 years old. In the finale, she had three standout performances including “All My Life,” “I Believe,” and “Summertime,” which was also performed earlier in the season and is the song she believes changed America’s heart towards her. “For me, going back to ‘Summertime,’ it means a lot because that’s the song that made people change their mind on me. When I first was on ‘American Idol,’ you’re thinking someone who’s clean, polished, who has somewhat of a perfect story, and I do not have that,” she told AFROTECH™. “I was already a young mom. I had already been speaking about how I got there.” An ode to that special moment in time for Barrino, she is reimagining “Summertime,” collaborating with music director and producer Adam Blackstone — known for his work with Rihanna, Jay-Z, Janet Jackson, and Jazmine Sullivan — in its latest...
LL Cool J’s mother played a crucial role in launching his career by investing in his music when he was faced with countless rejection. The rapper, born to Ondrea Smith in Bay Shore, NY, has released his 14th studio album, “The Force,” after a decade-long wait. Released Sept. 6, the project features 14 tracks, including “Post Modern,” which holds a significant line about his mother’s support that came from a tax refund. “My mother took her tax return and invested it. She bet it on her kid and look at what he did with it. 2,000 in ’84 that’s a 100,000 x multiple from keepin’ you on the floor,” he rapped. During an interview on the podcast “Sway In The Morning,” LL Cool J shared the backstory behind that line. He revealed his mother was not making a lot of money, so tax season was an exciting time for her as it led to extra earnings in her pocket when she received a refund. “Here’s this Black woman who worked really hard, who got a tax return — and just for the record — the majority of...
Embracing technology has helped Tems evolve her artistry. Born Temilade Openiyi in Lagos, Nigeria, the Afrobeats R&B star had a deep passion for music from a young age — even joining a choir as a teenager — and recognized the art of making music was always more than just a side interest for her. “The way I love music, the way I loved writing and making music, producing, it was more than a hobby,” Tems expresses on “The Breakfast Club” podcast. “It’s just something that I just genuinely enjoyed. I didn’t expect ever to make anything from it. I was just like, ‘Yeah I could do this all day. If I can get a job to sustain me, and I’ll just be doing this all day.’ Literally that was my mindset.” Tems’ fire for music followed her in higher learning. She attended Monash South Africa, a university in Johannesburg, South Africa, GQ reports. In her dorm room, she continued to write songs and relied on YouTube to learn how to make beats. She also used Logic software to record and produce....
Juicy J says he has consistent revenue coming in from music sampling. The artist was a part of Hip-Hop group Three 6 Mafia, which formed in the early ’90s. BlackPast reports the original group members included Paul Duane “DJ Paul” Beauregard, Jordan Michael “Juicy J” Houston III, Lola Chantrelle “Gangsta Boo” Mitchell, Darnell “Crunchy Black” Carlton, Ricky “Lord Infamous” Dunigan, and Robert Cooper “Koopsta Knicca” Phillips. The group paved their way first in Memphis, TN, before they found success across the country in the later ’90s, ultimately selling millions of albums, mentions Genius. Among their records includes “Stay Fly,” “Doe Boy Fresh,” “Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body),” “Who Run It,” and “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” which earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2006 for its feature in the film “Hustle & Flow.” Before making an imprint for innovating the Hip Hop space, it had not dawned on Juicy J to consider the business side in addition to the art form. “I...
New changes are underway at Roc Nation to empower independent artists. According to a news release, Jay-Z’s label has merged its Roc Nation Label and Equity Distribution (EQ) divisions to form ROC Nation distribution, with plans for it to bolster artists by giving them greater freedoms across technology and the music business. “The formation of ROC Nation distribution is a natural transition in the music space,” the press release states. “The mission is to support and empower independent artists while providing them the tools and services to distribute their music. All artists signed to Roc Nation Label will join and benefit from the new ROC Nation distribution structure.” Variety reports the distribution segment was established in 2019 and is being led by President Krystian Santini. The segment allowed artists to maintain ownership of their masters, and it will continue with an artist services division that includes marketing, publishing administration, and data analytics available...
Jay-Z wants to reclaim the body of work that started it all. TMZ reports Jay-Z’s legal team has sounded the alarm that in 2031 the rapper-turned-billionaire will obtain full rights to “Reasonable Doubt,” his debut album released in 1996. Per the outlet, these rights would have reverted back to Jay-Z 35 years after the release as part of the business deal either way. This announcement follows the news of an impending sale of Damon Dash’s 33% share in Roc-A-Fella Records, which is set to hit the auction block sometime on Aug. 29, 2024. Its listing at auction was set in motion earlier this year to cover the more than $800,000 judgement amount Dame Dash owed in a past copyright infringement and defamation of character lawsuit related to the making of the movie “Dear Frank.” As AFROTECH™ previously mentioned, Josh Webber, director of “Dear Frank” filed the lawsuit in 2019, claiming Dame Dash was trying to make the movie on his own after being fired as director himself. More recently,...
T-Pain had reportedly become a multi-millionaire at 18 due to his first record deal. Following the success of his popular single “I’m Sprung” in 2005, the artist was able to secure a record deal with Jive Records, Hot97 reports. The deal presented him with a $40 million advance, and many around him encouraged him to sign the deal. However, the deal also included a 15/85 split, in favor of the label, which he didn’t know at the time. He didn’t learn about it until 2022 when people started showing interest in buying his catalog, he said during a podcast interview on “Good Compenny.” “My first deal that whole first joint was 15/85 but they gave me crazy money,” he told rapper LaRussell on the podcast. “So, I didn’t even think about it. I didn’t care. Like, bro, they, like, straight up was like, ‘Alright, deal’s done. Here you go.'” T-Pain added, “So publishing, we worked around that. After probably about 10 years in that deal I was like ‘Yo we need to restructure this it’s crazy.’...
R&B sensation Eric Bellinger isn’t afraid of artificial intelligence (AI) and the role it’s taking within the music industry. Instead, he’s embracing how it can enhance his work as an artist. As one of the first artists to appear on Hooky, a music startup specializing in artist-first solutions in voice AI, Bellinger is allowing creators to experiment with their songs using his AI voice model. “If you aren’t afraid of it, it could be your best friend,” he told AFROTECH™ about AI technology. “But I think if you’re afraid and thinking, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to lose my job,’ it’s different in other fields. But for music, I definitely think it could be beneficial as a tool. I use it in all my sessions in different ways — whether it’s coming up with an idea for artwork, titles, or something else. There are so many different platforms, and I personally take advantage of all of them.” No stranger to using technology like social media to connect with his fans, affectionately known as the...
MC Lyte wrote her first single at 12 and later became a pioneer in Hip Hop. The Brooklyn, NY, rapper, born Lana Michele Moorer, would bet on herself early on and auditioned for First Priority Records, in front of its signees Kirk “Milk Dee” Robinson and Nat “Gizmo” Robinson, as the label, ran by Nat Robinson, were looking to sign a female artist. With the permission of her mother at the time, she went to the audition, which was held in a basement. “Here I am going to this guy’s basement in Brooklyn. It could have ended so many different ways. However, I laid the first rendition of ‘I Cram to Understand U’ down on there,” she said in an interview with “The Breakfast Club” podcast. Ultimately, MC Lyte’s talents led to her signing to the label in 1986, per Blackpast. She reveals she was given a $5,000 advance, which was spent to purchase a vehicle. “I got an advance, which was $5,000, and I took that $5,000 and I put it on my Jetta, the whole thing like ‘Yeah that’s all I need is a...
Rene McLean, partner and founding advisor at Influence Media Partners, has a new music venture to share. Influence Media and McLean have announced SLANG, a new independent front line label under the music and entertainment company, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™. One of the label’s first signees is Will Smith. Prior to the announcement, the winner of both Grammy and Academy awards debuted his single “You Can Make It,” featuring Fridayy and Sunday Service Choir, at the 2024 BET Awards, per Variety. Marking Smith’s first time performing at the award show, he was joined by Kirk Franklin, Chandler Moore, and Sunday Service Choir. “Through some of my darkest moments, music has always been there for me – to lift me and help me grow. It’s my humble wish that it can do the same for you and bring you all the joy and light you deserve,” Smith wrote in an Instagram post ahead of dropping the single, according to Variety. Along with Smith, SLANG’s roster includes...
Lucky Daye hit rock bottom before finding fame. According to Vice, the New Orleans, LA, native, who lived through Hurricane Katrina, uprooted his life to live in Tyler, TX. In his earlier years, he attended a church that discouraged secular music and enforced strict rules on singing only church hymns and nursery rhymes. Daye also mentioned that the church was an environment that reportedly used harsh discipline toward children in the congregation. His mother would later leave the church and brought his family into various organizations in search of a new church home. Daye would later choose Christianity through new eyes, which separated him further from his family before the 400-mile trip to Tyler. “I went [to church] and said, ‘I know I’m supposed to sing, but God is telling me that this is not what I’m supposed to be doing,'” he explained. I left and never went back to [that] church. They never talked to me again. My grandma, my mama, my uncle—none of them. Nobody talked to me....
GloRilla hopped on the rap scene in 2022 and hasn’t looked back since. The Memphis rap scene may be getting tons of attention now, but its impact has deep roots that go back to some of the early years of Hip-Hop. From artists like 8Ball & MJG to the Oscar award-winning group Three 6 Mafia, the Memphis rap sound is a staple among fans of the genre. And newer artists like GloRilla ensure the sound remains at Hip-Hop’s forefront. GloRilla Quickly Rises To The Top From the church pews to the Hip-Hop stage, GloRilla’s journey is a testament to resilience. Born Gloria Hallelujah Woods, AFROTECH™ previously reported that the rapper’s musical roots were planted in the church, a common starting point for many Black artists. Raised in a religious family, the Memphis native’s first musical passion was singing. However, when life threw her a curveball in the form of losing her voice, she didn’t give up. Instead, she discovered a new love for rap and released her first mixtape under her original...
Shaquille O’Neal once invested in Ray J’s music career. During an interview on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast “Club Shay Shay,” the R&B singer-turned-entrepreneur reveals he received $1.5 million from the former Los Angeles Lakers basketball player to support “Sexy Can I,” the first single from his 2008 studio album “All I Feel.” The single featuring Yung Berg would go on to become a top 10 hit on Billboard. O’Neal saw a big return on that investment , Ray J says on the podcast. “He gave us $1.5 [million] for the ‘Sexy Can I’ project, which was the ‘All I Feel’ project, and ‘Sexy Can I’ was the record to lead off. It sold 8 million copies,” Ray J told Sharpe. “We recouped the number back for Shaq, and I don’t know five months, six months, and everything else has been profitable ever since, so shout out to Shaq.” He added, “If you look at the ‘Sexy Can I’ video, you see Shaq in the video. He’s the one with the camera.” Photo Credit: YouTube/ MNRK Music Group O’Neal has distinguished...
Tracy Chapman is best known for her breakout single, “Fast Car,” which saw a huge rise in popularity in 2023 thanks to a cover by country artist Luke Combs. It was 1988 when the original song came out, one of 11 tracks on her self-titled debut LP that year. Chapman, a talented musician from childhood, released albums steadily through the late 80s and early 90s. She’s taken a few hiatuses over the years and keeps her personal life notoriously private, but after such a successful career, people want to know about Tracy Chapman’s net worth . What Is Tracy Chapman’s Net Worth? (Photo by KMazur/WireImage) The multi-talent was born in Cleveland on March 30th, 1964, where she grew up with her mother after her parents divorced. While the Chapman family didn’t have much money, Tracy’s mom fostered her love for music, starting her off with a ukelele at age three. From there, the 60-year-old has gone on to become a Grammy Award winner and proud activist, as well as an influence on creatives...
Cardi B is always going to stand on business while being about her business. The “Invasion of Privacy” artist recently took to Instagram sharing that four of her songs are now in Spotify’s Billions Club. The singles listed are “Girls Like You (Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B),” “WAP (ft. Megan Thee Stallion),” “I Like It (J Balvin, Bad Bunny),” and “Taki Taki (Selena Gomez, Ozuna, Cardi B, DJ Snake),” per Essence. “Wooow I got FOUR songs that hit the billion mark on Spotify…I’m soooo excited to put out new music and reach even more milestones. Thank you sooo much everyone for listening, it really means alot to me.. I can’t wait for you to see and hear what’s next,” Cardi B wrote on Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cardi B (@iamcardib) Since the release of her debut album on April 6, 2018, Cardi B has remained in high demand. The proof is in the numbers. During an interview, she shared a text conversation with Rolling Stone staff writer Mankaprr Conteh regarding an offer...