Renowned tennis champion Naomi Osaka has forayed into the world of digital fashion in a new partnership with Meta Avatars. Osaka has unveiled her flagship digital apparel collection that showcases her unique sense of style which she describes as “eclectic, unpredictable, yet comfortably cool.” The collection launched on Wednesday with five outfits that draw inspiration from her Haitian and Japanese heritage, her love for tennis, her media company Hana Kuma, and even her beloved dog Butta. “Being able to take trends from the real world and translate into the metaverse
Hayti, a leading Black-owned news aggregation app, has announced that it is now officially the largest source of podcasts led by Black hosts. Launched in 2021, Hayti offers a one-stop platform that combines trusted articles, videos, and podcasts from Black publishers. Recognizing the growing influence and demand for podcasts, Hayti recently expanded its app to include over 2,000 Black-hosted podcasts. Black audiences spend more time with media than any other group in the US “As a Black woman who has worked in media and entertainment for decades, I cannot express
Future’s Freewishes Foundation has opened a new “sleek and innovative” STEAM lab in Atlanta, Georgia in partnership with 2K Foundations. The “I Am a Dreamer” lab aims to bridge the educational gap for students in underserved communities by providing access to science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) education, resources, and tools. “It’s important that all students receive access to STEAM education regardless of their background,” said Future, according to Afrotech. “Our Freewishes Foundation, with the support of the 2K Foundations, has helped make this possible in our Atlanta community.
Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal, who had been evading process servers for months, was served with two complaints during a game between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics at the Kaseya Center—formerly named the FTX Arena. The complaints are related to his involvement with the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and second NFT venture with his son. The process server, who O’Neal later kicked out of the venue, captured the event on film to eliminate any ambiguity, attorney Adam Moskowitz told PEOPLE. FTX Class Action Lawsuit One of the complaints against O’Neal
The rise of AI-generated music has sparked both excitement and concern within the music industry. From calls for legal action to taking advantage of opportunities to revolutionize music creation and revenue generation, the relationship between Black artists and AI-generated music is, well, complex. Ice Cube: “AI is Demonic” Ice Cube, during an appearance on the Full Send podcast, told listeners: “I think AI is demonic, I think AI is going to get a backlash from real people.” Ice Cube voiced concerns about the unauthorized manipulation of original voices without proper
Following Rihanna’s iconic Super Bowl LVII halftime performance, anotherblock‘s non-fungible token (NFT) collection of the track sold out in minutes. Now, the Stockholm-based web3 music startup has secured €4 million ($4.3 million) in funding to continue its work of redefining music ownership. Achieving triple platinum status upon its release, BBHMM gained new virality after Rihanna performed the track at the Super Bowl LVII halftime show. Jamil “Deputy” Pierre, a co-producer on Rihanna’s BBHMM, linked up with anotherblock to sell 0.99% of his streaming royalty rights to the song as 300 NFTs
Last night, Beyoncé kicked off the UK leg of Renaissance, her first solo headline tour in seven years. However, human rights groups have raised concerns about the use of live face recognition (LFR) technology on crowds around the Cardiff concert venue. Ahead Beyoncé’s concert in Cardiff last night, South Wales police confirmed that it would be using live facial recognition (LFR) technology to scan crowds around the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. It said the cameras would help identify individuals wanted for “priority offenses.” LFR uses AI to compare faces
Buzzfeed Inc (owners of Complex, HuffPost, Tasty, etc) told investors about its plans for AI-generated content. The company also outlined its plans for developing its Black, Asian, Latine identity-based brands to help corporate brands tap an “authentic voice.” BuzzFeed, founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III as an internet popularity contest, has been at the forefront of Internet culture for over a decade. This year, the platform launched its AI-powered content such as games and quizzes, with some success. But it plans to go further. During an investors event held
When a Discord user leaked unreleased Frank Ocean tracks on Discord, fans on the platform’s music forums clamored to grab hold of the tracks. However, it has since turned out that most, if not all, of the tracks were AI-generated fakes, according Motherboard (part of VICE Media Group). “Everyone started to believe it” Frank Ocean fans have been yearning for fresh material from the elusive singer, whose last full album, “Blonde,” was released in 2016. According to Motherboard a scammer who goes by the handle “mourningassasin” decided to commission a
In 2021, Jack Dorsey’s company, Block Inc (formerly known as Square), agreed to acquire Tidal for $306 million. This deal made Jay-Z a board member of Block Inc and left many wondering whether Dorsey had been finessed into buying the relatively small streaming service at a premium price. Block agreed in March 2021 to pay $396 million in stock and cash for an 87.5% stake in Tidal. After adjustments, it paid $237.3 million for an 86.2% stake, according to Reuters. Jay-Z joined Block’s board after the purchase and remains a
