Heineken® is returning to Coachella with an unforgettable lineup featuring iconic hip-hop artists and an eclectic mix of genre-adjacent acts on the Heineken House stage. Method Man & Redman, DJ Pee .Wee (Anderson .Paak), SG Lewis, NGHTMRE and Austin Millz will be among the most anticipated sets in a loaded schedule showcasing talent that, in the true Coachella spirit, embraces a wide variety of artists and music.

As an added mic drop, a new star will make its debut at this year’s event. Festivalgoers will be among the first in the country to taste NEW Heineken Silver, a crisp and refreshing, lower-carb, lower-cal beer hitting shelves nationwide as part of Heineken’s lineup. The perfect choice for sipping at concerts or any social occasion, Heineken Silver is brewed to create full-bodied flavor without a bitter finish and is 4% alcohol by volume (ABV) with 3.2g of carbs and 95 calories in a 12-oz serving.

Two weekends of high-energy performances will make Heineken House a must-see experience for music lovers.

Weekend One:

Friday, April 14: Walker & Royce, Felix Da Housecat, Hannah Wants, Lee Wells and Bones
Saturday, April 15: Method Man & Redman, Austin Millz, DJ Pee .Wee (Anderson .Paak), Andre Power and SWEET LIKE CHOCOLATE   
Sunday, April 16: NGHTMRE, LondonBridge, WHIPPED CREAM, NIIKO x SWAE and Tony H

Weekend Two:

Friday, April 21: Chris Stussy, Emmit Fenn, Francis Mercier, HoneyLuv and Antoinette Van Dewark
Saturday, April 22: SG Lewis, Franc Moody, TEED, Coco & Breezy and Zen Freeman
Sunday, April 23: Snakehips, Fleetmac Wood, Bontan, Black V Neck and Max Styler

“Heineken House will have something for everyone with an exciting collection of artists who have shaped music and culture taking center stage,” said Christine Karimi, Director, Partnerships and Consumer Experience at HEINEKEN USA. “It’s the perfect backdrop for serving up a first sip of Heineken Silver to fans enjoying some of the best beats Coachella has to offer.”

The one-of-a-kind Heineken House will be a show-stopping destination where attendees can have their main character moment on the dance floor, at the beer garden or by interacting with a variety of highly visual artistic installations. In addition to Heineken Silver, the Heineken House beer garden will offer Heineken Original, alcohol-free Heineken 0.0, Dos Equis Lager, Dos Equis Lime and Salt and Dos Equis Ranch Water Hard Seltzer.

Festivalgoers are invited to visit Heineken House April 14-16 and 21-23, 2023. To experience the 2023 Coachella festival highlights with Heineken, follow @Heineken_US on Twitter or Instagram, follow @HeinekenUSA on Facebook or use the hashtag #HeinekenHouse.

Donald Glover’s “Swarm” has the multifaceted entertainer facing a new era of claims about how much he allegedly “hates Black women.”

The Atlanta creator is back in the spotlight amid the release of his new Amazon Prime dark comedy Swarm. The series tells the story of a Black female superfan who embarks on a disturbingly violent adventure for the love of her favorite pop artist.

Actress Dominique Fishback stars as the lead character Dre, the obsessed Houston-based fanatic of R&B star Ni’jah. Glover recently opened up to Vulture about keeping Fishback in the dark regarding Dre’s backstory.

“I kept telling her, ‘you’re not regular people. You don’t have to find the humanity in your character. That’s the audience’s job,” he explained.

Glover noted Fishback’s struggles during filming due to not knowing where to take her character.

“She really was lost a lot of the time,” Glover said before sharing his advice for Fishback “to think of it more like an animal and less like a person.”

Glover continued: “It reminds me of how I have a fear of dogs because I’m like, ‘you’re not looking at me in the eye, I don’t know what you’re capable of.’”

The Community star, who also raps under the moniker Childish Gambino, came under fire on social media after writer Alex Jung highlighted Glover’s comments on Twitter.

“oh he’s not beating the allegations,” Jung tweeted along with a link to the article.

https://twitter.com/e_alexjung/status/1638220554174857222?s=46&t=qmzb_I2N1DzN_GymACe90A

“Dude just hates black women so much Lmfao,” one user wrote in response.

“HE SAID THE QUIET PART OUTLOUD lol I hope folks are paying attention,” added someone else.

It’s not the first time Glover has been accused of offering a skewed portrayal of Black women. The Emmy Award winner faced the allegation so much that he vaguely addressed them in an eccentric interview he conducted with himself for Interview Magazine in April 2022.

“Are you afraid of Black women?” he asked himself.

“Why are you asking me that?” Glover told himself in response.

“I feel like your relationship to them has played a big part in your narrative,” Glover’s fictional interview version of himself asked.

“I feel like you’re using Black women to question my Blackness,” he responded.

Glover faced criticism at the time for not exactly addressing the allegations. Now, his latest comments on his Black women-led psycho-thriller have seemingly heightened the speculation.

Patrick Beverley shared one of his secrets to being productive on the hardwood floor—no sex before games. 

During the Barstool Sports podcast, the Chicago Bulls hooper said he doesn’t have sex the night before his basketball games. 

‘I want to have fresh [legs], you know what I’m saying?’ Beverley said. 

“Wifey gonna kill me, though,’ Beverley added. “‘It’s hard, though, because you got a game every other day and sh*t.” 

Last week, Beverley also took to Barstool Sports’ podcast to speak on Ja Morant, saying that music and bad parenting are responsible for Morant’s behavior. 

“Lost his mind. Parenting, parenting,” Beverley said. “Fame mixed with success mixed with a ton of money mixed with a ton of freedom in the wrong hands, it’s not a good poster.” 

​​“I think music has a lot to do with this now. Especially with this culture. Everyone holding a gun in the video is OK. You know, bling on your teeth is OK. Pants half down your ass, that’s OK. So, that’s OK now. Back in the day, there was a mother—er on the beach in a silk shirt talking about some ‘Yeah baby, let’s party like we’re in the 80s.’ Everybody had on silk shirts, and everybody was dressed the same. It’s just a product of what we listen to. 

“The culture now is ‘shoot them up, bang bang, bang bang shoot them up, bend you over, I got this amount money, I’m on private jets,’ That’s what the younger generation is. Sadly to say, it should be based on our music, but it is mostly based on what we listen to, and that’s how it is. Eminem come out, and Eminem was rapping, ‘Palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy,’ he had on a hoodie. Everybody back then had on a hoodie and big jeans. If Eminem would’ve came out like, ‘Yeah I carry pipes, I carry straps, I got 12 guns,’ every white kid in America would’ve had a f—ing gun on them back then.”

It’s time to celebrate the people behind the scenes who make it possible for the stars to shine.

Award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter is releasing her coffee-table book The Art of Ruth E. Carter: Costuming Black History and the Afrofuture, from Do the Right Thing to Black Panther, surrounding her 30-plus years of credentials working in film and television.

According to her publisher, Chronicle Books, Carter’s work is a salute to the heroes and sheroes of the Black community. Fashion lovers will learn about Carter’s work on some of the most famous sets in Hollywood, such as Do the Right Thing, School Daze, Malcolm X, and Black Panther.

 

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“I really love movies and I love Black history and I love telling stories of people. The history of Black America is something that I have been close to for a long time,” Carter said in a recent interview.

Carter has been the fashion mastermind behind major names, including Eddie Murphy, Samuel L. Jackson, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, and the late Chadwick Boseman.

“We create a voice that we want to project to the world without us saying a word. And that’s what costumes do,” she said. “They communicate amongst each other. Either they’re collaborative or they are in opposition. They say who you are or who you want to be or how you want to be perceived. And that’s the part of clothing that can be so simple and yet so complicated.”

Carter made history this year after collecting an Oscar for Best Costume Design at the Academy Awards on March 12. The win made Carter the first Black woman to score two of the prestigious awards.

In 2021, the designer was honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

The coffee-table book is set for release on May 23 and is currently available for pre-order.

Chocolate curves hit the billboards on Wednesday.

Grammy Award-winning singer SZA is starring in the newest campaign for Kim Kardashian’s Skims shapewear and clothing brand.

According to Variety, the campaign was released on Wednesday morning ahead of SZA’s final tour stop at Kia Forum (formerly The Forum) in Los Angeles. The campaign images, shot and directed by Greg Swales, feature the artist in a dark brown matching underwear set and other pieces designed for the brand’s Fits Everybody collection.

 

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A post shared by SKIMS (@skims)

“I’m excited to be in Skims’ latest Fits Everybody underwear campaign and to align myself with a brand that strives to make women feel both comfortable and sexy,” SZA said in a statement.

“SZA’s honesty, confidence, and dynamic energy are unparalleled. She’s truly the woman of the moment, and I’m so honored for her to be featured in Skims’ latest campaign,” Kardashian said about choosing SZA for the campaign.

Reportedly, Skims took over a ton of billboards featuring the singer in the brown set made from what its company described as its “buttery soft, molds-to-your-body fabric that stretches to twice its size.” The Fits Everybody collection features various colors of bodysuits, slip dresses, t-shirts, bras, bralettes, bandeaus, and underwear.

 

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Featuring SZA in the latest campaign has added her to a list of global celebrities to pose in the company’s ads that includes singer Cassie, Pose star Indya Moore, and singer and actress Teyana Taylor, who posed with husband Iman Shumpert and daughters Junie and Rue for the previous “Cozy” campaign.

SZA dipped her toe into the fashion industry last year when she unveiled a new line of Crocs. She gifted her friends, including the Skims owner, with PR packages that included a slide and the foam crocs. Kardashian posted the gift for her social media followers to view on her Instagram Story.

The Fits Everybody collection ranges from size XXS up to 4X and is available for purchase on the company’s website.

• Arts and Culture

by Iman Milner

March 23, 2023

Lesson Learned: J. Cole Says Smoking Cigarettes At Age 6 Helped Shape His Future

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J. Cole is an undisputed leader in this generation.

From his soul-bearing lyrics to his refusal to follow the flashy lifestyle of most rappers, Cole’s authenticity is a breath of fresh air; garnering him fans far beyond hip-hop.

In a recent sit down with Golden State Warriors President and General manager Bob Myers for his podcast Lead By Example, the “Born Sinner” rapper againreminded us of why “Hollywood” Cole is anything but.

It’s been well-documented that J.Cole (real name Jermaine) and older brother Zach were raised by their mother ,Kay. Being in a single-parent household provided ample time for the boys to find trouble

“At 6 years old, I was smoking cigarettes regularly around the neighborhood,” J. Cole told Myers. “I was always hanging around the older kids in the neighborhood that [Zach] was hanging around and they were smoking. And I was young and fearless and trying to be cool.

“So, it was like, ‘Oh, y’all smoking. Let me see that.’ And, of course, we’re all out there [with] young parents, long leashes,” he said before making it abundantly clear that his mother knew nothing of their actions.

Though not the best role model, older brother Zach disclosed his younger brother’s indiscretions to Kay, an Army vet. She was understandably devastated to learn that her youngest child was involved in these activities.

But the moment had an undeniable impact.

“The reason why I think that was a life-changing moment where after that I didn’t need much correction—I became a self-corrector—is because that was the first time I became aware that, ‘Oh, my actions can hurt someone else,’” he shared.

It was this early realization that shaped the character and integrity that J. Cole carried throughout both his time at St. John’s University and his subsequent success in the music industry.

• Business

by Stacy Jackson

March 23, 2023

Mellody Hobson Raises $1.45B For Project Black Fund

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This Black woman’s efforts are predicted to greatly impact Black suppliers.

Mellody Hobson’s Ariel Alternatives has raised $1.45 billion for Project Black LP, the inaugural private equity initiative of Ariel Investments.

Reportedly, investors committed between $100 million to $200 million over the fund’s seven-year investment period.

“We are scaling change. In so doing, we will redefine what it means to be a minority-owned business in the United States. We are grateful to our investors who share our mission,” said Hobson, co-founder of Ariel Alternatives and co-CEO and president of Ariel Investments, according to a press statement.

Project Black investors include AmerisourceBergen Corp., Hobson Lucas Family Foundation, Lowe’s Cos. Inc., Synchrony Financial, Walmart Inc., Ballmer Group, and Salesforce Inc.

“We chose to partner with large institutions that are seeking to drive widespread corporate vendor diversity. Our goal is to help close the racial wealth gap by creating minority-owned businesses of scale through access to both capital and customers,” said Leslie A. Brun, co-founder, chairman & CEO of Ariel Alternatives, in a press release.

Future plans for Project Black include working with 6-10 middle-market platform companies with $100 million to $1 billion in revenue, focusing on high-margin sectors that target markets, including healthcare, industrial, media and marketing, outsourcing, manufacturing and packaging, technology, transportation and logistics, and financial and professional services.

Forbes reported these efforts would move S&P companies to spend between $8 billion to $10 billion with Black and Latino suppliers, resulting in a significant increase in jobs for minorities.

Hobson made history last year after becoming part owner of the Denver Broncos. “We are excited to announce that Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO of Ariel Investments, has agreed to join our ownership group. Beyond her role at Ariel, Mellody is an influential leader in corporate and civic organizations across the nation,” owner Rob Walton said in a statement at the time.

Ariel Investments L.L.C. celebrates its 40^th anniversary this year.

• Arts and Culture

by Iman Milner

March 23, 2023

It’s Nostalgic: Netflix’s ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always’ Trailer Gives Us The Feels

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Remakes and re-imaginings of our favorite shows and movies have been all the rage lately and, well, for a long time. Netflix’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always is the latest to get us fired up.

Reprising his role as the aptly named Black Ranger, Walter Emanuel Jones takes center stage in the newly released trailer for the project, which is slated to hit the streaming giant on April 19.

The film will also feature original cast members Steve Cardenas, Catherine Sutherland, Karan Ashley, and David Yost. Joining the cast will be Charlie Kersh who will portray Minh, the daughter of the Yellow Ranger, played by Thuy Trang, who died in 2001.

According to Netflix’s description of the film, we will catch up with our favorite crime fighters “in the midst of a global crisis” as “they are called on once again to be the heroes the world needs…Inspired by the legendary mantra from the franchise, ‘Once a Ranger, always a Ranger,’ Once & Always reminds everyone when you become a Ranger, who are always a part of the Ranger family and always welcome.”

The last time the Rangers were united was in late 2022 when the actors mourned the death of Jason David Frank, widely known for his portrayal of Tommy Oliver aka The Green Ranger. Jones, who had gone viral on Twitter over the years due to his youthful appearance many decades after the show’s premiere, paid tribute to his fallen costar via Instagram by posting a photo of the original Rangers with the caption, “Can’t believe it…. RIP Jason David Frank🙏🏾. My heart is sad to have lost another member of our special family.”

There is no word for now on how or even if the film plans to honor Frank; however, it is has been reported that there will be homage to Trang.

• News

by Sharelle B. McNair

March 23, 2023

Diversity Where? Report Shows Spotify Has Only Spent 10% of $100M Diversity Fund

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Remember all that money Spotify “pledged” to the Creator Equity Fund?

Well, Variety reports the streaming platform has only spent 10%, roughly $10 million of the initiative worth $100 million.

In February 2022, in an attempt to save face over podcast host Joe Rogan’s COVID misinformation and racist remarks, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek apologized to the staff and listeners and pledged a massive amount of money toward “licensing, development, and marketing of music and audio content from historically marginalized groups.”

A spokesperson for Spotify emailed a statement, addressing the initiative. “The Spotify Creator Equity Fund is dedicated to a variety of initiatives that help elevate and support an inclusive and diverse portfolio of artists and creators on the platform,” the email read. “We are able to empower and uplift underrepresented voices around the world.”

The money was designed to be spent over three years and Spotify is already behind. Sources claim Spotify lacks a well-structured and clear system for vetting and approving projects. Bloomberg and Variety report the company was set to hire an eight-person team to oversee the initiative, but that hasn’t happened due to “shifting priorities.” Spotify had yet to complete its 2023 budget at the beginning of the year and had not identified priority projects.

Several ideas were pitched but not accepted, yet some partnerships did get the green light. Working with Atlanta-based HBCU, Spelman College, Spotify is curating scholarships and curriculum for students interested in podcasting. Another initiative titled Glow highlighted music from LGBTQ artists, like newcomer Ice Spice, and podcasts like “Nailing It” and “We Said What We Said,” hosted by three Black women.

Both are set to continue through this year.

While Spotify pulled 70 ofJoe Rogan’s racially-charged episodes, the show continues to draw backlash. After an apology for the show’s host, Ek decided the streaming service wouldn’t cancel the popular show hosted by the comedian and UFC analyst.

Meet Kaywanda Lamb, the founder and CEO of the Spanish for Black Girls™ program. As a seasoned certified educator with over 18 years of Spanish teaching experience, she is on a mission to help 10,000 professional Black women become bilingual with her program and international immersion experience.

Kaywanda recently returned from San Jose, Costa Rica where she took professional Black women abroad for her signature language immersion experience.

She launched Spanish for Black Girls™ in 2021 to create an easier pathway for Black women to become bilingual and has revolutionized how Black women learn Spanish. The program includes a comprehensive course plus community that not only provides an in-depth training of the Spanish language but also includes business and travel vocabulary. The program is designed to guide each student step by step to fluency in 90 days or less.

Research shows that language apps alone are not enough. Spanish language learners who desire to be fluent need deeper training in the foundation of the language and opportunities to practice and speak it often. They need a variety of learning tasks designed to help them understand what they hear and training that builds their speaking ability and confidence to respond to native speakers.

When it comes to standing out at work or gaining new clients, being bilingual adds an extra edge and the opportunity to earn more. The U.S. has 50 million Spanish speakers but only 10 million are bilingual. The opportunity to reach a new market and serve current clients better cannot be overlooked. More importantly, having a workforce that speaks the customers language and understands cultural competency helps businesses run smoothly. To help Black women build fluency and cultural competency, Kaywanda goes beyond typical language courses and provides live Q&A, expert sessions on culture, and accountability to support her students. “My goal is to teach my clients conversational Spanish so they can speak to native speakers with confidence no matter the situation,” says Kaywanda.

She has been featured on various platforms including Good Morning America and NBC, and is the author of several books. She is a certified Principal and served as an adjunct professor teaching native speakers Spanish. She also taught high school Spanish for 16 years and holds a Masters degree in Spanish Literature from Texas A&M University-Commerce.

As a Dallas, Texas-based small business owner, Kaywanda identified the need to educate Black business owners to speak Spanish conversationally in order to increase their bottom line and connect with clients in their community. Over the course of her career as an educator, she has led professional development and DEI training in Spanish and in English, launched Spanish Clubs and taken students on local and state excursions. Her students scored Gold and Silver on the National Spanish Exam and she created the “Culture Night” concept for families to see what their students were learning in class, which led her to create a similar experience for her professional clients.

Since its launch in 2021, Kaywanda has carefully crafted an experience with the Spanish for Black Girls program that has resulted in many satisfied clients. Here’s what a few of them have to say:

“Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. Above board. 10 plus value. Best bang for your buck. I’ve had tons of different programs in the past. I’ve been learning for 10 plus years but never found a program that allowed me to speak Spanish, hear and understand and sound more like a native speaker. Kaywanda and her team really teach you Spanish for your business. I highly recommend the Spanish for Black Girls program,” said Immigration Attorney Melaney LaGrone, Esq., Atlanta, GA.

“I joined Spanish for Black Girls because I wanted to enhance my speaking in Spanish. I live in Florida and I’m always surrounded by Spanish speakers and I wanted to join in on the conversation. I have truly benefited from this experience” said Intellectual Property Attorney, Nequosha Anderson.

Kaywanda and her team have made it their goal to create a safe space for black women to become bilingual and also give them the opportunity to immerse themselves in the language through their signature trip experience so they can put their learning into practice.

“It is an honor to teach Black women Spanish in my course and then to guide them on an international immersion trip designed to challenge them to navigate every situation we practice in class. We live, laugh, explore, and enjoy all while speaking Spanish everywhere we go. I’m so proud of my students,” she said.

Professional Black women looking to learn the Spanish language with ease in 90 days or less, are welcome to enroll in the course and the international immersion trip experience here: https://spanishforblackgirls.com/costa-rica-trip/