• Celebrity News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

November 28, 2023

André 3000’s All-Flute Album Beat Out Lil Wayne, Nas, Doja Cat, And Other Rappers With First-Week Sales

André 3000 didn't even have to rap on his latest album, "New Blue Sun," to outperform most of his peers in hip-hop.

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André 3000 didn’t even have to rap on his new album to outperform most of his peers.

The OutKast member released his woodwind-filled album New Blue Sun on Nov. 17 and beat out rappers like Lil Wayne, Nas, and Logic with his first-week sales. According to Hits Daily Double, 3000’s first album release in 17 years debuted at number 30 on the list of the top 50 albums with 24,244 units sold.

While he didn’t beat out Drake, Dolly Parton, and Taylor Swift who sit in the top three spots, he did surpass names like Doja Cat, The Weeknd, Chris Brown, and NBA Young Boy. André 3000 was clear about not rapping on his latest release, opting for no words at all.

Here are some of the rappers he bested, according to Hip Hop by the Numbers.

Rappers Andre 3000 outsold w/ his flute album (24k)

Nas (17k)
Logic (18k)
Lil Tjay (22k)
EST Gee (17k)
Ice Spice (15k)
Lil Wayne (19k)
Kodak Black (23k)
Macklemore (22k)
Rae Sremmurd (18k)
Westside Gunn (20k)
French Montana (21k)
Real Boston Richey (15k)
Yo Gotti x DJ Drama… pic.twitter.com/q3fIk1RLcf

— Hip Hop By The Numbers (@HipHopNumbers) November 25, 2023

New Blue Sun also secured a placement on Billboard‘s Hot 100 with the album’s opening track, “I Swear, I Really Wanted To Make A ‘Rap’ Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time,” debuting at No. 90.

Billboard Hot 100: #90(new) I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a 'Rap' Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time, André 3000.

— chart data (@chartdata) November 27, 2023

Fans celebrated the success of André 3000’s genre-bending music release that he put out “independently” and with “no rollout,” as one fan noted.

“Nothing against a few of these people, but this even being remotely successful should just show people to put out what you want and feel and it will be respected,” one user wrote.

“If this isn’t a wake-up call for rappers to make better songs/albums then idk what is,” added someone else.

RELATED CONTENT: Mugshots And Videos Of Tupac And Biggie Expected to Fetch Big Bucks At Auction

• News History

by Kandiss Edwards

November 28, 2023

9 Simple Ways To Inspire People To Be Great

9 simple tips to learn the keys to positive reinforcement and encouragement that will propel people to move in the right direction.

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Originally Published Nov. 23, 2016

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’
–Maya Angelou

This quote by Maya Angelou is a simple reminder of the impact one can make in someone’s life through an act of kindness, positive inspiration, or something as small as how one responds to a text message.

I used to think I was weak because I would not respond to situations or people in a way that would hurt them, but now I realize it’s OK. I want to be a peacemaker or peacekeeper when at all possible, and in doing so, I believe that I am bringing out the best in others. Inspiration is powerful and can significantly change a person’s life.

Greatness is different for everyone, and you have to determine what makes you great or what it means for you to be great yourself. Inspiring someone to greatness is both good for those who are being inspired and the one providing inspiration.

Here are a few tips I’d like to share with you to encourage greatness.

1. Be Authentic

People want to know that you care; the best way to show you care is to be authentic and kind.

2. Be Enthusiastic

It is said that nothing happens without enthusiasm. When you are enthusiastic, you are more attractive and inviting. Enthusiasm is infectious. When you are enthusiastic about the work you do, you will spark a fire of enthusiasm in others.

3. Connect Emotionally

Connecting emotionally means being interested and making others feel important. For example, commenting on a Facebook post versus just hitting the ‘like’ button goes a long way. We all want to be liked and supported.

4. Be a Storyteller

When we hear stories, we build a stronger connection with the person telling the story and give them the freedom to share their own stories.

5. Be Encouraging

Encouragement is such a selfless act, and words matter. Our words have the capacity to change lives and bring life.

6. Be a Listener

Being distracted and doing other things while someone is talking to you is the fastest way to show that you are uninterested. You must listen with your eyes.

7. Keep Your Promises:

Showing up is the key to success. The quickest way to destroy the trust that you’ve worked so hard for is not to keep your word. Even if you need more time, do what you said.

8. Keep It Positive

A great way to stay positive is to write down what you are grateful for.

9. Be Charismatic and Confident

Confident body language affects how others see you. For example, a simple smile is a sign of both confidence and charisma.
Have you had the pleasure of inspiring someone to take a positive step forward to a better life? Or, has someone helped inspire you to overcome a significant struggle? If so, we’d love to hear all about it in the comments.

RELATED CONTENT: Black Non-Profit Uses Mobile Mentoring Bus And New Apparel Line To Inspire Black And Brown Youth

This article was written by LaToyia Dennis.

LaToyia Dennis is a wife, motivated mom, parent enthusiast, principal fundraising consultant, and founder of A Chance to Learn. LaToyia is a dynamic, savvy, MBA-educated, successful leader in advancing the nonprofit sector, a relationship manager, and an enthusiastic speaker. Learn more about LaToyia via her website at www.motivatedmom.org and follow her on Twitter @LaToyiaDennis.

• Entertainment

by Rafael Pena

November 28, 2023

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Star Micah Abbey Made $5K A Day During Filming

Micah Abbey emerged not only as a formidable talent in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" but also as a financial powerhouse.

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In the realm of animated blockbuster success, 16-year-old Micah Abbey emerged not only as a formidable talent in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which was released in theaters on Aug. 2, but also as a financial powerhouse. Disclosures from his minors contract, as reported by TMZ, reveal that Micah commanded an impressive $5,000 per recording session for his role as Donatello, securing a guaranteed payday of $50,000.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Micah Abbey (@micahabbey)

Micah Abbey, hailing from a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, embarked on a journey to Los Angeles at the tender age of ten. A cultural blend of Italian and Eastern European heritage from his mother’s side intersects with the tapestry of being a first-generation Ghanaian on his father’s side, according to IMDb. 

The contract hinted at even more substantial earnings through potential bonuses, dangling an enticing $225,000 if the film had achieved a lofty $300 million at the domestic box office. Unfortunately, the movie fell short of this mark, grossing approximately $118 million domestically, meaning Micah missed out on the bonus windfall.

Despite not reaching the ambitious box office target, the animated reboot featuring heavyweight stars like John Cena, Seth Rogen, and Rose Byrne, resonated positively with fans, earning a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Micah’s journey to financial success doesn’t conclude with this project. The talented teen is set to continue reaping the rewards of his vocal prowess as he reprises his role in the upcoming Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, scheduled to debut on Paramount+ next year.

Micah’s story mirrors not only his rise as a young star but also the evolving landscape of animated film successes, where talent and audience appeal often translate into significant financial gains.

RELATED CONTENT: Nick Cannon Shares What It Takes To Be A Future Superstar

by Atiya Jordan

November 28, 2023

40% Of Sex-Related Industry Workers Experienced Bank Account Closures 

Advocates call the decriminalization of sex work a racial justice issue, requiring efforts to address the root causes of vulnerability.

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Banking access has been an issue for the entire sex work community since at least the 1960s. However, BIPOC sex-related industry workers remain with fewer, and often less attractive, options for financial stability.

According to The New York Times, an increasing number of customer bank accounts are shutting down without due process, but those who work in sex-related industries say they have “long-lived under that threat of eviction.”

The criminalization of consensual sex work has often triggered vulnerabilities in financial censorship and a lack of accountability by tech platforms, which disproportionately harm Black and Brown communities.

For instance, PayPal and Venmo have a history of closing random accounts of sex workers and small businesses in the adult industry without explanation. According to a May report by the Free Speech Coalition, a nonprofit trade group for the adult entertainment industry, nearly two-thirds of respondents working in the adult industry have lost access to a bank account or financial service. What’s more, 40 percent of those respondents experienced account closures in the past year.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Free Speech Coalition (@freespeechcoalition)

“If giving you a bank account is likely to make them lose money or expose them to undue risk that is not proportionate to the reward, they are not going to give you a bank account,” Bianca Beebe, a sex work policy researcher and former co-chair of the Oregon Sex Workers’ Committee, told the Times.

In 2021, MasterCard asked for adult content to be reviewed by hosting sites before publishing,  enforcing that sellers present “documented age and identity verification for all people depicted and those uploading the content.”

In the same year, OnlyFans announced that it would ban sexual content because banking entities were opposed to processing payments related to adult content. A few days later, the platform reversed its decision following backlash from content creators who charge subscribers fees for watching their sexual content. But some of its creators are still struggling to get paid.

“Companies like Mastercard have been unduly influenced by anti-porn and anti-sex work groups such as the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (formally Morality in Media) and anti-prostitution activists,” said Angela Jones, a sex work scholar from New York, Mashable reported.

“It is important to realize that these activists are not actually targeting trafficking; instead, they use anti-trafficking discourse as a way of targeting all forms of commercial sex. The goal of the anti-porn movement is to deplatform all sex workers.”

Advocates call the decriminalization of sex work a racial justice issue, requiring efforts to address the root causes of vulnerability. Black women sex workers navigate in a space where racism and sexism intersect, and BIPOC sex workers as a whole remain exploited while financial discrimination limits their access to other rights, like a credit score, buying property, or insurance.

As a result, sex workers strive to support themselves through proactively saving money and finding alternative ways for compensation. Some workers switch creator platforms, use crypto to facilitate payments, or build websites for direct payment.

In Sex Workers, Psychics, and Numbers Runners, author Lashawn Harris argued that the “underground economy” helped Black women rise to the top during the 20^th century. In other words, sex work was among other unreported work that catalyzed working-class Black women’s creation of financial stability and a sense of labor autonomy and mobility.

“Many working-poor women viewed unreported labor as possible avenues toward affording high city costs and confronting labor discrimination and the 1930s economic downturn. Others reasoned that informal labor offered opportunities to construct new labor identities, escape unskilled labor and family dysfunction, and secure wealth, sexual pleasures, and employment mobility.”

At the same time, Black women were more likely to experience the “conspicuous and hidden dangers associated” with such volatile labor opportunities.

• Sports

by Derek Major

November 28, 2023

Ohio State Athletic Director Goes Off On Unknown University Of Michigan Staffer

OSU's Gene Smith wasn't having it.

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The games between Michigan and Ohio State are always testy affairs, but the tension hit a fever pitch between the two teams last weekend. A clip posted by Trey Wallace of Outkick on X shows Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith getting into a profanity-laced conversation with an unidentified sideline official and a Michigan staff member.

In the clip, the Michigan official asks Smith for his name and questions him for seemingly standing too close to the field during the game. Smith did not take the questions well.

“What the f— is yours? What the f— is your name?” Smith asked the official before turning his attention to the Michigan staffer. “I’m behind the yellow line. Don’t get me started.”

The clip ends when an off-camera Michigan staffer swiped [at Wallace’s phone. It’s unclear what led to Smith’s response. 

Unfortunately, Smith, who will retire at the end of the 2023-24 academic year, Michigan got the last word, winning the game 30-24 and qualifying for the Big Ten Conference Championship game against Iowa on Dec. 2 at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts.

For Michigan, making the Big Ten Championship is a slap in the face of those who accused the Wolverines and head coach Jim Harbaugh of cheating after Harbaugh was forced to miss Michigan’s last three games of the regular season against Penn State, Maryland, and Ohio State amid the conference’s investigation into alleged impermissible, in-person sign-stealing by a member of Michigan’s football staff.

Ohio State, meanwhile, is likely to miss the College Football Playoff, but it may get a bid to a New Year’s Day bowl game. Outside of what bowl game the Buckeyes will play, all eyes are on wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and whether he will enter the NFL Draft, where he is a lock to be a top-five pick or return to Ohio State for his senior year.

• Health and Wellness

by Stacy Jackson

November 28, 2023

115 Days and Counting: New Jersey Nurses Strike For Better Pay

Nurses at one of the largest hospitals in New Jersey want better pay and strict patient-to-nurse ratios like those in California.

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Nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, one of the largest in the state of New Jersey, continue a 115-day strike that started on Aug. 4 to demand better pay.

The nurses at the 620-bed New Brunswick hospital want better pay and strict patient-to-nurse ratios, NJ.com reported. But hospital officials oppose enforceable patient-to-nurse ratios because they believe it limits the flexibility of staffing during higher volume periods, according to the outlet.

Health professionals allege chronic understaffing compromised patient care. They believe New Jersey should enforce staffing guidelines like California.

According to Becker’s Hospital Review, California law enforces a one-to-one ratio of nurses to patients in operating rooms, one-to-two in intensive care, labor and delivery, ICU patients in the ER, and neonatal care and one-to-four in emergency rooms, postpartum/antepartum and telemetry units among other guidelines.

Going without pay is a courageous undertaking in a tough economy and Judy Danella, a registered nurse at the facility and president of United Steel Workers Local 4-200 believes the hospital is using it to its advantage. Danella, the president of the union that represents the nurses said about the loss of payment according to NJ.com, “I believe that’s probably one of the aspects that the hospital is using to break the union.”

Wendy Gottsegen, a spokeswoman for the hospital said “the strike has cost the hospital over $120 million to ensure continuity of all patient care services, which we have achieved.” She added that the hospital is

“increasingly concerned for the well-being of [its] nurses and their families, and the impact the union’s prolonged strike is having on them as the union’s labor action extends.”

According to Gottsegen, “RWJUH staffing guidelines meet or exceed the union staffing proposal from months ago, even before the strike, and include nurse-to-patient standards that far exceed ratios proposed in legislation in Trenton or in staffing laws passed in states like California.” The spokeswoman added that they hope “to reach a fair and equitable resolution as soon as possible to end this strike and bring [its] nurses back.”

One nurse, identified as Jeffrey Martin said to the outlet that “The last three months have been pretty difficult.”

The nurses who have gone 87 days without benefits and 115 days without a paycheck continue to stand their ground against RWJBarnabas Health, known to be one of the most powerful entities in the state, the outlet noted.

RELATED CONTENT: Finally! SAG-AFTRA Strike Comes to An End After Reaching Tentative Deal With Studios

• Entrepreneurship

by Kandiss Edwards

November 28, 2023

5 Tips To Survive Your 9-5 With A Side Hustle

Dreaming of ditching your 9-5 and turning your side hustle into full-time entrepreneurship? Here's how to protect your current job during that transition.

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*Originally Published  Oct. 21, 2016

No matter where I am in my travels, there seems to be an ongoing buzz about entrepreneurship, side hustles, side businesses, and so on. The conversations are endless.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nearly 7 million workers, or approximately 5% of the workforce, holds more than one job. While I am a staunch advocate for the creation of multiple streams of income, the reason why some entrepreneurs retain their nine-to-five as one of them varies from person to person. Many are waiting for their definition of “the right time” to make that leap from what may be their largest investor in their business, to full-time entrepreneurship.

While waiting for that right time, I offer the following five tips to protect your relationship with the current boss in preparation for becoming the future boss:

1. Know Your Restrictions

Familiarize yourself with the language in any employment agreements that you may have signed. Are you able to work a second job? If you are permitted to seek additional employment, are there any restrictions on the type of additional job you can work? Are there any restrictions on the type of company or industry with whom you can do business? When in doubt, seek legal advice and have copies of these documents available for review, if they exist.

2. Discretion Is Everything

Unless it is company policy to divulge such information, the entire world doesn’t need to know. Some people may be intimidated by your ambition, for example. You may give the impression that you are distracted by your personal goals and not focused on those of your employer. How visible on social media is your business, if your employer conducts a search? In the event of a potential downsizing, you could very well be targeted, if it is assumed that you aren’t a committed employee and already have one foot out of the door.

3. Side Means Side

Sideline your personal business matters during your company’s hours of operation. No visible side business activities should be occurring in the workplace. Reserve this activity for before and after work and during your lunch breaks. You’re being paid to do their work for now. Don’t give someone without a dream an opportunity to negatively affect yours.

4. Beware of Burnout

Don’t allow your personal appearance or your performance to slip. The effects of your midnight personal grind should not be noticeable to your co-workers. Self-care is a must.

5. Hands Off!

What’s theirs is theirs, not yours. Avoid using company resources for your business. This includes phones (especially for international calls), copiers, papers, supplies, and so on.  In most companies, this is considered theft and is grounds for termination.

The goal is to retain your nine-to-five investor for now. They’re funding your next phenomenal dream business. Do not relinquish that control, until you are ready to exit on your terms—and not a day sooner.

RELATED CONTENT: Life After 9-5: Transitioning From Your Career to Your Calling

Jacqueline Miller is a speaker, author, and life strategist empowering mothers to reconnect with their pre-mom dreams, guilt-free. She provides clarity and strategies for successfully managing their careers, family, relationships, finances, time, and self-care. Learn more about Jacqueline via her website at thejacquelinemiller.com and follow her on X/Twitter, @mogulmomdujour.

• Sisters Inc

by Stacy Jackson

November 28, 2023

Retired College Administrator, 57, To Pose As Rookie For 2024 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

A 57-year-old retired college associate dean is one of seven finalists for the 2024 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.

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A 57-year-old retired associate dean from Long Beach, California, will model for the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue after spending her younger days too afraid to wear a bikini.

The woman, identified as Nina Cash, was selected out of thousands of aspiring Sports Illustrated models. She has received support from younger women and men but credits her husband for encouraging her to follow her dreams when she got cold feet, WSB-TV reported. Cash’s husband took her photo and supported her decision to submit it to the contest.

The wife and mother of three girls responded to critics who alleged that her husband was the one who boosted her up to submit to the model search. “No — my husband encouraged me because I wanted to do it. Big difference.”

Cash added, “He didn’t say, ‘I want you to show everybody that you could wear a bikini at [57]’. He said, ‘Honey, if you want to do it, I support you 125%.’”

The 57-year-old said Kathy Jacobs — who in 2020 became the oldest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue model—inspired her. Now, it’s Cash’s turn to inspire others, and she’s already doing that, according to the news outlet. She said that people have reached out to her about the impact that she has had on them. “I get a lot of people private messaging me [on social media] saying, ‘Thank you for making it OK to go gray.’” 

Others have said, “‘Thank you for making it OK for a woman to be an educator or to have advanced degrees and still do something like this,’” Cash said, according to the news outlet.

The retired college associate dean-turned-model obtained academic degrees in negotiation, conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and human services. She also earned a doctorate in educational leadership. Her college administration experience spans 30 years.

Cash is one of seven finalists who will pose as rookies for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s 2024 issue. According to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s website, other winners who will be featured are Brittney Nicole, Achieng Agutu, Penny Lane, Jena Sims, Sharina Gutierrez, and Berkleigh Wright.

RELATED CONTENT: 5 Black Swimsuit Designers Making Waves This Summer

• News

by Daniel Johnson

November 28, 2023

Alan Kneeland Named First Black President Of Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association

The Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association has named Alan Kneeland, co-owner of The Combine, the first Black president in its long history.

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The Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association has named its first Black president in its long history. Alan Kneeland, co-owner of The Combine, told the Kansas City Star, “It’s very humbling.”

“It is something that I didn’t necessarily see myself doing, and if you would have asked me 15 years ago, I would have said that’s impossible,” he added. “But when you have a passion for something and you really put your heart into it, anything is possible.”

The association, which formed out of the Missouri Restaurant Association, has been around since 1916 when it was the Kansas City Business Men’s Association. The organization governs restaurants in the Kansas City area and helps them maintain bonds.

Post-pandemic, some restaurants have refused to evolve by not offering to-go options for customers or embracing delivery services like DoorDash. Kneeland says that change is inevitable in the restaurant business. “A lot of restaurants have had to change their concepts and change the way they do business to switch things up because the things that people were doing 10 years ago in the restaurant industry are definitely not what they’re doing now,” he told the Star.

Kneeland wants to use his position to generate interest in the restaurant industry in Kansas City’s schools to change the perception that the food service industry is a dead-end job. He believes that the emergence of more Black-owned businesses in the Kansas City area might be the key, even though that’s not a new concept.

“I think it is wild that Black-owned restaurants are looked at as something new in the metro,” Kneeland said. “For some reason, we don’t look at Gates or Arthur Bryant’s, which are some of the oldest eating places in the city and started by Black people in a time where Black people weren’t allowed to do very much.”

Kneeland hopes his ideas to engage the youth can awaken a desire to be business owners and entrepreneurs earlier than they awoke in himself, telling the Kansas City Star, “I think a lot of younger kids kind of look down at working in the food industry now. I didn’t realize that I wanted to be a restaurant owner until after being in the industry for at least eight years, but now I don’t think many kids think there is a point trying to work your way up.”

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