OCA Becomes the World’s First Agency Dedicated to Creative Directors

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Fashion styling has been an integral pillar of first-class musician’s success for decades. Whether it is for events, social media, or content creation, clothing is an embodiment of an artist’s brand and a big reflection of how they will be perceived. Now more than ever, the realm of styling has expanded even more to capture the demand for creative direction. Artists are frequently seeking out creative direction to bring their entire vision to life. 

Original Creative Agency (OCA) is the world’s first agency that strictly represents creative directors. Founded by two former artists, Jesse Rose and Jesse Rogg, the agency represents 90 percent of the top 1 percent of musicians. Both founders started off as separate music producers who eventually joined forces to produce artists together.

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Rose said, “When we started our company, Kanye was leading the idea of having a creative team, but also Beyoncé had a creative team as well. And so, our kind of job was like, ‘How can we give other artists a creative team and facilitate that for them?’ And slowly over the last five years, it’s just become more and more essential.” Rogg replied, “I know that the term creative director is a slightly nebulous term. It can mean many different things. To us, it really means to be the architect of the entire creative universe for an artist, or a brand, or whoever a client is, and to make sure that house gets built properly, and the story gets told properly and whatnot.”

The diversification of online and social media content creation has transcended previous traditions of baseline magazine covers, spreads, and music videos. Now, there are so many different platforms that require creative management to truly uphold a relevant and consistent aesthetic. As artists begin to embark on regularly scheduled tours and other events post lockdown, it is important to note how the management of content can completely alter outcomes for better or for worse. 

The evolution of their pairings with some of music’s biggest creative forces has led them to expand their clientele in the culture, entertainment and fashion space. In 2022, OCA collaborated with  Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Steve Lacy, Nicki Minaj, A24, Cardi B, Machine Gun Kelly, Apple, Alicia Keys and many more. As far as fashion goes, the agency has begun working with designer Humberto Leon and fashion creative director Sarah Bassett. 

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Target Progresses on Investing $2 Billion in Black-owned Businesses

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In April of 2021, Target made a commitment to spend  $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025. The general merchandise retailer vowed to expand the number of Black-owned brands available in Target stores as well as spend more with Black-owned suppliers. Target plan is exemplifying their purpose through an end goal that creates more equitable experiences for Black guests, obtains new resources for Black entrepreneurs, and harnesses the full impact, scale, and size of their economic resources.

Today, Target is honoring their dedication to these goals and upholding transparency. They are launching a new media fund initiative through an in-house media company, Roundel. Since 2020, Target’s spending budget in conjunction with Black-owned companies and suppliers has increased by over 50 percent. Additionally, the number of Black-owned brands across their assortment has doubled to more than 100. Target’s clarity in their endeavors moving forward keeps power in the hands of their mission. The Roundel Media Fund, which serves to offset the cost of marketing programs at Target will award over  $25 million in media to Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) brands by 2025. 

In May, Target announced ‘Forward Founders’, the accelerator program for early-stage CPG companies looking to better understand retail. It’s designed to help historically under-resourced founders be the next wave of wealth-building companies. 

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A closer look at some of Target’s progress since the start of this initiative includes over 30 Black entrepreneurs supported through Forward Founders, over 2,000 underrepresented entrepreneurs have been granted access to free resources through Target’s virtual Forward Founders program, over 100 Black-owned brands are now available at Target across every major category, a 65% increase in Black-owned beauty brands at Target over the past year, and over 200 books from Black authors added to this assortment over the last year. 

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Michael Rubin, Meek Mill, Jalen Hurts, Darius Slay, & More Join REFORM Alliance’s Philadelphia Holiday Giveback

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To provide more than 30 children in the PA/NJ region who have been negatively touched by the criminal justice system with a unique, once-in-a-lifetime holiday event, REFORM Alliance, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Philadelphia Eagles teamed up.

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The first-ever “Eagle for a Day” adventure began in the afternoon. Attending kids and families were welcomed inside the NovaCare Complex by Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin and fellow REFORM co-chair and award-winning rapper Meek Mill. The guests were given exclusive Eagles swag and bags to use while participating in a Jr. Combine experience. Children heard from head coach Nick Sirianni inside the NovaCare Complex indoor practice facility, tossed passes with Meek, and ran the 40-yard dash with Philadelphia Eagles players Darius Slay, Avonte Maddox, Jordan Mailata, and Dallas Goedert. Each youngster signed their one-day contract with the Eagles during the Free Agent event, including a unique team jersey presentation. The kids then enjoyed an exclusive VIP tour of the facilities. The “Eagle for a Day” event ended at the facility auditorium with a memorable speech by quarterback Jalen Hurts, Michael Rubin, and Meek Mill. Howie Roseman, the Eagles executive vice president and general manager, welcomed the 12/13/22 free agent class.

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After that, participating families traveled to the Wells Fargo Center for the “76ers VIP Gameday experience,” where young guests could join a close-quarters Q&A with 76ers head coach Doc Rivers. All the kids arrived at the court just before tip-off to participate in a unique pre-game bell-ringing ceremony with Michael and Meek. Families of visitors could watch the Philadelphia Sixers vs. Sacramento Kings game from courtside seats and VIP suite boxes. The kids entertained the crowd during halftime with a play on the court.

The attendees of the event were brought together by Above All Odds/Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, the Center for Family Services, and the Pennsylvania Chapter of National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., nonprofit partners of REFORM Alliance. Soon after, attendees were greeted to their VIP suites for supper and treated to a fantastic holiday fit package that included personalized Sixers jerseys and Fanatics apparel.

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Gunna And Goodr Treat 1,000 Atlanta Families To Christmas

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Walmart shoppers in College Park (6149 Old National Hwy, College Park, GA 30349) will have the chance to receive a $100 gift card and a special gift from multi-platinum, GRAMMY-nominated rapper, Gunna, during the 5th  Annual Gunna’s Great Giveaway event on Sunday, December 18th from 1-4 PM. Representatives of the artist will present the gift cards to 1,000 pre-registered families in Gunna’s hometown at an event powered by Goodr.
 
Goodr and Gunna have been frequent philanthropic partners for several years now. The two have provided the Atlanta community with several free Pop-up Grocery Markets, as well as coat giveaways, back-to-school donation events and a free shopping experience for the students and their families of Ronald E. McNair Middle School where the rapper once attended. Gunna’s Drip Closet & Goodr Grocery Store provides students of the Title 1 school with access to free food, clothing and hygiene items during the school
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“Much respect to Gunna who, no matter what, still finds a way to contribute to the community that raised him,” says Goodr Founder and CEO, Jasmine Crowe-Houston. “We know that people will struggle unlike any other year this holiday season and it is our honor to maintain Gunna’s legacy of giving back.”

What better welcome home AND X-Mas gift is this for Gunna, who was just released from Fulton County Jail today after accepting a Alford Plea in the YSL RICO case.

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Sneaker Studio FCTRY LAb Acquires $6 Million Fundraise; One of the Largest Investments in a Black Founder in 2022

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FCTRY LAb is a BIPOC-led, LA-based footwear prototyping lab and venture studio that aims to democratize sneaker production and open-source innovation for emerging and established designers and brands of all sizes. FCTRY LAb’s fundraiser for their launch on December 15th is one of 2022’s largest investments in a Black Founder.

The independent innovation studio was founded by the former head of Yeezy-Adidas Innovation Lab, Omar Bailey and the former Wall Street and private equity executive, Abhishek Som. The studio is based out of the U.S. to avoid supply chain disruptions and delays. This reduces product development time down to 1-3 months, which would otherwise fall at 8-12 months. 

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Much like the eyewear industry that borders monopolization, large sneaker corporations often hold on to an overwhelming majority of profits that are fueled by the creative vigor harnessed by minority designers, influencers and athletes. FCTRY LAb is working to change this reality by pushing for equity and transformative techniques that overthrow the mechanisms that made this truth possible in the first place. 

The original $6 million subdivision included a diverse array of venture capital firms, top professional athletes and a myriad of pedigreed angel investors. The Investors include the Co-Founder of Tinder (via Time Zero Capital), Co-Founder of WeWork, the West Coast Head of Warburg Pincus, and a consortium of NBA & NFL stars via Chicago-based Aurelien Capital.

Venture capital investment was led by the LA-based, Pay-Pal-backed Slauson & Co, with additional investment from Relay Ventures, Elysian Park Ventures (the private investment arm of the Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group), Level One Fund & Fog City Capital amidst others.

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Omar Bailey helped transition the gap from trailblazing conceptual design into functionally wearable footwear during the $1 Billion revenue growth of Yeezy-Adidas. Bailey has developed footwear for entertainers and athletes such as Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, and Karim Benzema. With over twenty years of experience under his belt, he has also worked alongside culturally impressive brands like Supreme, New Balance, K-Swiss & Timberland. 

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Saweetie Kicks Off Her Icy Baby Foundation

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Hometown superstar, Saweetie and her Icy Baby Foundation were in Oakland this weekend giving back. She held a financial empowerment kickoff event for the Icy Baby Foundation’s upcoming six-week financial literacy course.  The course is set to begin in January and is open to ages seven 7-17. The Icy Baby Foundation is currently hosting kickoff events on the West Coast before the program launch. Youth in attendance are eligible to receive a funded debit card, educational resources, and information about saving, budgeting, and financial planning.

Saweetie created the foundation with her grandmother, Roxane Harper to specifically financially empower Black and Brown youth through financial literacy and education.  The foundation’s mission is to cultivate entrepreneurial mindsets within underserved communities that enable people to make better life and career decisions despite setbacks or circumstances. 

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“I want to continue using my foundation and resources to financially empower young children and students, especially in Black and Brown communities. The long-term goal for the Icy Baby Foundation is to increase financial literacy amongst kids and propel them to brighter futures. My grandmother and I have worked on this for a few years so it’s exciting to implement this course and program for young people finally,” said Saweetie. 

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YNW Melly Says He is “In Fear For My Life” in Jail

YNW Melly Makes Accusations of Unfair Treatment in Jail

Rapper YNW Melly appears to be experiencing some serious struggles in jail as he await his murder trial, going so far as to say that he is being threatened by jail staff and that he fears for his life.

On Monday, the artist took to Instagram, sharing two separate uploads of mugshots, describing allegations of what may be considered cruel and unusual punishment and a violation of his civil rights at Broward County Jail in For Lauderdale, Florida.

The first caption reads as follows:

“As of this moment today I am officially in fear of my life. A new Captain named Hubert and XO Jenkins have taken over the jail for two weeks now and have handed out even harsher punishments for me then the previous ones in place. Since December 1 I have been moved and housed on a unit that holds 24 inmates at once. I am the only inmate being housed on the vacant unit, with no phone privilege, no television and no access to a newspaper. They are watching my every move on camera making sure I don’t use the phone to tell the world how I am being mistreated, discriminated, threatened physically, harassed. When I come out of my cell for the 1 hour a day, all other inmates in the adjoining dorms must go back in there cell. I am being subjected to cruel and unusual treatment at the hands of deputies and high-ranking staff of the Broward Sheriffs Office. I have been threatened by Deputies, Lieutenants and Sergeants that say “they will hide me from the world” and threaten to “beat my ass everyday and if I tell my lawyers they will lie and say I hit them first.” Words from Sergeant Anthony Kidd and Lieutenant Jean Baptiste. I have literally been hidden from the World so I have no other choice but to believe the next step is them beating ½ to death like they do to other inmates almost daily here at the main jail in Broward County.”

Melly also tagged several local and national news channels at the end of the post.

In a second post, he shared another mugshot and wrote:

I cant call my family or lawyers to notify them if I have been beaten or harassed. They say my phone privileges are taken permanently because all of the infractions over the last seven months. THAT IS A LIE! They took my phone privileges indefinitely off of my 1″ violation for using another inmates pin to talk on the phone when I am not allowed to use the phone.
If I had been treated like every other inmate at this facility my phone pin would have been restored and phone privileges given back after 30 days per the handbook. I have however went without phone privileges since MAY 8, 2022 and have not been given back my phone pin since the first year I was here. I have served all my disciplinary time so why are my phone privileges still taken. Why am I the ONLY inmate on a unit by themselves BLOCKED from any human interaction? There are inmates here, that have been convicted, of orchestrating robberies over the jail phone and another who planned an escape from jail that was carried out over the jail phone, they are still allowed to use the phone after committing serious crimes and security threats to the facility. But my phone privileges are taken indefinitely for violating a harmless phone policy that carries a punishment of 30 days max!!! I am housed and surrounded in the care of power struck deputies and captains of high authority that even have told me to my face that “they don’t like me” and “I pissed them off”. I am not safe in the hands of these people especially if the highest in command in the jail “doesn’t like me”. I am in fear of my life. My family is in fear of my life. I can not do another day here. Someone please help me get moved to another county jail until my trial. PLEASE!”

The artist, whose real name is Jamell Demons, was arrested in 2019 in conjunction with a double homicide of two of his friends and has been charged with premeditated murder. His trial was set to begin in March of 2022, but has been delayed. There is no clear expected start date.

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Chicago’s WGCI Big Jam Headlined by Moneybagg Yo Leads to $13,000 Donation to Local Schools

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iHeartMedia’s sold-out Big Jam concert was held on Saturday, Dec. 3, at the United Center, hosted by 107.5 WGCI, Chicago’s #1 Station for Hip-Hop and R&B, and Get Covered Illinois. Nearly 13,000 spectators attended to kick off the holiday season. Moneybagg Yo, Nardo Wick, Glorilla, Saucy Santana, Muni Long, Tink, PGF Nuk, Sonta, and SleazyWorld Go were among the performers on the bill.

“107.5 WGCI’s Big Jam has become one of Chicago’s premiere concerts, which our listeners look forward to attending every December,” said Johnnie D, Program Director for 107.5 WGCI. “We take pride in producing an incredible show of top-flight talent and connecting with our listening audience in a very organic way. However, the most important aspect of this show is our Adopt-A-School Program. This year, we donated $8,000 to Johnson Elementary School and $5,000 to Scott Joplin Elementary School.”  

iHeartMedia In 2017, after visiting Scott Joplin Elementary School in Chicago’s South Side and learning more about the students’ urgent need for music development, Region President Matt Scarano and other iHeartMedia executives committed support to the institution. This was the beginning of Chicago’s Adopt-A-School Program. Since then, $1 from the sale of each ticket to WGCI’s two annual signature concerts, Summer Jam and Big Jam, has been given to the school to support the creation of a formal music curriculum, honoring the school’s founding father and namesake, the renowned composer and pianist known as “the king of ragtime.”

Scott Joplin Elementary will continue to receive a yearly $5,000 grant from ticket sales from iHeartMedia Chicago. Johnson Elementary School on the West Side of Chicago was added to the Adopt-A-School Program in 2021 and will use the donated funds from ticket sales to start a music, art, or theater program. The academic program at Johnson Elementary School is dedicated to giving kids the knowledge and abilities they need to succeed in school and life. The school will be able to offer kids an artistic curriculum that will enhance their lives and communities with the aid of iHeartMedia Chicago.

“Our partnership with these two schools underscores iHeart’s commitment to our local communities,” said Matt Scarano, President of iHeartMedia Chicago. “Scott Joplin Elementary School and Johnson Elementary School represent the future of Chicago. We’re very proud to provide them with the music learning resources they need, so that our city’s future remains bright and artistically rich.” 

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Alex Jones Unpacks Kanye West Interview, describing a “homoerotic Hitler obsession”

Alex Jones Discusses Kanye West Interview on Steven Crowders show

You know 2022 was a bizarre year when Alex Jones starts to call other people crazy, especially a formerly beloved hip-hop icon. However, he did just that, going on Steven Crowder’s YouTube show to discuss the fallout and his reactions from his interview with Kanye West from last week.

After showing some clips of the interview to provide for context, Crowder asks Jones if in “his wildest dreams” that he expected Kanye to make some of the outlandish statements that he did. Jones said that he did not, continuing that he didn’t give Kanye limits as to what he could talk about, but asked that he talk about “real issues,” to which Kanye didn’t obviously adhere,

Jones called Ye’s mask “creepy,” before stating that he didn’t believe that West understood World War II history, saying that Ye didn’t have “a fifth grade education about the Nazis.”

He called Nick Fuentes “baby Hitler,” saying that Fuentes and other supporters had a “homoerotic Hitler obsession,” claiming “it’s like some homoerotic, you know, thing over Hitler. That is, kinda, what’s going on. There’s this Hitler fetish”

Jones went on to say that Hitler was a pedophile, amongst other things, stating: “Hitler was horrible, screw Hitler, burn in hell Hitler.”

Later in the interview, Crowder’s co-host interjected to say that as a Christian, he was raised to “love the sinner, hate the sin,” but Ye (who claimed many times in the original interview with Jones that he was a devout Christian), failed to condemn any of Hitler’s sins in the hours-long interview.

While Jones said that he lost respect for Fuentes, he did describe Ye as more or less confused, saying that he wanted to meet with Kanye again to educate him on the atrocities of Hitler and the Nazi party during World War II.

The full interview can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tHqKdM3GmU

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Kim Kardashian Granted Restraining Order Against Stalker Who Claimed he “Telepathically” With Her

Kim Kardashian granted restraining order against stalker

Celebrities’ DMs are probably full of people trying to get in contact with them. However, one man went the extra step and claimed that Kim Kardashian communicated back with him….but telepathically. This week, Kardashian was granted a restraining order against the man, who had also attempted to break into her permanent and temporary residences.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Adrian Gidaya Roxas granted Kardashian a permanent five-year restraining order against the man, Andre Persaud. In addition to the bizarre claims that Kardashian “communicated with him telepathically,” Persaud had allegedly tried to access Kardashian’s residence on three separate occasions in August 2022 and also attempted to access her hotel during a recent trip to New York.

Per court documents filed by Kardashian’s legal team, in addition to believing that the reality TV mogul had been “communicating with him telepathically,” Kardashian’s team also alleged that Persaud had also expressed increasing frustration that Kardashian had not responded to him. Kardashian stated that she worried about her safety after Persaud also claimed to own a gun.

Per the restraining order, Persaud is required to stay at least 100 yards away from Kardashian and is prohibited from contacting her directly or indirectly.

This is not Kardashian’s first time in court in recent weeks. In late November, Kardashian and Kanye West formally settled their divorce in divorce court.

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