Influence Of Black Creatives | Ultimate Gifts Guides

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Influence of Black Creatives www.ultimategIftsguides.com

Letter From Editor

Campbell Addy UK Photographer and Filmmaker

Julia Sarr Jamois UK Fashion Editor

Tayo Aino Nigerian Travel and Diaspora Influencer

Wode Mayo Ghanain Travel and Diaspora Influencer

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elebrating Black Entrepreneurs is deeper than posting a picture or link, it is truly championing the creative nature of us. In this holiday edition, we are celebrating the best and brightest brands on the market. We are making it a big deal to have the impact and influence that we have. Too many times our creativity is...repurposed and credit is not given or acknowledged. We are culture, we are community, we are influenced.

Protect the creatives.

We are the creatives, we are the culture and we are the community.

We watch and understand how our creativity and its impact is used by others to make a profit for themselves. It happens every day, but it doesn’t have to be this way. In this holiday edition of Celebrating Black Entrepreneurs. We will talk about some of the best brands on the market that you should know about!

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Inside the mind of a black creative Top Ten Brands For The Culture

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Creativity On the Big Screen Don’t count him out

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Top Ten Fashion Brands Top Ten Home Décor Brands

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Cover Article Top Ten Beauty Brands

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Black to The Future Top Ten Tech Brands

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The Media industry isn't a walk in the park Top Ten Hair Care Brands Top Ten Food and Beverage Brands

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50 55

Travel Brings More Opportunity Than Meets The Eye Top Ten Health & Wellness

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Inside the Mind of a Black Creative MEET FRANCIS ANNE SOLOMON Who is Francis Anne Solomon?

I don't know where to start. I'm a producer, a director, a writer, in film, television, radio, and new media. I'm from the Caribbean, originally from Trinidad, but I spent the early part of my career in England, where I booked a career as a television producer at the BBC. And over the last few years, I founded and have been running the Caribbean Fields Media Group that includes a charity Caribbean tales Inc. Our activities under the charity include our film festival, the Caribbean Tales International Film Festival, which celebrating 16 years now this year. There is the Creators Of Color Incubator program, which this year celebrates 12 years.

So my latest film hero, inspired by the extraordinary life of Mr. Earl recross, who was a Trinidadian hero, war hero, legal person and judge is now on Showtime, Roku, Amazon Prime, and soon to be Netflix.

You do a lot for people of color, women of color specifically. Where does that come from?

I am a woman of color. And so it's born directly out of my experience.

I have been raised and nurtured by women, by black women. So , this is a community that is close to my heart.

It is, in my strongest relationships, I think the most amazing people I know are women of color. And yet in the industry in the film and television industry, women of color are terribly underrepresented, for example, in Canada, the non white population

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across the country is about 30% right now. In Ontario, and Toronto was right where I live, it's actually much higher, it's around 55%. So that means the non white female population is going to be half of that. So

nationwide 15%. And in this city alone, over 25%. And yet the number of people who get jobs, number of women of color vs non white women get jobs in the media industry in significant roles, is less than 0.5%. So there was even an article in Variety magazine recently that said the industry has let down women of color. They've worked very hard to bring gender equity in the industry, But , that's white women, so women of color are still falling off the bottom of the statistics.

What inspired you to go into the film industry? With there being more representation now, comparative to 10, 20, 30 years ago when repre­

sentation was either nonexistent, inaccurate or plain offensive.

I am a storyteller, I've always been. My mind has always been taken with the stories of my people. That's what, inspires me. And from a very early age, I wanted to be a writer, and then I went into the theater, I worked in a theater.

And then eventually, I got a job with BBC television. And I didn't really see that I didn't really see the obstacles until I came smack up against them.

I see myself as a storyteller as an amazing sign and the stories that, I have to tell, amaze me, they sit on my shoulder, they pour out of me, my experience and my history, and the people that I know. And so, I never really thought that anybody else would have a problem with that until I entered the industry and, of course, came smack bang up against these horrendous obstacles, which took me by surprise, to be honest, but they're very real. And they were very, “categoric, “which made it and has made it very difficult.

“I never really thought that anybody else would have a problem with that until I entered the industry and, of course, came smack bang up against these horrendous obstacles, which took me by surprise, to be honest, but they're very real.”

And thinking, about that difficulty, where did your re­ silience come from?

Came from the stories inside me. , the people is what inspires me, it's not like, I'm not on my own. I'm not standing on my own.

I'm standing in a history, of, which is

very rich and nuanced. And, that really pours out of me, I like to say that the stories I tell have been told to me by my ancestors. , people say that kind of thing. And they're like, “Oh, yeah, your ancestors, whatever!” But, , my grandfather used to tell me stories about his background, he wrote a book and that inspires me. When I do, just a little bit of research, I find other heroes. , my mother told me stories, my grandmother told me stories, I'm enchanted with the stories of those who came before them. They told stories of the women that they grew up with in, St. Vincent. Im engaged with the stories of African women, I hear stories of slavery, and the voices of those women reach out to me and express themselves.

“Very often in my career, I've said I want to tell this story, and the powers that be have said, well, that's not interesting, or you can't do that or whatever. And it doesn't have any effect on me whatsoever.”

That's what inspires me and those voices, those stories cannot be denied.

It doesn't matter what anybody puts in my path. , very often in my career, I've said I want to tell this story, and the powers that be have said, well, that's not interesting, or you can't do that or whatever. And it doesn't have any effect on me whatsoever. Because the voices inside of me, the people who are representing the people who are like me are much stronger. , there are black women sitting on my shoulder and coming up behind me going “whatever! that stupid person, don't listen to that nonsense. that, that is rubbish?”

Like, quite literally those voices do not talk to me because that would make me insane. But their voices are my voices and their voices are stronger than any. I'm aware of the injustice of it, and I'm not put off by it.

Wow, that's beautiful. As a director, what are you looking for in an actual script?

The truth inspires me however it comes up, I'm very moved by the stories of people. And their journeys of joy, of sorrow, of pain, of conflict, their struggles to be recognized, and to achieve their dreams. And that I mean, that goes way back when you said, as a director, my mind went immediately to when I began, the first time I directed

a theater play, it was actually Macbeth.

When I was in college, I was on the directors’ program and it was actually Macbeth. First of all, the first day that I worked, I walked into the theater as a director into that black space. I knew that I had come home, I knew that this is where my soul needed to be filling up that space with characters and conflicts and joy and sorrow. But then I caught the character of Lady Macbeth, who is actually sort of represented in that context as a villain, and she's not a particularly nice person, very manipulative and driven. But I cast the characters as a black woman, and a very strong and determined black woman. And honestly, at that time, I don't think anybody's seen a black woman playing a role like that before, , just telling her husband what he needed to do for them to be successful. And it drives her crazy. That complexity, that nuance, that richness of characterization. So if I think back, I claim the right to tell stories that are three dimensional, that are many faceted, that are big, and heroic, whether they're positive or negative.

My first film was inspired by a book of poems by, where she told the story of the unnamed African woman who was kidnapped from Africa and brought to the Caribbean as a slave. And it was really her journey from the kind of innocence in Africa, to rebellion, defeat and freedom. That was my first film, about the spirit of a woman that would survive such a horrible journey through all the things that a woman would go through, the hardship of giving birth on a slave ship, the hardship of working day and night in a cane field, the decision to rebel, the determination to lead an army, against the injustice of slavery, and to win at all costs, even if it meant her life. Those stories inspire me.

I feel it's almost like historical, and contemporary, not just contemporary characters, but also historical characters come from everywhere. And for me, they're very alive now. Just because somebody lived in another era.

For me, it's like, they could be me. They could be you. They could be any young woman, or any person coming into the world today, and facing enormous hardships, and really surviving those, not in a cliche, but a human way. So, it's really about the human experience through my eyes, the complexity, the richness, the joy, the pain, the tears,

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that laughter, a lot of my work includes elements of comedy, elements of truth and elements of tragedy. I want the audience to feel as strongly as I do, and to really experience the humanity of these characters.

Walk us through your ability to bring that script to life? What do you see?

What do you tell your actors?

Well, I mean, very often, the actors for me, are collaborators on the journey of telling the story, because they're trying to embody the characters, right?

So I often have started with an idea or a script, I know that once we get into the rehearsal, it's going to change a lot. Because there's an incredible, collaboration that can emerge, when you put your heads together, to get into the skin of the characters, to put it in, or put it in, so that I'm not just relying on my skills to find dialogue, find motivation, find nuance, , the refined the journey, but I'm working with somebody else, and we're doing it together, or I'm working with a team of actors, and we're finding that journey together. So a lot of my most satisfying work happens in the rehearsal room, with the actors that I work with. And we inevitably come up with something surprising, and it's quite different from when we went in.

The shooting of the stories, that's probably my least favorite part. To be honest. I don't like actual shoots, it's way too cumbersome. And I'm an introvert. I live in my mind. So I don't like being with 50 people. I don't really like that, but it's a necessary stage. Once you get out of the shoot. Then my other favorite part of it comes, which is the Edit, because there's so what, , there's what you shot, and then there's what you can craft in the edit suite.

So I have again, very, very close and intense and deep relationships with my editors, or with my editor, and that is just, that can be a long and involved process. I myself am an editor, so it's, it's another deep collaboration with somebody who's as committed as I am, bringing a different set of skills, a different, a different perspective, a different outlook, just a different person, to the process, but we're doing it together.

So the edit process is the crafting of the story, , it's where you really get

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to, to tell the story, to carve out the beats of the story, and enhance it with whatever other medium that you want to use, and so that's an important piece of it.

Yeah, and there are other pieces like the sound mix, which again, is technical, although it's very it's a very beautiful process because you take like rough sound, and you literally make music out of it, , you make a beautiful soundtrack out of it.

The goal ultimately, of just moving an audience, getting an audience to feel what I feel, to be moved and blown away and transformed by a story.

And then of course, bringing film and audience together. Film is so brilliant

Are you watching the audience?

Well, it's that's an, that's a beautiful question. The last film I made, I literally spent 10 years on it. Don't tell anybody.

I mean, everybody knows why now. But it's like part of the myth of this film that I spent 10 years on, and you're alone with this. Then you, two or three people we work with. And suddenly you're in a space with 600 people, and there is nothing like it. To describe the feeling, it's like being in the sea. And you feel the emotions of the audience. As you watch. You're very familiar, but I never get it honestly, I do not get tired of watching my own films, I watch my own films over and over and over and over and over. And each time I watch it with an audience, it's a different experience, because a different audience, right. But that initial premiere feeling, in England, it was 600 people, but for the premiere at path of hero, it was 1200 people! There was nothing quite like being in this sea of people, and just their emotions now as they react.

And I remember somebody saying at one screening, that the audience was silent, you could have heard a pin drop, and yet the place and the space was electric with attention and with their, I don't want to say silent because it was loud, with engagement if you like even though nobody made a sound. It was the most incredible feeling! You do feel like you're riding this wave with people.

Thinking about the Creators Of Color incubator. Can you explain the impor­ tance of it, of that organization?

because it's so immersive. And it's very real, when you watch a movie, you think you're watching real life. It's not quite like a play, in which you're all sitting in the theater going like it is pretending, but a film can really make you feel like you're watching reality.

And you get very close to the characters through close ups and stuff. So that's a very amazing process for me is engaging the audience.

So paint the picture for us. Okay, your work, your skill set, the blood, sweat and tears. It premieres and it opens on a major festival at a major festi­ val. What are your feelings that day and that night? And then where's your focus? Are you watching the screen?

We started in 2010. So, it must have been the year before that I put it on my board. My colleagues who are on my board, I said I think we should start an incubator program for creators of color. And they were like, why isn't there enough training programs? And I said, well, the problem is that, at that time, creators of color didn't have an opportunity. They didn't have the access to internationalize their content. So, I felt that based on my experience, I could help them, help to train people to understand the international context into which they professionalize their skill sets and internationalize their understanding of how content can be created, marketed and monetized really.

So eventually, we just started, and it's been a real gift. I think there was a gap at that time. I think now there's

hundreds of incubators for diverse filmmakers, as well as mainstream incubators have started to prioritize diverse filmmakers, right. But I think that what we do, which is first of all, all the mentors are of color because I was and I still am sick to death of going to forums where the people who are supposed to be experts aren't people of color, right? Because first of all, their attitude sucks. They just think you're an idiot, I can't even tell you how angry I get. The assumption is, I was thinking about it recently, there's a way in which white people feel entitled to treat us, to infantilize our experience, and treat us as children, when they're trying to impart the holy grail of and it's just their perspective, that's all it is. And they're not very good at it, because they run this exclusive club of, myopic, single focus content, which is, racist, and sexist. So, I don't see why I should pay any attention, or accept their patronizing attitudes. So for me, it's been important for that the mentors and the program actually come from diverse backgrounds, that they understand the experience of fighting, to get your authentic story told in your own way on your own terms, because most of the time, when you present your stories to white people, they'll be like, “that's not an interesting story,” because they don't know it, where you've come from, or they straight up, don't want to hear your story because it ends up criticizing, or they see it as criticism in some way.

So for us, it's been important to have those mentors who are of color, and it's very in depth. So we work very, very closely with the participants, it's not, “okay, this is how you do it and go off and good luck.” And now we can take the diversity box. It's very much, “you're the producer, this is your project, we're going to walk with you through the process of getting it made.”

“I'm a human being. Just like any other human being, we live, we die. And our stories deserve to be remembered, documented, valued, cherished, and honored. Our lives mean something, they matter.”

You spent a great portion of your life and time paving the way for others to follow behind you. When it comes to those Caribbean assets. What are you looking for? What are you extracting from that Caribbean essence to put on screen or on film?

I mean, being a Caribbean person is not just me, not just Calypso or jumping up in the streets, it's not Soca Music or reggae music. We have a rich history, and everybody has a different story. And yet, there is a shared history that hasn't been documented.

other things. There are always people that like, I only want to tell, Afrofuturism, I'm like, why are you limiting yourself? For me, if I tell a story from the 50s, I'm also telling a superhero story about that has echoes and resonances for the future

I really don't know what it is. That makes me a Caribbean filmmaker, beyond the fact that my parents, my forefathers, my ancestors, were brought to the Caribbean as slaves or some of them were. And then, lived in that colonial environment, achieved so called independence. And continue to exist and grow in an environment that is defined by, to a very large extent, by colonialism and slavery. And beyond that, culturally, what we have created, and how that defines who we are as humans. The stories that we tell, what that looks like, what that sounds like, what that tastes like. But that is what a Caribbean person is and the people who I share those experiences with, are my people to some extent, but that doesn't detract from the fact that I'm a human being. Just like any other human being, we live, we die. And our stories deserve to be remembered, documented, valued, cherished, and honored. Our lives mean something, they matter.

What I want is the richness and diversity of our human experience, as black people, as people of color as Caribbean people, as human beings from all kinds of backgrounds, as queer people, as anything that human beings can be.

I want to see it.

“What I want is the richness and diversity of our human experience, as black people, as people of color as Caribbean people, as human beings from all kinds of backgrounds, as queer people, as anything that human beings can be.

I want to see it.”

For the creators of color, where do you see it going in about five to 10 years? What sort of impact are you looking at?

I hope that there will be more creators standing tall that believe in the richness of their stories, not trying to copy anybody, like a lot of people of color come into the industry, and they're like, “Okay, I need to be like, some white person and do that commercial thing.” Yes, our communities have struggles, difficulties and challenges, but the majority of us are not prostitutes, and drug dealers, we have rich and diverse lives. There are lots of things going on, and we should tell all those stories about our richness, our variety, our multidimensionality.

There are also stories of all kinds of

From that visionary perspective, what can we expect to see from you down the road?

Yeah, so I have been around for a while now. been around the block. But I still have stories to tell. And the murder of George Floyd, God bless his soul has unfortunately and fortunately opened up lots of opportunities for us, globally, and I intend to take advantage to tell as many stories as I can, in the time that I have left both as a director primarily. It's been very, very hard to work to get work as a director except as a guerrilla filmmaker. There's been no space in the mainstream industry.

I want that to change starting right now. And then as a producer, and as a curator, when I can't direct anymore for whatever reason, I still continue working in the industry because that's who I am. That's what my mind does.

That's what makes me happy. I have about four or five feature films that I'm making right now. And we're still building structures.

What do you want your legacy to be?

Somebody asked me that a couple years ago, and I said, I want people to notice that I did what I had to do in order to just make things happen and get things done, despite the obstacles. And when I looked back on it, I thought, Wow, that's really a harsh and hard thing to be remembered for.

Do you know what I mean? I mean, it's nice, but it doesn't reflect how much I love, how much I care or the quality of my craft, the quality of the films that I've made, and intend to continue to make. So I guess, if there is anything, I hope before I go, that there's a body of work and people who hold me up, and who can say , who can testify to, my value and my worth.

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Creativity On The Big Screen MEET VALARIE POLK, WRITER/PRODUCER/SINGER

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Who is Valarie Polk?

I'm originally from Seattle, Washington. I relocated to Plano,Texas actually nine years ago and I got into film writing in 2007. I started off writing music which was my first passion and then I kind of just went into writing stories and people started to really notice my talent. Then I thought “oh well maybe i can just make something out of this?” I had the support of my husband and my two boys, so I took the leap, and here I am now with my own movie. I'm also a gospel singer so I still do music a little bit but I think I'm leaning more toward film now. Oh fun fact, I have a twin sister.

Why writing? Out of all the creative media.

It kind of fell into my lap, for me writing stories just took me some place mentally, that I couldn't go physically and it would always come at a time when it was dark in my life like, losing my brother or losing my mother.

When my husband got sick, writing is what took me out of what I was going through. I could just write and become someone else and it took me out of that dark place. That's how I fell in love with writing, it has always been my comfort space, giving me an indescribable feeling, and even becoming like oxygen to me. “where you see a lot of people writing about the same things and so I always want to write for my audience” - Valarie Polk When it comes to your stories where do you go for inspiration A lot of my stories are driven through life experiences, but just off the cuff it's normally things that I think about and it's like i've never seen a film about that or dealing with real issues. I'm always trying to to be different from the average writer, where you see a lot of people writing about the same things and so I always want to write for my audience. I think about me sitting in the audience and wondering what would I want to see? I like to captivate my audience and leave them wanting more so I always try to go above and beyond what you normally see on TV.

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You said your writing comes from your experiences. So then tell us about your movie coming out, Cata­ combs Of The Mind?

Catacombs of the mind it's a psychological thriller that one is not a direct life experience but the girl in the film she's really broken. She was in a mental institution at the age of 16 because she killed her father. About seven years later she's being released back to society but she still has a lot of issues and she has a revenge attitude strategically gaining access to men like her father, and she kills them.

Is there any hidden messages or sym­ bolism the audience should be looking out for?

I kind of took pieces of the main character from me, I hate to admit that, but she's a thinker. She thought and strategized a lot when she was in the mental institution. She knew she didn't belong there because she's not crazy, she's very vindictive. Vindictive people like her always want to torture. For example, a knife is too bloody and shooting is too fast, she wants to torture, she wants to watch and enjoy.

In this film I wouldn't say hidden messages, the one thing that I really want people to see is that she's not crazy, she's not going to portray crazy, she's very intelligent, but she wants them to feel how she felt all those years when no one would listen to her. So the hidden message in that would be when you recognize someone in pain, with abuse or dealing with something where something's going on with them mentally, to really pay attention and get them some help.

“Is this something that I really wrote?

That's crazy!”

As a writer how does it feel to see your vision come alive on screen It's actually kind of surreal like I'm still kind of going through that until it happens, I'm just like “this is something that i really wrote? like it's crazy!” This is my first film, and the biggest thing for me, I think, emotionally out of all my films, is my documentary that I'll be doing next year. I really get to tell my

story, like I REALLY get to tell people and share with people the things that I write about and someone's actually going to see my talent and it's exciting!

I still want to pinch myself, I've been writing for so many years and I write because I love writing and then for people to take notice of it, just makes me happy. I wasn't getting into writing for the sake of films, I got into writing because it took me somewhere that I needed to be. I'm loving every minute of it. I'm really prepared for what's next. what would you like to see more of on screen now Black women writers, I would love to see more of that. I know, we have the Shonda Rhimes, and in many different ones, most there's not a whole lot of us. And it's kind of hard to be recognized. , you know, we have a couple things against us, especially being a woman. And this entertainment field is a hard field already, and then to break out as a black woman. And then no one knows who I am yet, but they will.

And it's kind of, you know, I love to see women being able to express themselves through writing, I think it's I think it's a wonderful thing. So I would really love to see more stories coming from black women. I really do. I really would like to see that.

What does your work say about you?

I'm breaking down barriers no matter what I've been through, because you can kind of tell in my stories that when I write I write from my heart and it's passion. It's not just something that I'm just writing, it's all I'm always pulling from somewhere. So I want people to recognize that, you know, she's going to leave the audience breathless, she's going to grab them by the neck, she's going to, they're going to see something, every part of her, her film, they're gonna see a piece of her.

And I want people to see, even though I might be writing from a broken place, I don't want them to focus on the broken place, I want them to see where I come from. And that's what sets me apart from the average writer, I can write a film in a week, or I can write a film in a year, it just depends on what's driving that film, what's motivating

me and what I'm going through at the time. So I want people to just see, actually, in all my films, I want people to see my heart and my passion for it.

And that's what I want to be recognized for.

What's next for you?

Okay, my next film will be called forbidden fruit. It's a religious film. And I'll give you a little information about that one. It's a religious film. However, it's not the typical, Christian films that you see. I have a twist in there.

It's about a first lady of a megachurch.

She's kind of a diva. She's kind of She feels she's untouchable, she feels that she can do no wrong. She's perfect.

She's sitting next to Christ herself.

Sound familiar? She really wants to go on a mission to win souls. She takes some of the missionaries with her from the church and heads to the city of sin, Las Vegas! And so they're going with the mindset, “oh, we're going to win all these souls.” Of course, things go in a completely different direction.

I wanted to touch on those issues, because a lot of times in the church, a lot of issues are swept under the rug. And these people really need to deal with real life issues and not hide behind the church. So I wanted to take it from a different perspective, I wanted to take it to another level, they are going on these “missions” to win souls when they need help yourself. there's so many other people coming up behind you. What is your advice to them?

I would say, just keep writing, keep learning, keep growing. Share your experiences with people. Entertainment is not easy, there's going to be a lot of No’s. But as long as you believe in yourself, keep writing. Keep telling your stories, and somebody is going to believe in you one day. Don't give up.

That's what I had to do. I had to keep learning there were a lot of films that I didn't feel good about, so I got rid of them. And you want to put out the best material that you can. Don't give up on your dream!

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Don’t Count Him Out EMIR HORTON, CEO of Eartha Watches Who is Emir Horton?

I'm trying to get in the habit of not always going directly into what I do as a professional and as an entrepreneur. Because I'm so much more than what I do in my profession. I'm a brother, I'm a son. I'm an uncle. I'm a friend. I'm a believer, I'm a man who walks and operate in purpose and live my purpose with intention every day. But aside from those things, I'm also the CEO and founder of Eartha watches company, which is an affordable luxury watch brand. We are in our second year of business. So, we're still new, but we're hitting the ground running. Aside from being an entrepreneur. I'm also a television producer, actor, and entertainment host, right now currently live in Los Angeles, where I work in an entertainment industry.

And yeah, just living life and trying to be successful and fulfill my purpose.

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What inspired you to start the Eartha watches?

A couple of things inspired me to start the business on Eartha. One was my upbringing, living in poverty, and just being sick and tired of feeling like I'm lacking financially, feeling like I'm not progressing in life, and just struggling.

So when I first moved to LA, I moved here to pursue my career in the entertainment industry. And because I literally just up and moved I booked an Airbnb for a month because I only had enough money that will last me a month and try to find a job; ended up finding a job in three days!

However, that job was so low paying that it was a stretch. I wasn't making enough money to save, not to mention, I wasn't making enough money to get my own apartment. So for months, I was bouncing from house to house to Airbnb, like all about buyer how I would rent out an Airbnb for one month. And at the end of

that month, I'm trying to find the next place where I can go also involves me living in one of my friend's living rooms. I was sitting with all my luggage and stuff, trying to find somewhere to go, I even drank a water for dinner.

When I finally found, some stability and housing, I'm like, I can't solely depend on the entertainment industry to support me financially. So in the very, very early stages of my career, I had to think of something else that's going to support me financially in order for me to stay in this city. I started thinking about all my talents and skills and things that I was interested in, and watches came to mind.

And watches have been something that I've been interested in since around I was 13 years old.

I used to have a dream of becoming big in the entertainment industry, and then I was going to design a personal collection for a more well-established mainstream brand. And I said, instead of waiting, why not just create my own luxury watch. And that's when the light bulb went off, like, yeah, that's what I'm going to do.

That's what inspired me to launch the business. And that's what continues to inspire me. In those moments, I realized I had to maximize my time. And that's what Eartha represents is maximizing time, so we can fulfill our mission and our purpose in life.

And a lot of that in-

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volves being intentional with our time and being strategic with our time. And in that moment, that's what I was going to manifest it the business.

So, when you're talking about luxury watches, what's the difference between a watch that is not luxury versus a watch that isn’t?

That's a very good question. You know, it definitely has to do with the quality, of course. I actually received some slack from this from some people, because we had this idea that in order for it to be luxury, it has to cost hundreds of 1000s of dollars. And that's not always the case.

I know A-List celebrities who are out here in LA balling on a budget. And you wouldn't know that they actually spent maybe 500 to $800 max on their entire outfit, but they look good. And that is all about perception, which will make a product luxury and not luxurious, its perception. I watched a documentary on Payless that they did a couple years ago. They rebrand their entire store, they changed the name and everything. And they made it look very, very luxury.

And customers were still coming in there. And they didn't know that the products were actually Payless shoes that were ranging from 40 to $70. And they were spending $700 and $800 on these shoes. And then after the customer purchased the shoe, the producers came over and said, “You know, these are actually this price and this is the value of this product.” So luxury is all about the perception and quality of the product.

And no, you do not have to spend hundreds of dollars to look good if you have a great product.

In the beginning stages of my business, I was sleeping on our product to be honest, because I wasn’t viewing it as luxury.

Early on I received a lot of attention from press, different editors and magazines and publications and they were the ones that were calling my product luxury. I never called it luxury and I am guilty of that thinking that in order for something to be luxury, you have to spend a lot of money. And that's not the case. So that's what I would say would be the difference between something as luxury and not luxury, quality and perception.

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How does being a black man that play into what you put into your watches?

tive, and represent something so much greater.”

It plays a huge factor. The name Earth is actually my grandmother's name, she's still alive to this day. And it's really something that I would love to mark the spot as it relates to my family because we don't have too many entrepreneurs in my family. And also in addition to that, I don't really see too many young black males in the watch industry. So this is something that I am planning to hold on to for a very long time. And my goal, my dream for it is to inspire others and my family to dive into entrepreneurship.

Granted, entrepreneurship is not for everybody. But I do have some relatives constantly are complaining about the jobs that they hate or are mistreated in, and feel like they should be getting paid more. And all I can say is “You don't have to be working for somebody else, your whole entire life, if you're not happy.” So with my brand, that's something that I hope to instill within my family members and those close to me.

When it comes to your watches, where did the creativity come from for the design?

Alright, so we have luxury watches and then we have you in the entertainment industry? What type of mark are you wanting to leave?

That everything is possible. One thing I want people to know is you don't have to be placed in a box, you can do more of one thing, as long as you know how to balance it and prioritize. Secondly, do you as long as you believe in it is possible. I've been pursuing this entertainment thing since I was 14 years old. And I'm finally getting to the place now where I feel like I can breathe a little bit and actually feeling content with my progress. Because for a long time, I felt like I was just all over the place. And in survival mode. I didn't really have too many mentors. But my faith in God is what brought me this far. And if you have faith in a higher power, and have faith in yourself, everything is possible.

“Black is often represented as something dark or bad, so let me switch the narra-

In the beginning stages, it was based off how I was feeling. I was feeling like I was in a transition. And for me, transitions are one of my most challenging seasons.

And in this transition, I was thinking about all the things that I have overcome so far up to that point, since I moved in LA. And how I can incorporate my emotions and my current state of being into a product, while tying it into what I want the brand to represent. I started reflecting on everything. And I persevered on a lot of things. And I have a huge amount of resilience inside me. And I said, persevere, and resilience, both of those names represent overcoming barriers. I wanted my women's watch, our signature watch, to be named to Earth, the men's watch to be named The Resilience, and The Persevere. And then I started looking at a color. And so I said, I know women really like rose gold. And I know women like marble faces, what can I do with a marble face, and I said, I want this marble face on his watch, to represent the brokenness that we have to go through in order to, secure our goals. It's a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that go into our pursuit. So I wanted the marble to represent that. And I put that into to the design.

My men’s watches are black. Black is often represented as something dark or bad, so let me switch the narrative, and represent something so much greater.

Although you may still be going through these dark moments at the moment, you don’t have to look like it. Which correlated to the watch.

So that's my thought process when I'm designing. I don't really like to follow trends too much. Because I really want to create something that's just timeless, and that people can wear 50 years from now and have a product that keeps it value and longevity.

For our entrepreneurs out there, when we talk about getting started, what was the first step? You had the vision, you

said, I'm going to do a watch company.

What was the first step that you took?

Was it manufacturing? What was it?

No, it wasn't, I have, I had no background in business. Like I went to school for mass communications and television, radio, film production. So, when I said I wanted to launch a watch company, I had to become a self-starter. The first thing I did went to YouTube, and started watching videos on how to build a watch because I thought I had to build the watch myself, I didn't know anything about business, I didn't know anything about manufacturers. I said, this is what I want to do, I want to figure it out.

As you grow you learn, but you have to be willing to just start no matter what that looks like, no matter where you are in your in your path. If you're on level one, figure out what you need to do on level one and continue to grow. Thank God I didn't have to buy to build a watch myself. Because, it was it's a lot of small pieces and a lot of things that go into building a watch. While I was watching those videos, I did learn more about the industry, more about what makes a quality watch, what makes a watch stand together, the different forms of watches, things like that. So, research study, and just get started.

What can you see yourself doing in the next couple of years as far as innovat­ ing the watch industry, or even fashion industry?

Representation. Not just in age, but representation in general, especially for Black Watch CEOs. When you go up to Beverly Hills, on Rodeo Drive, I haven't seen one black owned company. Originally, I said, I want my flagship store to be in Philadelphia, where I'm from, that's where I want my store. Now, being a year into this business, and seeing how that's a problem, I will be open to opening up a store in the next few years. That's where I'm at right now, the next five or 10 years, or however long it would take is that there's just more representation for us.

Across the board, in every industry.

“So that would be the best piece of advice I can give is if you're passionate about it, work that thing out and see how you can turn it into passive income.”

What do you say to those that want to follow in your footsteps?

For one, I would say, make sure that it's a part of your life. Make sure you're not doing it for money, that means you have

a passion for it. Our passions and our goals oftentimes serve as a way to get us to our purpose in life. So if you're just trying to do this for money, don't do it; it's a lot of work being an entrepreneur.

I know social media, just serves as a highlight reel. People often show the things that when things are booming, and taking pictures of their packages all over the ground and posing for the camera. But people don't show when you didn’t have any sales come in at all for a week or a month straight. There was a time I only sold one watch a month. And that was discouraging. I could have easily said “you know what, this does not work and I'm not making any money. I might as well just stop this business now and do something else.” So that would be the best piece of advice I can give is, if you're passionate about it, work that thing out and see how you can turn it into passive income. But if you're not, if you're just doing it for money, don't allow that that

money to be you. Know the inspiration to how you want to get started.

When everything is said and done. What is the legacy that you want to leave behind?

I've come to this place now that I don't want my legacy to solely be around my career. I don't want my legacy to start while I'm on a film or TV. I don't want it to start with the storefronts around the country or around the world or whatever. But I want the legacy to start in my house, I want my legacy to represent my kids in such a way that because of how they were raised, they will then be able to go out into this world and live in their purpose. I want my life to reflect my household. And when it's a reflection on my household, all those things that mirror, what they do, within their professions, how they raise their children, how they handle their own business.

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ou can have it all! It's 1 jewelry that changes to 7 styles! Whether you want a necklace, a stud earring or a drop earring, you can easily change up your style into formal, casual or dressy look with this piece! wear this piece to remind you, you are vibrant!

ABOUT THE PRODUCT This multi-wear jewelry is 14 carat real gold plated on recycled brass. The earring backings are ear lift backing made from 925 sterling silver, plated with 14 carat gold. Our jewelry is hypoallergenic, free from nickel and lead, hand polished and made in USA ABOUT THE DESIGN The Sefed Earring design is inspired by vibrant African weaved baskets. From the Sahel in the west to the coastal plains of the east, and from the bushveld of the south to the highlands of Ethiopia, the range and style of natural fiber containers across the continent is breathtaking and embody the very spirit of Africa and its people. For more product information visit: https://www.yenae.com/ products/sefed-multi-wear-earring Link to direct Purchase: https://www.yenae. com/products/sefed-multi-wear-earring

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Handmade traditional Ethiopian coffee cups. Perfect for drinking and serving coffee. Ethiopia’s coffee ceremony is an integral part of the social and cultural life in the country. Ethiopia is the largest coffee producer in Africa and the fifth largest producer in the world. The coffee brewing tradition in Ethiopia has many special elements and is a sensory experience unlike any other.

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From Purpose to Destiny MEET THE RISING STAR LENA BYRD MILES How, how did you get here? Tell us what is your journey? Who is Lena Byrd miles?

As far as the singing Lena that people are coming to know I started at age three, where I started cultivating my gift and singing in my granddad's church. My music ministry started at church with my mom, who's a musician herself. She plays the organ piano and she's a singer as well. And then my father plays bass and the trumpet and a little bit of piano from time to time.

When my two little sisters were born, we became a trio called “The Byrd sisters.” We started traveling around our area in Oakland, California, singing locally in different places then later on, I formed a group with my cousins called “Praise Emotion.” From there, I started doing background work for different artists in our area. And a guy by the name of Jericho. I started singing with him and that kind of gave me a little more exposure. I started singing with Edwin Hawkins the legend who wrote and produced “Oh, happy day.” Some clips of me started getting out, like on YouTube and Facebook of me singing at a church. And that's where Warren Campbell and Erica Campbell saw me through Instagram and inquired and then in 2017 I signed with their label and poof here we are.

Walk us through that journey of being discovered by Warren Campbell.

So my husband, some months prior to me meeting Warren Campbell, purchased a trip package where we would go to Disneyland and be big kids in LA. We could spend a week in LA, and we could choose any time to do it. But we kept putting it off, we thought we would do it, springtime, and then we said summertime and then we finally ended up going in November. In October is when the clip was posted that Warren Campbell saw, so from October to November, I wasn't aware that he was looking through social media and watching clips of me after seeing that

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clip that he first saw initially. So fast forward to November, we decided to go to LA this particular day, and I posted a picture of my food at Roscoe’s chicken and waffles. Not knowing that Warren was watching, my Instagram page like that. He notices the food and was like, “she's out here! She's in LA, she said, Roscoe.” And we're in Anaheim at this time. But he thought we were at the rascals that wasn't far from his house and we're actually like an hour from where he lives. And he's telling me at this time, he's going back and forth with Erica to go down there to meet her.

It's probably 9pm in the evening, he ended up DMing me on Instagram. And that's where the crazy happened.

I lost it and was like,

Wait, am I being spammed? I kept clicking on a picture on Instagram. Like, this can't be the Warren Campbell. My husband is sitting across from me. I'm like, I think Warren Campbell is messaging me on Instagram. So my husband's unbelieving.

Hi, Lena, you may not know me. My name is Warren Campbell. Me and my wife have been watching your videos and following you for some time now. And we would love to meet you because we feel like you have what it takes to do well in gospel music and in the industry.

And I'm just sitting there like “what?!” reading this. So I messaged him back.

We scheduled a meeting Two days later in his studio, and I'm just sitting there kind of taking everything in looking at the stuff that still hanging on the wall, pictures, awards, little things like, wow, this is where the magic happens.

He's tells me I would love for you to sign with my label. That's literally how it happened. And my husband was like, of course! We all know what he's done with Mary Mary. And he was part of the soundtrack for rush hour. He had a great secular career as well as career in gospel music. I was just excited that I was even being sought after by such a legend. I ended up signing in April of 2017.

Continuing down your journey, as a musician in the industry. Who are some writers or producers that you're wanting to work with in the future?

Oh, I just had the great pleasure of meeting Mr. Stevie Wonder.

So he would definitely be someone that I would love to work with. I've worked with one of his protegees like, PJ Morton.

He's one that I love.

I got to do the gospel according to PJ, last year, even during the

pandemic. He put out his gospel album, that won a Grammy. Another person I would love to work with would be Marvin Winans gospel, he's my icon.

The whole Winans family is like gospel royalty.

You have a love to express yourself through your hair. Can you tell us about that?

Well, I'm a hairstylist, I've been licensed since 2003. So but from a child, I actually thought that would be where my life would land me, like to have multiple salons. I'd be the salon owner, because I was always playing in my clothes. And here I was getting in trouble for taking my cousin's ponytails a loose and trying to restart their hair. I've always had a passion for styling, playing and being creative. And I started braiding friends or families hair at the age of probably 13 or 14.

Does that mean we could maybe see in the future a haircare line from Miss Lena Byrd minds.

Now, you're like the third person that is mentioned that and that is something I've never considered. But with people saying that I'm like, “maybe it's something I should look into?” I just love the joy of styling, I didn't even think about it. Now that you see a lot of people doing that and getting into creating their own hair oils and hair perfumes, it's just like, I didn't even think that much into it. And that you can soar like that with doing so much within the industry. Maybe because I had never seen it done or it has never been brought to my attention. But that's something I should look into, I'm almost 40 but that definitely, is something to look into a Lena Byrd Miles Haircare line. That's kind of exciting to even have that saying. I definitely should look into it a bit.

The music industry is tantalizing.

We idolize it. We also criticize it for being something of a snake pit or a lion's den. Right? Share with us your experience in the industry? And then what you would tell the ones coming up behind you?

I have so many people that kind of shield me from a lot of things when it comes to the industry. But definitely know, you're going to be criticized, you're going to be competition to a lot of

people, some people might not embrace you. Coming in kind of giving me a heads up, Erica Campbell definitely was one of the ones who let me know, early on.

Don't be thrown off when you come into an industry and people aren't polite to you, or they may not even address you.

Be okay with declining something, if it doesn't feel right.

That's been my experience as far as being guarded and kind of pre warned of some things and what to look out and watch out for. But overall, I can say that it's been a great experience.

I haven't had anything happen that just has turned me totally off and say I don’t want to do this. It's really been a great journey. The advice I would give to people coming, is to be themselves with whatever the gift is that they feel God has given them, whether it's music, or singing, or playing the instrument, be true to the craft. Really invest in it and spend time with honing your own sound, your own creativity, your own signature as much as possible.

You have your current single “Watch me” coming out. What do you want the legacy of Lena Byrd miles to be?

I would love for my mark to better anybody that came in contact with me or my music. That I was kind, that I gave them hope. And what I believe in, though we're in troubled times, I believe in God, and that he's the one that is our source, and will supply us with everything that we need to get through whether it's, mental health, emotional health, physical health, I believe that God has everything humans needed, if they look to him, that they'll get what they need from him. He's the one that gave me this gift of singing that people love, the ability to be kind, he's the one that provides me with all these opportunities. He’s the one that's connected the dots of my life to bring my journey to where it is today.

And meet all these wonderful people, connect and network and give me these beautiful opportunities to use my gift to point people to him. So that's what I hope my legacy leaves that Lena loves God, she was loved. She loved people. I don't want people saying she was nasty.

She was mean she was rude. But that I was genuine. Any experience with Lena was something that was memorable, and that it definitely made them either seek the presence of God, feel the presence of God know the presence of God or just want to get to know God overall.

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Black to the Future MEET ROBERT PORTER, CREATOR OF KARMA THE GAME OF DESTINY Who is Robert Porter?

My name is Robert Porter. I'm the CEO, co-founder of karma, the game of destiny. Dating meets social living, gaming, immersive digital magazine platform. I’m from the east coast, I have a background in computer science and finance.

I did a couple years in a corporate role before I decided to jump ship and create my own company. I sold a company in college, and also sold an idea. And Fun fact, my high school still uses my slogan from my junior year to become class president campaign as a slogan for the school. Yeah, just regular guy who just you know, wants to leave a mark on the world, you know?

Walk us through selling your company in college. what was the company? How you found a buyer?

The company was a social setting for colleges, basically, you would make up a party or a gathering or event put on the platform itself, the platform would distribute to all networks, whether it be Twitter, Instagram, at the time was still fairly new, Facebook, YouTube.

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A flyer would be made for you and it would connect to the calendar on your phone, whether it be Hotmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.

It was just a silly idea I did freshman year, called Porter global marketing PGM. Designed to market different things like affiliate marketing, essentially what I'm doing now, but just on a smaller scale. It was designed for high school and college kids coming in for the weekend and see what's going on. At the time I was at West Virginia University a pretty big school with over 29,000 kids. And I just felt like the things that were separating us was, outside of just the day to day, or our different majors.

I just wanted to bring people together, outside of just likely seeing them on a random Friday night getting drunk. It was bought going into my junior year before I actually left West Virginia.

So you, you've always been a community builder.

I guess you could say that. I always felt like, there was no reason for people not to just get along. we have way more in common than we have pulling us apart. I guess I had always just been building a community where people could just be themselves and interact and have an opportunity to meet someone that they wouldn't be able to if they weren't in that setting or weren't on that platform.

So how does a community builder get into tech?

I'm obsessed with computers, technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, etc. I started doing C+ when I was in middle school, reading all the Java books in high school.

I took apart my first computer, put it back together just to see if I can make my own iPad.

Well, it's critical, from stereotypes alone, we just assume, “Oh, this person, is Asian so they must be in tech.

Well, this person wears glasses, they must be this or they were there, then they must be that .” The last thing they want to see is an African American person of color and tech in the sense of, being a computer science or computer engineer, or AI driven or CEO, for that matter, because it doesn’t fit the narrative. And as I say, it's important because diversity brings people together, it shows people “oh, wow, this person looks just like me, if they can do it, I can do it.” Diversity is key to anything we're doing. That's the same thing in terms of diversity and the different perspectives. You need to have these different points of views, from different places in the world, different facets, whether it be male or female.

Walk us through what Karma the Game platform truly is.

I met my co-founder, Rene Reyes, who created the first virtual motorcycle, virtual reality motorcycle in 1983. He's a Brainiac himself, a lot older, started out as a mentor. And then we had an idea, and we just went with it. And here we are, essentially, Karma the game of destiny.

It's the gamification of day to day lives. Interaction, whether it be a daily perspective, or someone else perspective. Karma the game, its finding the gamification of life that we don't even realize is a routine. The dating perspective that's being offered right now wouldn't be what you are seeing now, the Matched, Christians Mingle, Tinder etc. All these different things people are willing to try, because in real life, they have not had success.

I am a young, African American entrepreneur who loves tech, and I know, there's ton more people out there who look just like me, probably smarter than me, but tech itself brought that sense of security for me. Just being able to learn something new all the time, that's what tech is, just being a kid. It just goes back to just being open and free to learning and being around new people.

What do you do after you find someone? Do you just get off those sites?

Those web apps? Yes. Right. Well, in Karma’s case you stay on, you keep interacting as if it's a world upon worlds upon worlds where we allow our avatars to overtime look like you and tell the story in the journey book. You are answering questions to identify your specific match for someone. Not just having someone just hook up with you because they're within 10 feet of you like Tinder, no disrespect.

Why is diversity in the tech space so critical?

Karma itself is focused on bringing people together, you enter through

three doors, which is use compatibility and intimate preferences. That's the destiny of your own life, you know, you're playing it, to find someone, whether it be to just hang out, grab some popcorn movie or go play pool or date and get married. You know, it's the saying “watch your thoughts, they become your words, Watch your words, they become your actions, watch your actions, they becomes your character watch a character, it becomes your destiny.” So within the game itself, you have three zaps. If you get that three times you have profiles deleted, you have to come back. And that's your karma. And you just keep playing the game. But meanwhile, the people who's actually or people use that you'll never see again, within the game. No matter what worlds you create, or what worlds you come in, or email you try to put in, it doesn't matter, you'll never see that person again.

And that's the karma. And if you play it, right, which is the game, which is life as you can consist or you can say your destiny will succeed. Karma, the game of destiny, and it's just a mixture and a play on words. And there's just so many layers to it. We have our own artificial intelligence guru who's encouraging you to meet certain people to encourage you to get out there, you know, to encourage you to you know, travel the world, it's not only just about being a virtual augmented reality perspective, it is often the reality, where you can stay at home. And it's very convenient for COVID. And, again, COVID, may be here for forever, it may just be the new flu, we don't know. Nevertheless, we still want people to get out, we still want people to interact.

“When I'm saying dating means gaming, and you're telling me that, “oh, I don't know how that's going to work.”

You're not understanding what the internet can do.”

That's intense. Who game intended for? You mentioned the three doors, and I saw the three doors? Is it just for people who are looking for a part­ ner? Or just is it or is it segmented?

So I guess it's a bit of both. So again, in the real world, we want to label things to understand it. We just want to allow people to just interact. And they do that based upon entering these three doors like you into the world being one

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thing, but by the end, you are literally coming out a different door. Right? In a way, that's what we're doing. We're allowing people to build up themselves in the way that they see fit, interact in the gamification way. Most connections only come from three places, old high school friends who you're living still in the same town. Second, college friends who just stayed back from the same college state, and you're still friends or third, work friends that you started working with after college.

Those are only segments of friends.

as being a portal to these places. So they can still be a part of our world as well. And that's basically what the metaphor says she's combining everything and allowing people to still be them, or to still have that same information and whatever world they go in.

We want to give people the ability to still meet people outside of that, and that's what karma is giving. Allowing people to build more, instead of having a group why not have a world you can go to put your goggles on or, you know, turn your phone on augmented reality into a world through your phone through that portal.

So there's a bit of both. Ready Player One is the point of view that everybody's going to have VR glasses and a shoe etc. and are going to be home and just not outside at all, interacting at home and this world. That's the perspective with comments offering a chance to bring this exact world to your fingertips. While there's tons of other companies literally working on hardware to make it, on your eyes, whether it be people who are creating contact lenses for you to have virtual reality or contact lenses, so you got your phone in your eyes, you know, these are things certain companies are working on. So with that in mind, ready player one was just focused on an alternate world of everyone just accepting which were these big, juicy goggles. And the reality of it is, that's not the case.

So then how does karma differ from Sims?

Basically, we have three artificial intelligences and our game will become real.

One is dating Lucy, the guru and over time, it takes 20 years for them to end up together. So this is not just something that's going to be here for today and gone tomorrow, we built an engine that's going to be here for the next least two decades, you know. Back to the question, so I guess for karma to be different was more so about being able to allow people to gamify it, keeping people interactive, keeping people in an immersive experience and keeping it to be focused on an experience. Most things you remember, is not for a piece of paper it's all about the journey, right?

That the moments to experiences that got us through to becoming that person. And that's literally all a part of our mission statement, is the experience.

As long as our users continue to have an amazing immersive experience, then we're doing the right thing. We want people to make them feel like they're interacting in the real world and in the metaverse.

Its different from just a virtual world where you make your wife, you have kids and you wait. So what we did was allow all these different assets, that happen in our worlds, but we tripled them in the sense of gamifying it making it fun, making them more usable, making the gameplay friendly, as well

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You said your platform is designed to be here for at least two more dec­ ades. Are there similarities to your platform and Ready Player One? Or are there major differences? Walk us through that?

We're focused on the adaptation of phones and bringing this immersive experience to your fingertips. So yeah, in the sense, yes. Ready, player one is what we're all aspiring to do. A ton of other companies are doing that. But we're also looking to go a step further.

“The internet is still being defined, when you really think about it. We're still defining what the internet is and can do.”

You mentioned Karma the Game enter­ ing the VR/AR space pretty soon. Right?

Where do you see the gaming industry evolving in the next five to 10 years?

Well, for Karma itself, we're creating a market almost. There is no dating gaming market. All these engines and facets of the gaming industry is focused on gaming, essentially. They're focused on still you putting in a CD or you downloading a game to your PlayStation, etc. based upon you having internet. And in my opinion, they're only touching the tip

of the internet. The internet is still being defined, when you really think about it.

We're still defining what the internet is and can do. When you really dive in and dwell on that, you can understand that anything is possible within the internet space. So when I'm saying dating means gaming, and you're telling me that, oh, I don't know how that's going to work.

That's just you not understanding what the internet can do.

We're creating a whole new market.

You know, we're maybe the first, but we won't be the last. Somebody is go­ ing to see us do this, and they're going to see one or two things that “Oh, they did, they didn't do this and do that.” And they're going to try to do it better, in the sense later on, right?

Essentially, they're going to see that, oh, we can dive in, it is safe to talk about social justice and make games about social justice, it is safe to talk about, having games where its gender neutral. And you look at that now, and there aren't many games that allow you to do that.

So the industry itself is going to focus on just diving into the watching aspect that's going to be like they already have networks and TV stations, whether it be on Samsung or actual channels, you know, the esports perspective as well, that's also focused on gaming.

That's where the gaming perspective is headed. Virtual augmented reality that's going to become part of our day to day lives. And that's what karma the game of destiny is betting on. The dating meets gaming perspective will become a thing because gaming itself keeps people interested and gaming itself brings people together.

When everything when it's all said and done, what do you want your legacy to be?

Wow, my legacy, I have not fully thought about this legacy. I want my legacy to be about giving people those feelings to reimagine those moments and be able to give them that experience over and over again. in the sense of bringing people together and being able to bridge the gap that. Nevertheless, legacy, I think I'm, I'm still trying to figure that out, overall. But I think for me, I guess I just wanted to be remembered as an entrepreneur and have positive words follow.

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his game is For The Culture.

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Karma the game

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arma the Game of Destiny, is a novel new social, friend making, dating, and going to venues and events GAME.

Karma aims to breakaway from the superficiality of online dating interactions. Instead, users are encouraged to forge meaningful connections on the path to make new friends, find new romance and go to great events and venues all over the world. Unlike popular dating apps like Match, E-Harmony, Tinder and Grindr, Karma is all about building tangible relationships first. Users who are inclined to engaging in naughty behavior run the risk of being ZAPPED! out of the game by fellow players or they can instead find players who are also naughty.

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s the cannabis market expands and dispensaries multiply, more people need access to trustworthy resources like Tetragram. The app allows users to keep track of medical marijuana sessions and learn which strains work best while treating symptoms.

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or years, audiences across the Black diaspora have legitimized and made social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and now ClubHouse, worth billions.

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As the company’s site declares, the app is where “Blackness is celebrated, not tolerated.”

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Media Industry isn’t a Walk in The Park Meet Nino Reyes

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who is Nino Reyes

So I started my career as a journalist when I was 18, I became the program director of 99.5. FM, the MCs, which is a radio station, located in South Florida. And when I was in college, I went to Barry University, receiving my degree in broadcasting. I was able to work and integrate the nightlife with the radio station by creating events and marketing and branding strategies.

So that's where I got a start in learning radio, but also learning how to market, and reach audiences. I had to train over 22 different radio DJs and different hosts, while also having my own show and having one of the top shows at the station. So to be new in the game at the time, I was having a pretty successful career to just be starting off.

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I moved back to New York City after I graduated from college. And then I started working with eight at the table, which is a web series that has over 100,000 followers on Instagram, over 3 million views on YouTube, and throughout different social platforms.

And I became a cast member there.

And while working there, you know, I saw a lot about production. And I became more interested in that, and I love being in front of the camera. Then I had the opportunity to work with a Netflix film producer, his name is Oscar chorale. With him, I was learning how to edit, how to produce, and just everything behind the scenes when it comes to production. Which gave me the ability to work cameras, and how to edit on Premiere Pro. Eventually, my life took a different turn. Because I was offered a position to work for one of the biggest media agencies in the world is called Universal McCann. Some of our clients that you may know American Express, Hulu, Spotify, Hershey's, H&M, a lot of these big major brands that a lot of people are aware of, or know, are some of our clients. So what I do there, I do advertisement, I'm a media player, and media buyer. I do portfolio management.

I pretty much oversee everything that has to do with marketing and advertisement. I also have my brand, which is called Viva media, and what I do there is offer services to clients to grow their social, their social accounts, specifically, which is more of my niche and more of my expertise. I help people grow their Instagram following, I help them brand. I help them with anything that's like PR work, whether it's a press kit, whether it's just anything from pitches, and so forth. So I've been able to do everything that's in media. And today I also still write for blue magazine.

I've been able to cover stories there on Patience foster, who is Cardi B's former publicist. So, you know, having an interview with her was insightful and very inspirational. I've been able to cover stories on Melissa Harville, who is the first African American woman to own a NASCAR team. And I've been able to do everything from lifestyle to travel stories. My end goal is to be a very powerful media mogul. I feel like I've done a lot in media. And I don't put a limit on what I can do because although I do marketing, and I am a journalist, I've done production and films. I am versatile.

“If you're not moving with the trend, and you're not evolving with technology, you're gonna get left behind, just like Toys R Us and Blockbuster.”

How has the media industry changed from when you started, Till now?

I think that's a really dope question.

I'm extremely passionate about media, But I also do a lot of research on the evolution of media, because, I do work in advertisement. We must be constantly following trends, data so that we are seeing the changes that come with technology, media, and social media. So I am constantly paying attention to those shifts. I will say that it hasn't changed drastically from the time I was 18. I saw that transition of going from that era of no to low tech, to where we are now where everything is social, everything is on your device, everything is going viral, and so forth.

And it has changed the way we socialize, it impacts everything from the way we perceive each other. And how your brand is seen, for example. Ecommerce is extremely important, right? So if you have a brand, and you're not online, if you don't have a social media presence, you don't have a business. To people, like that's how they see it now.

If you don't take social media seriously, then you don't have a legitimate business, if you don't have a website, which is almost like having a storefront, you're not a real business.

If you're not moving with the trend, and you're not evolving with technology, you're gonna get left behind, just like Toys R Us and Blockbuster. People must stay on top of it.

Can you walk us through the history of radio? How has it evolved?

Radio was the main source of news for people. And it was also a big way to push propaganda through the government. Radio at a point aimed to keep people conscious of any current events, and so forth. But eventually, it became a source of entertainment and news. I feel like Radio has died down. And it has died with time, just due to having podcasts and how many different audio platforms there are for people to produce shows. Whether it's Spotify or Apple or Station head, it kind of has killed the game for radio. And on top of that you know we used aux chords, right? Now we have

Bluetooth, so we're not obligated to listen to the radio anymore. Like there was a point where people will drive and they probably didn't have an ox cord, or they didn't have Bluetooth because their car probably wasn't so technologically advanced. So they'll say, "let me listen to the radio. Let me listen to what's the traffic. Let me listen to what's the weather like. Let me listen to what's the latest or the hottest news at the moment." Versus now where you don't have to do that.

You don't have to listen to the same 10 songs that they put on the radio.

If I want to read about some news, I could just Google it. What's happening politically? Let me go on CNN. I don't have to sit and listen to the radio at this point.

and it will become more focused on our smaller devices. Having a phone, a tablet, a laptop, for example, a lot of people stream Netflix and Hulu and like these different streaming platforms to their laptops.

I find that technology at the same time can be very destructive to how we socialize overall.

This whole cancel culture has become very popular due to technology and social media because now people on Twitter will easily cancel you just because you said something that they don't agree with. I don't want us to walk into a situa-

How has the evolution of technology and the acces­ sibility to create your own content, platform, show, etc. affected the major media platforms?

I love that, now go to the future.

How do you think the media is going to transform?, How do you think the media is going to evolve, or should be evolving in the coming years, let's say five to 10 years?

Technology is constantly changing. I think it will get to a point where we probably will not use TV as much. A lot of us stream on Netflix, Hulu, and so forth. Eventually, that will also die out

Circling back to you. As an Afro Lati­ na, What sort of impact do you want to make on the media industry?

So I'm a very proud Afro Latina, I'm Dominican, and I grew up in the Bronx.

I want to teach people of my community that you are not limited to your society, or your upbringing, or to what you see around you, that's not what defines you. What defines you is your work ethic, what defines you is your self-discipline, what defines you is having a passion and pursuing it and learning how to make sacrifices to reach those heights. There's a lot of resources out there in our community for us. Find a mentorship, find people who can guide you to be there.

Constantly educate yourself, education is everything.

Wisdom and knowledge, that will always be your biggest key to opening a lot of doors to success.

You literally have your entire life ahead of you. What sort of legacy is Nino Reyes wanting to leave on the earth, and not just for your com­ munity, not just for your career. But when everything is said and done. What sort of legacy Are you hoping to leave?

It's like being in the Olympics of audio or video platforms. You have to have clean and sharp content if you want to be successful. You also have to know how to market, you're not going to be a successful podcast or your show like the Joe Budden podcast or Angela Ye's podcast if you are not driving the people to it. Or if you are not producing the content that people want to hear.

It is a competition, everyone daily is coming out with a new podcast and new concept. But can you speak well?

Can you tell a story? Can you engage with your audience?

from both sides.

tion longterm where people are afraid to say things that are on their mind, even if it opposes your idea. I am a journalist, I am very vocal, I am very expressive. And I feel like I should have the right to say the things I want to say, and people should too, even if it doesn't sit well, with me, that's still your right to do so.

I feel like this will have a longer effect on us than what people can see at the moment, they don't realize that it is going to continue doubling down on us. And eventually affect the way we live, the way we communicate, the way we view each other. So I kind of see it

I want to create a platform for my son where I want my son to have wealth and to be able to give back to his community. I decided to do a lot of philanthropy work. I want to create organizations to help children especially orphans, I love children and I want to be able to just create different programs for children, especially from low-income communities like in the Bronx.

I definitely want to go down as one of the most powerful media moguls as a journalist, just working in AD tech, and throughout different industries and media. Leaving an impact on that, and also tying that in some way into education, and into just helping the lives of others improve, and give inspiration to those who need it.

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Kinky Tresses

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with a deep Caribbean culture and a childhood filled with freedom of thought and expression, founder Stacey Wray effortlessly brings to life a seemingly everyday product to a legacy statement piece for your space. “The home ought to be where your most authentic self is released, lighting that perfect mood setting candle is always the place to start.”

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Travel Brings More Opportunity Than Meets The Eye Meet Dr. Denise Mose

Who is Dr. Denise

Denise Mose is a southern belle from Huntsville, Alabama. And most folks don't believe me because of the way I talk. I don't have that southern drawl that most folks have, but Denise is a go getter, Denise appreciates every day and has a fabulous relationship with shoes and her niece.

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I'm reading your vast accomplishments, your triumphs and successes. What does that mean to you?

I think especially now, being a black woman in this day, the sky is truly the limit. And then some because we are seeing so many women of color, making amazing strides. I'm looking at all the new black women who are now mayors and governors, you know, or at least running all the black women who are now over a fortune 500 companies whereas six years ago, six years ago, there weren't any of those Only to seeing, you know, Michelle Obama's the Kamala Harris's, you know, in places of government, the highest level of government to see someone that looks like me, understands my hair, understands my hue, it is absolutely beautiful to see that and for them to be so relatable. So to me, it is just a wonderful time, especially now the world is not opening back up, and I'm loving seeing all these black girls on trips and going to Singapore. And I'm like, you better go, you know, I don't know. It's my girl. Yes. My parents said “You are black. The world would treat you this way. It's nothing you did. It is systemic, but you will fly because you're my butterfly. “ What does being a darker skinned black woman mean to you in this day and time when it comes to what you're doing? The impact you're making.

And how you move in these global streets.

It is wonderful. it's the beauty and the beast of our skin. You know, when I was in China, people were just, like, “Oh, does it [skin color] come off?”

No, they see you're on TV, and you’re untouchable. But to have someone with them

every day immersed in their culture, they was just fat, it was just unfathomable to them. A rarity. So I embrace it. I absolutely love it. My parents growing up in Alabama. I was born in 72, I wasn't a part of race riots or any of that. I went to private schools with a bunch of white kids.

It was always the original Denise Moes, the only black kid. My parents said you're gonna have everything and we didn’t.

You are black. The world would treat you this way. It's nothing you did. It is systemic, but you will fly because you're my butterfly.“ So when you hear that at a young age, and you hear it your entire life, it sets you up for success but it also shows you that everyone didn't grow up that way.

My life on the red carpet is very interesting. They want to hire a black girl, so they hire the lightest black person we can find so we picture they all look white. They hire the black light girl on purpose when it's done in Hollywood, straighten her hair, you don’t won't be a hair issue.

And I've met those women. They're all wonderful. I've interviewed them all. But you don't see the same respect that India or Reid gets, as opposed to Alicia Keys at the Grammys. Yes, there is still some of light skin and dark skin black, especially with women, and we get it, I get it. I understand. You want to sell a movie again, and you feel this lighter black girl will do that for you. But that's who you hire. So, as someone who travels, an expat, and as someone who's well versed in Hollywood, I see all that. I see how our darker sisters are treated, as opposed to our lighter ones. That's why I'm glad Michelle Obama is obviously black. I understand, African Americans, we have our own rainbow, but if we don't look a certain part, we get treated a certain way. And Zendaya has spoken said, “I'm the one you're going to hire because I'm black, but I look white… it shouldn't be that way.” So I embrace my darker hue. I love it. You cannot miss me. I embrace it and I love it and the women who are empowered in that role to.

There's a whole black travel movement, and we're understanding that every time we step outside, not just our door, but we represent the entire culture.

What how you move when you are going to these big events?

I have seen a burst of black woman traveling everywhere and traveling has it’s own education. That's why you need to go to Russia, you need to go to Singapore, you to go to Dubai. You need to go to Australia. You will see how black

people are treated and how it can be an anomaly to be the only one. I take myself at least four or five places every year, someplace new every year. In the world, we live in now, You have to get passed those four walls you live in, that state you live in, that fear you live in and see what's out there. And so many people love the bubble. “I go to church here, I go to the store here. This is my school. This is my bubble. And it's safe in that bubble.” But it's dangerous in that bubble. If it gets burst. What are you going to do?

And for the red carpet, I make sure that, my makeup is flawless, my hair done the right way etc. you know where you're going, make sure you show up like you belong there. So when you have found that confidence is one of the best things you can. And there's a fine line between confidence and cocky, especially on the red carpet. But when I'm on the red carpet, whether it's the Kentucky Derby or the Oscars or Sundance, or Fashion Week, I look good, I'm prepared, I have my questions. I'm ready. I've got my stuff together. Just showing up and being ready is half the battle. Especially if you're African American female, because entertainment is still a very, very male dominated industry men make still 10 times more than women make. And that includes the red carpet as well. So I make sure that Denise Moes is prepared. I look good, I'm prepared. The outfit matches my skin. I personally wear orange and yellows and hues of greens to match that makes me look good. You know? Yes, you need to know your color. Know what makes you look best, know your right side and left side, I know that my left side is better.

I'm further solidify that I belong here because of where I've been.

Last travel question lol. How has the exposure impacted How you run your business and brand?

It makes me a better asset I can discuss any conversation anywhere, anytime about anything. What about the great wall? I've been there. I've touched the Great Wall of China. Paris? I've been there.

I've been to the chandeliers, I've touched the Eiffel Tower. You know, what about trying to build a falling market for three hours to chop down on a little boat, you know? Often ride in Thailand, I touched the boats, you know, although you should.

But I taught the monks, you know, I walked the tiger in Thailand, you know, I went to Dubai, I went to the Burj Khalifa.

So when you when you can say you've done all those things and just put them

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out? And, and speak intelligently about that.

And it makes me someone that's very singular in the room. I use it as a pretty soft weapon because it makes a difference. I'm further solidify that I belong here because of where I've been.

Don't try to intimidate me when you don't bring anything to the table. And you can eat from where I am.

That is something that I think happens a lot for women of color, because they will come in and see us and immediately say and let me intimidate her to keep her in her place. So I get when it comes to that it's not only an armor, it's a standard, it is a benchmark as well for you. I wanted to dive a little bit deeper of this journey that you've been on from teaching kindergarten to get into the red carpet. What is that journey?

I taught fifth grade, I want to be a teacher and change the world, and I still am. I taught fifth grade for three years.

I loved it. And I taught kindergarten for one year and I said I will never have children. lol And I don't. So I got my MBA, my PhD in business. I said, I'm a teacher. I love what I do. So I can only be a professor and I did that for 14 years, loved it. And then had the opportunity to be on a panel with TD Jakes in 2002 in Orlando. And when that was over, Roy Mitchell Evans came to me and said, You belong on TV. I had no idea who he was. I had no idea where he was from. But he owns Jericho broadcast networks of Atlanta.

And he said to me, Denise, I need a new host for my TV show. And I just looked around and said, good luck with that! He said, No, I need you. You're a teacher, you don't need a script. And you're easily animated, this is just natural for you on television. About three weeks later, he kept calling and saying I need you to think about going to my studio. I'm like no, I got a job. I love my job and a mortgage. I don't know who you are. And I just said, you know, what, one day in the studio and then his two interns started that year who I'm close to till this day. And they said, you know, Doc, you speak really, really fast. You know, we're going to slow you down.

So the audience can understand what you're saying. So I did these breathing things with them about 100 times. And that slowed me down. And then after

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about a good three months, he felt Okay, for now you're ready for the red carpet.

Red carpet?! And he said, Yeah, my good friend of mine was on the cover for the Kentucky Derby. We're going to be leaving in three weeks. Now mind you I’m also teaching full time.

This is a weekend thing. So I said okay, whatever. He tells me, we're going to be interviewing Smokey Robinson, Tyrese, Gabrielle Union and doing interviews open fire!

I got the golf house in Louisville, Kentucky. And they said, Dear co broadcasting this way, I got a little spot on the red carpet because it's the red carpet, you have a box that gets bigger. So I have my mic and the little girl came by with the lights and I'm like this is it. And around the corner is Smokey Robinson. Then it was Bootsy Collins. It was Tyrese. And Tina Marie.

Then We did taste of Chicago and a few other levels, we did stellar awards, when it was in Nashville, and we met Carrie Clark, Sher and Tye tribbett when they were just kind of building their own thing, and Jay moss. So I've stayed in my job for another year, because that was starting to supplement my income. So I thought, I'm going to do this. And the first major event we did was the Grammys, and I interviewed Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus. And I said, that's it. I didn't look back. if there is no picture, it didn't happen.

Period.

Expanding a little bit on your the red carpet experience. You've done the American Black Film Festival? What does that signify for you, and what can that signify for the community and even impact on the future generations?

Let me say this, the red carpet, your bigger red carpets, for most of them, you must be invited to apply for the job.

You'd have to apply and explain who your audience is, how big your reach is, you have to submit about three or four your articles, you have to submit about three or four of your videos, they want to see four or five pictures of you. Because I learned this, they said “We need visually appealing people.” You have to apply and they will the gods that will accept you. That's the first thing, you cannot just go on a red carpet, the SS festival backstage, Music Festival, essence festival that apply months in advance and sometimes that window is a week long. When you go to a red carpet you find out that the RCD is there. Red Carpet director. You get back home, you send them a thank you letter or a thank you email, say thank you. I look forward to you next year. Build your brand to build that. Great proof. So, for number one with the red carpet, invite only, build your report, build your stories, build your articles, build whatever you're doing to get on these carpets.

Secondly, the red carpet is a really, really long process.

Yeah, the American black Film Festival is the biggest festival for African Americans besides Sundance in Park City, Utah. And to interview, Samuel L. Jackson, who is Nick Fury, who was Julius, who's all these iconic characters, and you only have 31 seconds. He has ties to Alabama, because he's a good friend of Octavia Spencer, who when in Alabama State opened their new theater, he opened it. You find some rapport with each celebrity because you need that picture. You need that for that 10 second video clip that said, here's the mic and the star, I was there. Because in this day of Google pictures, if there is no picture, it didn't happen. Period.

I made sure that the folks who are with me on my team get the picture to get my best side. And if need be, in the with the star, because that further validates why you belong here. And you've covered the Oscars, essence festival, you've covered Sunday, it's not just the black events.

Let's just be real, the ones that seem so far out of reach we did. Sundance last year, and I've never been to Utah, and Park City is beautiful. Once you're in Park City, you can't get out. It’s four or five main rows, everyone's there to pitch their screen. They're moving their film.

And it's just beautiful. I call Sundance the Oscars with no money, because everyone goes to Sundance jeans and T shirts. And four weeks later, they are at the Oscars.

Same people, different wardrobe. Take full advantage of the spaces your in.

On your website, you have a quote: A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, then you see in yourself and helps to bring it out of you. And then you also have the man­ tra M.O.S.E. Moving Obstacles Slowly, Everyday. Where did that originate from?

Dr. Ellen Ellis, my sophomore year at Alabama A&M University, told us as teachers, you need something to push you every day. Because teaching is a wonderful, beautiful and thankless job.

Better love this if ever you want to teach students of any age you better love it.

She introduced affirmations to us, go Bulldogs! HBCU. And she said do something that's either your first middle or last name. And it should make it short and sweet. I am moving obstacles slowly every day, if I am, on my bed, on my laptop, knocking some articles out and I didn't get one, when I got three, not four.

So I'm still moving obstacles.

So I must give applause to Dr. Ellen Ellis, my professor who I was deathly afraid of still it. Just how she loved us. You know, it

was it's funny, I had a culture shock going to college. Because most of my life I was in white settings. Going into a college and all black college and all black professors.

I'm like “Whoa, okay!” So I have to give her that.

Switch gears just a little bit and talk about your book. You go into detail talking about that missing feeling, de­ spite having an amazingly fulfilling life.

That literally most people couldn't even dream of, to be honest with you. Do you still have that missing feeling?

Oh, not right now. I don't. I'm feeling with so many new things. I'm so excited about the book. But the workbook has content of a life of its own. This is my blind faith workbook. It's a 12 page guide of how to build your dreams. How to go over those things that you haven't thought about? Are those things that you're too scared to reach? Or you feel you're not worthy, or you're not smart enough or talented enough already enough? And you absolutely are! There are so many people that just feel like, ”I don't deserve it. I haven't earned it.”

What made you think that? I look at people who are very famous, who have done less than I have, but they made millions.

I looked at people, from Oprah to Tyler Perry to everyone in between and how they reach their success.

Thinking about that missing feeling. Did that transform into fuel for you?

Absolutely. When I contemplated going to China, I was at a place in my career, that I could do my job with my eyes closed. I was course director. So I had my own class, I have my own team. I was bored. I got my coffee from the house, went to work, drove my carto my office, taught my class, came back, had lunch, class, went home, cook, and then the next day. And I just I said, I'm over this.

I'm good. And I love what I'm doing. And I wasn't in fear of losing my job. I wasn't being written up. I just thought there's got to be more than this. You know. And so a good friend of mine mentioned, if that was missing.

I was missing the Spark, missing my mojo doing my job in automation, doing a good job, but just know just there. And it wasn't until I just left everything behind, sold my condo, put my stuff in storage, drove a U-Haul to Alabama and said you know what? This is either going to work or not work, but I'm feeling I'm going to go show China who I am and sprinkle all this black girl magic in Asia. That was what I needed to see. Dubai, India, I get to meet students

who didn't look anything like me. I needed to see all of that to take a break from my life and create this new life in this new place for over a year. And I came back on fire.

I went to the Olympics that summer, I applied for the Olympics, and was accepted. And that's a four month process. And I've been on fire ever since. And it's just been a wonderful ride. I got into this area of celebrity and growing my brand. Now I have and new project and I'm so excited about it.

What's the new project?

Well, I'm working on my first murder mystery, suspense novel during quarantine. All of these brands released all these lines. Gordon Ramsay did five classes online and Stephen King released two classes on how to write a murder mystery. So I said murder mystery, I don't do that. But I found myself. I describe them as storyboarding and building character and I know how to write. So are you talking about ideas of a story of a murder mystery, my dad kidnapped and I have my brother kidnapped. And so I got into more of a story. And now looking at releasing a short on my birthday to be pitch to Netflix.

For you, what do you think looking at your life now what do you think your next milestone will be?

I honestly don't know. The bigger the risk the bigger the reward and it’s going to be gigantic! What I have found, that when you go for that big fish, there's such a huge reward from that, and not just financially.

Just what you've learned over the years, I learned about Denise Mose, I learned how strong I was in China. When you immerse yourself in a culture, a continent, a group of people for over a year, and you dwell with them and live with them, eat with them and go home with them and go on trails and rock waterfalls, and you fly with them. It's a beautiful way to learn more about yourself and there's so much more to learn about what this chick!

When it's all said and done, what would you like people to be able to say about Dr. Denise Mose?

I would like to say that she was someone that used every bit of every opportunity that she had. She didn't she didn't waste her time. She didn't you know, tomorrow is not promised. She used all her energy for the next thing, that she didn't waste any opportunity. She really went for the fence! she really shot for the moon.

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