Fantasia Barrino, often referred to under the mononym Fantasia, is a world-wide star with droves of talent and an impressive catalogue of musical success. After winning the third season of “ American Idol ” back in 2004, the generational talent explored a solo music career, a foray into film and stage acting , and a wide array of financial investments . At her financial peak, the young songstress had amassed millions in net worth, though much of her wealth has been depleted over the years. In fact, fans may be shocked to learn that Fantasia currently holds an estimated net worth of only $500,000 dollars, according to Celebrity Net Worth . Fantasia has been open with the public about the financial struggles of her past, explaining that she was taken advantage of by numerous figures within the music industry, who carved out pieces of her net worth to enrich themselves. Likewise, Fantasia has admitted that she entered the industry lacking the financial wisdom required to succeed. In an...

Tracy Chapman is best known for her breakout single, “Fast Car,” which saw a huge rise in popularity in 2023 thanks to a cover by country artist Luke Combs. It was 1988 when the original song came out, one of 11 tracks on her self-titled debut LP that year. Chapman, a talented musician from childhood, released albums steadily through the late 80s and early 90s. She’s taken a few hiatuses over the years and keeps her personal life notoriously private, but after such a successful career, people want to know about Tracy Chapman’s net worth . What Is Tracy Chapman’s Net Worth? (Photo by KMazur/WireImage) The multi-talent was born in Cleveland on March 30th, 1964, where she grew up with her mother after her parents divorced. While the Chapman family didn’t have much money, Tracy’s mom fostered her love for music, starting her off with a ukelele at age three. From there, the 60-year-old has gone on to become a Grammy Award winner and proud activist, as well as an influence on creatives...

Cardi B is always going to stand on business while being about her business. The “Invasion of Privacy” artist recently took to Instagram sharing that four of her songs are now in Spotify’s Billions Club. The singles listed are “Girls Like You (Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B),” “WAP (ft. Megan Thee Stallion),” “I Like It (J Balvin, Bad Bunny),” and “Taki Taki (Selena Gomez, Ozuna, Cardi B, DJ Snake),” per Essence. “Wooow I got FOUR songs that hit the billion mark on Spotify…I’m soooo excited to put out new music and reach even more milestones. Thank you sooo much everyone for listening, it really means alot to me.. I can’t wait for you to see and hear what’s next,” Cardi B wrote on Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cardi B (@iamcardib) Since the release of her debut album on April 6, 2018, Cardi B has remained in high demand. The proof is in the numbers. During an interview, she shared a text conversation with Rolling Stone staff writer Mankaprr Conteh regarding an offer...

A resolution has been reached for a song that was removed from Kanye West’s “Vultures 1” album. Per Rolling Stone, “Good (Don’t Die)” had been pulled from streaming platforms Spotify and Apple as it allegedly infringed on the rights of Donna Summer. Her estate claimed the song was created through a “blatant theft” of her single “I Feel Love” and had filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in February 2024. “In the face of this rejection, defendants arrogantly and unilaterally decided they would simply steal ‘I Feel Love’ and use it without permission,” the lawsuit said, according to Rolling Stone. The outlet also stated: “The filing accused the songwriters of re-recording ‘almost verbatim’ the most ‘memorable portions’ of Summer’s song, using the material as the hook for their own song, and releasing their infringing track ‘knowing they had tried and failed to secure legal permission.’” Furthermore, the official Donna Summer account had shared in its Instagram Story on Feb. 10 that...

A’ja Wilson does not take the sacrifices of her parents for granted. Growing up, the Las Vegas Aces player credits her dad for encouraging her to practice shots on the court, she tells ESPN. Her father, Roscoe, would make her wear a weighted vest while she scored layups. The South Carolina-born athlete describes this time period as “the hell part” of their relationship, but it also helped to improve her skills. “Left hand, right hand, left hand, right hand,” Roscoe told ESPN. “I’d tell her to always know where her feet should be, don’t bring her hands down below her shoulders. Now, it’s second nature.” A’ja saw her improvement too. “…The heaven part was that as I grew, I started to see my game change. I realized my dad was just being my coach. As I got older and basketball got more serious, I saw that, ‘This man may know some things, A’ja, so I suggest you listen to him.'” Roscoe’s passion for the game was reflected in his own life. While he never made it to the NBA, the former...

Mary J. Blige’s Strength Of A Woman Festival (SOAW) returned for a Mother’s Day takeover in a new city this year, along with new faces and places to support. “We started doing pop-ups at bars, and it was just me and my daughter,” Chef Shelly Flash of 2 Girls & A Cookshop told AFROTECH™ during the third annual SOAW, the festival’s first time appearing in Blige’s home of New York, NY. “We used to get kicked out all the time, and it’s like we just had a mission. We were like, ‘We should share our food with the world because we’re first-gens, and a lot of times first-generation Jamaicans, we’re not represented.’ Either you’re all in the culture or you’re in this melted pot. We are always in this floating melting pot. We live in the best city in the world — that’s New York — and so what we decided to do is just keep putting out one Jamaican taco at a time.” She added, “And in Jamaica, we always say ‘Out of many, one person.’ At 2 Girls we say, ‘Out of many, one culture.’ We believe that...

For almost a decade, Michael Rainey Jr. has been a staple in 50 Cent’s TV reign on Showtime. Following the release of “Power,” the actor went on to star in its spinoff, “Power Book II: Ghost.” As the series is in its fourth and final season, Rainey has recounted his journey of being a part of the successful TV franchise. During an interview on Forbes’ “New Money” podcast, he spoke about how 50 Cent has not only been a mentor to him but also a father figure. Working closely alongside the business mogul and fellow co-stars of the “Power” franchise such as Omari Hardwick and Joseph Sikora, Rainey shared that it served as a time for learning critical skills including how to handle his money responsibly. “I’m still young, so I’m still learning how to manage my money, but I really just take advice from people that are around me,” Rainey said. “Being on ‘Power’ not only changed my life career-wise, but just being on that show, being on set with everybody every day, just being around those...

Fans of 50 Cent’s “Power” franchise may have been first introduced to Michael Rainey Jr. in 2014 for his breakout role as Tariq James St. Patrick, but his acting days started years before. In an interview with Forbes’ “New Money” podcast, the actor recalled landing his first movie, “Un Altro Mondo (Another World),” at age 9 in 2010. Before the starring role, Rainey’s acting journey began when a talent agent approached his mom to consider placing him in the business. “She literally just walked up to my mom and said, ‘Your son has a great face for acting or modeling. Does he do any of that?’” Rainey told host Rosemarie Miller. “And she was like, ‘No.’ And then, like a week after, they had a meeting in the office and after that, they just started getting me auditions.” The auditions that rolled in included TV time for shows like “Sesame Street” and more. The progression of Rainey’s gigs led to landing his bigger role on “Power.” However, prior to the hit Starz show, he says that his...

Football fanatics were surprised by word of Duke Johnson’s retirement this week, though the 30-year-old actually played his last game back in 2022. The University of Miami alum maintains the NFL league all-time record for leading rusher (3,519 yards). He candidly reflected on his decision to walk away from the game on Instagram , writing, “8 Years 4 teams with 1 goal in mind, create a better life for my family.” “I never dreamed of being the all-time leading rusher of my dream school or being somewhere on the list of all-time players to come out of South FL,” Johnson’s announcement continued. ” I want to thank my GOD for allowing me to take this journey and end it in the same health I started it in. With that being said I’m officially retiring from the NFL . I hope I left a greater impression on y’all that’s bigger than football. To my wife and Son, all of this was for y’all. GG’s in the chat 8 Ball Out.” Read on to explore roughly how much the former Running Back made during his...

Issa Rae has expanded her business empire with yet another venture that caters to creatives. Business Insider reports that the media mogul has launched Ensemble, a company that works to connect brands with Black and brown creators. Moreover, the ultimate mission is to be a part of closing the creator pay gap between creators of color and their white counterparts. Funded by Rae, the company is already working with 50 creators such as comedian Mark Phillips, who is co-founder of the popular social media collective RDCWorld. What’s more, several major brands have joined Ensemble’s roster, such as Pepsi, Chili’s, and Popeyes. “We want Ensemble to be seen as a general market company,” said Montrel McKay, president of development and production at Hoorae Media , Rae’s media and entertainment company. “We want to go after media budgets. We don’t want to go after small allocations that are for diversity buys. That’s why it’s important to work with Pepsi out of the gate — we want to show the...

The success of Usher Raymond’s Las Vegas, NV, residency was due to his focus on legacy over profit. During an interview with V-103 Atlanta, the 2024 Super Bowl performer, often crowned with the title of being the “King of R&B,” revealed his initial intentions when he was producing the show that would go on to sell more than 470,000 tickets. His catalog which includes classic hits such as “Superstar,” “Confessions, Pt. II,” and “U Got It Bad” have remained a fixture in culture throughout the decades. His fourth studio album “Confessions,” which includes some of the aforementioned tracks, is now 14 times platinum, per Entertainment Weekly. Today, Usher is still ringing out tunes, releasing his ninth studio album “Coming Home” in February 2024, Hypebeast reports. Indebted to his fans and understanding his on going contributions to the world of music, Usher reveals he invested every dollar that he was given during the first run of his residency into the show which was held at the...

Transcending her experience as a childhood star on Disney Channel, Zendaya is now a force in Hollywood. This can be credited partially to her forging her own path in fashion with the help of Law Roach and diversifying her roles, through HBO’s “Euphoria” — which landed her two Emmys for her role as Rue Bennett — and the big screen’s “Dune” and “Spider-Man” franchises, per Variety. Now, Zendaya is on to her next project, “Challengers,” directed by Luca Guadagnino, which was released on April 26, 2024. Unlike the aforementioned roles, the actress has the opportunity to move beyond portraying a teenager on screen and takes on Tashi Duncan, an adult character who plays tennis and winds up in a love triangle, according to People. “I’ve been playing 16-year-olds since I was 16,” Zendaya, 27, told Variety. “So it was nice to play a character that was not a child anymore. It was also interesting playing parts of my life that I haven’t experienced yet: I’ve not gotten married. I’ve not had a...

For over a decade, Stephen A. Smith has been recognized as one of the faces of ESPN. Before becoming a host on “First Take,” the veteran sports broadcaster hosted “The Stephen A. Smith Show” on ESPN Radio from 2005 to 2008, per ESPN Press Room. By 2011, Smith returned to host a weekday local show on ESPN Radio 98.7FM in New York, NY, and a local show on ESPN LA 710AM in Los Angeles, CA. In an interview with “Earn Your Leisure” podcast, Smith recounted being fired from ESPN in 2009. He explained that the reason for his departure was that his contract at the time did not align with what he believed he should earn. “I thought that I deserved more than they offered,” Smith shared on “Earn Your Leisure. “I was appalled at the offer they made me. I did not like it. I did not appreciate it. I felt disrespected. And I said ‘No.’” Smith admitted that his disapproval with the offer he received was based on the acclaim and accolades that were pouring in for him. However, he says when he...

Will.i.am is immersing himself further in the media landscape. According to a press release, he has joined Jarret Myer and Rich Antoniello in forming Uproxx Studios. It is described as a brand solutions studio led by influential leaders in media and music who will consider culture and push it forward. The new entity has been established following the acquisition of Uproxx, HipHopDX, Dime Magazine, and other major media assets from Warner Music Group (WMG), such as the exclusive license to represent its YouTube content. Looking ahead, Uproxx Studios and WMG will remain in collaboration to guarantee seamless execution for their partners. Antoniello, partner and executive chairman of Uproxx Studios as well as founder and ex-CEO of Complex Network, commented, “This is a game-changer. We’re merging the agility and freedom of an independent entity with the reach and resources of a major music label. This is the recipe for groundbreaking content and unparalleled brand experiences.” Uproxx...

Cash Money Records Founder Birdman experienced several losses by the age of 16, and he was determined to steer clear of any losses in the music business. Birdman, born Bryan Christopher Williams, started the label in 1991 alongside his brother Ronald “Slim” Williams, according to BET. They were able to gain traction and had the support of independent distributors such as Gonzales Music and SouthWest Distribution, XXL Magazine reports. Building popularity in the South, the label caught the attention of Universal Records and signed a deal with the company on May 10, 1997, per a Max Volume Media interview Birdman gave. He later discussed the deal during an interview on the “Wilde Ride!” podcast, revealing that he was looking to retain ownership of his music due to his upbringing. “I felt like I lost everything already. I lost my family,” he explained on the podcast. “Nothing can repay me for what I already lost. I lost my mama, my daddy, my brother, my sister… I lived a hell of a life...