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Artists experiencing delays in their music projects dropping is a tale as old as time. Back in 2013, Buzzfeed reported on the unfortunate reality of artists not being able to release their music including reasons like artists being mismanaged, the label focusing on competition, stalling on getting their music ready for radio, and more. But as a The Guardian report simply put it, “But to writers and artists, your songs are your babies. It’s only fair that you get them back if they’re not being looked after.” The industry continues to evolve with the times, yet still musicians — especially Black women artists — are subjected to constant pushback from their labels. Oftentimes, they are left with limited options on how to resolve the issue such as trying to part ways amicably. Another way to musical freedom that can be quite a hassle is acquiring their master recordings. As previously reported by AfroTech, the likes of Anita Baker, Rihanna, Ciara, and more used their voices to earn back...
On April 2, 2002, Ashanti hit the ground running with her debut self-titled studio album. In fact, the project made the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest-selling debut album by a female artist, according to Vibe. It reportedly sold over 500,000 within the first week (Sis has always been legendary). Although it’s been 20 years since the world was introduced to the songstress, dubbed the Princess of Hip-Hop and R&B, she continues to break records and turn heads. This time though, she’s shaking things up in the metaverse, proving that there is an ever-evolving relationship between music and tech. “Technology has been a blessing,” she told AfroTech during the 2022 Essence Festival of Culture. “I mean, it’s the gift and the curse, let’s be honest. Everything has pros and cons, but I think using it as a tool to empower and uplift and learn and research are all beautiful things.”
Day one Ashanti fans can expect a special surprise very soon! On April 2, it marked as the 20th anniversary of the R&B icon’s eponymous debut album. To celebrate the big milestone, Ashanti announced on Instagram that she’ll be releasing her first NFT collection with EQ Exchange. “I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since my debut album ‘Ashanti’!!!!!!!! I’m so grateful that yall been rocking with me for over 20 years!!!!! Now I finally get to give you something in return. I’m beyond excited to officially announce that my NFT collection with @EQ.Exchange celebrating 20 years of ‘Ashanti will be available Wednesday, April 6th and I want y’all to have ownership in these new Masters!!! Which re recording should be first???” she wrote in her post’s caption. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ashanti (@ashanti) The NFT collection is set to launch on April 6.
As her classic eponymous debut album approaches its 20th anniversary, Ashanti is making history through a new platform. Complex reports that the R&B singer has partnered with EQ Exchange, a woman-owned Web3 platform. Ashanti’s new partnership makes her “the first Black female artist to be a co-founder of a Web3 company.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by EQ Exchange (@eq.exchange) “It’s so important to me to get the message out that artists should own their intellectual property,” she shared in a statement, according to Complex. “By empowering myself through new technology, I’m trying to help other women avoid going through the things that I’ve been through. The future belongs to those who take control and make it their own.” EQ Exchange is set to officially launch on March 25. The announcement of Ashanti joining the tech world follows after the reveal in 2021 that she was re-recording her 2002 debut album to regain ownership of her masters. “I have an amazing legal team,...
Verzuz has held it down for the culture since its debut in 2020. Created by legendary record producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland , Verzuz has continued to soar in popularity, and at one point, it even amassed over 136.5 million views for the music showdown battle between Brandy and Monica. Now Verzuz is leveling up on the financial side. Verzuz via Triller has plans to become a publicly-traded company on the stock market. Deadline reports, the deal will be made possible due to a reverse merger with SeaChange. Once the deal is finalized, “TrillerVerz” will become the new face and will be valued at an impressive $5 billion. TrillerVerz will trade under the ticker symbol ILLR on the Nasdaq. The merge will accomplish a shared goal to become “a leading AI-powered social media platform for content, creators & commerce,” and to “create a leading voice on the Web3.0 movement and embrace the power of decentralized systems to enable greater participation in the multi-hundred billion dollar...