The first piece of advice that veteran writers should give to entertainment reporters is, “Make your inner fan chill out.” I say that from experience. I once burst out, “I’m such a groupie for you” to MC Lyte and wince about it to this day. Even for the one group that I acted like a legitimate groupie for — Immature aka IMX, specifically Romeo — I would have never in a million years said that to the trio. What I meant to say to this music legend was “I’ve been a huge fan of you for decades and respect your…

When “Queen Sugar” made its fifth-season return in February, viewers weren’t sure what the Bordelon siblings would be up to. It turns out this trio and family were dealing with what viewers dealt with throughout 2020 — a Trump presidency, the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, news of the George Floyd murder and increasing unemployment. And a conversation with Aunt Vi may have been the most memorable of the entire season.

“How long is this gon’ go on?” Aunt Vi asked her niece, Charlie. “People are not gon’ stay at home forever. People need people, to touch and feel each…

2021 may have had the weirdest Valentine’s Day ever, considering it was the first one in nationwide social isolation. In 2020, non-essential businesses didn’t start shutting down in droves until March. This year, those same restaurants, amusement parks and other date night locations that were fighting to stay open on Valentine’s Day were at risk of being closed permanently. With vaccinations open to the public and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirming it’s OK to go out maskless after two shots, Sweetest Day in October may be the makeup day.

But a year’s worth of this worldwide…

In the past few weeks, digital currency has taken on noticeable popularity. Visa started permitting the use of USD Coin (USDC) to settle transactions. PayPal was already allowing users to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies, and now users can utilize the “Checkout with Crypto” payment platform. And digital artists and music artists have taken notice of the cryptocurrency industry, too.

On April 3, The Weeknd announced a blockchain deal with Nifty Gateway. Via Twitter, the Super Bowl LV halftime show headliner released new music and limited edition art from Strange Loop Studios.

Other artists, such as Osinachi, a Nigerian artist…

When lyricist Michael “Killer Mike” Santiago Render became popular for the hashtag #BankBlack in 2016, it made sense that he would be a guest speaker for one of 19 remaining black-owned banks: OneUnited Bank. Then, in 2019, came Netflix’s “Trigger Warning,” with his mission to try to only live off of and support black-owned products for three days. (This became a much bigger challenge than he expected, even though author Maggie Anderson did it for a year.)

So it was all but a given that he’d continue on with his feat of trying to support and recycle funds with black-owned…

In both public and private schools, students usually get that one paragraph in black history books that highlights the same handful of people (for good reason). But how often do we learn about African- and African-American history in business and technology happening then and now? From hip-hop investors to science labs, computer nerds are underestimated and often handsomely compensated. Check out how much you know about some of these techies below.

Question 1: Which computer scientist developed the animation used to create GIFs? (Side note: Steve Wilhite and his CompuServe team are created with GIFs.)

A. Mark Dean

B. Lisa…

A lot has changed since mid-April when COVID-19 vaccinations opened up to all 50 states. The Mask Innovation Challenge has closed its submissions for the two-phase competition to create an “effective and comfortable” face mask that would still meet a specific health criteria. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that those who have gotten both vaccination shots can move around without masks, this competition may have come in handy far more in 2020. (We all know why that wouldn’t have happened.) …

Are you new to Shopify or a connoisseur in selling and buying online? The setup process for creating a Shopify store is pretty easy to do. But what is the full cost of selling through Shopify? Let’s find out.

Choosing your startup rates to sell on Shopify

Whether you’re a serious seller or don’t know where to start (or what to sell), Shopify offers a 14-day trial to figure it out. (If the site is not for you, and you cancel before the 14 days are up, you’re not charged.)

Basic Shopify

For $29 per month, you will receive the following:

• Online store
• Sales channels
• Gift cards
• Shopify point-of-sale (POS)…