For one reason or another, the pandemic has inspired many people to pursue various dreams and business ventures. Some individuals may have been laid off from their job due to Covid or, they may have suddenly been inspired to pursue their dream due to these unprecedented times.
Jamaican immigrant Shellie-Ann Kerns was one of those individuals who was inspired to return to her farming roots by creating a farm in Washington’s Middle Satsop Valley. Kerns was furloughed from her job as an aircraft dispatcher and was then inspired to pursue her goal of creating a farm. Her Instagram account documented her crowdfunding journey to build a 20-acre black lead farm.
Shellie-Ann Kerns has a successful GoFundMe account where she has made comments indicating that donations will be used for equipment around her homestead. Donations are currently being used to fund a tractor, a new well, and a commercial kitchen which will be used for teaching and making spice blends. So far, her GoFundMe account has raised over $77,000.
Shellie-Ann Kerns indicated that these donations are extremely helpful to growing her farm as donations will help to clear land for large-scale planting. Kerns is also very passionate about baking with sourdough, and she is very upfront about her desire to create a demonstration kitchen for creating spice blends and also teaching classes.
Kern’s heritage remains an important part of her journey as both of her parents have agricultural roots. Her mission also involves complex issues of food insecurity. Kerns has applied for grants that will support her produce. Her main goal is to offer SNAP, EBT, and food stamp recipients reduced rates in order to feed people in need.
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright. Jonathan is a freelance writer for multiple mainstream publications and CVO of RADIOPUSHERS. You can read more of his work by clicking here.
Apple crushed wall street projections amid a global pandemic. Wall Street analysts predicted that Apple’s revenues would fall around $77 million, but the tech giant raked in almost $90 billion in revenues from January until March of 2021 ($89.6 billion).
Apple also experienced stellar performance during this same quarter last year, with sales increasing by 54%, with most of the increase occurring before the pandemic hit the United States.
CEO Tim Cook expressed his enthusiasm in an earnings press release saying that the recent quarter reflected the ways apple products have helped its customers during these unprecedented times and also the optimism that customers hold for apple.
This tremendous growth in Apple revenues can be attributed to gains in services, iPhone revenues, and iPad revenues, with services revenues increasing by around 26%, iPhone revenue increasing by 66%, and iPad revenue increasing by 78%.
Despite the large growth in several areas, Apple’s big player turned out to be the iPhone 12, which showed an incredible demand. During the March quarter of 2020, iPhone revenues grew 66% reaching an incredible $48 billion. Apple revenues for the iPhone during the previous quarter were only about $29 billion.
According to Apple, more users upgraded to iPhones this quarter than any other in Apple’s history. This switch can be attributed to the new iPhone 12, which proved to be high in demand.
Apple showed dominance across the board with the top five best-selling smartphones in the U.S all being iPhones during the quarter. Apple also experienced a large demand internationally. The two best-selling smartphones in China were both iPhones, four of the top six best-selling smartphones in Japan were iPhones, the four most popular smartphones in the U.K were iPhones, and the top six most sold smartphones in Australia were all iPhones.
Cook also revealed that Apple faced virtually no material supply chain restraints. Cook credits this factor as one of the reasons for Apple’s success during the March quarter as many other tech companies have struggled to access a sufficient number of chips.
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright. Jonathan is a freelance writer for multiple mainstream publications and CVO of RADIOPUSHERS. You can read more of his work by clicking here.
Certain people really inspire my soul and enable me to strive harder for the things I want most out of life. On a cool, brisk Thursday night in Miami, I’m standing on the balcony of my Trésor Ocean View Junior Suite with Lil’ Kim’s “Slippin” track blaring through my SMS Audio wireless speakers. As I transcribe her lyrics in my mind, I gently nod and cosign the truth within the context of her pinpoint delivery. Trust is the most dangerous and valuable commodity in the world. Kimberly Jones has never had a problem speaking the truth and dealing with the aftermath. Before the Grammys, platinum plaques, diva/icon status, Kimberly Denise Jones was expelled from home and running the heartless streets of Brooklyn.
Jones was born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, the second child of Linwood Jones and Ruby Jones (now Ruby Jones-Mitchell). She has one older brother named Christopher.
As a child, Jones attended Queen of All Saints Elementary School in Brooklyn. At the age of nine, her parents separated, and Jones was raised by her father, with whom she had a tumultuous relationship.
After being kicked out of her house by her dad, Jones dropped out of high school and alternated between crashing with friends and living on the street.
I changed the track selection to “Quiet” from her Naked Truth album. The beat is pulsating throughout my suite, and I can visualize Lil’ Kim staring into the eyes of her judge without blinking. No fear. Straight Brooklyn! In the early stages of her life, Kim would freestyle with ease and fantasize about having her moment.
I change the track selection again to the song “Durty” and Lil’ Kim starts off saying:
Lil’ Kim stay hot pull up with my nigga in the 80-foot yacht man this hatin’ don’t stop
Real recognize real you studio gangstas kill me
I know my vet’s in the game got to feel me
‘Cause from the gate I brrrr-raaa down the door
Like Eddy Murphy, I gave it to you raw
Two-piece bikini, Fendi mink draggin’ on the floor
Kim been the first lady since I dropped Hard Core
A lot of these hoes livin’ vicariously through me
‘Stead a doin’ them, they’d rather do me
Watchin’ them is like a Broadway play
Sittin’ next to the Queen is the closest they’ll ever get to Brooklyn
Why y’all frontin’ you know who the best be?
I’m the reason why the game so sexy
The originator, the trend creator
Bitch, you dun know you haffa respect me
I’m so lit right now from that intro verse! How can you not treasure the words and unapologetic flow of the real Queen Bee? Purely undeniable.
Jones attended Sarah J. Hale Vocational High School for two and a half years. Many of her friends also went there, and she would often skip school to hang out with them.
Since her schoolwork wasn’t being completed, the decision was made to transfer to Brooklyn College Academy to finish her remaining year and a half of school. It was the same school that fellow rappers Nas and Foxy Brown also attended.
While struggling through her personal life, Jones met The Notorious B.I.G. (real name Christopher Wallace), a key figure in both her personal and artistic life, mainly once Wallace had gained popularity and influence relationship with Bad Boy Records.
In 1994, B.I.G. was instrumental in introducing and promoting the Brooklyn-based group Junior M.A.F.I.A., which included Jones, who was only nineteen. The group’s first and only album, Conspiracy, was released on August 29, 1995, and debuted at number eight on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 69,000 copies in its first week of release. Three hit singles came from Conspiracy: “Player’s Anthem” (peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 2 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart), “I Need You Tonight” (No. 43 R&B, No. 12 Rap), and “Get Money” (No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 4 R&B, No. 2 Rap). The R.I.A.A. certified Conspiracy gold on December 6, 1995. “Player’s Anthem” and “Get Money” were certified gold and platinum easily.
In the middle of the wolf pack, Lil’ Kim was still the lone wolf, and the world was now taking notice of her gift. After a year with Junior M.A.F.I.A., Jones began a solo career by making guest performances on R&B albums and recording her debut album, Hard Core, released in November 1996. The album debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, the highest debut for a female rap album at that time, and No. 3 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums, selling 78,000 copies in its first week of release.
Hard Core was certified double platinum by the R.I.A.A. on March 14, 2001, after being certified gold on January 6, 1997, and platinum on June 3, 1997. The album’s lead single, “No Time,” a duet with Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart and was certified gold by the R.I.A.A.
The next single, “Crush on You,” reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 and No. 2 on the rap chart. A remix of the album’s track “Not Tonight” saw Jones team up with Missy Elliott, Angie Martinez, Da Brat, and Left Eye of T.L.C. The song was part of the soundtrack to the Martin Lawrence movie Nothing to Lose, nominated for a Grammy Award, and certified platinum. Lil’ Kim is the definition of self-made. On June 27, 2000, she released her second album The Notorious K.I.M. The album marked a new image and revamped look for the rapper.
It debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, selling 229,000 copies in its first week. It was certified platinum by the R.I.A.A. four weeks after its release. Kimberly Jones survived the sophomore jinx, and her success continued to exceed all public expectations. In 2001, she teamed up with Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Mýa to remake “Lady Marmalade,” which was initially written about a bordello in New Orleans and performed by the group Labelle (which included diva Patti LaBelle) twenty-five years earlier.
The song was recorded for the Moulin Rouge! film soundtrack, released in April 2001, and stayed No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks. The song also went to No. 1 in fifty countries around the world.
This was a significant accomplishment for female rap and Jones, who scored her first No. 1 Hot 100 hit and became the second solo female rapper in history to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. “Lady Marmalade” also garnered Jones her first Grammy Award.
Caliente, blazing, and scorching are just a few adjectives that detail the level of demand and attention Lil’ Kim garnered during the early 2000s. She created an entirely new path for today’s MCs, both female and male, to follow: the freedom of expression in sex and music. Lil’ Kim never allowed anyone or anything to control her visual presentation or audio message to the world. She forced the hand of millions during the Grammys to accept her now-infamous purple pasty, diva/icon Diana Ross issued a physical cosign at that moment on stage.
Givenchy, Versace, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, and more have acknowledged the feisty, fearless, and sexy Brooklynite as the Queen of Hip Hop Fashion Culture.
The sheer influence of her persona is as infectious as the melody in the Dr. Dre track “Nuthin But a G Thang.” Lil’ Kim forced mainstream America to realize that black women can be portrayed as sexy, be sexual role models, run an empire, and not be labeled as shameless or a “hoe.”
I change the track selection for the last time to “Last Day.” An emotional, prophetic, and lyrical masterpiece. Legendary epic rhymes read like this:
Besides God, what the fuck should I fear?
The only one could stop me is that chick in the mirror
I built my career on blood, sweat and tears
And I’m still here, gettin’ stronger each year
‘Cause what don’t kill me could only help build me
I guess all that dirt just made me more filthy
If being loyal’s a crime, then I’m so guilty
If you was missin’ a spine you’d still have to feel me
Some came and went but your girl is everlasting
‘Til the day I’m gasping
And niggaz droppin’ tears on my Versace casket
And I’m reunited with Big like, “Nigga, what happened?”
Shit, got drastic, I missed you with a passion
By now they should realize, I’m not the average rap chick
Ain’t nuttin’ they could do now to stop my shine
This is God’s plan, homey, it ain’t mine
When it’s my last day, then it’s my last day
But until that day you can’t take away
How they scream my name, how I pimp this game
Critically acclaimed until my last day
Kimberly Denise Jones is pop and hip-hop royalty in every aspect. The “GHOST” of Notorious B.I.G. she is and will always be. Even during her twelve-month incarceration, her rainbow of influence beamed through the walls of the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, and even the Brooklyn Bridge smiled at one point. Her infamous G status is certified in every borough in N.Y.C. and the streets are always on standby if anyone wants to rumble with the Bee!
I named this article “The Endless Royal Reign of Lil’ Kim” because on June 9, 2014, at 9:58 a.m., she gave birth to Royal Reign, and the dynasty continues. With her legacy and star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame impending, the birth of Royal Reign ensures the next generation will forever know and understand the Naked Truth of Kimberly Denise Jones.
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright 4 years ago. You can read more of Jonathan P. Wright’s work in the Editorial Picks section.
Alcohol consumed during this creative process: Effen Vodka & Effen Vodka Black Cherry (inspired by 50 Cent)
Headphones used during this process: SMS Audio Wireless Sports Headphones (Carmelo Anthony Edition) and SYNC by 50 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker
Location: “W” South Beach, 2201 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Current attire: Pushers Collective X-Label Tee Shirt, Pushers Collective Leather Snapback Hat, Ralph Lauren Tan Cargo Shorts, and my usual platinum dog tag
Music powered by G-Unit, 50 Cent, & Bryson Tiller (Ballin, Poppin Them Thangs, Wanna Get To Know You(My favorite), New Day, I’m The Man Remix featuring Chris Brown & Right My Wrongs by Bryson Tiller )
Streaming service equipped with TIDAL (High Definition)
Current Mood:
Actually pleased, corporate/Gansta mood, Get Rich or Die Trying type vibe, and hyper-focused on my new weight loss lifestyle.
It’s my last night at the “W” Hotel on South Beach, and it’s bittersweet at the highest level! I love the Miami weather, food, tropical weather, and most of all, beaches! I think this is where God created the original Garden of Eden. LOL!
Until God calls for me, I’m keep ballin’, keep on ballin’ To my niggas and my bitches looking down on me I know y’all see me when I’m ballin’ You know I got to keep ballin’ Till the FEDs come we ballin’ out Y’all niggas y’all know what this about when I’m ballin’ That stash house, we in and out We ballin’, ballin’, ballin’, we shot callin’
These are the opening lyrics to the song “BALLIN” by G-Unit, and this verse represents some of the mental fabric of the hit original tv series “POWER.” I’m sitting on the couch staring at still images of Omari Hardwick, a.k.a. GHOST, and his “eyes” illuminate my suite. His voice reverberates throughout the suite echoing power, sex, control, calculated betrayal, and triumph.
Omari Hardwick follows God’s Plan for his life, and that’s why his character is so polarizing, mesmerizing, addictive, and inspirational for the general public. I’m watching episode “1” of the season “1”, 50 Cent, and Courtney Kemp Agboh created a multi-layered viewing experience that engages everyone from the modest to the hardcore gangsters in our society. Every move GHOST makes is ultra-calculated and intended to further cement his position of power.
It’s opening night at his nightclub “TRUTH,” it’s packed full of people, and his right-hand man Tommy approaches him to provide street justice on someone. This moment’s beauty is these vital points and creates the matchless aura of GHOST and his ability to blend, recreate, and dominate each scene.
He accesses the damage, current problem and ascertains the end result
He kills the guy who stole from their organization, cleans himself up, jumps back into the elevator, embraces the packed house of partygoers, and returns to James St. Patrick.
GHOST’s genius is that the general audience has no idea what he’s thinking, feeling, or most of all, his next move. GHOST succeeds where most “bad guys” fail in the area of “limitations.” GHOST understands where his power begins and ends in every situation and creates mistake-proof exit strategies to ensure complete exoneration. The emotional intelligence of GHOST provides a chilling and deep introspective into the mind of a “divided soul.” The character of GHOST provides the STARZ network with a lethal competitive advantage over any other show in its lane. GHOST’s natural skillset is immeasurable and allows him to become all things to everyone within his radius.
GHOST manages the perfect balance between commitment and infidelity with Tasha (His Wife) and Angela (His love from High School & Lead attorney on the Drug Task Force pursuing his organization). Naturally, a person’s heart is divided into many pieces, and they eventually identify the pieces that belong. GHOST is always moving parts around in his heart to make the right decision at the moment.
I’m taking my second shot of Black Cherry Effen Vodka, and I’m blaring “I’m The Man” Remix by 50 Cent & Chris Brown in my suite. I turn to Season 2 and watch the episode “Three Moves Ahead,” and my eyes are paralyzed on the scene where Tommy and Lobos enter the Carlton Hotel to conduct business, and the world knows that GHOST is in the hotel. As the moment collapses, Tommy, Lobos, and his partner are captured.
GHOST is not captured, and he re-appears in the adjoining hotel overlooking the chaos and watching Angela call him repeatedly (he switched his number). Again, the writers of POWER position GHOST ideally between anxiety and the unknown. GHOST symmetrically aligns all the personalities, weaknesses, strengths, and temptations of each person in his life. The mentality of GHOST represents the “lion-heart” of every man in America.
Possessing the mental propensity to protect, kill, and administer love towards people are psychotic, unflinching, and fearless characteristics most men desire to develop. The essence & character of GHOST depicts and reflects the culture of mankind in certain aspects. Even when I examine his fashion sense, it literally freezes my mind because he’s flawless in every moment, clean-shaven, and casket sharp. My father told me that the “walk” and “dress” of a man speaks volumes about his confidence, self-purpose, and respect amongst the people in the room.
Omari Hardwick plays the role of a lifetime, creating new boundaries, destroying over-evaluated stereotypes, and showing men of all ethnicities the blueprint in balancing the mind over “POWER.” The role of GHOST is shaking up Hollywood, and respect is something you can only run from for a certain period. POWER is one of the best original television programs, and the people are echoing this message louder each year.
Sometimes in life, your arrival of greatness is disruptive, unapologetic, and incomprehensible. Hollywood has a good problem with the show POWER, and they need to pick the brain of Courtney Kemp Agboh and create another original tv series that challenges consumers’ minds. Until that happens, “THE “THE SHADOW OF GHOST” will hover over Hollywood, and you can never outrun a shadow.
Tracy Jerome Kubish better known as Ryze an up and coming hip-hop artist from a small town called Bristol, Pa. Ryze started his musical journey when he was just 12 years old writing raps not knowing this was something he wanted to go all the way with it. Ryze always knew how to sing from back watching the box on TV in his room from ages 4 to 9. Hearing some of his favorite music from Jay Z, DMX, Sisqo, Aaliyah, Nelly, NSYNC, Usher and more. His mother was into the legends of Hip-hop, R&B and Soul from Bone Thugs n Harmony, UGK, NWA, Notorious B.I.G. 2 Pac, Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blidge, Jill Scott and a plethora of different music that he inevitably took in through the years.
Once Ryze turned 15 he became apart of a group named LSME (Less Sleep More Energy) that later renamed themselves City Lightz. This is when Ryze began to record his music and took it a step further from writing. Ryze eventually went solo at the age of 19 when he refused to compromise the sound of his music and conform.
In 2016 he team up with the sensational rap crew 3rdLane founded by long time friend Reem Nice back in 2011. Ryze immediately began taking his town by storm becoming an instant sensation around his area racking in thousands and thousands of views and plays organically with minimal promotion.
Ryze lost his grandmother in 2020 to a brain aneurysm sadly, His grandmother is who raised him and a big reason why he was making music. The poverty Ryze wanted to deliver his grandmother and his family from he feels will be gifted through his musical talent. While suffering, Ryze’s grandmother couldn’t speak due to the tubes in her throat but he could still read her lips. When Ryze told her he was going to quit music, she told him to “NEVER QUIT” and to make sure to take care of her grandchildren. After the passing of his grandmother Ryze immediately flew to LA to do exactly what she told him.
Now here we are in 2021 and Ryze just dropped his new single “Catipult” and it’s being received very well. Ryze plans on building his career into superstardom highly motivated on behalf of his grandmother. Ryze plans on making enough money to help orphans, the homeless and widows all around the world. The levels of wealth he seeks to achieve Ryze feels he can solely begin to change every ghetto across America.
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