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Crystal Nicole never imagined she could build a career as a content creator. Nicole’s foray into content creation started while attending the University of New Orleans, she told AFROTECH™. She studied civil engineering, a field encouraged by her mother, after originally aspiring to study fashion and design. Her mother believed there was no “true career” in those creative fields, ultimately steering Nicole toward a more traditional course of study. “She said, ‘You have cousins who are engineers, why don’t you look up engineering?’ I also am a math head; I love math. So it wasn’t a terrible idea … And I found the one sector of engineering that felt the most [like] design, and that was civil,” she told AFROTECH™. “I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll be designing buildings or highways instead of clothes.'” While pursuing her studies, Nicole was also navigating her natural hair journey. She had a relaxer for more than a decade and was going to a hairstylist every two weeks before she decided to go...
TikTok will remain operational in the United States following an agreement by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance , to create a majority American-owned joint venture, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. The company announced the deal’s finalization in a news release on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, averting a potential U.S. ban on the popular social media platform. The deal allows more than 200 million American users and 7.5 million U.S. businesses “to continue to discover, create, and thrive as part of TikTok’s vibrant global community and experience,” per the release. “The majority American-owned Joint Venture will operate under defined safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurances for U.S. users,” the news release states. Under the agreement, three managing investors — including cloud computing company Oracle , private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX — will each hold a 15%...
Content creator Khaby Lame has just made a major move that will ensure his global presence is long-lasting. Lame was the 10th-highest-earning creator of 2025, earning $20 million, according to Forbes. The TikToker, who was once a factory worker in Chivasso, Italy, has found success by creating content without saying a word, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. “You should not be in a rush to make money,” Lame said, according to Forbes. “Start by making the content you like.” Content creation has led Lame to work with major Hollywood studios and secure brand deals with Hugo Boss, Holafly, LEGO, Mr. Pink Beverages, and more, per AFROTECH™. He has at least 360 million followers across social media, and he is viewed as a “global-tier traffic entrance,” driving attention in many major regions at once, say industry observers, according to a Jan. 11 press release. Rich Sparkle Holdings, a Hong Kong-based company that also trades in the U.S. under ANPA.US, is looking to propel Lame’s brand...
IShowSpeed hit a major milestone for his 21st birthday. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, IShowSpeed, born Darren Jason Watkins Jr., caught the streaming bug while in high school, and he never looked back, even amid pushback from his mother after his first stream went viral with 30,000 views. “My sophomore year, I kind of gave up on school. I kind of gave up on everything that I had in my old life and just put everything on my stream. I streamed every day. I didn’t care about nothing else except YouTube streaming,” IShowSpeed said on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast with Shannon Sharpe. By the time he was 16, he had already become a millionaire, per AFROTECH™. Forbes reported that IShowSpeed’s streams started primarily around him playing video games such as “NBA 2K,” and in 2023, he took his streams worldwide, beginning in Europe and then Southeast Asia. In Indonesia alone, he made history during a single livestream, garnering 1 million concurrent viewers, the outlet noted. “When I...
Zoe Saldaña is approaching a milestone that few actors in film history have reached, and the moment is arriving with both statistical weight and cultural resonance. According to USA Today, the Afro-Dominican actress has officially surpassed Samuel L. Jackson to become the second-highest-grossing actor of all time, with her films earning approximately $15 billion worldwide. She now trails only Scarlett Johansson, whose box office total stands at roughly $15.4 billion. With “Avatar: Fire and Ash” continuing to perform well, that gap is narrowing fast. The Road To No. 1 The latest installment in the blockbuster franchise she’s been a part of from the beginning has been a key driver of that momentum, opening up to $88 million domestically and quickly surpassing $760 million worldwide. As with previous installments, the film’s global staying power has positioned Saldaña to continue climbing the all-time rankings in the weeks ahead. Currently, the top-grossing spot belongs to Scarlett...
Black creators are weighing in with their thoughts regarding TikTok’s recent sale. As previously reported by AFROTECH™ , TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance Ltd., must be sold to U.S. investors or risk being banned. More than 170 million Americans use the platform. On Dec. 18, tech company Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and investment firm MGX reached a deal to form a new entity that will control the U.S. TikTok app. The deal still requires regulatory approval from China and is expected to close Jan. 22, 2026. The platform has been especially beneficial for entrepreneurs selling products through TikTok Shop and creators such as Golloria George, who has 3.3 million followers on the platform and 170.2 million likes (at the time of this writing). The beauty creator has used her platform to advocate for greater representation of darker shades among brands and across the beauty industry. @golloria definetly feel like it gave me more warmth than shadow ♬ original sound –...
Beauty trend setter Pat McGrath is exploring an asset sale of her beauty company. Pat McGrath Labs was founded in 2015 and launched its first product, Gold 001, a gold-pigmented mixing liquid used on eyes, lips, limbs, or lashes. It “sold out in record-breaking time” following its launch on social media, according to the brand’s website. One thousand units sold on the site in six minutes, Modaes reported. The brand is sold at retailers including Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, Bluemercury, Bergdorf Goodman, Harrods, Revolve, and Selfridges, notes the brand’s website. At Selfridges, it became the retailer’s best-selling beauty brand after launching in stores in April 2019. McGrath’s makeup looks have also appeared on runways for Dior, Prada, Gucci, and Balenciaga, per Pat McGrath Labs. McGrath has served as British Vogue’s beauty editor-at-large since 2017, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. In 2018, Pat McGrath Labs reached a $1 billion valuation, supported by a $60 million investment from...
DeAndre Brown didn’t expect to make money as a content creator at the start of his journey. Brown has built a following around his trademarked persona, The Corporate Baddie®, which highlights how Gen Z is navigating the workforce while prioritizing their work-life boundaries and mental health. He has 1.1 million followers and 76.5 million likes on TikTok alone. This year, his partnerships include Vaseline, La Roche-Posay, and Delta. @imdrebrown The best part of being a SkyMiles Member? I’m earning miles with @delta just by living my life ✨ #deltapartner ♬ original sound – DeAndre Brown His first brand deal was with LinkedIn, and his biggest brand deal with CVS led to an $80,000 payday, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. Brown admitted he initially didn’t expect to make money from social media. “I didn’t expect to make money from this when I was doing it at first. I didn’t expect it to become a business,” he admitted on the “Awf The Record” podcast hosted by journalists Mona Kosar...
DeAndre Brown’s decision to walk away from the corporate world is still paying off. The Morehouse College grad entered corporate life after securing internships at top investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. He went on to land a full-time role at Citigroup in 2021 as a global consumer banking analyst, according to information on his LinkedIn. Brown began leaning into social media, and what would place him on the map was creating content under the moniker “The Corporate Baddie,” which resonated most with Gen Z, who make up the majority of his following. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, his content explores how Gen Z is enforcing work boundaries and prioritizing mental health. @imdrebrown Have you filed your taxes yet? What’s the hold up!? The tax deadline is April 15th and @Intuit TurboTax has you covered! Get started today! #ad #turbotaxpartner ♬ original sound – DeAndre Brown At the time of this writing, Brown has garnered 1.1 million followers and 76.4 million likes...
Every year, YouTube releases its list of top creators and offers a cultural snapshot of what captured our attention. It reflects who shaped the jokes we repeated, the challenges we tried, the music we streamed, and the digital worlds we escaped into. The 2025 list does all of that, but it also exposes a clear reality. Out of the 10 most influential creators of the entire year, only two Black creators appear: IShowSpeed and CoryxKenshin. In a landscape powered by massive digital audiences, global fandoms, and billion-view moments, their inclusion carries weight. The absence of more Black peers also raises important questions. However, their rise demonstrates what Black creators continue to accomplish, even within an industry that often overlooks their contributions. View this post on Instagram What The 2025 Top Creators List Reveals About YouTube According to YouTube’s official 2025 Trending report, the platform has entered a new moment in which creators shape pop culture in real...
Miami Art Week, the international art fair held annually, returns to Miami Beach, FL, from Dec. 1-7, 2025. This year continues to highlight the importance of Black art , thanks in large part to efforts spearheaded by architect Neil Hall. At Art Basel in 2008, Hall noticed a lack of representation for Black art galleries and artists, according to the Miami Herald. “It astounded me because the diaspora has so much creativity all over the world, and I didn’t see it,” Hall said, per the Miami Herald. “I decided that it was not acceptable.” A few years later, Hall and several friends hosted a Black-centered art fair in an empty parking lot in the historically Black Overtown neighborhood, known as the Harlem of the South. That event would become Art Africa Miami, reports the Miami Herald. While Hall no longer presents Art Africa in Overtown, his efforts to elevate the Black art scene during Miami Art Week have inspired others to carry on the mission. Across Miami, Black curators continue...
Miami Art Week returns to Miami Beach, FL, from Dec. 1-7, 2025, with Art Basel once again anchoring the citywide celebration and bringing culture, community, and creativity together. Art Basel is a highly anticipated event that unites art lovers, collectors, curators, and artists from around the world, AFROTECH™ previously reported. While the Miami installation is considered the premier art show of the Americas, the international fair also takes place annually in Basel, Switzerland; Hong Kong, China; and Paris, France . This year’s edition of Art Basel Miami runs Dec. 5-7, with preview days Dec. 3-4 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The 2025 fair will feature 283 leading galleries from 43 countries and territories across the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, according to a press release. Building on its vibrant cultural landscape, the show will further energize Greater Miami with a week of museum-quality exhibitions and collaborations from leading names in the...
Issa Rae has built a multifaceted career as an actor, producer, director, and entrepreneur. With a net worth that Celebrity Net Worth estimates to be around $20 million, Rae first gained a devoted following through her 2011 YouTube series “The Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl,” and later cemented her cultural impact with the Emmy-award-winning HBO series “Insecure.” Despite her achievements, Rae admits she doesn’t feel successful — at least not right now. Appearing on the first episode of KevOnStage’s “Not My Best Moment” podcast on Nov. 11, 2025, Rae shared that she currently feels stagnant in her career. “I know that I appear successful to other people, but right now, no, I feel really stagnant… because I only feel successful when my sh-t is on the air. I don’t have sh-t on the air right now,” Rae said, acknowledging that creating shows is her first love. “Like I can have the 18 businesses that you said, and those are like great passion projects, but like what I do and what...
At 21 years old, Brooklyn Frost brings her creativity to her streams, social media, and music, engaging millions of fans across Twitch, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube with her voice, energy, and perspective. Streaming Success Brooklyn Frost has built an audience that spans 1.3 million Instagram followers, 2.2 million TikTok followers, over 600,000 Twitch followers, and more than 1 million YouTube subscribers. Per Essence Girls United, watching her brother create content first, she said she was drawn to the energy, creativity, and connection that streaming offered. Stepping in front of the camera herself, she realized she could tell her own story. “Streaming gave me a space to be myself in real time, to laugh, to talk, and to build a genuine community that grew with me,” Frost told AFROTECH™. Her first Twitch subathon in December 2024 was a milestone, earning her 10,000 new subscribers and averaging 13,000 views per stream, according to Complex. Frost celebrated the achievement with...
Food critic Keith Lee has launched an initiative to ensure people on SNAP benefits can remain fed. During what is now the longest U.S. government shutdown, individuals and families are not receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as of Nov. 5, meaning some families may not have the means to buy groceries amid the holiday season. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of Providence, RI, has ordered the Trump administration to use a contingency fund for those who rely on SNAP benefits. The Hill reports the administration has agreed, but payments will still be delayed and are projected to be half the amount of what recipients typically receive. Community support is needed more than ever, and Lee is using his platform, which includes 17.3 million TikTok followers alone (at the time of this writing), to launch a relief initiative for those impacted by changes in SNAP benefits. Lee revealed that when he got his start on TikTok, he was...