Kanye's Cousin Wants You to Play Piano with John Legend

Kanye West's cousin, Devo Harris (who also goes by the name "Devo Springfield"), recently launched an interactive video company called "Adventr" (pronounced like the word "Adventure").  The site has a demo in which John Legend gives the user a simple, interactive piano lesson, which is pretty cool.

Harris has an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Read about the business venture here:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/13/adventr-launch/

To play along with John Legend and see how Adventr's interactive video works, click here:

https://play.adventr.tv/all-of-me-final-45449272

Will Beyonce, Inc. Ever Run the World?

The New York Times is out with a tribute to Beyonce.  There is no doubt that her talent and style are immense.  It will be interesting to see whether Beyonce is able to take the money she is making from her various ventures and turn it into a business like Oprah did with Harpo Productions and the OWN Network joint venture with Discovery Communications, and like Jay-Z is doing with Roc Nation.  While Beyonce can continue to be fabulously wealthy merely by generating creative work product in music, acting, and endorsements, it would be nice to see Beyonce, Inc. take things to another level with an enterprise that can endure even when her peak performing years are behind her.

Click here to read the piece in the New York Times:

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/beyonce-the-woman-on-top-of-the-world/?_php=true&_type=blogs&hp&_r=0

How A 26-Year-Old Black Female CEO Might Just Change the World

Jessica Matthews is the co-founder and CEO of Uncharted Play, Inc., which is describes itself as a company that intends to "connect the world through playful social invention."  So far, Uncharted Play makes a soccer ball that, after 30 minutes of play, can power a reading lamp for three hours, and also makes a jump rope that, after 15 minutes of use, can provide a 50 percent recharge of a smartphone.  Thus, in one fell swoop, Uncharted Play promotes increased physical activity and renewable energy.

Matthews is only 26 and has an undergraduate degree and an MBA from Harvard.  The child of Nigerian immigrants, Matthews is part of a new generation of minority entrepreneurs who are tech savvy, creative marketers, and socially conscious.  It should be fun to watch her attempt to build her business and change the world.

Click here to see more about Matthews:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/05/27/change-agents-jessica-matthews-soccket-ball/9013529/

Why Oprah, Magic Johnson, and Grant Hill Should Rejoice

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has won the bidding to buy the Los Angeles Clippers, with a whopping price tag of $2 billion.  Owners of sports franchises around the world must be dancing with glee.  None of the reports indicate that Ballmer joined forces with any other investors, which would mean hopes for African-American partial ownership of the Clippers have been dashed.  Considering how long it might be before Ballmer gets a return on his investment in the Clippers, perhaps Grant Hill, Magic Johnson, and Oprah Winfrey should be dancing with glee too that they did not overpay for a franchise that is not even the most popular NBA team in its own city.  Here's hoping that Grant Hill will own a franchise someday at a reasonable price.

Also, someone who wants to own a piece of an NBA franchise could buy stock in Madison Square Garden, Inc., which owns the New York Knicks.  In light of the $2 billion price Ballmer is paying for the Clippers, Madison Square Garden, Inc.'s current $4.1 billion market cap looks like a pretty good price for the next billionaire who wants to buy an NBA team.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-sn-clippers-sale-ballmer-20140529-story.html 

Celebrating a New African-American Billionaire

Ucanrise.com celebrates Andre "Dr. Dre" Young's ascendance to billionaire status, joining Oprah Winfrey as the only African-American billionaires in America.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2014/03/04/the-black-billionaires-2014/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2014/05/28/apple-brings-dr-dre-on-board-with-official-3-billion-beats-deal/

Who will be next?  Possibilities include P. Diddy, Jay-Z, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Mariah Carey.  Here's hoping that an African-American in an industry outside entertainment and sports also rockets to billionaire status someday soon.  According to Wikipedia (which pulled the information from Forbes), there are 492 billionaires in the U.S.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_the_number_of_US_dollar_billionaires

It appears Oprah Winfrey and Magic Johnson might be part of the same consortium that will make a bid for the Los Angeles Clippers.  The question remains -- how large would their stake be?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns-rt-us-nba-clippers-bank-20140527,0,5930543.story

Apple is Shocked, Shocked that Rappers Use Profanity

In a classic scene in the movie Casablanca, a law enforcement officer pretends to be "shocked, shocked" to discover gambling going on in a casino.  Commentators are speculating that Apple might be reconsidering buying Beats Electronics because of a profanity-filled video that actor/singer Tyrese made in which Dr. Dre appears to acknowledge that Apple is about to buy Beats and make him the first hip-hop billionaire.

Leo Hindery appeared on Bloomberg TV today and used a disturbing, condescending tone in describing hip-hop figures like Dr. Dre, even at one point referring to them and their audience as "aggressive young people."  Hindery implies that Apple should not place Dr. Dre in a position in which he will be regarded as a spokesman for Apple, because of the damage Dr. Dre could do to Apple's brand in the future.

If it took Tyrese's video to alert Apple to Dr. Dre's history and personality, then Apple's management must have been asleep for the past 20 years.  Apple cannot have it both ways.  Beats Electronics is closely identified with Dr. Dre, and that is the major factor in why young people consider the headphones cool and a must-have fashion accessory.

The notion that Apple now is willing to pull out of a $3.2 billion deal solely because Dr. Dre and Tyrese used a lot of profanity on a video to celebrate the upcoming transaction is ridiculous.  If Apple wanted a straight-laced business partner, there are other, less edgy people from the hip-hop world they could have joined forces with.  If Apple decides not to purchase Beats Electronics after all, it won't be because of Tyrese and Dr. Dre's comments on the video.

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/dr-dre-nfl-key-elements-to-major-tech-m-a-deals-c987emoGQAi~xVs76xYCsQ.html