When President Barack Obama talked about change. Was the unveiling of the system the change he meant? Allowing us to take a peek inside the unjust system and exposing those parading as statesman. Surely, he understood as the very first black President that change wouldn’t be easy and that he would be met with stiff resistance from the few the system benefits. Surely, he had to know that the opposing party would do everything in their power to make him a one-term president. They even said it. I’m willing to bet you that he knew that someone at a televised joint session of congress would blurt out… “You lie!” Then again, maybe not. There are countless scenarios. Too many to count in the past and those that continues to undermine or belittle his role as President of the United States. Have you ever thought about why all the strong resistance? Ok, his ethnicity certainly has something to do with it, but it’s deeper than skin tone. Could there be much more at stake that if exposed could shake up the system and begin to balance the playing field for the majority of Americans? Think about it. The same people who are screaming 47% of Americans feel they are entitled are the same people who benefit from being entitled. The same group that scream they’re Christians are the same ones displaying no ability to love. The election of President Obama on its very first day began to slowly lift the veil of hypocrisy and this sort of reverse psychology most right-winged republicans have used for years. It’s like a boyfriend asking his girlfriends if she’s cheating on him, only he’s the one doing the cheating. Republicans seem to want Americans to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Even though the man is clearly visible and coming across as a fraud. Make no mistake about it. Barack Obama may go down as one of the best Presidents America has ever had. I know, it might be a little early to be discussing legacy especially with the possibility of 4-more years yet to be inked on his resume. Only time will tell, but from what has been unveiled so far, it seems his legacy just won’t be limited to all the wonderful bills he signs into law.

Creative. Writer. Entrepreneur. These are all great ways to describe Ethno Brands Co-Founder Troy Jones. A former advertising executive who worked creatively on global brands including Budweiser, McDonald’s, Coca Cola, Verizon, GM, and countless others, Troy always knew following the path to entrepreneurship was the life for him. Starting in 1999, Troy took his first blind leap of faith and started Ethno Images. At the time Ethno Images was the very first multicultural stock photography agency in the country. Troy along with his business partner and wife T.Lynn Jones grew the company beyond expectations. “This was a very exciting time for us and the beginning of the Ethno Brand. Being one of the pioneers in the multicultural stock photography industry really opened my eye’s into what it took to grow a brand from nothing to something,” states Troy Jones. After years of running Ethno Images and seeing the emergence of royalty free images into the marketplace, the demand for rights managed images declined so he did what most great innovators do… EVOLVE. Troy, then created a number of brands and start-ups that soon defined Ethno Brands as a full pledge urban multimedia company.

1. Illusive Creations, a music house that specializes in urban music tracks for TV and radio commercials.
2. Ethno Entertainment, a digital label for recording artists.
3. Chattaboom®, the very first music application that allows users to communicate their moods with the hooks of artist’s songs. (currently over 6 million major and emerging artists songs in database)
4. Breakmysong.com, social music website that allows DJ’s and artist’s to connect and become a label of two.
5. Ethno Advertising, an advertising and marketing agency with emphasis on the urban consumer.
6. Ethno Nightlife, an online community for taste makers. Ethno Nightlife engages urban consumers, celebrities, and brands through social entertainment. Created alongside Ethno Brands president and Ethno Nightlife visionary Tyrin Ford. Ethno Nightlife is fast becoming the resource of choice for businesses seeking to engage through social entertainment.

These brands now make up the Ethno Multimedia Group and the reason why Ethno Brands Inc, should remain on all of our radars. In parting words Troy Jones states, “I encourage all those that dream of starting their own business to follow what your heart, mind, and gut tells you. Do what you love and everything else will follow. Some days are definitely tougher than others, but in the words of my mother… NOTHING COMES TO A SLEEPER, BUT A DREAM.”

Technology is everywhere. There are enough apps, widgets, gadgets for 5 lifetimes and thousands more created everyday. African-American’s are starting to realize that if they want to stay relevant for the future they most embrace this innovative culture. Ethno Mulitimedia Group shines the spotlight on some of the countries rising black tech start-ups

1. Ethno Brands Inc, Founder Troy Jones created Chattaboom, January 2012. Chattaboom is a social media application that allows users on facebook and twitter to communicate their mood with the hooks of major and emerging artists songs. Chattaboom has over 6 million artists songs for user to communicate with. They released a beta in April and is poised to offer consumers and artists a revolution in music sharing with the launch of its new users interface in October 2012. chattaboom.com
2. CEO Tiffani Bell created Pencil You In in 2009. – Pencil You In allows hairstylists, makeup artists, nail techs and barbers to accept client appointments online.
2. Crisson Jno-Charles, chief technology officer, and Alisa Boguslavskaya, CEO, co-founded Fetchmob in 2010. – Fetchmob is an online service that allows users to ask
members of their community to buy everyday items for them, like detergent and cold medicine. Shoppers can post requests for specific items and members of their community
can purchase it for them during one of their shopping runs.
3. CEO Hank Williams founded Kloud.co in 2008. Kloud.co puts users personal data in the cloud and lets them search it. It’s like a Google search engine for the information
universe. It also allows users to create shared spaces online.
4. Co-founders Pius Uzamere and Becky Cruze started BeCouply in 2011. – BeCouply is a mobile app and network for couples. It allows couples to discover new date spots and
date ideas, post and share their special moments, and connect with their couple friends.
5. Anthony Frasier and co-founder Alex Galkin created Playd in 2011. – Playd is a social network application for mobile devices that connects video game players across
multiple platforms. Gamers can share their experiences playing games available on all gaming systems, and post their recommendations and feedback for other gamers to see.
6. Hajj Flemings is CEO and co-founder of Gokit, which was founded in 2011. – Gokit is an online identity platform that allows users to create visually compelling personal
homepages that tell their stories and share their social network connections in a central location.
7. Angela Benton is CEO of Cued, founded in March 2011. – Cued is an app that gives recommendations based on where users are, what they like and their past experiences. For
example, if a user tells Cued he or she liked a specific bar, karaoke and draft beer, the system will make recommendations for other places to enjoy.
8. Wayne Sutton co-founded Vouch in July 2011. – Vouch is a unified platform that allows people to share recommendations of others in their networks.
9. Clarence Wooton founder and CEO of Arrived. Arrived is automatic and personal. Instead of manually checking-in every time you arrive someplace to share your whereabouts
with all of your friends, Arrived automatically notifies the friends that matter, whenever you arrive at a place that matters to them. Arrived helps you manufacturer
serendipity so that you meetup with friends, when time and place are right.
10. Will Lucas founder and creator of Thankyouaga.in. Thankyouaga.in is a social experiment designed to collect the good. On this micro-blogging platform, you have 140
characters to share what’s good in your world. Rave about a great meal you just ate or thank all the people who supported your moms ?ght against cancer. This is the app
that lets you share your good with the world, and see the good happening to people all over the globe. Share the good in your life. See the good from all over the
globe.
11. Chris Bennett is the co-founder and CEO of Central.ly. The site is a web based product for small businesses to reach more customers through an easy to create, beautiful
website and their social media tools.
12. Eric Hamilton is the founder of AdSmoke.com. AdSmoke allows website owners with video content the ability to earn revenue by showing commercials in front of their video
content.
13. Amos Winbush III is the founder of CyberSynchs. CyberSynchs, a New York-based technology company that specializes in universal data synchronization and transfer.
14. Hermann Mazard’s HomeShopr, a mobile service that offers an organized approach to planning meals and shopping for groceries.
15. Curtiss Pope’s AisleFinder.com. A Supermarket API, an open source API for the grocery industry. The new API contains product details on over 150,000 grocery items as
well as aisle info for over 2,400 supermarkets in the U.S.
16. Leon Fangnigbe is the CEO & Chief Software Architect at MLFSolutions. Their technology powers TaxMamba.com, the Expert Location platform for the Tax & Accounting
community.
16. Chuck Baker’s Fileblaze – a professional cloud based storage and streaming system.(featured on last October cover of Black Enterprise)
17. Sulaiman Sanni is the cofounder and CEO of WeDidIt, an online crowdfunding platform for non-profit fundraising. We help non-profits launch viral fundraising campaigns,
through social media.
18. Tanisha Gouté is a Managing Partner and Project Director for JamHouseLive.com, an online media company providing video live streaming, pay-per-view, and online
promotions support.
19. John Andrews is the CEO of Rethink Impact, which helps simplify the grant-writing process by streamlining the procedure for applying to funding grants.
Bolstr, Inc. Help’s main street small businesses access capital, and who’s founders where featured speakers at the New York State MWBE Forum
(http://www.nysmwbeforum.org/), and also featured inin Diversity Agenda Magazine: http://www.diversityagenda.com/content/news/small-business-capital-made-simple-secure-
and-social/
20. Tre Barker and Lawrence Watkins are the founders of Ujamaa Deals, which plans to offer Daily deals from Black-Owned businesses across the country starting in December
2011.
21. Kimberly Bryant is the founder of Black Girls Code, a Bay area organization whose mission is to increase the young women of color in the field of digital and computer technology.
22. Kalimah Priforce and the team at Qeyno Labs want to turn career discovery into a game for 13-17 year olds.
23. Citiology is a social network for New Yorkers who love to experience the best restaurants and nightlife. Our diverse network of foodies and nightlife mavens are the
people to turn to when planning a night out.
24. GenJuice – GenJuice makes discovering trendsetting blogs and staying updated with their content easy. Currently in private beta.
25. Sian Morson is the CEO and founder of Kollective Mobile, a mobile development agency in Oakland, CA. Kollective Mobile also powers products by ArtKollect which offers mobile and web solutions for the art industry.
26. Kimberly is the CEO of the House of Mikko and the ILoveYourHairApp. Their goal is to provide personalized hair & beauty recommendations for women based on their “beauty
twin” and then scour the web for the best places to buy online. Think of it as Pandora for beauty.
27. David Saintloth, Founder and Chief Software Architect of Apriority LLC an invention think tank I founded in 2002. His startup WorkNetz (currently in stealth) allows any
business to find the best workers and allows people who are able to perform a given action to be considered for it no matter where they are. This allows people to
maximize their inherent value of talents by being able to easily deploy them to any business that may need their services. Thus connecting those willing to work
(whatever vertical) with those looking for workers more efficiently than ever before possible.
28. Garren Givens (http://garrengivens.com) is the founder and CEO of Dibsie.com (http://dibsie.com). Dibsie is an online shopping catalog curated by your social network
in real-time. Dibsie is facilitates product discovery and makes eCommerce a socially interactive experience.
29. Mike Seibel, CEO of Justin.tv. Justin.tv is the easiest way to create live video and show anyone in the world what’s happening right now. Using only a laptop, you can
share your event, class, party or thoughts, live, to anyone in over 250 countries while they chat in real-time with you and with other viewers. Justin.tv makes it fun,
easy and fast to gather and engage with a live audience.
30. CEO/Founder Aishia Strickland created The GlamSpot in 2008. It allows hairstylists, makeup artists, nail techs, massage therapists, estheticians and wardrobe/fashion
stylists to create a searchable online profile that can be used by potential clients to locate beauty professionals offering a specific service.
31. Jamil Ellis is co-founder and CTO of Splice a Social Media tool that identifies new business relationships. Splice provides actionable recommendations to enhance
interpersonal connections, from face-to-face to virtual interactions.
32. NoBadGift .com; the cure for the bad gift was created to make sure people never again would have to deal with the struggles of not knowing what to get someone for their
big day, and the awkward moments of receiving a gift you really don’t like. Co-founders: Michael Washington, McKeever Conwell, and Sam Henry
33. CEO/Founder of Trafalgar Solutions,Sharon Simmons-Hodge “The Black Tech Grandma” create an Emergency Response App launched (launched Sept. 2011, available NOW).
Entrepreneur with no tech experience, believes you can do whatever your mind dreams.
34. “IGot’em will empower citizens and reduce crime and allow users to combat crime within their communities by uploading a recorded incident to the nearest law enforcement
office. The application will notify law enforcement of the date, time, and location of the crime in progress. The combination of this information along with the general
images taken by users will allow accurate reporting while protecting the identity of the user.
35. Diverse Mobile, LLC was formed in January of 2011 because of the marked absence of culture in the mobile world by a team of African American males headed by Brian A.
Roberson. Having had several years of IT experience as well as a strong business acumen, the team at Diverse Mobile set out to fill this void with rich, engaging
content that can be useful, as well as entertaining. We at Diverse Mobile feel that given this approach, it will help to bridge the Digital Divide. Diverse Mobile is
more an just another app development company, it is a movement. In our short time developing mobile apps we have been pioneers in new media. Their newest mobile app,
Kommercity, is now accepting testers for a private alpha. Sign up here www.kommercity.com

Breakmysong.com allows artists and DJ’s to establish and expand their own careers. Through Breakmysong.com, music distribution is simplified – artists can upload their music directly to DJs, create an international fan base and promote their music online. DJs are encouraged to listen, provide feedback and “break” the next hottest artist. The additional benefits to DJs include the ability to promote their skills, financially benefit from breaking songs and increase their awareness worldwide.

“We believe that the traditional music business model is fast becoming a thing of the past. Technology has enabled the music industry to go beyond the traditional methods of music distribution and enable artists to take control of their own careers. Artists with good music should always have the ability to have their songs heard. DJs should be recognized for their role in launching artists’ careers. We are excited about our platform and feel confident that it’s a win-win situation for artists, DJs and fans”, states founder Troy Jones.

Becoming a user of breakmysong.com is simple. Artists and DJs should log on to breakmysong.com and create an account. From there, artists can begin uploading their music to the crate and DJs can set up their profile, upload their promo videos and much more.Breakmysong.com interactive site includes features such as:
o Global music crate for uploads by artists
o UStream broadcast session
o Real-time tweets
o News flashes of recent songs “broke” by DJs
o Storefront for song purchases and more

Breakmysong.com, owned by parent company Ethno Brands, Inc. is the premier online music community where artists and DJ’s mix. Breakmysong.com lets unsigned, independent, and established artists deliver their music directly to the ears of DJ’s around the world. Ethno Brands, Inc., headquartered in St. Louis and has offices in Dallas, TX, and Los Angeles, CA offers lifestyle marketing, entertainment and technology services to brands and consumers wanting to reach the urban consumer. For partnership opportunities or more information on Ethno Brands, Inc. or Break My Song, Inc. visit our web sites at www.theethnogroup.com, www.breakmysong.com or contact Troy Jones at troy@ethnobrands.com

Chattaboom® is a startup social media app that provides social media users with an alternative way of communicating, connecting, and discovering media based on their moods. The business sprung up out of the need to revolutionize the way media is shared on social networks. Currently, sharing entire songs or movies as a way to communicate is not practical because of the length and file size of the material. Additionally, users do not have a way to access this material by mood, feeling, subject matter, or topic they want to communicate. Therefore, in order to effectively address this gap, Chattaboom® has created an easier way to find digital content that relates to their personal mood or feelings and share it in a way that integrate with and enhances the social experience.

Chattaboom® has already established a digital content partnership with MediaNet. MediaNet provides Chattaboom® with over 12 million songs for users to communicate with. Initially, Chattaboom® will cater to major and unsigned recording artist’s seeking to increase digital sales and publicity on social networks. “In the future, we plan to expand the platform to allow users to communicate their moods via TV & film, and news media.” says Troy Jones founder of Ethno Brands Inc.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialJohnMichael
“Sophisticated Lady” video link – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlujJR0h9aI&feature=colike
John Michael EPK – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq7S5ZmuptM&feature=youtu.be
John Michael Website – http://johnmichaelmusic.com/

For more information on the show or to become a guest, please contact tyrin@ethnobrands.com
Follow Staci and Ethno Brands @ theethnogroup.com and ethnonightlife.com

Previous show episodes.

Russell Simmons, Entrepreneurial Skills Article – Inc. Article | Inc.com.

Russell Simmons, Rush Communications

for his powerful example
Rod Kurtz |

At the ripe old age of 21, Russell Simmons flew coach to Amsterdam with a rising rap star named Kurtis Blow–on a mission to share with the world a little thing called hip-hop. When they landed, the college dropout turned would-be impresario stepped off the plane and found himself being addressed as Mr. Simmons. “That was the best payment,” says a man who can touch down on the tarmac in a private jet these days. “It reminded me that I deserved it, that I was doing something worthwhile. I haven’t gotten anything better than that since.”

For many bootstrappers, the seminal, I-know-I’ve-made-it moment comes when the company they built from scratch enters the black for the first time. For Simmons, the turning point came much earlier, with a small sign of respect that convinced a kid from Queens, N.Y., that he could chart his own course in the business world. A quarter century later, having built a half-billion-dollar music and fashion empire, it’s a message he’s delivering to young entrepreneurs, particularly young black entrepreneurs, simply through his very presence in corporate America.

Forget Def Jam, the pioneering record label he co-founded, which brought hip-hop to urban and suburban teenagers alike and made household names of Run-DMC and LL Cool J. Forget Phat Farm, whose sweaters and jeans now share shelf space with Polo and Tommy Hilfiger. Forget the energy drink, the debit card, and every other venture bearing his stamp. Forget even the charity and political outreach. Perhaps the most enduring legacy of Russell Simmons will be something he never set out to do. Simmons has emerged as an entrepreneurial role model, providing guidance both directly and indirectly. If nothing else, he serves as the very case study that was missing when he started out. “All of the businesses that I’ve gotten in,” he jokes, “I got in because I didn’t know I couldn’t.”

The Russell Effect has spread elsewhere in hip-hop, with a new class of serial entrepreneurs led by the likes of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. But even more significant is Simmons’s example for entrepreneurs in industries with little or no connection to music.

“It plays a great role having an African American figure who has taken business and entrepreneurship to the next level,” says T. Lynn Jones, co-founder of Dallas-based Ethno Images. “Many of the role models right now for the community are athletes and celebrities, but Russell is saying, ‘Hey, you can be successful, you can be in business.” Jones and her husband, Troy, both veteran advertising executives, decided to hang their own shingle after noticing a dearth of multicultural stock photographs that they could use in their ad campaigns. Today the company provides access to more than 500,000 images for giants like McGraw-Hill and have spread into marketing/advertising, lifestyle marketing, social media and music production as companies place a greater emphasis on diversity. “Russell Simmons saw a need, and once he became established, he moved on to other areas,” says Jones. “And that’s key for entrepreneurs–you need to realize it doesn’t stop with one idea.”

Simmons is reluctant to wax philosophical on his role as an accidental motivator but is happy to be playing a part in what he calls “the dramatic shift in consciousness.” “I’m not telling people anything that’s a shock,” he says. “Maybe I’m telling them things they’ve already heard before. But maybe because of my luck and success, they believe me.”–Rod Kurtz

Rod Kurtz is a staff reporter.

Poolside Collection Fashion Show @ Ten Ten | LA Fashion Week 2011

2011 ADCOLOR Awards and Afterparty @ Beverly Hilton (Recap Video)

Crazy, Stupid, Love Exclusive VIP Mixer @ Cafe Entourage in Hollywood, CA (Recap Video)

Runway Magazine, Wickid Pissa Publicity, Young90210 Launch Party @ Station Hollywood (Recap Video)