Brooklyn Archives - Rolling Out

R. Kelly is finally about to have his day in court, albeit the pandemic may sway the date due to the unpredictable nature of the virus and people who have blatantly ignored existing protocol. The judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber, said the date, Sept. 13, 2021, is “not set in stone,”…

R. Kelly’s federal sex trafficking case in Brooklyn will be heard by an anonymous jury, a judge has ruled. The “Ignition” hitmaker has been charged with sex trafficking and racketeering in Brooklyn, New York, and in a newly unsealed decision, it has been revealed the jurors on his case will be anonymous. U.S. District Judge…

Earth is the only home we have. If we don’t start now to turn around the environmental damage we have caused, we might not be around to save it and the plants and animals that we depend on. As a possible solution, many metropolitan cities are turning to urban farming and aquaponics. In Brooklyn, New…

If one-of-a-kind keepsake jewelry is what you desire, look no further than Beads Byaree. The owner, Areeayl Goodwin, handcrafts whimsical brass jewelry that is a surefire conversation starter. The Philadelphia native graduated from Howard University with a bachelor’s in acting. Today, she creates jewelry inspired by the world around her. Goodwin’s designs have amassed a…

If you’ve ever needed a resource to help you easily find local Black businesses to support, you’ll be happy to know that Mandy Bowman created one. Since graduating with a degree in entrepreneurship and global business management from Babson College, Bowman has been a driven advocate for economic empowerment and ownership within the Black community.…

Marvina S. Robinson is a trailblazing entrepreneur who is redefining the champagne industry. Robinson, who has been an entrepreneur since 2009, launched her own bubbly brand, Stuyvesant Champagne, in February 2020. She was inspired to name the brand after the neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, that shaped her. Her brand offerings include a salmon-colored Brut Rosé…

Adrian Brandon is a Seattle-raised, Brooklyn-based visual artist who is using his creativity to capture attention, raise awareness and get people thinking. He is driven to make art that creates an understanding of Black culture, Black love and Black pain so that we can move forward together. Rolling out spoke with Brandon about his powerful…

Spike Lee is horrified by the high death rate in America during the global health crisis, which this week climbed above 100,000 lives lost. The 63-year-old director is taking no chances at his office in Brooklyn, New York, explaining to The Times: “Everybody’s taken a test here. We all wear masks. It’s three floors, 10,000 square…

As the global pandemic continues, many families in the most infected cities are faced with anxiety. One Brooklyn couple’s stress became overwhelming while cooped up in an apartment with a toddler and a baby on the way. We spoke with Jane Smith, a marketing executive, and Lawrence Smith, a professional educator, about their decision to…

Pop Smoke’s manager says he’s working to finish a documentary the late artist started. The rising Brooklyn drill rapper tragically died at 20 after he was shot in February at a property in Hollywood Hills, California, after two men broke into the house. And just two weeks prior to his passing, he announced the project…

Lisa Dozier is the owner and director of Lisa S. Dozier Funeral Service in Brooklyn and has been a resource for grieving families for more than two decades. Her job became even more challenging with the new national guidelines and city mandates associated with the COVID-19 virus. Under the new mandates, funerals are limited to…

Pop Smoke has been laid to rest in Brooklyn. The adored 20-year-old rapper died after an alleged home invasion on Feb. 19, 2020, after being shot around 4:30 a.m. at a property in Hollywood Hills, California. It was previously reported that two men broke into the house. On Thursday, March 5, hundreds of fans lined…

Rapper Troy Ave recently released the cinematic visual to his latest single, “Payin Homage.” In the music video, the Brooklyn, New York, artist pays tribute to the Black Mafia Family, known as BMF, with a collective of images of the organization and its leader Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory. Around 2000, the organization tried to legitimize…

Stu Murphy, a Denon DJ brand manager from Brooklyn, and Stephany Rosa, a marketing and advertising professional from Staten Island, traveled to Chicago to experience The Chosen Few Picnic. Listen to what they have to say about their trip.

The Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation, in partnership with the Office of Majority Leader Laurie A. Cumbo, hosted the official event celebrating the street renaming of Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace Way on June 11, 2019, at the intersection of St. James Place and Fulton Street in Brooklyn, where the late rapper was born and raised. The…

Outside of Nola Darling (played by actress DeWanda Wise), one of the most compelling characters from season one of Netflix series, “She’s Gotta Have It,” is Shemekka Epps, —played by actress Chyna Layne. Everyone’s favorite around the way girl is back in season two and, hopefully, still making the questionable choices that made the character so…

Charles F. Coleman Jr. is a 39-year-old civil rights attorney, legal analyst and community leader. The Brooklyn native is the founder and CEO of CFC40, a nonprofit organization focused on creating a community of change leaders to tackle one important issue at a time. Rolling out spoke with Coleman about his latest initiative, the Black…

One of the most well known and stereotypical images of inner-city life is a Black person drinking a 40oz of malt liquor in public. Not only is the image used offensively, but it also underscores the issues of healthcare and targeted marketing of Blacks as the largest consumers of malt liquor. Now one company’s attempt…

Eva Evans

Though comedian Eva Evans spends most of her time on stage in front of crowds, she never thought that her life would be documented for millions to view. A cast member on BET’s new reality series “Hustle In Brooklyn,” she is quickly learning what it means to live in a fishbowl. Evans discusses her experience…

The news of the hazing of an initiate into a graduate chapter of the Black fraternity Omega Psi Phi, popularly known as Ques, rocked members of the Divine 9 community. The now identified initiate, Tory Gates, 45, was allegedly struck 200 times with a paddle and bare hands as part of a membership ritual that…