We Speak Entertainment
Nas May Earn Over $40 Million From The Sale Of A Company He Funded
Nas is regarded as one of Hip-Hop’s shining examples of poetry and advanced rhyme skills. His debut album, Illmatic, was voted by Ambrosia For Heads readers in 2016 as “The Greatest Rap Album Of All Time.” That release has been the subject of at least one documentary film. It also spawned a career that has flourished with several other acclaimed songs and albums.
Compared to peers such as JAY-Z, Puff Daddy, and 50 Cent, Nas has long positioned himself more as artist than businessman. In the ’90s and 2000s, Nas signed to other record labels as peers built their own imprints. Jones modeled for other fashion brands, while his contemporaries launched their own lines. In photos and music videos, Nas toasted to “the good life” while some of his friends began owning the wine and spirits inside the glass.
Nas Is Venturing Into What May Be His Career’s Most Successful Chapter
Now at 44 years old, Nas is showing his business acumen, and making up for—what may seem to some—like lost time. In 2014, he co-founded the equity firm, QueensBridge Venture Partners. The MC from the housing projects of the same name has built a portfolio that includes stakes in Lyft, Dropbox, Mass Appeal (and its record label of the same name), Genius, and the restaurant chain, Sweet Chick. In a 2016 profile, Nas’ manager and VC partner Anthony Saleh who shared that “[QueensBridge Venture Partners] typically invests between $100,000 to $500,000 in a start-up, and helps fund about 20 companies a year.”
One of those investments is reportedly on the cusp of a billion-dollar sale to Amazon. Ring is a company that appeared on Shark Tank. Daymond John, Mark Cuban, and the other “sharks” ultimately passed on the video surveillance doorbell company. Nas and his firm struck a deal after the episode aired.
JAY-Z & Diddy Built Empires. Now They Aim To Help Other Black Businesses Grow
According to Black Enterprise, Amazon is finalizing a deal to purchase Ring for $1.1 billion. The publication estimates that Nas stands to make “more than $40 million” from that deal’s terms. While Amazon told Black Enterprise the deal was not finalized, the doorbell company’s team shared an email: “Ring is committed to our mission to reduce crime in neighborhoods by providing effective yet affordable home security tools to our neighbors that make a positive impact on our homes, our communities, and the world. We’ll be able to achieve even more by partnering with an inventive, customer-centric company like Amazon. We look forward to being a part of the Amazon team as we work toward our vision for safer neighborhoods.”
Nas, who appeared at a Mass Appeal film screening last night for documentary film Rapture, has not spoken publicly about the acquisition.
We Speak Entertainment
Composer Jonathan Brielle Guests On “Secrets of the Stage” With Host Quinn Lemley on Sunday, December 22nd, 2024
Composer Jonathan Brielle will be a featured guest on “Secrets of the Stage” hosted by Quinn Lemley on Sunday, December 22nd, 2024.
“Secrets of the Stage” is a tv show on MNN. Watch as Quinn Lemley pulls back the curtain and interviews artists, entrepreneurs and creators to discover their process “behind the scenes.”
Broadway: Jonathan Brielle wrote the music and lyrics for Foxfire with Jessica Tandy (Tony Award) Hume Cronyn, and Keith Carrdine; Off-Broadway: Himself and Nora (book, music, lyrics); Outer Critics Best Musical Nomination, Minetta Lane Theatre 2016; Circle Reperatory Company, NY: dozens of scores as Composer in Residence under Marshall Mason; Regional: Himself and Nora: American Theater Group production. Earlier versions include NYMF, James Joyce Center, Ireland and The Old Globe; Nightmare Alley (book, music. lyrics): Geffen Playhouse, Gil Cates Director, and NYMF. 40 Naked Women, A Monkey and Me (book, music, lyrics) The Eugene O’Neill Cabaret Conference, Axelrod Performing Arts Center.
Las Vegas: Enter The Night (book, music, lyrics) Stardust Hotel 12 years; MadHattan (book, music, lyrics) New York, New York Hotel; US Tours: Rugrats, Live! (Executive Music Supervisor); Goosebumps, Live! (Producer, Music) TV: Wonderama (music, lyrics) for the national television show.
Charitable Organizations: Executive Vice President of the Johnny Mercer Foundation (JMF), creating programs for federally funded schools in New York, Newark, Los Angeles, Miami and Atlanta. Writer/Producer in Residence of the Johnny Mercer Writers’ Grove at Goodspeed Musicals and helps oversee the JMF Songwriting Project at Northwestern University. Jonathan is the former National Projects Director of the Songwriters Guild of America. Jonathan is the Artistic Director and Founder of Vala, a new platform dedicated launching new musicals and providing Forever Free education for grades K-12. He continues to work from Brielle Studios, a state of the art recording facility. After 20 years in TriBeCa, his studios are now located in Tewksbury, New Jersey in a converted schoolhouse built in 1846.
Quinn Lemley is the star of Burlesque to Broadway and Rita Hayworth -The Heat Is On! Appeared on Good Morning America, Oprah and finalist on Shark Tank.
Bwy adventures: Barking Sharks; Sirens Of The Silver Screen; Born To Rhumba! Wanda and The King of Hair, Hollywood Goddess & Universal Language.
Films The Greatest Ears in Town – The Arif Mardin Story, Lucky Stiff, Picasso Would Have Made A Glorious Waiter.
She’s co-directed/produced, Rebel Rebel The Many Lives of David Bowie, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Wall, and The Ultimate Queen Celebration. She coaches and directs speakers and performers privately.
Recent charity performances include the Luce Foundation, Lifeforce in Later Years (LiLY), Pause for Peace, and Wonderama TV in Times Square.
Q’s sizzling 6 CDs are available on iTunes. Her latest recording The Heat Is On! Will be released in January 2025 not only on all online platforms but on cd and vinyl as well for preorders visit www.QuinnLemley.com .
Secrets of The Stage with Quinn Lemley about lifestyle & entertainment. Airs Every Sundayon www.MNN.org Channel 4 at 7:30 PM EST or subscribe at www.QuinnLemley.com
“Secrets of the Stage” is produced by Quinn Lemley and Co-Produced by Errol Rappaport for QuinnEssential Productions, LLC.
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