Black Elites

Founders. Visionaries. Industry Leaders.

Discover the people building enduring companies and shaping the future of business. Through in-depth interviews, founder stories, business playbooks, and behind-the-scenes insights, Black Elites Profiles explores the journeys, strategies, and lessons of entrepreneurs and executives creating the next generation of category-defining brands.

In Profile

Who’s SwayvoTwain, the R&B Heir Cast as Biggie in the Snoop Movie?

For years, Michael Archer II kept his parents’ names out of conversations he didn’t have to have. Now, for his first feature film, he’ll be answering to a different name altogether —...

How Alvin Kamara’s Legacy Found a Permanent Home in Neyland Stadium

Alvin Kamara was heading into a rough patch when he decided to give something back to Tennessee. At 31, the New Orleans Saints running back was working his way back from a knee injury. His 2025 season...

Inside Zendaya’s Unstoppable 2026 Box Office Reign

Zendaya’s films have taken more than $4.1 billion worldwide this year. The number is remarkable, but the choices behind it tell the more useful story. Zendaya reached the first weekend of August...

The Evolution of Jorja Smith: How the UK Soul Singer Redefined Modern R&B

By 2018, most artists in Jorja Smith’s position would have taken the label meeting. Drake had put her on two More Life tracks and brought her out on tour. She’d opened for Bruno Mars...

Doechii’s Rise to the Top: How the Swamp Princess Is Reshaping Modern Hip-Hop

Maybe the smartest thing Doechii ever did was decide a project mattered less than everyone assumed it did. By 2022 she was past the independent-artist stage — Top Dawg Entertainment and Capitol...

David Jonsson Is the New Black Panther — And the Internet Isn’t Ready

He barely moved up on that Hall H stage. No fist pump, no big wave to the crowd. Just a guy in his early thirties, born and raised in London, trained at RADA, standing there while two thousand people...

The Ayo Edebiri Playbook: Build Skills before You Need Them

Ayo Edebiri’s most revealing career move didn’t happen in front of a camera. During “Fishes” — the season two episode of The Bear where Sydney Adamu doesn’t even show up...

Tanzyn Crawford Stopped Chasing Acting Roles. She Did this Instead.

Here’s the thing everyone kind of glosses over: six months into auditioning, Crawford figured out something most actors take years to accept. Sometimes the problem isn’t you. It’s...

Alton Mason Figured Out the One Thing Most Models Never Do

The scene includes Rome. A room, no music. Alessandro Michele sitting there, presumably deciding whether this kid from New York is worth a contract. And Alton Mason — broke, tired of castings...