Afr!Ca Haus, a networking platform catered to emerging African and Caribbean creatives, held its inaugural brunch with some of the brightest stars in black entertainment in the Hollywood Hills on Saturday (June 29) to support the BET Awards 2024 weekend.
Connecting the industry’s most influential creatives and business masterminds, the brunch fostered economic prosperity across the Black diaspora. D’usse, Armand de Brignac Champagne, and Chocolate City Music sponsored the event. Founded by Franklin ‘Twizz’ David and Audu Maikori, Afr!Ca Haus united Africans, Caribbeans, and Blacks throughout the diaspora to celebrate Black Music Month.
“First, let’s break down the spelling of Afr!Ca Haus,” said David. “‘Afr’ is for Africa; ‘!’ is for everyone in between; and ‘Ca’ is for Caribbean. Caribbean and African culture is at a pivotal moment and it is vital for us to extend ourselves to each other in these environments to foster real impact and change. Afr!Ca Haus is the haus for us to come together as one and remove the lines in the sand that separate us. This is our home. This is our Haus”
Maikori added: “Our mission is really simple and that is, ‘How do we connect with one another
culturally and make sure we all empower one another?’ Chocolate City is also excited to be
here announcing two new initiatives, Founders Fund and Nutrybe Academy.”
Music, Film, TV, Fashion, Arts, Visual Arts, Gaming, Business, and Politics executives and creatives attended this invite-only event. The star-studded guest list included Angelica Nwandu (CEO of The Shade Room), comedian Michael Blackson, R&B Singer Eric Bellinger, Actor Denim Richards (Yellowstone), Grammy’s LA Chapter VP Marcus Lomax, Director Victor Kamwendo, YG Marley, Obi Asika (Nigerian Director/General Council for Arts & Culture, NCAC), Music Producer RoccStar, Chef Tolu Eros (The Billionaire Chef), and Papoose.
“It means a lot for me to be here at Afr!Ca Haus because that’s what I’ve been saying I wanted
to do,” said The Shade Room’s Angie. “I have a passion for Africans, Caribbean, and Black Americans because I feel like we’re stronger together. We have more in common than we have apart. We do have our little cultural differences, but I feel like we have a bigger bond than not. So, I’ve always felt like we should all connect, and I feel like right now it’s so important to have events like this because I don’ know if you’ve seen the discords… this push to disconnect. I feel like we need to connect. We’re powerful as a whole, Black people across the diaspora. I feel like this is amazing.”
After the event, YG Marley performed with his mother and iconic entertainer Lauryn Hill during the BET Awards on Sunday (June 30). They performed this latest collaboration, “Praise Jah In The Moonlight” and a Fugees classic with surprise guest Wycelf Jean.
The Fugees and YG Marley are set to hit the road this summer. A new Fugees album is rumored to be in the works following the tour announcement. The new album will mark the trio of Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras first in 30 years.