Sean John Combs, also known by his stage name Diddy, formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he is credited with the discovery and development of musical artists including the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Usher.
Brett Ratner is an American film director and producer. He directed the Rush Hour film series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, Tower Heist, and Hercules. He is a producer of several films, including the Horrible Bosses series, as well as executive producer on other projects, including the films The Revenant and War Dogs and the television series Prison Break.
SWV is an American R&B vocal trio from New York City whose members are Cheryl (Coko) Gamble, Tamara (Taj) George, and Leanne (Lelee) Lyons. Formed in 1988 as a gospel group, SWV became one of the most successful R&B groups of the 1990s. They had a series of hits, including "Weak", "Right Here ", "I'm So into You", and "You're the One". The group disbanded in 1998 to pursue solo projects and reunited in 2005.
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the United States by enrollment and the only public historically black university in Florida. It is a member of the State University System of Florida and is accredited to award baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Shemar Franklin Moore is an American actor. His notable roles include Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless, Derek Morgan on Criminal Minds (2005–2016), and the lead role of Sergeant II Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson on S.W.A.T. (2017–present) all on CBS. Moore was also the third permanent host of Soul Train from 1999 to 2003. Moore is also known for playing G.U.N. Agent Randall Handel in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Trudie Styler is an English actress, director, and film producer.
Yolanda Yvette Adams is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albums worldwide. In addition to achieving multi-platinum status, she has won four Grammy Awards, four Dove Awards, five BET Awards, six NAACP Image Awards, six Soul Train Music Awards, two BMI Awards and sixteen Stellar Awards. She is the first Gospel artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song. She is also the first Gospel artist to be awarded an American Music Award.
Edward Thomas Hardy is an English actor. After studying acting at the Drama Centre London, Hardy made his film debut in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down in 2001. He had supporting roles in the films Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) and RocknRolla (2008), and then went on to star in Bronson (2008), Warrior (2011), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Lawless (2012), This Means War (2012), and Locke (2013). In 2015, he starred as "Mad" Max Rockatansky in Mad Max: Fury Road and both Kray twins in Legend, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Revenant. Hardy appeared in three Christopher Nolan films: Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), and Dunkirk (2017). He has since starred as the title character in the film Venom (2018) and its sequels Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and Venom: The Last Dance (2024).
Lecrae Devaughn Moore is an American Christian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, and actor. To date, he has released ten studio albums and three mixtapes as a solo artist, and has released three studio albums, a remix album, one EP, and numerous singles as the leader of the hip hop group 116 Clique.
Will Packer is an American film producer who founded Will Packer Productions, and Will Packer Media. Packer has produced or executive produced a wide range of movies that have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide at the box office, including 10 films that have opened at number one. He has produced more than 30 features including big-screen hit comedies such as Think Like a Man (2012), Ride Along (2014), Think Like a Man Too (2014), The Wedding Ringer (2015), Girls Trip (2017), Night School (2018), What Men Want (2019) and Little (2019).
Stomp the Yard is a 2007 American dance drama film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007. Directed by Sylvain White, Stomp the Yard centers on DJ Williams, a college student at a fictional historically black university who pledges to join a fictional Greek-letter fraternity. The film's central conflict involves DJ's fraternity competing in various stepping competitions against a rival fraternity of the same school. The film's script was written by Robert Adetuyi, working from an original draft by Gregory Ramon Anderson. The film was originally titled Steppin', but to avoid confusion over the 2006 film Step Up, the title was changed. Delta Sigma Theta along with other sororities like Gamma Theta were in the movie.
Darrin Dewitt Henson is an American choreographer, dancer, actor, and producer. Hensen was a brief member of freestyle music 1980s group Trilogy and was featured on their single "Good Time". He worked as a choreographer for various artists and received the 2000 MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography for "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC.
Gregory Ramon Anderson is a Tallahassee, Florida native who graduated from FAMU in 1994. He co-founded Rainforest Films, with fellow FAMU graduates Rob Hardy and Will Packer in 1994, working as a script writer, film producer, and fill-in actor. Rainforest Films has independently produced three feature films including Chocolate City, Trois, and Pandora's Box. Anderson wrote the screenplay for the film Stomp the Yard.
Robert John Edwards is an Australian television drama producer.
Bounce TV is an American digital broadcast television network owned by Scripps Networks, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. It launched on September 26, 2011, and was promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans". Bounce features a mix of original and acquired programming geared toward African Americans between 25 and 54 years of age.
Rainforest Films was a film production company founded in 1994 by Rob Hardy and Will Packer that produced films geared towards African-Americans.
Alpha Man: The Brotherhood of MLK is a television documentary film that reveals the story of Martin Luther King Jr.’s fraternity days as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Produced by Rainforest Films, the half-hour special originally aired August 28, 2011 on BET. The documentary special was scheduled to debut on the same day as the much-anticipated official dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial statue on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The statue's dedication, which was to coincide with the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington and King’s "Dream" speech, was postponed until October 16, 2011, due to Hurricane Irene.
Robin Coudert, also known by his stage name ROB, is a French pop/rock musician, singer-songwriter, producer and film score composer.
Erica Monique Campbell is an American Gospel singer and songwriter. Specializing in the urban contemporary gospel, Christian R&B, and contemporary R&B genres, she started her music career in the late 1990s with her younger sister, Tina Campbell, as part of the group Mary Mary.
