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Posts tagged as “Adidas”

Born On This Day in 1973: Producer and Philanthropist Pharrell Williams (LISTEN)

Born On This Day in 1973: Producer and Philanthropist Pharrell Williams (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on April 5, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

As Pharrell Williams takes his 49th orbit around the sun today, GBN celebrates the music and contributions to the culture and community made by this prolific and inventive force of nature.

To read about him, read on. To hear about him, press PLAY:

(You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website.) Full transcript below:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Tuesday, April 5th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Born April 5, 1973 in Virginia Beach, VA, prolific music producer, composer and artist Pharrell Williams (“Drop It Like It’s Hot,” “Get Lucky,” “Hollaback Girl”) has also excelled as a fashion designer (Billionaire Boys Club, G Star Raw, Adidas) as a film and television producer (Dope, Hidden Figures, the Amazon Prime series Harlem) …and, importantly, as a philanthropist.

In 2019 Williams offered “A-List internships” to 114 college-bound high school students to help set them on their career paths.

More recently, Williams co-founded the Black Ambition Initiative to fund Black and Latinx entrepreneurs in tech, design, healthcare and consumer products and services start-ups. So, let’s wish a “Happy” birthday to this “Beautiful” Neptune on his 49th trip around the sun.

To learn more about Pharrell, read his books, Places and Spaces I’ve Been and Pharrell: A Fish Doesn’t Know It’s Wet, as well as his 2016 children’s board book Happy, check out the 2016 documentary Pharrell Williams: Happy Go Lucky on Amazon Prime Video or Free Movies on YouTube, Pharrell’s interview on The Breakfast Club, his 2019 conversation with Rick Rubin on GQ’s YouTube channel, or his 2021 appearance on PBS’s Finding Your Roots.You can also check out the 2020 Netflix series Voices of Fire, Pharrell’s interview with Mark Ronson on The FADER Uncovered podcast, and Pharrell’ own podcast, OTHERtone.

And, it goes without saying, stream or buy any and/or all of the innovative, industry-changing music he’s produced and performed over the decades.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing.

Intro and outro beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

Excerpts from “Frontin’”, “Happy,” “Beautiful” and “Brand New” by Pharrell Williams permitted under fair use.

If you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.

For more Good Black News, you can check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Sources:

(amazon links are paid)

Tennis Star Naomi Osaka to Sign Adidas’ Biggest Deal With a Woman Athlete at $8.5M

By goodblacknews on September 17, 2018
Naomi Osaka (AP Images)

via newsone.com

2018 U.S. Open women’s tennis champion Naomi Osaka is winning both on and off the court. After defeating Serena Williams, the 20-year-old Haitian and Japanese athlete has become a household name. According to Business Insider, Osaka is slated to make history by inking the biggest deal that Adidas has ever offered to a woman athlete.

Osaka is reportedly working on a deal with the sports brand that is worth $8.5 million per year, the news outlet writes. The deal could possibly make her one of the highest-paid women in the realm of sports; out-earning her tennis opponents. Osaka currently has a contract with Adidas for six figures which is ending this year.

It seems as if the Adidas deal is just the beginning of more endorsements to come for Osaka. She recently signed a three-year endorsement deal with Nissan to be one of their brand ambassadors. “With a combination of grit and grace, Naomi Osaka is not afraid to take on the best tennis players of our time, and win,” Asako Hoshino, Senior Vice President, Nissan, told the news outlet. Osaka is humbled to represent the brand and says she was drawn to Nissan because of its “strong Japanese DNA and global competitive spirit.”

Osaka’s win over Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open garnered a lot of attention after Williams was hit with a slew of unjust code violations for coaching, breaking a racket, and her exchange of words with umpire Carlos Ramos. Despite the drama surrounding the match, the tennis veteran displayed sportsmanship by giving her opponent encouraging words as the crowd booed the outcome. “She said that she was proud of me and that I should know that the crowd wasn’t booing at me. So, I was really happy that she said that,” said Osaka during a recent appearance on The Ellen Show.

Source: https://newsone.com/3826727/naomi-osaka-adidas-deal/

Adidas Celebrates Jesse Owens with Black History Month Footwear Collection

By goodblacknews on January 21, 2016
Screen Shot 2016-01-21 at 8.59.53 PM
Jesse Owens Collection by Adidas

Inspired by the triumph of an American sports and cultural hero, adidas celebrates Jesse Owens with its Black History Month footwear collection.
The facts are simple, Jesse Owens was the most famous track and field athlete of all time, and in 1950 when the Associated Press conducted a poll to determine the greatest track and field athlete of the first half of the twentieth century, the results didn’t even come close – Owens by a landslide.
Olympic Gold Medalist Jesse Owens
Olympic Gold Medalist Jesse Owens

Raised in Ohio with Alabama roots, it was in the span of 45 minutes on one single afternoon on May 25, 1935, at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan that Owens electrified the sports world with the greatest one-man, one-day performance the sport had ever known – breaking three world records and tying a fourth.
One year later, at the 1936 Berlin summer games, Owens became a groundbreaking athlete and symbol for social justice and equality after a historic performance where he became the first American track & field athlete to win four gold medals in a single games, all while under tremendous global tension.
Owens accomplished the feat in track spikes hand-crafted by adidas founder Adi Dassler, who carried the glove leather spikes from his workshop in Herzogenaurach, a Bavarian village just 300 miles to the South. Owens’ athletic performance, wearing the spikes of adidas, marked one of the most significant sports and cultural moments of the 20th century.
“The Owens family is pleased to partner with adidas for Black History Month with a commemorative basketball shoe. On the feet of athletes who compete in the spirit of Jesse’s historic accomplishments, these shoes encompass the significance of one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen.”
Concurrently, the Focus Features Jesse Owens biopic “Race” will hit theaters on February 19.

GBN Sports: Snoop Dogg Named Director of Football Recruiting for Adidas

By goodblacknews on August 18, 2015

Coach Snoop

Lesa Lakin GBN Lifestyle
Lesa Lakin
GBN Lifestyle

Here we go again… Adidas is marketing to the cool kids. I’ve got to give it up to the team behind naming Snoop Dogg (a.k.a Calvin Broadus) Director of Football Recruiting. It’s a clever idea. In addition to the already successful collaboration of designs inspired by Snoop and the position he holds as Director of Football Development for the company, Adidas has enlisted the rapper/football aficionado to handle an additional gig in a position that makes a lot of sense.
Everyone on the sports circuit knows that Snoop has served as a sports mentor who has lead his very own youth league for years http://snoopyfl.net. He has inspired many young athletes, including his own collegiate player son, Cordell Broadus. Although Cordell may have recently made the choice not to continue his football career… he did in fact become one of the highest-recruited players in the country.
Snoop has proven he can coach and has a vast knowledge of the sport. While this new corporate appointment may not be the most expected hire, it actually is sort of a no-brainer when you really think about it.  Snoop Dogg as Director of Football Recruiting fits right in line with the Adidas marketing philosophy.  Snoop has certainly got that football drive and his team mentality could pay off big for the brand.  It’s always nice when a passion pays off.  We wish Coach Snoop all the best in his new venture.
Check out his proud instagram post here: https://instagram.com/p/6fSVxmP9No/
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Pharrell Williams Honored with Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

By goodblacknews on December 5, 2014

An honor: Pharrell Williams was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday for his acclaimed career in music
On top of his seven Grammy awards, Pharrell’s success is now cemented in the streets of LA.  The singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday.

In line with his stylish reputation, the superstar appeared in a bright jacket from his line, Billionaire Boys Club, and acid wash jeans adorned with the Adidas logo on his bum.  He finished off the fun look with red Chanel combat boots and a hat with a graphic blue-and-yellow ribbon.

Family affair: The 41-year-old was joined by his family, including wife Helen Lasichanh and son Rocket
Family affair: The 41-year-old was joined by his family, including wife Helen Lasichanh and son Rocket

His wife Helen Lasichanh and son Rocket clapped as the 41-year-old accepted his award and listened to a speech by dear friend, Ellen DeGeneres.

The ceremony came the same day Pharrell explained the meaning of happiness in an opinion piece published by New York Times.

“It’s not possible to experience constant euphoria, but if you’re grateful, you can find happiness in everything.  While I’ve expressed gratitude many times for what my song “Happy” did for me personally, I will never stop saying thank you,” he wrote.
 article by Ariela Kozin via dailymail.co.uk

Pharrell Williams’ New Adidas Campaign Is All About Equality 

By goodblacknews on November 14, 2014
(Getty Images)

Pharrell Williams is spreading positivity everywhere he goes: from his infectious summer anthem “Happy” to encouraging young artists on NBC’s “The Voice”, to helping get recyclables out of the sea with Raw for the Oceans, Pharrell is continuing his upbeat trend with his current collaboration with Adidas.

Skateboard P decided to use his platform for a good cause and created a conceptual campaign on equality. When you first see the branding for it–which shows an equal sign above Pharrell’s name and the Adidas logo next to it–you might think that just means Pharrell is Adidas, and you wouldn’t be too far off. Over the past year, P has been a walking billboard for the retailer wearing it everywhere, including his infamous Grammys outfit.