COOL KIDS FOREVER

A PASSION POINT AGENCY.

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The Cool Kids of Atlanta Represented well at The Met Gala Monday night at the Met Gala, the annual fund-raising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute showed how not only hip-hop culture influences everything but the direct impact of Atlanta's culture and artist have created globally. This was thoroughly seen and recieved as Janelle Monae, Lil Yachty, Future and The Migos all attended the extravagant event in blac-tie designer brands. The Migos capped off the evening as the FIRST EVER hip-hop artist to perform during the event.

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Orchestra Noir featuring Bryan Michael Cox "A Night at The Symphony" When we first decided to partner with Orchestra Noir and Bryan Michael Cox we knew it would be a cool experience but really didn't know how it would be recieved. After selling out Center Stage Theater in less than 30 days we think we did a pretty decent job. Check out a little of what you missed in the clip above. Directed and Edited by Ben Styles IG: @benstylestv

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ROLLING OUT PRESENTS TECH TUESDAYS "WHERE TECH + CULTURE MEET" We are happy to announce our Co-Founder and resident tech guru Rufin Tshinanga will be hosting a weekly Tech + Culture live stream series with Rolling Out Magazine. Every Tuesday at 12:30pm EST join in on the fun, learn and share.

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Universal Music Group Leads $6 Million Investment in Mass Appeal Mass Appeal, the graffiti magazine turned multi-platform brand, announced on Monday that it has taken a $6 million series A investment. Universal Music Group led the round, which also included funding from Evolution Media, Jon Jashni, Charles King, Michael Kassan, and Usher. Founded in 1996, Mass Appeal drew acclaim for its gritty coverage of hip-hop and urban style. It ceased publication in 2008. Rapper Nas revived the outlet with a six-figure investment in 2013, according to Forbes. The company has since launched Mass Appeal Records. It also partnered with CNN Films on a hip-hop-themed documentary and produced scripted programming through a deal with TBS and TNT. Mass Appeal also launched a creative agency, which has worked for clients like Sprite, Under Armour, and Red Bull. The valuation was not disclosed. Michele Anthony, an executive vice president of Universal Music Group, will take a seat on the company’s board. “At Universal Music Group, we are creating new opportunities for our artists and labels to forge deeper relationships with fans around the world through music, film, television, video, social media, and brand sponsorships,” Anthony said in a release. “Working with Mass Appeal, we will be able to accelerate that strategy.”

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The Cool Kids Agency and Orchestra Noir give Atlantans a night at the symphony Story by Lala Martinez for Rolling Out Magazine On Friday evening (March 31, 2017), The Cool Kids Agency in partnership with Orchestra Noir hosted a must-attend Night at the Symphony at Center Stage in Atlanta. In a city dominated by hip-hop culture, the presence of classical music was simply refreshing. Guests were played a hand-picked selection of music composed by W.A. Mozart, J. Brahms, R. Wagner and more. The orchestra was also joined by students from the Atlanta Music Project, concerto competition winner Yezu Woo, and Grammy-winning producer Bryan Michael Cox. Orchestra Noir is, in fact, an all-African-American Orchestra founded and directed by Jason Ikeem Rodgers. “It’s really a dream come true! It started off as just a concept so to see Atlanta embrace us in this way touches my heart. It makes me want to do more and share more with the community. The future is going to be bright for us,” says Rodgers. Rodgers is truly redefining the way classical music is performed and is making it a point to present this genre toa broader demographic. Noir definitely sticks to the basics, but you may catch them adding some Bruno Mars or Beyonce into the mix. “Atlanta is known for its hip-hop and that’s incredible, but I think it goes back to what Duke Ellington said: ‘There’s only two kinds of music. There’s the good and then there’s the other stuff.’ I know if it’s good then the Black community will enjoy it because Atlanta is used to good music. I knew if I delicately picked each one of these classical pieces that tells a part of myself then I know that the audience would love it too,” he added.

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Coachella Is Suing Urban Outfitters and Free People for Trademark Infringement Coachella and its parent company Goldenvoice are suing Urban Outfitters for products sold and marketed under the Coachella name, as Pitchfork and LA Weekly point out. The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, concerns apparel sold at Free People, Urban’s upscale sister store known for its extremely Coachella-esque looks. Coachella filed the suit in California federal court Tuesday. It alleges that Free People sold clothes specifically marketed using the word Coachella, which the festival owns as a trademark, including a “Bella Coachella” line of clothes and a “Coachella Valley Tunic” that has since been pulled off of Free People’s website, but remains indexed on Google. Intriguingly, the suit is equally concerned with Free People’s alleged use of “Coachella” in website URLs, metadata tags, and paid Google keywords, so that products that aren’t specifically branded with the name of the festival would still turn up in searches for terms like “Coachella outfit.” This is would seem like a brave new frontier of trademark infringement–though it isn’t the first time someone’s been sued over website metadata–and Coachella’s suit includes multiple screenshots of the website’s source code and URLs as exhibited evidence. The suit alleges that Coachella’s business selling its own branded apparel has suffered due to Free People’s use of the name, and also mentions exclusive contracts with H&M and Pandora jewelry to sell Coachella-licensed apparel. The festival claims to have sent a cease-and-desist to Urban Outfitters in April 2016, and that the the company did not pull down the offending products and webpages. Incidentally, some parts of the suit read like Coachella is hoping that in addition to deciding the case in its favor, the judge will don his or her own fringe top and floppy hat and join them out in the desert next year. “Coachella is about more than just music,” one line reads. “The festival’s venue also includes camping facilities for some 15,000 attendees (complete with a karaoke lounge and a general store), and an amazing selection of food and beverages from a wide range of restaurants. The festival also features an extensive art exhibit which includes many pieces of art (including sculpture and so-called “interactive” art). The music, the food, the art, and of course, the fellowship of other attendees, taken together, makes Coachella more than just a concert to attend—it truly is an experience.”

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Chanel Really Likes Frank Ocean's New Song 'Chanel' It was only a matter of time before French luxury giant Chanel would acknowledge Frank Ocean's lyrics. On Ocean's latest song "Chanel" -- a track he dropped on his Blonded Apple Beats 1 Radio show last Friday (Mar. 10) -- Frank sings, "I see both sides like Chanel", referring to the company's iconic mirror-image black-and-white logo. Chanel's official Instagram uploaded an image of their logo reading, "We see both sides like Frank". They followed up that post with one that included the ocean (and the word "ocean"), and a hand holding their signature No. 5 fragrance (with the word "land"). The brand's latest campaign slogan, "You Know Me and You Don't," was used as the accompanying hashtag for the posts along with #FrankOcean. "This is simply our way of acknowledging his nod to Chanel in his latest single," a spokesperson for Chanel told The FADER over email. Billboard has reached out to Chanel for comment. A representative for Frank Ocean declined to comment.

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LVMH to Reportedly Launch Its Own E-Commerce Site Housing all 70 of its labels and more. LVMH has been a longtime holdout from e-commerce giants like Amazon and now we a better explanation as to why: the luxury goods conglomerate is hard at work on an e-commerce site of its own. According to The Financial Times, the company — which owns the likes of Louis Vuitton, Céline, Givenchy, Fendi, Dior and Marc Jacobs — is set to launch its own comprehensive web store in the weeks ahead. The site — a followup of sorts to its eLuxury platform, which shuttered back in 2009 — will reportedly be home to all 70 of its brands and labels and will even carry items outside of the LVMH umbrella, too. Though it remains unclear when exactly the e-commerce site will make its debut, a launch is expected to take place before the month of March comes to a close.

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The i.Con Is the World's First Smart Condom Delivers statistics straight to your phone. Manufactured by British Condoms the i.Con is the first smart condom on the market. The contraceptive device utilizes a nano-chip to measure a number of variables during sex including velocity, girth and positions used, sending the information directly to an app on your phone via Bluetooth. Additionally the i.Con features an antibody filter that detects the presence of STIs. The device is charged via USB and can last six to eight hours on a single charge. Furthermore, British Condoms claims the i.Con can be reused and offers a one-year warranty on the device. For more tech news, Facebook recently introduced Messenger Day which you can check out here.

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Nike, H&M, and Zara Are Amongst the World's Most Valuable Apparel Brands in 2017 A top 10 list of companies valued in the billions. According to Brand Finance, the world’s leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy, some of the biggest names in its “Most Valuable Apparel Brands of 2017″ list include Nike, H&M, and Zara. It’s not a shock that Nike leads the pack as it has always been on top of the list and is currently valued at $32 billion USD. H&M trails behind at #2 boasting a $19 million USD valuation. Some takeouts from this current roster include Zara grabbing #3 from Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs rapidly making its way up the rankings. It will be interesting to see where LV moves in the near future, especially now that it has collaborated with Supreme. It’s also worth to note that even with adidas and Under Armour closing in on Nike, the Oregon-based company is still miles ahead of the two. Nike is sure to make more noise with its plans for the “Pro Hijab” for Muslim athletes. Brand Finance produces its list by considering the following elements — sales, market share, as well as global reputation, marketing investment, and employee satisfaction. The top 10 brands are named below, but you can catch the full list here. 1. Nike — $32 billion 2. H&M — $19 billion 3. Zara — $14.4 billion 4. Louis Vuitton — $13 billion 5. Adidas — $10 billion 6. Uniqlo — $9.6 billion 7. Hermes — $8.3 billion 8. Rolex — $7 billion 9. Gucci — $6.8 billion 10. Cartier — $6.7 billion

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You'll Be Able to Purchase Product via WhatsApp Soon E-commerce heavyweight Yoox Net-A-Porter is lining up a new service that will allow customers to buy products via WhatsApp. A recent interview with company CEO Federico Marchetti revealed that by increasing its use of the messaging service — currently used to communicate with high-net-worth clients through personal shopping services — the retailer is hoping to capture a greater stake of a competitive market. Although there’s no scheduled release date for the updated technology, expect to see it rolled out soon in a move that’s sure to be watched closely by its biggest competitors. The news follows an announcement last year that the company plans to launch a new technology hub at its London office.

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Comcast To Launch LIFT Startup Accelerator in Atlanta Atlanta will be the second market to house a startup accelerator and entrepreneurs resource center funded by Comcast NBCUniversal and focused on innovation in media, entertainment and connectivity. The first program will launch in Philadelphia and counts international accelerator program Techstars as a partner. Dubbed Leveraging Innovation For Tomorrow, or LIFT, the program was developed with input from over 1500 entrepreneurs across the U.S. and abroad, many garnered during Comcast’s multi-city “Tomorrow Tour” event series, which came to the Atlanta Tech Village last March. The LIFT program will include access and mentorship from Comcast NBCUniversal executives and partners. The application period will open in January of 2018 and startups that seek to apply do not need to be from any specific region. Comcast has a history of supporting innovation with programming as well as funds through its Comcast Ventures funding arm, which has invested in almost 100 startups from seed through late stage. This also includes the Catalyst Fund, which is specifically aimed at early-stage, minority-led tech companies. “Comcast was a startup more than 50 years ago in the Philadelphia region, and we understand the importance of entrepreneurialism to help drive growth, innovation, and the economy,” said Sam Schwartz, Chief Business Development Officer, Comcast Cable. The accelerator partner for the Atlanta LIFT program has not yet been announced.

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Jay Z's Roc Nation Announces Arrive, New Company to Invest in Start-Ups Jay Z has bolstered his Roc Nation empire with a new start-up that helps other start-ups. According to a release on Monday (March 6), the hip-hop mogul announced the creation of Arrive, a platform that will focus on promising start-up companies. "Arrive was created to leverage our experience and resources in building brands, developing consumer facing businesses, managing artists and representing athletes. We've opened that diversified, global range of expertise to a new vertical: entrepreneurs and their early stage businesses," said Neil Sirni, Roc Nation's head of new ventures. Through a collaboration with Roc Nation, Primary Venture Partners and Glassbridge Asset Management, Arrive will aid existing portfolio companies through their developmental stages. While teaming up with Glassbridge, Arrive will also provide institutional and operational support. Primary Venture Partners co-founder Ben Sun also expressed his excitement regarding the new partnership with Roc Nation. "What Roc Nation has built so far is a true testament to their vision, capabilities and willingness to dig in and take their companies to the next level. We are thrilled to partner with the amazing team at Arrive and to leverage these unique resources to build the next generation of powerful brands."

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COOL NEWS: B. COX DJ SET Bryan Michael Cox DJ Set Kanvas Lounge Charlotte, NC 28202 525 E 6th Street #117

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We would like to welcome 9x Grammy winning Producer/Songwriter Bryan Michael Cox to the Cool Kids Agency. Looking forward to helping grow his DJ brand across various platforms.

Twitter.com/bryanmichaelcox Instagram: bryanmichaelcox soundcloud.com/bryanmichaelcox www.bryanmichaelcox.com

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We would like to welcome Saint Cassius and the Vinyl Crown team to the Cool Kids Agency. Instagram: saintcassius_ Twitter: @saintcassius_ www.saintcassius.com

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Kyrie Irving Confirms Uncle Drew Movie and Drops New Pepsi Ad And some Uncle Drew merch will release online tomorrow. As reported by Variety last week, and confirmed by ESPN earlier today, Kyrie Irving will team up with Pepsi to turn his fun Uncle Drew ads into a full-length feature film. From screenwriter Jay Longino, in conjunction with Temple Hill Entertainment, the unprecedented commercial-turned-movie was described to Variety as “Blues Brothers in the pick-up basketball world.” The plot will center on Uncle Drew attempting to assemble his old Rucker Park team from decades ago to compete against today’s street-ballers in a present-day tournament. Longino also mentioned incorporating a slew of current NBA stars into the movie, but couldn’t comment on who exactly. With the All-Star Game this weekend, one in which Kryie will be the starting point guard, Pepsi delivered the latest chapter in the Uncle Drew saga, this time with co-stars J. B. Smoove and Baron Davis. The soft drink brand also built a special website for the series, with merch dropping tomorrow, February 17 at 12 p.m. ET. There’s no word on when the Uncle Drew film will hit theaters, so stay tuned.