Don’t underestimate millennials.
Forbes has just compiled its annual “30 Under 30” list highlighting 30 young notables in a variety of categories, from Art & Style to Venture Capital. In all, Forbes selected 600 millennials in 20 fields. This year there were no repeats from years past and every person was selected by a panel of judges.
We’ve covered a few of the standouts from the Hollywood & Entertainment category. Here are some of the Black millennials chosen in other categories.
Art & Style:
–Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. An African-American and Iranian artist and freelance illustrator originally from Oklahoma, Fazlalizadeh, 29, created the much-buzzed about art project “Stop Telling Woman To Smile,” addressing gender-based street harassment.
–Kerby Jean Raymond. Twenty-eight-year-old Jean-Raymond is founder and designer of New York menswear label Pyer Moss, a favorite of Usher’s.
–Darlene (28) and Lizzy Okpo (24). These designing sisters named their women’s wear fashion line after their Nigerian immigrant father, William Okpo. Solange Knowles is a fan.
—LaQuan Smith (29). He may have been rejected by renown fashion schools FIT and Parson, but fashion designer LaQuan Smith created a women’s brand out of his Queens, NY, bedroom that grossed $500,000 last year. And he has dressed the likes of Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Nicki Minaj.
Music:
–Azealia Banks. When not rooting for reparations or blowing up Twitter, rapper Banks, 23, is actually making music that people take note of.
–FKA Twigs (26). This London-based musician started as a backup dancer before dropping her debut EP in 2012. Last year saw the release of her first full-length CD, “LP1,” which won The Mercury Award for Best British Album.
–DJ Mustard. Producer and DJ Djon McFarlane charted more singles on Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard R&B/Hip Hop songs charts that any other producer in 2014.
Hollywood:
–Jessica Williams (25). The actress-comedian was only 22 when she come on board the “Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” as its youngest correspondent and only Black woman.
Manufacturing Industry:
–Jeremiah Chapman (240. He founded Crisp, which manufactures FreshFry–“a packet that uses adsorption kinetics to cleanse oil being used in deep fryers, extending the life of the oil so that restaurants can reduce costs,” reports Forbes. His company also makes Fryer Eye, which is a sensor that monitors the oil quality in a deep fryer. Talk about an innovator.
Retail & eCommerce:
–Alain Miguel (29). He is the co-founder of Modalyst, an online wholesale platform that assists brands on expanding their distribution.
–Chase Reed. He may just be 16, but Harlem-based Reed came up with a unique way for people to get rid of their old Jordans and other sneakers. SneakerPawn lets you pawn your old kicks. We wrote about him back in the summer. Check it out here.
–Mark Daniel (20). The founder of Strut, which “allows for apparel browsing based on a person’s style,” Daniel has raised about $1.5 million in seed funding.
Sports:
–Austin Brown (29). Brown is a player-agent for CAA Sports and has signed such hit athletes as two top-40 NBA drat picks, Michigan State’s Gary Harris and Michigan’s Glenn Robinson III.
–Maya Moore (25). This WNBA standout forward for the Minnesota Lynx has amassed two championships three All-Star game appearances, and the 2014 MVP award.
Media:
–Shani Hilton (29). Hilton is the executive editor for the popular Buzzfeed. “Earlier this year she wrote a widely heralded piece on creating a diverse newsroom,” notes Forbes.
Marketing & Advertising:
–Maya Watson (29). Watson is the director of marketing & social media over at HarpoStudios. So of course she works with Oprah!
—-James Toney III (29). He co-founded Sew, which specializes in social impact marketing. He was the mastermind behind “Voices Have Power,” the fundraising campaign against domestic violence, which created 45 million organic impressions for the brand.
