ordinary thoughts: hot new sh*t

Written By Narrative Media Co.

Fam! Que lo que? Life got to life-ing and we missed you last week.

The thing about turning your side hustle into your main hustle is that you’re doing double the work in half the time – or at least that’s what it feels like. Between wrangling deadlines, technical difficulties, and the occasional bout of Murphy's Law, we found ourselves in a time crunch.

Nonetheless, it’s officially #SmallBusinessMonth and we are kicking it off strong:

  • We have a new website loading! Our home got a complete makeover and we’re so excited to share it with you soon. More on this below.

  • We’re heading to Philly this week! We were invited to Diversitech 2024 to capture moments at the biggest conference celebrating diversity in the tech industry. Can you believe it!? narrative is headed to its first conference as a media company. If you’ll be there, holla at us! We’d love to meet you.

  • Finally, our community is growing! More than 1,100 of you are here, learning and creating with us. We’re so grateful to be on this journey with you.

Abrazos,

Isaiah & Cybele

coming soon…

📣 We are kicking off #SmallBusinessMonth with a HUGE announcement! We have a completely revamped website and an upgraded community experience on the way!

Plus, what better way to do this than teaming up with another small business we love? THANK YOU to @someflowersco 💐 for designing and building what is most likely the world’s most beautiful site!

If you’re subscribed, you’ll be the FIRST to know when the new site is live and to get your hands on some content marketing freebies!

new episode

health is wealth with Dr. Andrea Jacobo

Y’all are not ready for this! In one of our warmest conversations yet, we’re talking to Dr. Andrea Jacobo – a multi-lingual spoken word artist, storyteller, and community health organizer. She is first generation Afro-Dominican American, and her creative expression stems from her cultural roots and upbringing. Her writing is a tool to connect bridges across communities, disciplines, borders, and cultures. Her passion for community health, our culture, and the craft of writing are a few of the things we jump into today. 

We hope you enjoy it as much as we did! 

stories that have our attention

UC Riverside Becomes First UC Campus To Reach Deal With Pro-Palestine Protestors

In the agreement reached with student leaders Friday, UC Riverside stated that the college will take steps to be transparent about its investments. With students, it will also “explore the removal” of its endowment from the broader University of California system’s investment office and the reinvestment of it “in a manner that will be financially and ethically sound for the university with consideration to the companies involved in arms manufacturing and delivery.”

The university’s business school has also discontinued its study abroad programs to Israel.

It’s Hard to Care About a Rap War in the Middle of a Real One

Rap is surely competitive, and it has indeed been entertaining to get more than one Kendrick verse in the span of a few weeks. Even the endless trolling on both sides online at a certain point had its charm, a welcome distraction from the cascade of depressing news that usually floods newsfeeds and For You pages. Kendrick’s six-minute-long hate treatise “Euphoria” was everything that those who have followed his and Drake’s acrimony over the years could have hoped for: a densely layered deconstruction of Drizzy’s whole rap career.

And yet, to be frank, I do not fucking care anymore. In the hours between Kendrick dropping “Euphoria” and the explainers of each verse being uploaded on social media, militarized police forces stormed peaceful protests at colleges around the country, brutalizing and arresting hundreds of students and faculty just weeks before graduation.    

Universal Music Group Returns to TikTok with New Deal

Artists including Drake, Rihanna, The Weeknd, and Kendrick Lamar are returning to TikTok, as the platform has reached a new agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG). UMG had recently begun pulling its music from TikTok after their old contract expired, and the two companies couldn’t reach an agreement in new negotiations.

The joint agreement aims to mark a new era of collaboration, built on a shared commitment to help UMG’s artists and songwriters achieve their creative and commercial potential. They are also working together to realize new monetization opportunities utilizing TikTok’s growing e-commerce capabilities and working together on campaigns supporting UMG’s artists. “This new chapter in our relationship with TikTok focuses on the value of music, the primacy of human artistry, and the welfare of the creative community,” said Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of UMG.in other news...

Politics 

  • New York Mayor Eric Adams has said that there were no incidents of violence at campus protests. That's not true.

Markets

Tech 

  • Amazon and Google have suspended green card applications

  • A better Siri is coming: Apple’s AI plans

  • Microsoft's fear of Google's AI dominance likely led to its OpenAI partnership

Sports 

pa' la cultura

cultural trivia

May is Small Business Month!

Question: What migrant group popularized the New York City bodega?

  1. Puerto Ricans

  2. Dominicans

  3. Yemenis

  4. Egyptians

Scroll further down to see if you’ve got it. 

song of the week

We’re paying close attention to the latest exceptional music output from artists who deserve more flowers. This week, you should listen to: 

Forgetting You - Luna Elle, an emerging R&B/Soul singer from Mississauga, Ontario.

words of wisdom

Cultural Trivia Answer

The answer, ladies and gentlemen, is… *Drum roll please*

  1. Puerto Ricans

In the mid-twentieth century, New York City Bodegas were popularized by Puerto Ricans in Brooklyn. By the ‘90s, it’s been said that most bodegas (aka colmados) were owned by Dominican migrants. Then, by 2019, Yemini migrants owned about half of New York City’s corner stores. While exact numbers were hard to track down online, today NYC’s bodega ownership is a diverse representation of the city’s migrant population, being mostly owned by Yemenis, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Egyptians, Filipinos, and Koreans.

Narrative Media Co.
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