Detroit’s Big Sean will be returning home to accept one of this year’s Michigan Chronicle presented 40 under 40 awards.
The rap sensation is slated to accept this year’s Multi-Platinum Award Winning Recording Artist award at the Garden Theatre on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Big Sean’s career has exploded in the last 4 years since the release of his debut album ‘Finally Famous.’ In addition to being recognized by GQ Magazine as 2012’s ‘Hottest Rookie’ and picking up honors at the 2012 BET Awards for ‘Best New Artist,’ Sean also received double Grammy nominations for his collaboration with mentor Kanye West for “Mercy” which also featured G.O.O.D. Music / Def Jam label mate Pusha T and 2 Chainz.
With over 6.3 million Facebook fans to date, over 7.1 million Twitter followers, over 3.9 Instagram followers, over 1 million YouTube subscribers, and more than 387 million YouTube views worldwide, the Detroit MC has been in overdrive since 2007, when his Finally Famous: The Mixtape was first issued, followed by Finally Famous Vol. 2: UKNOWBIGSEAN (2009), Finally Famous Vol. 3: BIG (2010) and Detroit (2012) which was certified “Diamond” by host DatPiff with over 2 million downloads.
Growing up in the motor city, 26-year old Sean Anderson started rapping as a 12-year old at the progressive Waldorf School in Detroit. In high school, he and a friend formed a duo, then entered and won the “Friday Night Cipher” MC contest at hip-hop radio giant Hot 102.7. The win earned them a spot to rap live on-air every Friday night for nearly a year. It was on one of those Friday nights around 2005 that Sean encountered Kanye West (back in the Late Registration era) who agreed to hear the teenager’s freestyle. It was the contact of a lifetime, which led to Sean’s signing with G.O.O.D. Music in late 2007, and his subsequent signing to Def Jam in 2008.
Check out this year’s winner here or click through below to read short bios and see some of thewinners:
Sean D. Jackson is a 2007 graduate of the University Of Detroit Mercy School Of Dentistry. Over the past 4 years he has extensive experience in working in Community Health Dental Clinic environment.
He’s the CEO of Elderly Oral Health Care Consulting, Inc. which he founded in 2013. The Non-Profit Organization provides free mobile dental services in over 55 multiple underserved low income communities throughout Southeast Michigan from Detroit through Ann Arbor. Dental services are provided directly inside Nursing Homes, Churches, Adult Foster Care Homes, Private Home visits, Substance Abuse Clinics, Homeless Shelters, as well as a “Youth Division” that provide dental services inside schools. In addition to dental services, his organization also provides free educational dental seminars on prevention and management of dental related diseases with hands on training.
Sean lives by the principle of use the gift(s) GOD gave to provide a valuable service to someone else in need. Take your gift to the next level and provide a solution to a problem and own the solution. Ownership is key to the development of legacy in our community.
Xavier A. Wilson is the director of the Michigan League at the University of Michigan where he manages and leads the 130,000 square foot historic student union that opened in 1929 and today hosts approximately 5,000 events. The Michigan League includes a twenty-one room hotel, several food and retail operations, comfortable lounge space, and is a popular destination for conferences, weddings, and other special events.
Xavier also manages the leased retail spaces within the Michigan League, Michigan Union and Pierpont Commons, and advises the Michigan League Board of Governors and Friends of the Michigan League. With the Friends of the Michigan League, Xavier produces an annual dinner theatre fundraiser event.
Xavier’s experience includes more than 15 years of leadership, student engagement, and facility management in higher education including student unions, residence life and institutional advancement for both private and public institutions.
Xavier has a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Winona State University, Winona, Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in Theatre and Electronic Publishing from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. He enjoys presenting dramatic readings of Dr. M. L. King’s I have a Dream speech, cooking Louisiana cuisine, and encouraging college students to be successful through motivational talks.
Erica Murphy has worked in the broadcast news business since 2008 when she accepted her first paid position as executive producer of “Inside Detroit with Mildred Gaddis” on WCHB. Murphy has worked as a news anchor, reporter, producer, editor and writer. Some of the stations she has worked for include WWJ Newsradio 950, WDET 101.9 FM, WJR Newstalk 760 and WCHB 1200 AM. In April, Erica transitioned from WWJ to WJR to take on a role as a news anchor and reporter. In September, she also joined WJBK’s Fox 2 News team as a writer and assignment editor. Erica aspires to become a TV news reporter and anchor one day.
Erica is the proud mother of one daughter, Paige Coleman. In her free time she enjoys ballroom dancing, couponing and singing karaoke.
A Canadian national who moved to Detroit in the late 80’s, Ms. Murphy received the bulk of her education in the Detroit Public School system as well as Wayne State University.
Keiana Love is a rising Energy leader. Currently, she is a Program Manager at Consumers Energy, one of the nation’s largest combination utilities and investors in Michigan. Love leads the strategic alignment of Field Mobility and Technology. Her responsibilities include the management, selection, and implementation of field technologies within Gas and Electric Operations.
Love’s experience ranges from engineering, operations, project management, and change management. Prior to joining Consumers Energy, she held engineering and leadership roles at General Motors. Love holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Walsh College and a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Michigan State University. She is also a certified project management professional.
A native Detroiter of humble beginnings, Love passionately seeks opportunities to be a corporate champion in the community. She impacts and supports the region by being an advocate and volunteering. Love is a proud graduate of the Regional Chamber’s Leadership Detroit Program. She serves as the Michigan Chapter’s Vice President for the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE). Love also sits on the 20 Books Literacy Nonprofit board as Treasurer.
David Woods is a true visionary of a dream come true. At a very young age, David knew that he would be an entrepreneur and would be a beacon of light for his peers, and everyone else his Spirit of an Enjoyable Detroit touched. He has successfully integrated his unwavering passion for our city to thrive, and his strong business and entrepreneurial acumen, creating a platform for our youth to stand united and uplift our great City.
David’s passion for the youth resulted in the founding of Enjoy Detroit, a 501c3 not-for-profit organization started in 2013, with a passion for contributing positive change to the City of Detroit. David, along with dedicated staff and numerous volunteers of Enjoy Detroit have been able to connect with the youth in the Metropolitan Detroit area, through their volunteer efforts and consistent involvement in city rehabilitation activities and initiatives. David has made giving back look very cool, while wearing apparel with an “Enjoy Detroit” logo proudly across his chest.
David also received the 2014 Payne Pulliam Door Openers Award, Southfield DECA Award, and was featured in Detroit Who’s Who 2015 Edition.
As an Enterprise Account Technology Strategist, Williams is responsible for driving sales and customer success of the ever-growing Microsoft platform of technologies for a handful of Fortune 500 Customers.
Williams, native of Scottsboro, AL, completed a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from Alabama State University (Montgomery, AL), and a MBA degree with a specialization in Information Systems from Troy University (Troy, AL).
Since relocating to Metro-Detroit in 2012, Williams’ passion has been embodied in his commitment to making a difference in the local community around him. Williams actively serves as a non-profit board member for the Shiloh Community Restoration Foundation, Inc., annual keynote speaker for Microsoft’s “Powered to Dream” Youth Technology Camp, and is an active mentor via Big Brothers/Big Sisters Detroit.
In addition, Williams is an active mentor via Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Detroit as well as donor to several other local philanthropic causes such as The Children’s Center and The Heart and Warmth Fund (THAW), which strives to eliminate Human Suffering by providing funding and special assistance to Michigan-based families in need.
Loretta is a licensed therapist, adjunct professor and performing arts coach with degrees from Michigan State University (B.A. in psychology) and University of Chicago (M.A. in Social Service Administration). Loretta specializes in holistic therapy and also teaches etiquette classes, gives workshops and keynote speeches.
As a national youth empowerment speaker, Loretta advocates for young girls to gain a healthy and wholesome sense of self-worth and self-esteem. She believes she has been called to help motivate young people to live beyond the boundaries of their cultures and exceed the limits of their environments. Loretta’s passion for the performing arts, and love for young people have been the leading factors in her desire of establishing her own business, Life Beyond the Norm, LLC. Loretta’s overall mission is to please God and to always be true to herself while continuously serving others.
Loretta’s first book targeted for young women of color is called: Hello My Name is BEAUTIFUL. Available on Amazon. For more information on Loretta A. Morman, visit www.lorettaamorman.com.
Founder and Creative Director, LaToya Cunningham, is a driven, enthusiastic and detail oriented leader who realized her purpose and passion for public relations eight years ago while serving as Publicist for a local church in metro Detroit. LaToya’s entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish Cunningham Consulting Agency, LLC in 2011, a boutique public relations firm specializing in the entertainment industry.
In the summer of 2014, LaToya rebranded her company to Posh PR & Events, LLC, a full-service public relations and event planning firm catering to the arts and the non-profit industry. As a Public Relations Specialist and Event Planner – with an eye for fashion – she knew it was time to combine her knowledge and passion and create a brand that would align with her purpose to serve others.
LaToya received her undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University and a MBA degree from Lawrence Technological University. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Southfield Alumnae Chapter and continually serves the community as Vice President of the National Black Public Relations Society – Detroit Chapter and the Urban Rose Foundation.
Seeing the need for financial support for metro Detroit Lupus Warriors, Sharon L. Harris created Lupus Detroit in 2011 to fill the void. Having been diagnosed with the disease at 22 years of age, she created Lupus Detroit. To date, Lupus Detroit has raised close to $50,000 for Lupus Warriors. The funds are used to satisfy debts that Lupus Warriors may have with DTE, to purchase medications and to offset some of their hospital care. This year’s Walk, held on September 5th, saw 800 participants! At the inaugural Walk, Sharon was awarded a “Spirit of Detroit” award by Detroit City Council President, Brenda Jones.
The sought after lupus advocate has been a guest on a variety of Detroit radio and television stations. Sharon has also graced the front page of the Detroit Free Press’ Health section and has been mentioned in Essence magazine. She was also the subject of a lupus segment that went viral in four hours on the PBS show ‘A Wider World’. Sharon has travelled to Washington D.C to lobby Congress and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on behalf of those with lupus.
When the ex-flight attendant is not penning articles for the Detroit Free Press, Tampa Tribune or the Michigan Chronicle, she can be found volunteering or putting the finishing touches on two novels. The former on-air gospel personality is a proponent of everyone can do something and goes about her days improving the lives of others.
A native Detroiter, Sharon is a graduate of Renaissance High School and Florida A and M University where she majored in Broadcast Journalism and minored in French.
Sam’s innate, resourceful Detroit spirit, coupled with her passion for literature (c/o of her mother who didn’t allow her children to listen to rap music and instead shared the Bard’s lyrics) created a life-long love for William Shakespeare’s works. But a trip to the Utah Shakespeare Festival, while living in Las Vegas, gave Sam what Oprah calls an “Ah Ha” moment to start a Shakespeare company in her hometown of Detroit. She went on to later begin Shakespeare in Detroit with its introduction to the city at Grand Circus Park in 2013.
Shakespeare in Detroit has been recognized by The Huffington Post, The Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press, the BBC and several other media outlets.
The company was honored to have iconic photographer Cris Crisman visit Detroit to shoot the troupe for the cover of the February 2015 edition of Southwest airlines’ in-flight magazine. The young company took home both categories for Best of the Bard in acting and directing at this year’s Wilde Awards for professional theatre.
