Hope Wiseman: Advocate for Change

It's a proven fact that African-Americans experience disproportionate rates of marijuana-related arrests. The recent success of decriminalizing marijuana laws, has led to economic profit. In 2001, Portugal decriminalized all drugs and it currently enjoys the lowest rate of drug overdoses in Western Europe according to the Washington Post. There are many benefits in the decriminalization of marijuana, such as a boost in the local and national economy. There is less of a strain on taxpayers if marijuana possessors are not jailed, and the industry also creates jobs. Last year, marijuana sales made $6.7 billion according to Bloomberg News.

However, the Washington Post reported that marijuana possession arrests were higher than any other violent crime arrest in 2016. This is where Hope Wiseman comes into the spotlight, she is a advocate for the decriminalization of marijuana and African-American rights. Wiseman will be the youngest African-American dispensary owner in the United States. Her goal is to aid African-Americans affected by the war on drugs through her company Compassionate Herbal Alternative. CHA is a medical cannabis company that includes Mary and Main, a Maryland-based cannabis store.

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Angela Missoni: Lines, Stripes, and Everything In-Between

Remember twisting and turning a kaleidoscope to see all of the magical designs, shapes, and colors when you were a kid? Imagine recreating those peculiar patterns onto knitwear, cottons and silks, to fit anyone’s sense of style. The Missoni brand is distinctive for its bizarre and colorful designs that have been worn by people of all ages, genders, shapes, and sizes for almost sixty-five years.

An Italian couple named Ottavio and Rosita Missoni started a knitwear shop near Rosita’s village in 1953 with the dreams of making it big in the fashion industry. With the support of Anna Piaggi, fashion editor, and collaborations with French stylist Emmanuelle Khanh they were able to launch the Missoni brand in 1958 in Milan. The Missoni brand is now comparable to some of the world’s leading fashion and design labels like: Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, and Fendi. The same year the Missoni brand was launched, the couple’s third child, Angela Missoni, was born. Angela, now an adult, is the couple's youngest child. She just celebrated her twentieth anniversary in September as creative director for Missoni, after coming on board in 1997. The New York Times interviewed Angela in Milan, Italy while celebrating her major milestone.

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O’Shea Jackson Jr: From the Shadows

Breakout acting roles are crucial. The first appearance on the silver screen sets the tone for an entire career. It’s hard to shake first impressions. O'Shea Jackson Jr. suffers from the same issue that many of his peers face after a seminal breakout role. Recently, he emerged on the Hollywood scene by starring in the critically-acclaimed biopic Straight Outta Compton. O’Shea reenacted his father’s early years growing up in Compton, California and becoming one of the biggest names in the hip-hop and rap industry. O’Shea’s carefully chosen film roles and meticulously measured steps towards fame and fortune have cemented him as one of the most talented and versatile up-and-coming stars in Hollywood.

He was born in the early 90s in Los Angeles. He grew and matured during the height of 90s and early 2000s Rap and Hip-Hop. Both he and his younger brother Kareem or whose stage name is Doughboy currently rap. Jackson goes by the name of OMG (Oh My Goodness). At the young age of 18, Jackson and his brother began touring with Ice Cube after appearing on the “I am the West” album. According to an interview with Entertainment Weekly Jackson loved music and performing, "When I was 18, me and my older brother actually started performing with him on stage a lot. We were in Japan and we were in Australia, and I was having people in the audience tell me how my father’s words influenced and pushed them to become — one man became a doctor — lawyers. All these people listened to his words, and it fueled them to live their lives."

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Lianne La Havas: Some Kind of Wonderful

I was a senior in high school when I discovered the sultry, enchanting and commanding voice of a singer from London. The songwriter, bass, guitar and piano player still holds my attention eight years later. Lianne La Havas is one of the most refreshing 21st century musicians I have encountered, her style of music is jazzy, spunky, and fervent.

Havas' father is Greek and her mother is Jamaican, her background, life experiences, and skills, heavily influence her music. At a young age, she began singing backup for Paloma Faith, a popular English singer-songwriter and actress, while her father, a jazz musician, taught her to play piano.

Watching guitar lessons on YouTube got the adept artist to learn the guitar on her own when she was eighteen. Since she was raised by her grandparents, the eccentric musician named her guitar “Miss Connie,” after her grandmother. Havas believes in being true to herself, and not conforming to the pressures of society. She speaks about the importance of individuality rather than success in an interview with Coupe De Main:

“True success is getting closer or getting to that pure expression in your music and all of it, how you dress, or how your videos look, or your artwork. All of that is you, so for me if I could do that I would feel successful. But also to be remembered for the right reasons, in my opinion the right reason would be because I was a nice singer and I wrote nice songs, I would like to be remembered by that.”

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Nanette Lepore: Beautifully Bohemian

Before Nanette Lepore became the fashion mogul she is today, she was a nine-year old girl sewing floral bed sheets together into a gown for her neighbor. Pairing her design with matching face paint and a beaded choker, Lepore persuaded her neighbor to pose in the front yard as she held up a handwritten sign that read:

LEPORE

Even back then she was forward-thinking,  inspired by beauty and excelled at marketing. Today, she’s all that and more.  With a well-known and established brand, a highly revered reputation and a net worth of $16 million, Lepore has made more than a name for herself. But beneath all her fame and fortune is the same girlish ambition that inspired her in the first place: a desire to make beautiful things for beautiful people. Known for bold colors, exquisite prints and a feminine flair, Lepore’s gypsy-like designs are beautifully bohemian.

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Ryan Hewett: Portrait Innovations

His paintings are eerie, and complex in nature, the content seems to haunt your mind. With a semi-abstract style and thick layered paint, it creates rich contrasted hues. Ryan Hewett, a South African painter, breaks the boundaries of human’s distinguished features and rigid outlines. The faces in Hewett’s paintings carry a significant moodiness that is characterized by the large swirls of paint. That complex moodiness has captivated people from all over Europe and South Africa.

The South African artist started painting at the age of twenty two, and has painting for the last twelve years. He started with pencil drawings and has evolved, much like his paintings, into a well-known artist. Quite often his paintings are sold within days of opening. The painter's work has been displayed in various galleries around London and South Africa. In Arrested Motion, a platform that features different types of artists, Hewett described his elaborate work process:

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