Black women in creative industries matter.

As a multidisciplinary artist myself I admire the Black women that have continued to show us that you can follow every passion you have and be amazing at all of them. That doors will open once you start to create the opportunities for yourself and show the world what you’re capable of. These women that I will mention in this post deserve their flowers because they have continued to break down barriers as Black women and creatives and have never taken “no” for an answer. They have shown us that you can lead the pack and don’t have to follow. It is so important for Black women to have representation in creative fields such as music, fashion and art. We are culture creators and shifters and our presence deserves to be shown and experiences told from our own perspectives.

1. Solange Knowles

First, I want to speak about Solange, she has shown us time and time again that your creativity, talent, knowledge and intellect can open so many doors for you and create so many opportunities. Solange is a singer, songwriter, philanthropist, composer, producer, visual artist, creative director, actress, culture curator and so much more. She has her hands in music, fashion and the arts. As creative people with multiple talents and disciplines, it is important that you don’t force yourself to pick one thing especially if you do multiple things well and are professionally committed to them. Solange has shown us that you don’t have to wait for people to give you the opportunities. You do the work and the opportunities will start to flow in.

She has broken glass ceilings and carved her own path unapologetically. We know that Solange is an amazing singer and songwriter and we have fallen in love with each project she blesses us with from her amazing album A Seat at the Table in 2016 to When I get Home in 2019, but the musical talent doesn’t end there, she has went on to compose an original score for the New York City ballet in 2022 for ‘Play time’, becoming the first Black woman to ever do so, she also premiered her new classical compositions “Villanelle For Times" and "Not Necessarily In Arms Reach," in 2025, in Houston as part of her Eldorado Ballroom performance series that featured the Houston Symphony and the list goes on. Outside of music, in 2013 she founded her creative agency Saint Heron to represent BIPOC creatives and artists, at the end of September of this year Saint Heron launched its digital archive community library that is completely free of charge full of out of print, rare and first edition books on an honor-based borrowing system. She has also released amazing glassware under her company Saint Heron that has sold out immediately each drop.

Outside of her many accomplishments in the music and art realms she is a fashion phenomenon known for her amazing fashion sense and eclectic style, she has served as creative director, art director or even brand ambassador/spokesperson of multiple fashion companies such as Puma, Calvin Klein, Diesel, Helmut Lang, Gucci, Dion Lee and the list goes on. Most recently she has been appointed as the first scholar-in-residence at USC Thornton School of Music, she will have a three year residency where she will be teaching a class on music curation launching in the fall of 2027, also hosting student focused conversations and workshops. As you can see her creativity knows no bounds and her talent has continued to create space for her. She is a prime example of letting your work speak for you and not allowing anyone to make you feel like you have to narrow down your passions, especially if you are actively putting the work into each and doing it to a quality professional standard.

2. Teyana Taylor

Teyana Taylor is another example of being extremely creative and talented and not settling on your gifts. Since she was 16 on My Sweet Sixteen we have witness her share her gifts with us whether that has been in dancing and choreography, music, skateboarding, acting, creative directing and producing and being a fashion icon. Teyana is a full production just as herself and we see why she calls herself Spike Tee. Her, just like other multidisciplinary artists have been told not to go after her other passions and just stick with one thing, but she did what she felt she needed to do and has excelled in every sector she has stepped into. She gave us amazing music from her albums VII, K.T.S.E, The Album and most recently Escape Room, after a break from music, all paired with amazing visuals and live performances. Within the music industry she has also become known as the creative director for some of our favorite artists performances such as Latto, Lil Baby, Summer Walker, NBA Youngboy, Glorilla and more, elevating their stage presence in many ways. She even did choreography for hits like Ring the Alarm at just 15 years old. She is a powerhouse in more ways than one. Her production company The Aunties has become a go to for many artists in the music industry as well as for her own work.

Outside of the music and dance industries she is a fashion icon that gives us breathtaking looks that are so effortlessly her paired with a body that we all want (might I add she was definitely best dressed at the 2025 Met Gala) and often styles herself. Within the fashion industry she has a multi-project partnership with the Jordan Brand, she curated her own collection with Victoria’s Secret this year, she even collaborated with Thom Browne and the list goes on. She is one of the top it girls that has an amazing career and endless talents to back it all up.

Last but never least, she is an actress that we are starting to see more frequently on our screens, She has starred in A Thousand and one, Madea’s Big Happy Family (We all remember Byrannnnnnnnn), recently she has been in Tyler Perry’s film STRAW giving us a FIERCE performance and One Battle After Another alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, constantly proving the naysayers wrong. You truly can do whatever you set your mind to, most people can’t be great at multiple things but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. She has already reached icon status yet I still feel like she’s just getting started and has so much more in store for us and herself.

3. Issa Rae

Some of us were introduced to Issa Rae years ago from her 2011 YouTube series Awkward Black Girl, but the world became familiar with her once that YouTube series branched out into the iconic show Insecure with 5 seasons. Insecure has become a comfort show for many of us twenty something’s, I have rewatched it a shameless amount of times and never get tired of it. Outside of insecure with Issa’s multi project deal with HBO she brought us Rap Shit that was cancelled entirely too soon and recently produced a new classic One of them Days that had us all laughing. Issa is an actress, producer, director, businesswoman, author, philanthropist and more. She has her media company Hoorae Media, she started her amazing Prosecco company Viarae that I am personally a huge fan of, she has her restaurant Somerville in Slauson and she is a partner and co-owner of the coffee shop Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen in Inglewood.

She recently released her second book ‘I Should be Smarter by now’ that came out this year August. As well as philanthropic efforts from a scholarship fund for Alton Sterling’s children in 2016, the Black & Unlimited Digital Developement Program in partnership with Walmart and so much more. Issa is a prime example that if they won’t give you a seat at the table make your own and they’ll start coming left and right. She started her career in the film and production industries but hasn’t allowed that to stop her from pursuing her other goals such as building businesses that give back to her communities and even making her footprint in the fashion and beauty industries by being an ambassador for Stuart Weitzman and Co-owner of Sienna Naturals a hair care company.

From creating her own show and producing it herself via YouTube utilizing friends as actors to now turning her creativity into multiple shows, movies, businesses and philanthropy. She shows us that as long as you believe in yourself and keep putting the passion into your projects when people realize who you are you will have the track record to support the skills you say you have. Don’t wait for the opportunities to come to start doing the work.

These three women are some of the top Black creatives that inspire me to keep going, keep pushing and not feel like I have to limit myself, my passions or my skills just because outsiders might think that I have my hands in too many different things. Keep refining your skills and your gifts and as long as you are operating them all in a professional manner and they aren’t being treated like you have your hands in too many different things you can pursue as many passions as you can handle. Don’t start everything at once but once you feel like you’ve built your project or a passion to a certain point it’s okay to start pouring into other things that you love or are good at. Black women in creative industries is so important because the creative skills and mindset comes to us naturally and we have amazing stories to tell that would only be right coming from us. If your a Black creative girly don’t be afraid to be in those spaces that don’t seem like they want to make room for you, be confident in what you have to offer and what you’re building. They may not be saying it but they’re definitely watching.

Follow that dream until the wheels fall off

It’s so easy for people to encourage you that something is too hard or that thing you want might not work out, but if you want it that bad turn your ears off to the background noise and don’t stop until you make that dream come true. It’s possible but nobody guaranteed you that it would get accomplished quick or gave you a timeline of how long it would take.

Any winner that you come across or person that created major success they will tell you it took them awhile to get to the place they wanted to be, it took hard work, it took trial and error, it took long nights, it took early mornings, it took getting out of their comfort zone, it took trying new things, it took being resourceful, it took so much to now be able to tell the story, so what makes you think you’re exempt from the grind and the process?

If you are willing to give up so easily then this may not have been the path for you anyway. Think about it, what if you chose to give up today and tomorrow was the day it was all going to pay off. What if you talked yourself out of that one idea and that idea is what was going to change your life. Put your goals and dreams before your feelings, your emotions and your ego. The dream is bigger than your mood. Don’t be the one responsible for killing your own dream because you chose to listen to everybody else that’s not where you want to be in the first place.

Don’t be so arrogant that you think you deserve the success without the hardwork and dedication. Nothing comes free and nobody has ever gotten anything that lasted without putting the work in. Stop thinking about the small picture and think big. The big goal isn’t the only milestone, focus on the steps it takes to get to the goal. Don’t be the person that was willing to ride for any and everything but not their own goals and dreams.

I ride everyday at dawn about mine, how about you?

Own your thoughts and get them out! Document EVERYTHING

I’ve had this blog since 2015 and I’m not always consistently posting here, but I’m so grateful to have a space of my own to get my thoughts out. Social media is cool and creating content on my platforms like Youtube, TikTok and Instagram are amazing and I love it but it’s nothing like my own space. I can speak about whatever I want, not having to worry about someone else’s guidelines or rules. Having a way to get your thoughts out as a human being is so important. You must have a journal, a way to express your thoughts whether that’s your feeling about your personal life, or your feelings on current events or topics in the matrix.

I feel like getting your thoughts out helps you to keep your mind, writing and reading skills sharp. It allows you to continuously learn how to formulate educated thoughts and opinions, it helps you to be a better conversationalist. It helps you to trust what you have to say and not be persuaded by others thoughts, it allows you to not keep everything bottled up even when you don’t want to tell anybody else. From creating, content, journaling, blogging and even writing essays when I feel something in my spirit I truly am grateful to have spaces to express and own my intellectual property.

Aside from all of that, writing, having a blog and and journaling just makes me feel like Carrie on Sex in the City, sometimes it makes me feel like Moesha and every other girl character growing up that valued her diary or her computer.

I love this life that I have continued to live and create up to this point of being a 28 years old woman. I love the ability to document it over time, whether I’m sharing it with the communities I’ve built or keeping it to myself. I have always felt like I was living in and creating my own tv show and I love that freedom for me. Recently Tracee Ellis Ross’s tv show ‘Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross’ released and I absolutely love how she is able to document something so sacred to her like solo traveling, amongst other topics like being 52 and single or not yet having kids and how she doesn’t have to wait for those “major moments” to begin living her life or honoring herself, although I am not single I am very passionate about solo trips and pouring into self. I love how Tracee is able to be vulnerable with how she feels and showing that it is so valuable to build a life you genuinely love and enjoy living, while also documenting it authentically and raw.

If you don’t get anything else from this post I want you to leave with the simple point of, owning your thoughts and feelings and getting them out. Document everything, feel your feelings in their rawest state, be genuine with yourself and how you feel. Live like you’re in your own tv show. Refine your thoughts and become a master of expressing them and formulating your own opinions.

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There's no manual to becoming a grown woman

There is no guidebook or blueprint of growing into a grown woman, we’re literally just figuring it out as we go and that means that sometimes we will make mistakes, sometimes we won’t know what to do and sometimes we may even have to start over.

Being a woman and getting older is such a beautiful experience but it is nowhere near easy, there are so many different requirements, expectations and standards put upon us by society, people around us, family, friends and so much more but the reality is this is our life and we have the ability to make it look like whatever we want.

So often people think you should be married by x time, you should have kids at x age, you should be focused on one thing and not the other, don’t try to dream too much because you have to focus on what is “guaranteed” to work, when the reality is NO ONE HAS THE ANSWERS SWAY. We are not required to have kids at all let alone at a certain age, getting/keeping a man and getting married does not have to be a top goal in your life maybe you enjoy being single or refuse to settle AND maybe that dream you’re chasing will pay off. People have so many opinions about our bodies and what we’re “supposed” to look like when we don’t have to do shit honestly and if we like how we look that's all that matters, they mad whether you got the BBL or you don’t. The reality is EVERYONE including other women always have something to say about women.

We are constantly learning, constantly deciding what we want to change or get better at, literally learning as we go. The woman you are right now may not even be the woman you are next week let alone next year and despite what people try to tell you it is okay to change and evolve, that’s literally what life is about. As we get older we learn the things we do and don’t like, we learn more boundaries, we gain more life experience and we learn what’s important and what doesn’t belong. Life isn’t always good but it DEFINITELY shouldn’t be always bad.

As women when we age we learn more about how our emotions work, how our minds work, more about our bodies, our health changes, how we like to present ourselves changes, what we do as a career may change, our interests change. We get more depth with the more life experiences we gain, we realize that the most important thing is to live and make our own rules. We get finer with time in all aspects and no matter the age we are ALWAYS in charge, we can’t allow anyone to make us think differently.

Black women are going to spend money and be loyal

Recently I went to the opening of the Savage X Fenty store in Downtown Detroit and I couldn’t stop thinking about just how strong Black buying power is and Black women are a main contributer to that. We are going to spend money and we are going to be loyal to the brands we like.

RIHANNA has not failed us yet!!!!! The Savage X Fenty store has officially opened in DETRIOT and I’m SO happy for me, Rihanna and my city because this is major! The store opened August 30th and you know I was there, cute and ready to buy. I waited in line about two hours and it was hot as hell but I was too deep in to turn back. Once I got in the store it was definitely worth it. Think Victoria Secret but 10 times better and BLACK OWNED. There were mocktails, good music and Black women spendingggg, which is what this post is actually about. Black women shop the most, spend the most money on the things they like and they’re loyal customers. We are the blueprint, so we make shit hot. Doing a disservice to Black women is doing a disservice to your business, because the grass is greener wherever we are.

One thing for certain and two things FASHO Black women are going to get out and SHOP and that is why you should market to us and include us, because if we like it we’re going to buy and and we might buy our mothers, sisters, friends, kids and nieces one too! And on top of that when we find something we like we’re going to buy it again and again AND spread the word. Like yes of course the store opening was filled with Black women and they were spending a BAG and buying for everyone in their family but in my teenage years I’ve worked at some of the top THAT GIRL stores two of those being Forever 21 and Victoria’s Secret. When Victoria’s Secret had a sale or were giving out a gift with purchase when you spent a certain amount Black women were in there SPENDINGGGG, and don’t let it be Black Friday. But even growing up especially in a family full of Black women going to the mall on Saturday (really just period but Saturday for sure) or going to TJ MAXX, Marshalls and Homegoods was literally a weekly activity. BLACK WOMEN are going to make that money so they can spend it on what they want. Which is why anytime you see a company come out with an actually great product and its marketed towards Black women they do WELL and don’t let it be Black owned, think Topicals, Fenty companies, Cecred, Black Girl Sunscreen, The Lip Bar, Glamaholic Lifestyle and so many more. we spend well and we create AMAZING businesses. Focus on the consumers that actually shop with your company and that are going to tell other people about it, because when we like something we will show up to stand in line in GROUPS, payment ready.

All in all Black women push the economy forward, that’s it.

xo ShaKayla Diamond

Stop trying to gentrify being a Black woman: Specifically our Nails

It’s a well known fact that everything Black people do everyone tries to emulate or recreate, but newsflash greatness can’t be copy and pasted.

One of the biggest things that people who are not Black try to take as their own is being a Black woman and everything we do. They try to take how we wear our hair, how we dress, what they think our mannerisms are, how they think we talk, how we dance, and what’s so trendy now is how we wear our nails. Thievery is ingrained in this worlds’ soul, down to every level that it’s actually very sad. Prime example is Black tiktokers going on strike due to unfair treatmeant/notariety of Black creators vs. White creators, as we’ve seen Tik Tok has become dry and white Tik Tokers don’t know what to do for their latest dance videos to our music (cues fake sympathy that they desire but won’t get).

Long acrylic nails are something that Black women have done for centuries, from regular girls to celebrities and track stars like Flo Jo that wore her long acrylic nails while she left people in her dust. Today you see everyone everywhere trying to get really long nails with intricate designs, but newsflash we aren’t new to this we’re true to this and they once again did not create this but adapted something from us and are attempting to…. steal, yet another thing. Just because its a trend right now doesn’t make it new.

My grandma, mom, aunties, and cousins always prided getting their nails done my whole life and I’m sure yours have too, all different lengths, shapes and designs you name it and we’ve had it, y’all didn’t. Black women are called ghetto for their nails, but now its trendy and something that is accepted amongst the masses for other people to do… make it make sense. I remember being a sophomore in high school and finally being able to get my nails done and went every two weeks like a ritual (its that deep).

What they do is they watch us to see what we’re doing, try to figure out how to adapt it, steal it and then x us out and resell it to us. So on this post I’m not only going to talk about the importance and history of nails and how its more than just a maintenance activity but a way of life for Black women and also shed light on how long "this “trend” stems back into our history. You can’t bash us for it, steal it then try to sell it back to us, you don’t get to force your way into our conversations, you don’t get to hijack our culture, you don’t get to tell us something is unacceptable and then turn around and try to make it your own.

Whether the nails are done with precision to go with the fit, current styles or whether this is a lifestyle and you’ve allowed your nails to grow so long that they curl over, this is our history that stems back generations down the line (it’s said that even Egyptians back in BC times kept their nails done) , they said it was ghetto but in the words of designer Naresha Willis (of Avenue N) it’s “Ghetto until proven fashionable” but you also have to realize that white people copying isn’t and won’t stop us or hold us back from doing the sh*t we created because unlike others we mind our business and we don’t have to want to be like anybody else because we create the trends. We are the sauce, the blueprint, the secret society, the elites and all of the above, and don’t you ever forget it. Take the nails off you look like you’re trying too hard.

For a great page that highlights Black girls and their nails click here