Entertainment
Paris Hilton Reveals the Secret to Her Success: ‘I Can See the Future’ on August 9, 2023 at 12:00 pm Us Weekly
Since the early 2000s, Paris Hilton has had her finger on the pulse. From her culture-shifting reality show, The Simple Life, which premiered 20 years ago, to her cheeky fashion lines (have you seen her velour tracksuit collection?), foray into DJing and early experiments in the metaverse, Hilton says in the new issue of Us Weekly, “I’ve always been forward-thinking… and not afraid to take risks.”
It’s paid off: Over the last two decades, the multihyphenate star has proven herself to be a savvy entrepreneur who’s built a major business empire. “It’s about staying true to myself,” Hilton, 42, tells Us of her instincts for what’s next. “And having a bit of luck always helps!” Most recently, Hilton launched 11:11 Media, a multiplatform global entertainment company focused on producing fashion and lifestyle content across film, TV, music, books, consumer products and more. “It’s about telling stories that matter and uplifting voices that need to be heard,” says Hilton, who the company’s president and COO Bruce Gersh calls “the heartbeat” of 11:11 Media.
As a new mom — in January she welcomed son Phoenix with her husband of nearly two years, Carter Reum, 42 — and a fierce advocate, based on her own experiences, for reform of so-called troubled teen institutions, Hilton believes her future is bright. “[I’m] using my platform and what I’ve built for good,” she says. “I want to look back and see a legacy of positivity, change and empowerment.”
Growing up, did you think you’d become a media mogul?
When I was a little girl, I dreamed about becoming a veterinarian. As I grew up, my dreams evolved, and I became more interested in fashion and music, and later business. But my love of animals always stayed with me. That’s why I have so many doggies.
“I’ve always been a pioneer, whether it’s been reality tv, social media, fashion or music,” says Hilton. Brendan Forbes
You come from a long line of successful businessmen and -women. Did you absorb any lessons from them?
Definitely. I feel really blessed to have just had such incredible mentors growing up, starting with my grandfather and also both my mom and my dad. My family instilled a really strong work ethic in me and [taught me] that success comes from working hard and following your dreams.
In the early days of starting your own business, what was one experience that taught you a valuable lesson?
I think from being in this industry for so long, I’ve learned to make sure to have trustworthy people in my life — people that I can really depend on, because it’s been hard for me. You can’t do everything on your own, no matter how driven you are.
People were skeptical when you first ventured into the music business. Now you’re one of the top-earning DJs in the world. What’s been your approach to your music career?
I’ve always been about pushing boundaries and exploring different sides of myself. Music has just been so healing for me and one of the best ways for me to express who I am. I just focused on doing what I love and being on stage. [I recently played] at Tomorrowland in front of hundreds of thousands of people, and seeing the happiness in their eyes and the way that the music makes them feel is just such an indescribable experience. It makes me so proud to really have proved everyone wrong and become such a success in this world.
Hilton recently performed at the Tomorrowland music festival in Belgium. Kevin Ostajewski
How did you get into DJing?
I’ve always loved music, my entire life. When I first started working, I was doing club appearances in Las Vegas just hosting the party, but then I realized that I would much rather be the conductor of the party. So basically, from inventing to getting paid to party, I turned it into DJing. I [hired] the best people in the business to teach me everything there is to know about it — because it is actually very technical. I’ve worked really hard to really prove myself and it’s just been amazing to be able to play at the biggest music festivals around the world and best nightclubs and just bring my love of music all around the world.
How do you keep figuring out the best way to insert yourself into pop culture and keep people talking about you after all these years?
I can see into the future! [Laughs.] I’ve always been ahead of my time, whether it’s been reality TV, social media, fashion, music. Maybe it’s being an Aquarius — I don’t know! It’s just part of my superpower.
Your latest reality show, Paris in Love, was renewed for a second season. Anything you can share about it?
It’s launching later this year on Peacock! Season 1 was all about the wedding, and now it’s just [more] about this next phase in my life — being a new mom and Phoenix coming into this world. I’m really excited.
Has it been hard adjusting to life as a working mom?
It’s definitely a lot to balance it all. I love what I do so much, but my baby is my top priority. All of my priorities have shifted. I am saying no to so many things because I want to be able to spend as much time with [my son] as possible. He’s just my little angel.
“It’s been just the most special and incredible experience of my life,” Hilton says of parenthood. Dennis Gocer
What’s been the biggest surprise about motherhood?
Just that moms are superheroes.! It’s the hardest job of all, [but] it’s the most rewarding.
Do you think you’ll have more kids?
I can’t wait to have a sister for [Phoenix].
With so much going on, how do you unwind?
[Laughs.] I don’t really have a lot of downtime, but [when I do], I wanna spend all of it with my family. Taking Phoenix to the park and just hanging out with him at the house, the puppies and my husband. I love sitting with them and playing games and reading books. My sister [Nicky Hilton Rothschild] always says you don’t want to miss those moments. All my free time, I’m doing that. And then also my music and my art. I love to paint and cook and just be with my husband and my baby boy.
Netflix’s Cooking With Paris was so fun. Any interest in penning a cookbook?
Yes. I’ve actually been planning it, thinking of recipes and cute things. I’ll write them down in my notes. On my cooking show, I always loved to add sparkles and rainbows and just like make it really Paris-ized. So I’d love to do a book like that.
Hilton is gearing up to launch her new cookware line with Epoca this fall. Brendan Forbes
After opening up about your horrific experiences at boarding schools in your memoir and 2020’s This Is Paris, you became an advocate against youth abuse. How important is this work for you?
I’m so proud of all of the impact work I’ve been doing that already changed laws in 10 states to protect children from abuse. This has just been the most empowering time in my life. The work I’m doing in Washington, D.C., with my federal legislation, is really my legacy, and I’m just so proud of everything I’ve been through and the woman I’ve become today. I’ve turned my pain into a purpose.
What’s next for you?
With my partnership with iHeart, I have my own podcast, “I am Paris,” and we just launched our newest podcast, “The History of the World’s Greatest Nightclubs,” and season 2 of “Trapped in Treatment” [will be out] this fall, which is around all my advocacy and impact work. I’m also really excited about my new cookware line, which [will debut] in Walmart and on Amazon this fall. I’ll also be launching new ventures in the beauty space, the mommy and me space, and the pet space.
Advice for other young female entrepreneurs?
Remember that every challenge in your life is an opportunity in disguise. Embrace them, learn from them and use them to propel you further into your journey. And don’t be afraid to show the world what you’re made of. Dream big because the only limits that exist are the ones that you place on yourself.
Since the early 2000s, Paris Hilton has had her finger on the pulse. From her culture-shifting reality show, The Simple Life, which premiered 20 years ago, to her cheeky fashion lines (have you seen her velour tracksuit collection?), foray into DJing and early experiments in the metaverse, Hilton says in the new issue of Us
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By Bolanle Media | July 2, 2026
Photo: Tyla at the 2026 Met Gala in custom Valentino — days before making the biggest business move of her career.
There are career moves, and then there are statements. Tyla just made a statement that will be studied in music business classrooms for years.
The South African superstar — born Tyla Laura Seethal, 24 years old, and already the proud owner of two Grammy Awards — has officially signed a multi-million dollar global deal with Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s powerhouse entertainment company, walking away from Epic Records to align herself with the most influential roster in the music business. The signing was confirmed across social media with a major digital announcement this week, and the reaction from industry insiders was immediate — shock, admiration, and the quiet acknowledgment that someone just changed the trajectory of African music forever.
From “Water” to a Global Phenomenon
Let’s not forget where this all started. In 2023, a 21-year-old from Johannesburg released a song called “Water” that nobody could quite categorize and everybody needed to hear. Within weeks, it had sparked one of the most viral TikTok dance challenges of the decade, charted simultaneously across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Africa, and earned Tyla a Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance — the first year that category even existed.
That win wasn’t just personal. It was a signal. African music — Afrobeats, Amapiano, and now what Tyla herself calls A*Pop — was no longer knocking at the door of the global mainstream. It had walked through it. And Tyla had handed it the key.
What followed was a whirlwind two years of sold-out shows, magazine covers, red carpet domination, and a growing reputation as one of the most stylistically fearless artists on the planet. She attended the 2026 Met Gala — her third consecutive appearance — wearing a custom Valentino gown dripping in diamond chains with a sweeping teal skirt, styled by the legendary Law Roach, with beauty by Pat McGrath. The look was breathtaking. But it was also strategic. Every Met Gala appearance, every fashion moment, every carefully placed interview has been building toward exactly this: the infrastructure to match the vision.
What Roc Nation Actually Means
To understand why this deal matters, you have to understand what Roc Nation actually is — because it is not simply a record label.
Founded by Jay-Z in 2008, Roc Nation is a full-service entertainment company with divisions spanning artist management, touring, brand partnerships, film and television, sports management, and philanthropy. Its roster has included Rihanna, Alicia Keys, J. Cole, Big Sean, Lil Uzi Vert, and Megan Thee Stallion — artists who didn’t just sell records, but built multi-decade cultural empires that extended into fashion, film, business, and beyond. The through-line isn’t genre. It’s scale.
For Tyla specifically, the Roc Nation deal unlocks a completely different level of access. We’re talking about premium budgets for music videos and live production, top-tier brand partnership pipelines with luxury and lifestyle companies, film and television placement relationships that most artists spend a decade trying to build, and the kind of media weight that gets you on the cover of Vogue, Time, and Billboard in the same calendar year. Roc Nation doesn’t just manage artists — it engineers icons.
On the African music side, Tyla joins fellow Roc Nation signee Ayra Starr, the Nigerian pop star who inked her deal in 2025, deepening the label’s clear and deliberate strategic investment in African pop as the next dominant global genre. Jay-Z is not betting on a trend. He is betting on a generation.
The Album That Could Rewrite the Playbook
The timing of this signing is not accidental — it is surgical.
Tyla’s highly anticipated sophomore album, A*POP, is officially set to drop July 24, 2026, just three weeks away — a 14-track project that she has described as unapologetic, globally ambitious, and deeply rooted in her South African identity while simultaneously reaching for something universal. The lead single “She Did It Again” features Swedish pop titan Zara Larsson, a collaboration that announces in no uncertain terms that Tyla is not staying in any lane she didn’t build herself.
With Roc Nation’s full machine now behind the album rollout — promotional infrastructure, media relationships, tour routing, brand activations — A*POP arrives with a runway that Epic Records simply could not have provided at this scale. The industry is already paying attention. For music supervisors, film and TV executives, brand marketers, and entertainment investors reading this right now — put A*POP on your radar immediately. This is the kind of release that shapes culture, not just charts.
The Bigger Picture Nobody Is Talking About
Here is what gets lost in the excitement of a big announcement: the systemic significance of what Tyla just did.
The music industry’s historical relationship with African artists has been, at best, transactional — major labels slow to invest, quick to cash in on a viral moment, and consistently reluctant to build the kind of long-term infrastructure that turns an artist into a brand. Tyla has navigated that system with remarkable intelligence, refusing to be reduced to a trend, building her artistic identity on her own terms, and now — at 24 — arriving at the negotiating table with enough leverage to choose Roc Nation on her terms.
That matters. Not just for Tyla, but for every African artist watching this unfold from Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, Cape Town, and Houston. It is proof that the path from regional phenomenon to global superstar is not only possible — it is being paved right now, in real time, by a young woman from Johannesburg who refused to shrink.
For media companies, content platforms, entertainment executives, and brand strategists operating in the African diaspora space — this is your data point. African pop is not a niche. It is not a trend. It is not a moment. It is a movement, and Tyla just secured the most powerful co-sign available in the global music business to lead it.
Watch this space. Very closely.
Follow @bolanlemedia on Instagram for real-time music, film, and entertainment industry news. Read more at bolanlemedia.com
AfriqueFest: Pan-African Musical Experience — World Cup Edition is set to take over Noto Houston on Sunday, June 28, bringing together East, South, and West African sounds in one immersive celebration of music, culture, and connection. Presented by Experience Noir and Bolanle Media, the event is designed as a cinematic night for the culture, blending global energy with Houston nightlife in a way that feels elevated, intentional, and deeply rooted in African creativity.
Spotlight on DJ Shinski
At the heart of this year’s experience is DJ Shinski. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya and now based in Houston, DJ Shinski has built an international name off high-energy sets that move effortlessly across Afrobeats, Amapiano, hip‑hop, dancehall, reggae, and electronic sounds.
He has also become Africa’s most‑subscribed DJ on YouTube, crossing the 2‑million‑subscriber mark and turning his mixes into a global destination for music lovers.
DJ Shinski’s style is precise but unpredictable: one moment it’s classic Afrobeats, the next it’s East African anthems, then a run of throwback hip‑hop or R&B that still feels fresh. That ability to read a room and connect multiple worlds in a single set is exactly why AfriqueFest is building so much of the night’s energy around him.
At AfriqueFest, DJ Shinski helps drive the Safari Grooves segment, representing East and Central Africa from 4 PM to 6 PM. Expect a journey that moves from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam, Kampala, Addis, and beyond, all filtered through his signature “vibes on vibes” approach behind the decks.
DJ Tunez and the rest of the night
Supporting that energy, DJ Tunez leads the Gold Coast Beats chapter from 8 PM to 10 PM, bringing his own Nigerian‑American Afrobeats pedigree to the stage. Together with the Diamond Rhythms segment (South) and a curated roster of DJs, the night stretches across the continent in three distinct musical chapters, all connected by a single dance floor.
Hosted by @chris_gone_crazy, @kingdrewwskyy, @roselynomaka, and @samsnewleaf, AfriqueFest is positioned as more than a party—it’s a celebration of sound, style, and Pan‑African identity in Houston, with DJ Shinski anchoring the experience from the moment doors open.
Brought to you by Bolanle Media & Experience Noir
Brought to you by Bolanle Media and Experience Noir, this World Cup edition of AfriqueFest is crafted as a night where global DJs, storytellers, and music lovers collide and create a shared cultural memory. With DJ Shinski front and center—and DJ Tunez helping close the night—guests can expect a show that reflects both the future of African nightlife and the power of the diaspora to create unforgettable live moments.
If you want to experience DJ Shinski live at AfriqueFest, now is the time to lock in your spot. Purchase your tickets now at AfriqueFest.com and get ready for a night of music, movement, and culture at Noto Houston.
Laughter Meets Inspiration: Our Ladies Show Lands on The Roku Channel
A bold new sketch comedy series for women premieres June 13 across the U.S., U.K., and Canada — arriving on the back of a festival-winning run that has critics and audiences already paying attention.
It isn’t every day a brand-new comedy arrives already wearing a row of trophies. Our Ladies Show does. The seven-episode inspirational sketch comedy series — created, written by, and starring Christin Jezak — begins streaming on The Roku Channel on Friday, June 13, 2026, available free to viewers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.
Produced in partnership with global media services leader Encompass Digital Media, the series sets out to do something rare in today’s streaming landscape: make women laugh out loud and leave them lifted. In a media moment crowded with noise and cynicism, Our Ladies Show is a deliberate counterweight — comedy with a conscience, built for women of every age and background.
A Show Built Around Real Life — and Real Laughs
Each of the seven episodes opens with a monologue from one of the cast members introducing the theme, then rolls into three or more sketches that hit the subject from every comedic angle. The series tackles the things women actually carry: holding grudges, comparison, beauty, patience, gift giving, the importance of community, and dealing with anxiety.
The comedy comes from a place of warmth rather than mockery — a “laugh at ourselves” spirit that runs through a gallery of unforgettable characters: a nosey neighbor, an overwhelmed mom, relentlessly optimistic flight attendants, beauty pageant winners past their prime, and a crew of unruly campers with a counselor who simply cannot hold it together.
Then the show does something most sketch series don’t. In the final segment of every episode, the cast gathers in a living-room setting and invites the audience in — sharing real inspiration drawn from the theme, the sketches, and their own personal stories. It’s the moment the laughter turns into something that stays with you.
The Women Behind the Show
Our Ladies Show brings together three performers with serious range:
- Christin Jezak — creator, writer, and star (Miracle at Manchester, Raising Hope, Jimmy Kimmel Live!)
- Hillary Hawkins — (Primal, Nick Jr.’s Play Along, Gullah Gullah Island)
- Sarah Hernandez — (Nefarious, Unplanned, House of Payne)
“In a world with so much division and depression, I hope women of all ages and backgrounds will watch this show, laugh, be reminded of how beautiful, unique, and loved they are, and remember how much we need each other.”— Christin Jezak, Creator & Star
Already a Festival Favorite
The series’ recurring long-form sketch, Neighborhood Watch, didn’t arrive quietly. Originally released as a web series and revamped for Our Ladies Show with new footage, sound, and music, it has been sweeping the festival circuit:
- 🏆 Best Webseries — 2026 New Media Film Festival (Los Angeles)
- 🏆 Best Web/TV Series — Paris Film Awards
- 🏆 Best Web Series — Dallas Movie Awards
- 🏅 Additional wins at the London Movie Awards, Florence Film Awards, and Hollywood Gold Awards
- 🎬 Official Selection — 2026 Harvard Divinity School Film Fest
- ⭐ Finalist — Houston Comedy Film Festival
- 📣 Three nominations — 2025 Content Christian Media Conference, including Best Actress in a TV and Web Series nods for both Christin Jezak and Sarah Hernandez
Where and When to Watch
Our Ladies Show premieres Friday, June 13, 2026, streaming on The Roku Channel — the home of premium and free entertainment — in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. All seven episodes deliver the series’ signature blend of sharp sketch comedy and genuine encouragement.
Watch the trailer now on your platform of choice:
For more information, visit www.ourladiesshow.com and follow @ourladiesshow on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
About Christin Jezak
Christin Jezak has worked for over 15 years in the entertainment industry. She created and stars in Our Ladies Show and the award-winning web series Neighborhood Watch. She produced the EWTN TV program For the Sake of the Gospel and the all-women web series Ladies Keepin’ It Real, played Dr. Sam in Miracle at Manchester (starring Dean Cain, Daniel Roebuck, and Eddie McClintock), and voices Agnes in the podcast Confessions of a Catholic Single. She held a lead role in a short film for NTT Data directed by Academy Award–winning cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, has co-starred on Raising Hope, and appeared in Jimmy Kimmel sketches and a Grubhub Super Bowl commercial.
About The Roku Channel
Roku pioneered streaming on TV and is the #1 TV streaming platform in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico by hours streamed (Hypothesis Group, Dec. 2025). The Roku Channel is the home of premium and free entertainment, alongside Roku’s Howdy and Frndly TV services. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, California.
About Encompass Digital Media
Encompass Digital Media is a global managed services company — technology-driven, software-defined, and people-powered. Trusted by world-leading broadcasters, networks, sports rights-holders, and OTT platforms, it processes over 25,000 hours of content daily, serves 850 channels to 84 countries, distributes over 243,000 live events annually, and reaches 400 million radio listeners weekly worldwide. Learn more at www.encompass.tv.
Media & Interview Requests: To interview creator Christin Jezak or the cast, contact Christin at cjezak@p2ptheatre.com.
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