Ludacris, the multi-platinum three-time Grammy Award-winning Atlanta superstar, has collaborated with Google to empower the third annual Black-owned Friday nationwide campaign with his brand new single and interactive video “Buying All Black,” featuring Flo Milli and PJ.
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Black-owned Friday was launched in 2020 to re-imagine the annual post-Thanksgiving shopping event as a day to celebrate Black-owned businesses that were facing serious systemic challenges as the pandemic was accelerating. At the same time, a noticeable increase in searches for Black-owned businesses was occurring online.
Google reacted by introducing a Black-owned business badge, enabling business owners to self-identify as Black-owned on Google searches. The U.S. Black Chambers also has a platform for their Black-owned businesses called ByBlack.
With the arrival of “Buying All Black,” Black-owned Friday now gains new traction. In the interactive video, Ludacris gamifies the Google search process as he is transported to locations that represent the breadth of Black-owned businesses. To that end, each scene in the video features various products from Black-owned businesses. Even the video wardrobes of Luda and Mobile, Alabama rapper Flo Milli are all Black-owned.
“As a business owner,” Ludacris states, “I am so passionate about supporting Black entrepreneurs and really wanted to celebrate the impact they make on their communities. We’re showing people how to search on Google for Black-owned businesses, and reinforcing that we all have a choice when we search for businesses to support and shop our values.”
Upcoming on the big screen for Ludacris (Chris Bridges) is the 10th installment of the popular The Fast and the Furious action film series, entitled Fast X, to premiere in May 2023. June 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of Luda’s debut in the series as Tej Parker (in 2003’s 2 Fast 2 Furious). The F&F series has grossed over $6.6 billion worldwide to date, making it the most successful film franchise in Universal Pictures history.
Visit Google’s Black-owned Friday website for more information.