Dani Stephenson: When creativity and Vision meets Philanthropy
Dani Stephenson is no stranger to monumental milestones, being a Grammy, Billboard, and Emmy Award-winning executive, producer, and entrepreneur. Dani is the Founder of Straight Forward Group and all its subsidiaries, they cover pretty much every form of entertainment, from music and film to art and sports, even including real estate and philanthropy.
The Straight Forward Giving Foundation was founded in 2015 as a philanthropic effort by Dani, to give opportunities to marginalized groups and communities working side by side with charities such as UNICEF, The Prince’s Trust Foundation, and the United Nations. Thanks to his efforts he was honored with the “Points of Light” award, one of the most important and prestigious acknowledgments in the world.
On the 4th of June 2022, he received a uniquely-designed Platinum Champion Jubilee pin being picked over more than five thousand other nominations by The Queen Consort on Behalf of Queen Elizabeth II, alongside a respected panel of judges which included illustrious British figures such as Gyles Brandreth, Elaine Paige, Julie Siddiqi, Myleene Klass, Felicity Kendal and Ade Adepitan.
Starting this year on January 26, at the Palace of Westminster in London, Dani was given the utmost important recognition, The British Citizen Award, reserved to individuals doing extraordinary work for their local community and society at large. Thanks to his voluntary and philanthropic work in “The Victory of Gondar” he will be awarded the distinguished “Victory of Gondar Medal” and “Knight Commander of The Order of The Star”, both will be handed by the Prince and President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia himself, Ermias Sahle-Selassie. Dani is now working on an educational facility to help nurture the next generation of music, sports, and film talent in Jamaica and Ethiopia.
Focusing on entertainment, specifically in film and television, Dani worked alongside hip-hop icon Dr. Dre on the Emmy Award-winning TNT commercial “Inside The NBA: Kobe Bryant Tribute” and recently acted as the executive producer of Marvel’s blockbuster “Eternals”, starring Angelina Jolie and directed by Chloe Zao, he also single-handedly composed the entire movie soundtrack. Moving to the music industry, he co-produced Billboard Top charting single “The Mack” featuring Mack Morrison and Fetty Wap and has worked with a myriad of musicians like Michael Jackson, Dr. Dre, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Lil Nas, X, Megan Thee Stallion, P Diddy, Big Sean, Rita Ora, Rich The Kid, Anne Marie, Dave, and Skepta, to name just a few; over 70 million record sales worldwide can be attributed to him. Drake’s 5x Platinum Billboard-winning album “Scorpion,” Megan Thee Stallion’s 2x Grammy-winning single “Savage,” Cardi B’sBET-winning album “WAP,” and Lil Nas X’s Grammy-nominated single “Montero.” are all part of his Straight Music Forward Group.
Story by: Armando Vera