July 14, 2026
The longtime entrepreneur and spouse of LL Cool J extends her monitor report of celeb partnerships with a collaboration impressed by Rapsody’s new album.
A brand new jewellery assortment from Simone I. Smith Jewellery is coming this summer season. And it’s impressed by Grammy Award-winning rapper Rapsody’s upcoming album, God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops.
The complete assortment drops in August, however the Raveen Hoops, designed in 18K yellow gold plating and obtainable in two sizes, can be found for pre-order now. The assertion hoops rejoice Black magnificence by means of symbolic design parts together with an Afro choose and a lady’s silhouette, and the title pays homage to the Black-owned haircare model Raveen, recognized for championing pure hair in the course of the Afro period.
“I selected to collaborate with Rapsody as a result of she’s not solely an exceptional artist, she’s additionally an expensive pal. She has at all times supported my model, and I’ve at all times admired her type, power, spirit, and authenticity,” stated Smith in a press release. “The Raveen Hoops are a celebration of tradition, sisterhood, and the great thing about embracing who we’re.”
Rapsody additional defined, “Creating The Raveen Hoops with Simone appears like the proper bodily expression of this album. The ring represents the heirloom. The Afro choose represents the language. The lady’s silhouette represents the divinity, magnificence, and energy of Black womanhood on the middle of all of it.”
In line with her web site, Smith co-founded Simone I. Smith Jewellery in 2011 following her prognosis of stage III chondrosarcoma, a uncommon sort of bone most cancers. It began with a signature lollipop pendant, then got here hoop earrings, bangles, necklaces, and a males’s jewellery assortment. By way of her partnership with the American Most cancers Society, she donates a portion of proceeds from every sale to the continued combat in opposition to the illness.
Smith spoke with BLACK ENTERPRISE solely concerning the new jewellery assortment and the facility of partnering with different Black girls:
You began your jewellery line 15 years in the past. What have been the keys to operating a model that lasts?
God has been on the middle of every thing. I’ve stayed true to who I’m, created timeless items as an alternative of chasing traits, listened to my prospects, and by no means compromised on high quality or function.
Over time, you’ve collaborated with a variety of artists, like Sergio Hudson and Mary J. Blige. What makes for a profitable partnership?
One of the best partnerships are constructed on belief, respect, and shared values. When everybody brings their genuine creativity to the desk with the identical purpose, that’s when the magic occurs.
Your Sister Love jewellery assortment with Blige and your new collab with Rapsody are primarily based on sisterhood and the facility of Black girls. Are you able to converse to the significance of ladies in enterprise working collectively?
When girls help one another, all of us win. There’s room for all of us to succeed, and once we collaborate as an alternative of compete, we create alternatives which might be greater than any one in every of us.
You even have a line along with your daughter, Samaria Leah. What recommendation are you able to share about working with household?
Respect one another’s strengths. Let everybody deliver their very own imaginative and prescient to the desk, talk truthfully, and at all times shield the connection earlier than the enterprise.
What do you hope the subsequent era of ladies are studying about entrepreneurship?
I hope they perceive that earlier than beginning a enterprise, they need to ask themselves if there’s a spot within the market for what they wish to construct. What void are you filling? And in the event you’re coming into an area that already exists, what makes your model completely different? Encompass your self with an excellent group that’s simply as passionate concerning the imaginative and prescient as you’re. Keep genuine, work onerous, be affected person, be constant, and do not forget that your popularity is one in every of your biggest belongings.
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