Iconic rapper, singer, actor and author Suga-T Stevens was recently honored at the 16th Annual West Coast Hip Hop Awards as the Business Woman of the Decade.
“The award was a surprise and I’m very honored by the recognition,” Stevens said in a statement. “I have been a serial entrepreneur most of my life.”
Suga-T, largely beloved for her 1995 hit “Sprinkle Me” with brother E-40, started her first business when she was eight, a venture with her grandfather when she was only eight years old. By age 12, she developed a hair styling business. These days she acts as the CEO of a “conglomerate of businesses, nonprofits and community organizations” – Sprinkle Me Social Enterprise (SMSE).
“I’ve always felt I had to create opportunities for myself,” she continued. “I was a single teen mom; I’ve suffered domestic violence and I’m in a business, Hip-Hop music, that values the young and that can be pretty harsh toward older women. Entrepreneurship gave me freedom; and in life and business ventures, I’m able to teach others how to build and sustain their own opportunities.”
Suga-T also presented her own HER Museum exhibit at the ceremony, which is her latest venture. This one celebrates the achievements of women and girls.
SMSE also has the Sprinkle Me Learning Academy (a coaching and mentoring platform); a music and video production company; a beauty and health products firm, and Work It Well Project, an organization that serves vulnerable populations and moms of children with autism.