From East Atlanta to Battle Creek: JID and Tony the Tiger Become 'Day Ones'

Dreamville’s own Destin "JID" Route (left) and Tony the Tiger lock in for a 2026 campaign that attempts to turn 1990s cereal nostalgia into a high-speed hype anthem titled "HEY TONY!". The collaboration, which features a collectible "Day Ones" cereal box and a community-focused bowl game, sees the "The Forever Story" artist returning to his football roots at his alma mater, Stephenson High School, to inspire a new generation of youth athletes in Georgia. (Photo: WK Kellogg Co.)

The distance between the East Atlanta underground and a corporate boardroom in Battle Creek, Michigan, has never been shorter.

On Wednesday, WK Kellogg Co. announced that JID — the Dreamville standout known more for his dizzying double-time flows than his breakfast preferences — is the new face of Frosted Flakes.


The centerpiece of the deal is a reboot of the “Hey Tony” jingle, a piece of 1990s marketing that once lived between Saturday morning cartoons and is now being retooled as a cultural hype anthem titled “HEY TONY!” for the streaming era.

For JID, the move is a calculation rooted in the same nostalgia that has fueled much of the millennial aesthetic. “Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Tony the Tiger were a real staple in our house growing up,” the rapper said, framing the partnership as a "no-brainer."

But the track is only part of the play. The collaboration is leaning heavily into "drop culture," releasing a limited-edition "Day Ones" merchandise line and a collectible cereal box that features a custom illustration of JID alongside the mascot.

To give the campaign some actual dirt under its fingernails, the partnership moves from the studio to the field on Feb. 22. JID will host the “Day Ones” Bowl Game in Georgia, bringing out the Stephenson High School “Sonic Sound” Marching Band from his hometown of Stone Mountain to anchor a 7-on-7 youth football tournament. It is a full-circle moment for JID, who was a standout defensive back at Stephenson before an injury shifted his focus entirely to music.

While the corporate copy is thick with buzzwords like "motivation" and "potential," the journalistic reality is a bit more pragmatic. In 2026, a rapper’s "brand" is often as lucrative as their catalog. Seeing a technical powerhouse who built his reputation on albums like "The Forever Story" apply his machinery to a 30-year-old marketing gimmick is a reminder that even childhood memories have a market value.

The real question isn't whether the jerseys will sell — they likely will — but whether a "rapper's rapper" can breathe genuine soul into a corporate script. The culture will decide if the track belongs on a playlist or if it's just a well-executed commercial that loses its crunch once the milk hits the bowl.

The merchandise and limited-edition boxes are available exclusively through JID’s official webstore.

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Icon and Presidential Pioneer, Dies at 84

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, center, joins a rally for "silver rights" and employment in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 15, 1975. Jackson led the demonstration on the birthday of his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to advocate for the Hawkins-Humphrey Bill and national economic equity. (Photo by Warren K. Leffler/Library of Congress)

For more than half a century, the voice of the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. served as the heartbeat of the American struggle — a thunderous, rhythmic reminder that "Somebody" could rise from the slum, even if the slum remained in them.

On Tuesday, that voice, which once shook the foundations of the Democratic Party and echoed through the halls of global power, finally fell silent.

Jackson, the protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the man who effectively pioneered the modern path for Black presidential aspirations, died peacefully at his home in Chicago surrounded by family, his daughter Santita Jackson confirmed. He was 84.

While a cause of death was not immediately specified, Jackson had spent the last decade battling significant health challenges, including Parkinson’s disease and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a rare neurological disorder that eventually robbed the master orator of his ability to speak.

From Memphis to the Rainbow Coalition

To understand Jesse Jackson is to understand the bridge between the picket lines of the 1960s and the ballot boxes of the 21st century. He was there on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis when the movement lost its King, a trauma that Jackson carried as both a scar and a mandate for the rest of his life.

In the decades that followed, Jackson refused to be a mere footnote in history. He founded Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) in Chicago, demanding economic equity for Black businesses and workers. He transformed the "I Am Somebody" chant into a psychological cornerstone for a generation of Black youth who had been told they were nothing.

But it was his 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns that fundamentally shifted the American political landscape. By building a "Rainbow Coalition" of the disenfranchised — Black, Latino, poor white, and rural farmers — Jackson didn’t just run for office; he expanded the electorate. He proved that a Black man could win major primaries, secure millions of votes, and force the mainstream to address the needs of the "voiceless." Without Jesse Jackson’s 1988 run, the road to the White House for Barack Obama twenty years later remains unpaved.

A Complicated, Consequential Legacy

Jackson was never a simple figure. He was often criticized for a perceived hunger for the spotlight and faced significant backlash for his "Hymietown" remarks in 1984—an anti-Semitic slur for which he later offered a tearful apology at a synagogue.

Yet, even his critics could not deny his efficacy. Whether he was negotiating the release of American hostages in Syria, Iraq, and Cuba, or lobbying for D.C. statehood as a "shadow senator," Jackson lived in the fray.

As his health declined, he remained a fixture at protests, often pushed in a wheelchair to the front lines of the Black Lives Matter movement or to advocate for vaccine equity during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was a man who understood that "Keep Hope Alive" wasn't just a slogan; it was a survival strategy.

With his passing, the era of the "Old Guard" civil rights leaders draws closer to its conclusion, but the holes he tore in the walls of the American establishment remain open for those who follow.

Floetry Announces 16-City ‘Say Yes’ Tour With Raheem Devaughn

Natalie "The Floacist" Stewart (left) and Marsha Ambrosius are the R&B duo Floetry. The group announced Thursday they will reunite for the 16-city "Say Yes" Tour beginning in April 2026, marking their first extensive national run in a decade. (Courtesy Photo)

Floetry never fit neatly into the R&B machine the first time around.

When Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie “The Floacist” Stewart released “Floetic” in 2002, they brought spoken word to the center of contemporary soul at a moment when the genre leaned toward polish and radio gloss. The album went platinum in the United States, earned Grammy nominations and produced two of the era’s defining records, “Say Yes” and “Getting Late.” Then, four years later, the partnership dissolved.

Nearly two decades after their commercial peak — and almost 10 years since their last full national run — Floetry will return to the road.

The duo announced Thursday that they will reunite for the 2026 “Say Yes” Tour, a 16-city U.S. trek beginning April 9 in Newark, New Jersey, and concluding May 17 in Oakland, California. The run, produced by the Black Promoters Collective, marks their first extensive national tour together since 2016.

The announcement carries significance not because Floetry has been absent from playlists — their catalog has endured — but because the group’s history has been defined as much by fracture as influence.

After the success of “Floetic” and 2005’s “Flo’Ology,” tensions between Ambrosius and Stewart led to a split in 2006. Both artists later spoke publicly about creative and personal disagreements that shaped the breakup. Ambrosius went on to build a solo career that included Grammy nominations and high-profile songwriting credits, while Stewart continued performing and recording under The Floacist moniker, leaning further into spoken word and independent releases.

A brief reunion tour in 2015 and 2016 hinted at reconciliation, but sustained collaboration never followed.

This 2026 run appears more structured. The routing spans major R&B markets including Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, Atlanta and Houston — cities that supported neo-soul beyond its commercial peak. The bill also includes Raheem DeVaughn and Teedra Moses, two artists whose careers followed parallel arcs: critical respect, durable touring bases and limited reliance on mainstream radio cycles.

DeVaughn, a Grammy-nominated vocalist often referred to as “The Love King,” has maintained steady visibility through independent releases and touring. Moses’ 2004 debut “Complex Simplicity” has grown in stature among R&B listeners over time, frequently cited as one of the genre’s cult classics of the 2000s.

The lineup suggests a targeted audience — not casual nostalgia seekers, but listeners who came of age during the early-2000s neo-soul wave and have stayed with it.

Presales began Thursday through the Black Promoters Collective using code BPC, with general ticket sales scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. local time.

2026 Tour Dates

• April 9: Newark, NJ — NJPAC
• April 11: Baltimore, MD — Lyric
• April 12: Philadelphia, PA — The Met
• April 15: Chicago, IL — Chicago Theatre
• April 18: Detroit, MI — Masonic
• April 22: Washington, DC — The Anthem
• April 24: Charlotte, NC — Ovens Auditorium
• April 26: Durham, NC — DPAC
• May 1: Atlanta, GA — The Arena at Southlake
• May 3: Jacksonville, FL — Florida Theatre
• May 6: New Orleans, LA — Saenger Theatre
• May 9: Houston, TX — Bayou Music Center
• May 10: Grand Prairie, TX — Texas Trust
• May 14: Phoenix, AZ — Celebrity Theatre
• May 15: Los Angeles, CA — The Novo
• May 17: Oakland, CA — Paramount Theatre

Floetry’s influence is measurable. “Floetic” was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and received Grammy nominations for Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. “Say Yes” reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s Adult R&B chart and crossed into the Hot 100. More broadly, the duo helped normalize poetry as a structural element within commercial R&B rather than a novelty interlude.

Still, a reunion does not automatically equal restoration. The intervening years — and public commentary from both artists — underscore that the partnership has not been seamless.

What this tour represents is less a sentimental return than a recalibration. Floetry’s catalog remains intact. The question has always been whether the dynamic that produced it could function again in real time.

In 2026, audiences will see whether that chemistry still holds.