Black-owned company Trap Sushi recently expanded, forming a new partnership with Cxmmunity Media.
First reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, with the latest deal, Cxmmunity Media, also a Black-owned media company, owns 15 percent of Trap Sushi.
Created by Tolden “Troop” Williams and his wife Stephanie Lindo in 2020, Trap Sushi made its name for holding a convention known as the “Trap Sushi Party” that celebrates video gaming, anime and hip hop.
Through their latest partnership with Cxmmunity, the convention will now be held every month and is expanding from the Atlanta area. A Trap Sushi Party is expected to be held in Tokyo in April.
“We are excited to continue providing a space for creators, especially Black creators, and ‘Blerds’ throughout the community,” said Williams and Lindo in conversation with The Hub News. “As we continue, we hope to expand outside of Atlanta into major North American hubs such as New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Houston and, with CXM’s support and partnership, we are confident we will be successful.”
According to Cxmmunity co-founder and CEO, Ryan Johnson, through their latest collaboration, the company is planning on setting new levels for how Black-owned companies work together to represent Black media.
“In a lot of scenarios, people would say, you know, ‘Let’s try and defeat or compete with Trap Sushi,” Johnson said, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think we’re just being very hyper-intentional in trying to set an example and tone of here’s actually how you support one another and it’s literally not just with words, it’s not just on social media, but it’s actually with financial support.”
Throughout its career, Cxmmunity has collaborated with a variety of partners, creating projects that have both entertained and educated.
Through its “The Kickback” project, the media company has held nationwide events that provide Gen Z gamers with insight into the gaming field. Along with lectures by industry leaders, Cxmmunity’s project offers gaming tournaments as well, awarding winners with $5,000 in funds for projects.
Cxmmunity has also helped highlight HBCU gaming creators through initiatives such as the “DoorDash-CreatorDash.”
Through the two-day online event, gaming influencers inform the students on how they create content. A multi-level competition also has them model content creation in esports and video gaming around community amplification with prizes including scholarships.
The company’s Esports Discover Bowl has also helped draw attention to equity in the esports league specifically. With the annual competition, HBCU Esports students from 15 schools compete in tournaments for $170,000 in prizes for scholarships.
“It isn’t often you get to collaborate with like-minded entities that share and uphold similar values, but Trap Sushi has found that in its partnership with CXM,” said Williams and Lindo. “In a short amount of time, we have already started to feel what will quickly blossom into a fruitful and successful partnership and we’re excited for what’s to come.”
