Wiz Khalifa doesn't believe the Earth is round: 'We live on a flat plane'
Wiz Khalifa seemingly believes Earth is flat. The 'Black and Yellow' rapper has rejected the notion the planet is round and is convinced that humans reside on a "huge flat plane". Asked if he thinks Earth is round, he said in a Patreon episode of 'The Joe Budden Podcast': "No. 'I just believe that we live on a flat plane, like a huge flat plane. 'It's only because I've travelled so much." But guest host and academic Marc Lamont Hill then asked Wiz if he had ever travelled to the edge of the Earth. Seemingly referring to the supercontinent of Pangaea, he said: "Nah, it's not that. I think that there's more masses than just what we see because it was one thing before and it spread out. 'Because when I travel, the routes that we take and how we do it, it's not possible to go up and down. You're just going straight. That's the only reason I think that." The 37-year-old musician also cast doubt on space exploration. He said: "I don't believe in space exploration at all. I don't believe that they explore space as much as they say that they do.' Despite his comments, the 'See You Again' hitmaker's latest album, 'Kush + Orange Juice 2', features a photo of a round Earth on its cover. The record is a follow-up to his 2010 album but Wiz recently admitted he "wasn't into doing a sequel" and "would always leave 'Kush + Orange Juice' alone", but his thoughts changed when he began working on the record. He told Grammy.com: "I just thought, 'What would be the most satisfying for the fans and the people who support me? Should I start over and do something brand new, or re-create something that they already love and that they're already used to?' "So that's what made me make the decision to work on a follow-up."
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All-American Rejects Frontman Tyson Ritter Joining OnlyFans to Continue Band's ‘Disruptive' Streak
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It uses mobile wallet "fan cards" Ultimately, the company wants its users not to feel tethered to a particular app, but instead follow an artist no matter where they are posting content. That's where the mobile wallet "fan card" comes in. "When you talk about a community app, normally an investor will look at you and say, 'Who the f—k is going to download a community app,'" del Río said. The wallet card, by contrast, is simple to download and a useful tool for artists to send push notifications to fans, he said. Music fans are already accustomed to keeping concert tickets in their mobile wallets, so why not get artist updates there, too? Investors often bet on startups with a smart data story, and Sesh is positioning itself as a data company that allows artists to track fan analytics and spot trends that can help them make money from their audiences. At a moment when Big Tech executives are weighing whether to use AI to reduce their company's head count, new startups can make bets from the start on how automation will impact their team's size. Del Río said he doesn't want to grow his team any bigger than it needs to be, and that AI is already helping the company work more efficiently (which investors appreciate) in areas like coding and marketing. Note: Two slides were removed that contained information about the company's clients in order to share the deck publicly. The superfan opportunity Sesh combined data from Nielsen, Live Nation Entertainment, and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, among other sources, to provide some top-level estimates of the market opportunity. This slide reads: Artists struggle to manage and monetize their fan communities, while fans crave deeper connections $14.6BN unrealized fans higher spending $15.4BN wasted chasing fans the old way There are millions of artists to recruit Sesh estimated that music industry fan communities are a $34.5 billion market opportunity. It wrote that 15% of the population are superfans, and that there are 25 million music artists (250,000 full-time music artists). This slide reads: A large, underserved market of artists and fans without a space to connect Weverse, the K-pop-focused fan platform, has demonstrated the power and profitability of fan-driven ecosystems in music. By applying a similar model to the vastly larger Latin and U.S. markets, we see a clear path to building a $1B+ business. Why it's the right time for a fan community startup Sesh. This slide says: Disrupting this space was once impossible — why is now the time to build fan communities? AI Technology Historically, building artist communities has been constrained by three core challenges: Artist Burnout: Consistent engagement is time-consuming and unsustainable. Unclear ROI: Measuring the true impact of fan communities has been difficult, making it hard to justify the effort. Fragmented Fan Expectations: Fans crave different types of connection, making scalable monetization complex. With AI, we solve this by automating personalized engagement, measuring community value in real time, and building self-sustaining fan ecosystems. The tech finally enables what wasn't possible before. Industry recognition The industry now recognizes a fundamental shift: over 80% of revenue comes from superfans, not casual listeners. This is driving a strategic pivot — from chasing viral reach to building strong, high-value fan communities. Leaders from Universal, Sony, Warner, Spotify, and YouTube are making superfan engagement a core strategic priority, investing in platforms that drive loyalty, recurring revenue, and long-term artist growth. This shift creates a massive opportunity: the platforms that best serve superfans will shape the future of music. The entire music ecosystem is shifting toward fan communities. Monopoly potential The competitive landscape is still in its infancy, with only a handful of early entrants beginning to explore the space. Meanwhile, the runaway success of Weverse validates the immense potential of fan community monetization at scale. This presents a rare first-mover advantage: the opportunity to define the category, set the standard, and build the dominant platform for the next generation of music creators and their fans. How an artist can sign up fans How an artist can message to fans A customer-relationship management tool for artists Sesh. The business model Sesh makes money from monthly fees collected from artists and their teams, and plans to take a cut of the fan spend it helps facilitate. The company estimates it could generate $200 million annually if it had 10,000 active artist communities. The Sesh growth playbook This slide highlights how Sesh plans to expand its customer set, and how different aspects of its business help other areas grow, generally referred to as a business flywheel. It reads: Partnerships: Partner with key industry players (e.g. labels) that work alongside artists Ambassadors: Target recognized artists as advocators to foster virality A new artist creates a community on Sesh. The community is shared on social media by both the artist and their fans. This drives organic growth — more fans join communities, and more artists join Sesh. Sesh's founding team The broader opportunity beyond music This slide reads: "At Sesh, we're building the infrastructure powering next-gen fan communities. An ecosystem where people don't just follow what they love — they belong to it. Where connection runs deeper than content, and identity is shaped by shared passion. Music is our entry point — the heartbeat of culture — but the opportunity is much bigger: to build a global infrastructure for belonging. One that spans sports, lifestyle, creators, brands — anything people want to belong to. We're building the connective tissue of the next cultural era." The closing slide calls the company the 'best kept secret for fan communities' Sesh.
