envisioning Wealth and Legacy for girls and women of color

Wealth & Legacy Partners is the designation for BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz  enterprises whose purpose, services, and cultural works materially contribute to the preservation, circulation, and transmission of generational wealth, cultural memory, and creative sovereignty 

within BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz as their goods, services, 

and cultural capital materially contribute to our envisioning of equality 

and generational wealth for girls and women of color since 1989.

BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz is a female-founded, for-profit, privately funded, 

non-partisan conglomerate of enterprises envisioning wealth and legacy for girls and women 

of color since 1989. BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz operates beyond 

political affiliation and welcomes partnership and patronage from Republicans, 

Democrats, Independents, and individuals and institutions internationally 

who support our enterprises in their work of building wealth and legacy for 

the generational wealth of girls and women of color. 

BMW Portfolio is enterprise-led and legacy-focused, 

centering on creating economic infrastructure 

that enriches girls and women of color.

BMW Portfolio enterprises and founder Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz 

have been recognized across cultural, musical, academic, and journalistic platforms. 

The work and influence have been featured, quoted, profiled, and cited in publications 

such as Time Magazine, Billboard, The Source, Curve Magazine, Nylon Magazine, 

and Jane Magazine, as well as in newspapers including the New York Daily News, 

Chicago Sun-Times, The New York Times, and Post & Courier. 

The contributions of BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz enterprises 

Hip Hop Women‘s Progressive Movement™️ and Black Grrrl Revolution™️ 

to multicultural and music history appear in academic anthologies such as 

Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in America and Role Cole: 

A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art, 

and her early community and creative work has been documented 

in university outlets like The Barnard Bulletin. 

Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’s legacy has been highlighted on television through 

the iconic Video Music Box with Ralph McDaniels—underscoring a lifelong presence on 

the cutting edge of the intersections of art, music, women‘s, fashion, and hip-hop history.

Media Features, Mentions & Citations — Since 1990
BMW Portfolio enterprises & Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz have been featured, interviewed, quoted, profiled, or cited in the following publications, newspapers, anthologies, and television programs:

• Billboard Magazine
• Blu Magazine
• Blu Magazine Compilation
• Curve Magazine—The Ani DiFranco Issue
• FUBU Online Magazine
• Jane Magazine—The Outkast Issue
• Ms. Magazine
• Nylon Magazine
• Sister 2 Sister Magazine
• Rap Masters Magazine
• The Source Magazine
• Time Magazine
• The Village Voice

• Chicago Sun-Times Next
• Daily Freeman
• Moultrie News
• Los Angeles Times
• New York Daily News
• The New York Times
• Post & Courier
• Times Herald Record

Wondrous Women

The ‘F’ Word

Call them strong women, call them divas, but don’t call them feminists

Feminism’s up-and-comers

 By Lisa Bertagnoll

Chicago Sun-Times Next

• City On A Hill Press
• The Barnard Bulletin
• The Hilltop Newspaper
• The University of Wisconsin System: Feminist Collections

Viva la revolution!

Black Grrrl Revolution puts a new spin on Third Wave Feminism

Amelia McDonell-Parry

Music Editor

City On A Hill Press

University of California, Santa Cruz 

• Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in America (Anthology)
• Role Call: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art

• Video Music Box with Ralph McDaniels
• Y2K — Pilot TV Show with Dr. Dre of Yo! MTV Raps
• NY-1 — Puerto Rican Day Parade Rally
• Manhattan Cable — Model, Allan & Suzi Vintage Fashion Series

The intellectual alignment of BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz 

with renowned academic and arts institutions across strata has been established 

through invited lectures, panel appearances, moderation, and keynote:

Smith College • Wesleyan University • New York University • Yale University • University of Wisconsin• Vassar College • Howard University • Hobart & William Smith Colleges • El Puente High School • Hunt’s Point Middle School • Danny Simmons’ Art  Gallery •

The Union Institute—Washington, D.C.

Los Angeles Hip-Hop Conference

Brigétte‘s Role — Panel Organizer & Moderator

Panel Topic: Racism in the Hip-Hop Industry

Featured Panelists:

Violet Brown, Director, Wherehouse Music

Nefertiti, Female Rap Artist

Rosie Perez, Actress, White Men Can’t Jump

BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz includes performances throughout 

New York City—at multicultural folk music and spoken-word venues and events:

N’kiru Books • Brooklyn Moon Café • Koko Bar • CBGB’s Café • Three of Cups • 

Rainy Days Café • Nuyorican Poets Café • The Spence School •

Voice training with Richard Hilty and Melissa Cross

Black Nativity — “The Six Who Were There”
Role: Mary
Center Stage Theatre at the Vern Riffe Center

Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker
Role: Corp de Ballet — Sugar Plum Fairy
Mid-Atlantic Ballet at Tarrytown Music Hall

Discography — Folk Music & Spoken Word as Cultural Record

Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz
Folk • Spoken Word • Cultural Documentation

Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz was scouted at an Arrested Development after-party 

and invited by Sony Music A&R representatives to consider singing professionally 

and recording a demo. Drawing on her music business background and a 

commitment to DIY and independent ethics, she agreed—on the 

condition that she self-fund and self-produce the recording 

in order to retain full ownership of her work.

Demo (Sony Music A&R Request)
Artist: Brigétte M. Moore
Recorded at: Studio of Fabian Asultany, U.N., New York City
Label: Moore Awareness Productions

Birthing My Own Affirmation
Format: Full-Length Album
Artist: Brigétte M. Moore
Recorded at: Studio of Earl Blaize, Brooklyn, New York
Label: Moore Awareness Productions

A ccapella album of original songs and spoken word centered on 

girl of color self-definition, affirmation, and cultural autonomy.

“Temple”

Format: Single
Artist: Brigétte M. Moore
Label: Moore Awareness Productions
Compilation: Blu Magazine – Women’s Issue

Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’ recorded works emerge from a folk and spoken word lineage 

of Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman, Joni Mitchell, and Edie Brickell, and her own original 

Problackgrrrl-Feminism genre. Created outside traditional label control, these 

recordings prioritize ownership, sovereignty, and her lived experience

as a girl and woman of color in exile. 

Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’ approach reflects a deliberate rejection of extractive 

industry practices common in the 1980s and 1990s music business, particularly 

toward women artists and artists of color. By self-funding and producing 

her recordings, Moore aligned herself with DIY, independent, and 

punk rock models, ensuring her work remained intact as 

cultural record and pioneering commodified artifact.

The recordings function as musical and spoken word testimony—situating 

Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’ girl of color voice as historical evidence.

• Self-authorship and affirmation as survival practice
• Beauty, womanhood outside commercial stereotype
• Spiritual interiority and embodied consciousness
• Resistance to institutional gatekeeping in music and media
• Voice as archive, ritual, and reclamation

Musically and structurally:

• Folk traditions
• Spoken word and performance poetry
• Early 1990s Afrocentric and alternative Black music scenes
• Feminist performance art and DIY cassette culture

• Independent artist ownership
• Spoken-word-driven albums
• Feminist affirmation and healing-centered audio practices

Produced during a period when Black and women artists were frequently pressured 

to surrender rights in exchange for access, Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’

 insistence on ownership represents a pioneering early 

act of cultural self-determination.

The work now stands as:

• A document of 1990s New York City creative ecosystems
• Evidence of women of color-led independent production models
• Example of Problackgrrrl-Feminism of as both art form and historical testimony

• All works released under Moore Awareness Productions
• Original recordings maintained by the artist
• Select physical artifacts include recordings, studio materials, and performances
• Works are part of the broader Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz Cultural Archive

• Cultural archives and libraries
• Feminist music history collections
• Black arts and spoken word retrospectives
• Museum exhibitions on DIY and independent media
• Academic research on women-owned music production

BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz has been recognized across dance, feminism, arts innovation, and cultural vision — receiving competitive scholarships, foundation grants, and artistic accolades that honor both talent and purpose-driven creativity:

Igal Perry PeriDance Summer Scholarship

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Summer Scholarship

Dance Theatre of Harlem Summer Scholarship

Third Wave Feminism Foundation Grant

Puffin Foundation Grant

The Union Institute Audre Lorde Legacy Award

Showstopper Dance Competition — First Place, Advanced Ballet
(Choreographed by pre-Taylor Swift- Keith “Tyce” Diorio)

Each of these honors functioned not only as recognition — but as seed capital and 

living proof that scholarships become sovereignty — grants become legacy — 

and talent, when stewarded, becomes generational investment strategy.

BMW Portfolio founder Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’ professional background reflects cultural investment—spanning education, music, fashion, hospitality, commerce, media, and publishing. 

Each environment influencing the visual, social, economic, and aesthetic ethos of 

BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz:

Education & Artistic Foundation
NYC High School of Performing Arts • NYC Classical Dance Training —Madame Darvash • Steps 74th Street • Broadway Dance Center • Acting Representation by Steve Carson & Kathy McComb •

Carnegie Hall • The Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library and Museum •

Ms. Carolyn Jenkins’ Bob Marley Ballet School

Music, Media & Cultural Production
Red Zone • VH-1 • Red Alert Productions • Soul Records / MCA • Tommy Boy Records / MCA •

Hannibal Records / Rykodisc • Juanita Stephens Public Relations

Fashion, Retail & Cultural Commerce
Tahari at World Trade Center • Barneys New York • Galeries Lafayette • Henri Bendel

Hospitality, Culinary Arts & NYC Cultural Landmarks
Clementine at One Fifth Avenue • The Odeon • B. Smith’s • Jezebel’s Kitchen

Education, Publishing & Institutional History
The Spence School • Scholastic • Atlas Editions–Colliers • Omega Institute

Early Cultural Labor & Domestic Patronage

Summer Nanny — Sag Harbor / Hamptons
At sixteen years old, Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz was employed as a private summer nanny 

in Sag Harbor for a Time Magazine editor, caring for one child within an elite, media-adjacent household. The family rented the home of Lori Singer—acclaimed actress (Fame) and 

professional cellist—placing Brigétte inside a domestic environment shaped by artistic 

legacy, editorial authority, and cultural capital. This role constituted early 

economic responsibility, kind childcare, and behavioral fluency 

within high-net-worth creative households—an 

often-unacknowledged training ground  for 

girls and women of color whose 

labor sustains elite life.

Legacy Access & Visual Literacy Formation 

Montauk & Richard Avedon’s Clifftop Beach Home — Photojournalistic Lineage
During employment as a private summer nanny in Sag Harbor, Brigétte visited Montauk 

and spent a full day at the legendary oceanfront home of Richard Avedon, one of the most 

influential photojournalists of the twentieth century. The house—renowned for its dramatic, 

mile-long staircase descending to the beach—was not experienced as spectacle, 

but as inhabited space.This exposure formed an early, 

embodied understanding of:

visual authority

spatial minimalism

solitude as creative power

sustainability swimming in non-chlorinated “seaweed” pool

legacy estates as sites of authorship rather than consumption

The experience seeded Brigétte’s lifelong fluency in 

image-making, archives, and cultural documentation, now foundational to 

B. Wojnarowicz Photojournalism™ Archives and BMW Portfolio’s visual language.

Scholastic — Education
Institutional systems & pedagogical authority

NYC High School of Performing Arts — Classical Arts
Discipline, embodiment, and endurance as economic practice

Madame Darvash / Steps 74th / Broadway Dance Center
Elite classical arts training & character formation

Tahari at World Trade Center — Fashion & Retail
Global markets & export design

Barneys New York — Luxury Retail
High-end consumer psychology

Galeries Lafayette — International Fashion
European commerce & curation

Henri Bendel — Trend Forecasting
Brand positioning & cultural pulse

Clementine at One Fifth Avenue — Hospitality
C-suite administrative, social and culinary management, 

couture server uniform design with Banana Republic, and 

cultural representation at Manhattan’s iconic locale.

The Odeon — Cultural Landmark Dining
Timelessness as economic asset

B. Smith’s — Black-Female-Owned Hospitality
Ownership, representation & equity

Jezebel’s Kitchen — Black-Female-Owned Heritage
Afro-diasporic economic autonomy

The Spence School — Elite Education
Generational wealth & access

Atlas Editions–Colliers — Publishing
Legacy, distribution & archival frameworks

Red Zone — Music Venue
Post-Studio 54 legendary Brahms family employment.—

Mr. & Mrs. Brahms modeled business as kind and mentoring.

VH-1 — Mass Media & Cultural Programming
Broadcast power dynamics & narrative control

Red Alert Productions — Hip-Hop Legacy Building
Grassroots promotions as economic uprising

Soul Records / MCA — Hip-Hop Label Operations
Distribution, negotiation & catalog value

Tommy Boy Records / MCA — Recording Artist Development
The blueprint of power — c-suite assistance, contracts, IP—

 Administrative proximity = economic fluency

Hannibal Records / Rykodisc — Independent Music Distribution
Alternative & Afro-diasporic World Music artists‘ sovereignty

Juanita Stephens Public Relations — NYC Female-led PR Firm

 The power of narrative through artist interpretation and copywriting

Private Nanny — Hamptons (Sag Harbor)

Richard Avedon Environment (Montauk)
Emotional intelligence, discretion, and responsibility within elite households
Observation of editorial, artistic, and legacy-making ecosystems
Early understanding of invisible labor sustaining visible power
Visual discipline and compositional restraint
Understanding legacy aesthetic authority  
Early alignment with photolournalism 

BMW Portfolio by Briétte Michelle Wojnarowicz 

represents a rare asset class: lived cultural intelligence 

converted into institutional strategy.

BMW Portfolio founder Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz firsthand experience inside 

cultural, artistic, executive, and fashion ecosystems—was acquired through 

early labor, proximity, and authorship, and base inherited capital. Her 

background spans classical arts institutions, major music labels, 

couture retail, hospitality salons, publishing houses, and 

private cultural households—each functioning 

as a formative economic lesson.

Each salary, paycheck, booking fee, and honoraria is an act of independence and investment in 

BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz. From luxury retail floors to legendary 

dining rooms, from scholastic halls to Fifth Avenue ateliers, BMW Portfolio founder 

Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz traversed America’s corporate industries 

not as an employee but as a cultural and creative architect of

wealth and legacy for girls and women of color.

NYC Socialite & Brand Alignment

BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz is aesthetically influenced by the iconic New York City club and art scene of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s— as living laboratories of multiculturalism, beauty, fashion, music, creativity, event production, and party promotion—transforming socialite into sociocultural testimony and reflection of iconic New York City establishments:

The World • Mars • MK • The Tunnel • Sound Factory • SOB’s • Indochine • 6 Bond St • Temple Bar • The Lion’s Den • Milky Way • Hotel Amazon • Palladium • Jerry’s Diner (Soho NYC)  • Time Cafe •

The Saint • Daddy’s House by Puff Daddy  • 1018 •  Caffe Dell’ Artista • The Coffee Shop •

Akwaaba Cafe • Exit Art • Kieth Haring, The Whitney, 1997 • Maya Lin, NYU, 1998 •

Soul Kitchen • Cafe Tabac • Village Vanguard • Lovely by Soraya Sélène

Milestone birthdays were documented as cultural rites of passage:

Reign Nightclub (20th) • Nell’s (25th) • Bar’do (29th)

BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz

Milestone birthdays as cultural rites of passage:

REIGN NIGHTCLUB — (20TH)

Cultural Salon, Teen Matriarchal Production & Independent Girl Power

BMW Portfolio founder Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’s 20th Birthday Celebration 

at Reign Nightclub, archived by B. Wojnarowicz Photojournalism™️ and documented in memoir 

by Unheard Girl Publishing™️, stands as a significant cultural moment in New York City history. 

Rather than a coming-of-age party, it functioned as a convergence of power—

drawing leading figures in music, media, fashion, and business to honor 

a young Black woman already recognized as influential.

• Andre Harrell — Founder of Uptown Records; architect of modern hip-hop and R&B crossover culture
• Russell Simmons — Co-founder of Def Jam Recordings; global hip-hop entrepreneur and cultural power broker
• David Mays — Source co-founder
• Albee Ragusa — Brigétte‘s co-worker; Director of Promotions, Tommy Boy Records
• Kevin Maxwell — Brigette‘s co-worker; A&R, Tommy Boy Records
• Rosie Perez — Actress, Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing; choreographer, The Fly Girls, In Living Color; Hip-Hop Women’s Progressive Movement™️ meeting attendee at Time Cafe
• Monica Lynch — Brigétte‘s boss; President of Tommy Boy Records; pioneering female hip-hop and music industry executive
• Chris Reade — Island Records executive; first person to hear Brigétte’s vision and pitch for Hip-Hop Women’s Progressive Movement™️ and first member and supporter. 
• Cey Adams — Creative director, graphic artist, and founding member of Def Jam’s visual identity and graphic design arm The Drawing Board
• Chris Lighty — Founder of Violator Management; architect of modern hip-hop management and branding
• X-Clan — Politically conscious hip-hop collective central to Afrocentric cultural movements
• Kervin A. Simms — Entertainment Attorney and Brigétte’s business mentor and lawyer
• Richard Channer — Dick Scott Entertainment, Inc.
• Jamalski — Dancehall recording artist
• Prince Raheem (aka RZA) — Tommy Boy Records artist
• Percy Miller (Master P) — Founder of No Limit Records; independent rap mogul and business innovator
• DJ Red Alert and DJ Kid Capri, two of the most influential DJs in hip-hop history, were the DJs for the celebration, underscoring the event’s stature within music culture.

That these figures—CEOs, label heads, cultural architects, and artists—

gathered to celebrate a twenty-year-old Black woman is not incidental. 

It is evidence of early recognition, magnetism, and authority within 

industries that have historically withheld acknowledgment 

from young women of color.

These leaders did not attend to “discover” 

Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz. 

They arrived because of her.

The original hand-drawn invitation and promotional flyer by Cey Adams for 

Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’s 20th birthday is preserved within the 

B. Wojnarowicz Photojournalism™ Archives. The flyer is not 

ephemera—it is primary documentation. It records authorship, 

venue, intent, and network, confirming the event 

as a curated cultural gathering.

Notably, Rosie Perez appears on the flyer, with permission.

 Rosie Perez flew in from Los Angeles to New York City specifically 

to attend Brigétte’s celebration. At the time, she was already an emerging 

force in film, choreography, and cultural advocacy. That gesture alone speaks 

to the level of regard surrounding Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’s 

place within the cultural fabric of the era.

Catering for the evening was provided by Brigétte’s late grandmother, Bernadine Louise—

namesake of the Bernadine Louise Library™️, a BMW Portfolio enterprise. Her involvement 

anchored the event in lineage, care, and matriarchal authorship. This was not 

outsourced labor; it was family stewardship. Her food nourished a room filled 

with executives, artists, and cultural leaders—embodying the reality that 

Black women’s legacy work has always sustained 

culture from behind the scenes.

In attendance were artists from BMW Portfolio enterprise Moore Awareness Productions™️, 

Brigétte’s own music company—affirming her role not merely as socially visible, but as a 

founder and producer building platforms for women and girls before she was 20:

• MC Light Skin™ — Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’s original Caucasian female rapper concept and muse, challenging white supremacy, racism, colorism, authorship, and representation in hip-hop. (Sourced, rap songs/lyrics written and pitched by 19 year old Brigétte in the conference room to Tommy Boy brass who brought in the staff to watch)
• Aliqui — Conscious Afro-centric female rapper foregrounding intellect, spirituality, and political awareness
• Samaria & Shameeka — Tween dancehall artists, reflecting Brigétte’s commitment to youth development, global Black culture, and early-stage talent incubation

Their presence confirmed Brigétte’s leadership as someone who created space, 

visibility, and opportunity—rather than waiting for institutional permission.

For the celebration, Brigétte commissioned a bespoke couture dress from an FIT student, 

deliberately choosing to platform an emerging designer rather than off-rack or established 

fashion house. This decision positioned the event as a site of fashion mentorship 

and patronage, reinforcing her role as an early incubator of creative talent 

within New York City’s fashion ecosystem.

Brigétte selected Reign Nightclub after attending model Veronica Webb’s birthday celebration 

there months earlier. Recognizing Reign as a space where fashion, Black excellence, power, 

and cultural leadership converged, she chose the venue as an act of alignment

—not aspiration. Reign functioned as a cultural salon, not a nightlife backdrop. 

By hosting her celebration there, Brigétte placed herself within 

a lineage of Black women who shaped elite cultural space 

through presence, discernment, and authorship.

BMW Portfolio does not reference New York City cultural history from the outside. It emerges 

from the center of it. Socialite is reframed here not as leisure, but as pre-Kardashian sociocultural testimony—a form of embodied research, access, authorship, and historical witness. Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’s early presence in these spaces—as a young Black girl, teen businessgirl, model, organizer, and cultural connector—provided direct exposure to couture fluency, 

avant-garde aesthetics, underground economies, and elite creative networks. 

These lived experiences continue to inform BMW Portfolio’s 

visual language, institutional values, and legacy framework.

This event documents a rarely archived phenomenon: a young Black woman in New York City commanding executive attention while simultaneously nurturing artists, honoring matriarchal 

lineage, and defining cultural taste. It disrupts narratives that frame Black women as aspirants 

rather than originators—and nightlife as frivolity rather than infrastructure. Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’s 20th birthday at Reign Nightclub stands as documented evidence of 

early, undeniable authority, where beauty, intellect, leadership, and 

community converged in real time.and stands as a case study 

in teen- and women-of-color-led cultural production.

REIGN AT TWENTY™️ — PART ONE

The 20th Birthday Party of Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz

at Reign’Nightclub Where Hip Hop Elite Held Court

A New York City Story

Genre:
Teen Autobiographical drama / cultural thriller / coming-of-age power story

Logline:
Long before MTV’s My Sweet Sixteen, a teenage female of color’s 20th birthday party 

convenes the most powerful figures in hip-hop and fashion at an elite New York nightclub—

only to discover that early, unapproved power is not rewarded, but erased.

Documentation:

Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’s New York City story is canonized through 

documentary treatment by B. Wojnarowicz Photojournalism™ 

and memoir manuscript by Unheard Girl Publishing™.

Reign at Twenty ©️1991-2026 Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz/BMW Portfolio. All rights reserved.

REIGN AT TWENTY™️ — PART TWO

THE TAKEDOWN / THE RETALIATION

The 20th Birthday Party of Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz

at Reign’Nightclub Where Hip Hop Elite Held Court

A New York City Story

Subtitle:
When Girl Power Appears Without Permission

Autobiographical female cultural thriller / industry exposé / power-and-retaliation drama

After a twenty-year-old Black woman’s birthday party convenes the most powerful 

figures in hip-hop and media, her unapproved authority triggers a coordinated 

industry backlash—revealing how early recognition for women of color 

is often followed not by reward, but erasure.

At the time of her twentieth birthday celebration at Reign Nightclub, Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz 

was not an aspiring outsider—she was an executive insider. She served as Assistant to the President of Tommy Boy Records, Monica Lynch, one of the most influential women in 

the music industry. Her proximity to power was contractual, professional, and earned.

Brigétte‘s 20th birthday celebration at Reign Nightclub event marked a visible convergence of industry authority, executive attention, and cultural gravity around a teenaged Black 

woman operating independently and without male sponsorship. Senior figures 

within her professional ecosystem attended—including Albee Ragusa, 

Director of Promotions at Tommy Boy Records and Kevin Maxwell, 

A&R at Tommy Boy Records (both a decade her senior)—

confirming that the gathering functioned not merely 

as a celebration, but as a moment 

of institutional acknowledgment.

Yet Brigétte’s authority was unusual in ways the industry was not prepared to metabolize.

She was a young Black woman who had grown up in an all-white neighborhood, without 

access to Black peer culture until college. Her aesthetic, speech, and presence 

reflected a bohemian hip-hop hybridity—formed through classical arts 

training, white institutional spaces, and deep cultural fluency— 

 made her both hyper-visible and structurally unprotected.

Within Black hip-hop spaces, this difference provoked suspicion and resentment. Within white-helmed corporate hip-hop, it provoked fascination without safety. Brigétte belonged fully to neither protection system—and that liminality intensified the backlash when her power became undeniable.

Also present was Prince Raheem, a Tommy Boy artist—later known as RZA, founder of the 

Wu-Tang Clan—who criticized Brigétte for having a white boyfriend. This moment exposed a 

deeper contradiction: while Black boys and men had often rejected, bullied, or ignored 

dark-skinned Black girls, interracial choice by a Black woman was still policed 

as betrayal. Brigétte’s personal autonomy—romantic, aesthetic, 

and intellectual—was read as transgression.

At the time, Brigétte was also the founder of the Hip Hop Women’s Progressive Movement™️, a public-facing initiative addressing sexism and misogyny in hip-hop. Her press visibility around the movement amplified industry discomfort. She was not only present inside corporate structures—

she was naming their harm as a teenage Black female youth on the rise.

Simultaneously, Brigétte was being mentored by Kervin A. Simms, a prominent entertainment attorney known for representing Percy “Master P” Miller and other major industry figures. Simms served as Brigétte’s legal mentor and as attorney for Moore Awareness Productions™️, 

formally incorporating the company and executing artist contracts pro bono—an 

extraordinary level of legal sponsorship for a teen Black woman founder.

Under this mentorship, Brigétte developed the MC Light Skin™️ project as a fully realized 

intellectual property. She authored the concept, wrote the rap material, scouted and sourced 

the artist, rehearsed the act, and presented the project in a formal pitch to Tommy Boy 

leadership, including Monica Lynch and Tom Silverman. The pitch was significant 

enough that senior staff—her own elder coworkers—were brought in to observe. 

Leadership expressed enthusiasm and requested more.

What Brigétte demonstrated was not aspiration, but capacity.

This convergence—executive proximity, feminist visibility, legal mentorship, and 

autonomous cultural production—was perceived as threatening. Brigétte was not waiting 

to be chosen. She was building, naming, and leading in real time. What followed was not an organic career shift, but a systemic withdrawal of access, protection, and opportunity. Doors closed without explanation. Alliances dissolved. Advancement stalled. This was not the punishment of misconduct, but the discipline of unapproved authority. Brigétte’s exclusion was not the result of failure. 

It was the consequence of girl power and authority on brown skin.

Rather than catalyzing advancement, the concentration of attention surrounding Brigétte 

triggered resentment, envy, and retaliation. Her youth, beauty, authority, and autonomy disrupted entrenched hierarchies governing gender, race, and power in the 1990s music industry. 

What followed was not an organic career shift, but a systemic withdrawal of access, 

protection, and opportunity—a pattern now widely recognized as blackballing.

The takedown of a college girl barley 20-years-old extended beyond the individual. In suppressing Brigétte, the industry also dismantled the Hip Hop Women’s Progressive Movement™️ 

back in 1991 when it was urgently needed; and in over 30 years it is still needed. 

Taking her down took down a reform effort designed to heal 

sexism and misogyny from within hip-hop culture itself.

This retaliation unfolded quietly, socially, and professionally: doors closed without explanation; alliances dissolved; advancement stalled. The industry did not confront her power—

it neutralized it. The takedown was not accidental. It functioned as a corrective 

mechanism designed to punish Brigétte‘s girl power with brown skin 

that arrived too early, too visibly, and without permission.

Documentation:

Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’s New York City story is canonized through 

documentary treatment by B. Wojnarowicz Photojournalism™ 

and memoir manuscript by Unheard Girl Publishing™.

Reign at Twenty ©️1991-2026 Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz/BMW Portfolio. All rights reserved.

REIGN AT TWENTY™️ — PART THREE

THE SPIRITUAL COUNTERPIECE: 

A 20TH BIRTHDAY GIFT FROM TOMMY BOY CEO TOM SILVERMAN

The 20th Birthday Party of Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz

at Reign’Nightclub Where Hip Hop Elite Held Court

A New York City Story

Subtitle:
When Girl Power Is Met With Stillness

Autobiographical spiritual thriller / cultural history / interior survival narrative

As institutional retaliation begins to close around her, a nineteen-year-old Black woman—

serving as a record label president’s assistant and attending NYU at night—on the very day 

of her twentieth birthday celebration at Reign Nightclub, receives an unexpected spiritual inheritance from a powerful industry elder, revealing that foresight, protection, and survival 

do not always arrive as promotion, but as preparation.

Documentation:

Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz’s New York City story is canonized through 

documentary treatment by B. Wojnarowicz Photojournalism™ 

and memoir manuscript by Unheard Girl Publishing™.

Reign at Twenty ©️1991-2026 Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz/BMW Portfolio. All rights reserved.

Photographic Legacy by Iconic Photographers

The photographic legacy of BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz 

spans hip-hop, fashion, editorial, activism, and historic reportage — captured 

by world-renowned and award-winning photographers across multiple genres:

Daniel Hastings • Jonathan Mannion • Angela Boatwright • Kesha Bruce • 

Dith Pran (Killing Fields, Award of Excellence, Pulitzer Prize Photojournalist)

Daniel Hastings — Famed Hip-Hop Photographer
Photographed Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz as a model, singer-songwriter, 

and founder of BMW Portfolio enterprise Moore Awareness Productions™.

Jonathan Mannion — Iconic Hip-Hop Visual Strategist
Photographed Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz as a model, hip-hop pioneer, 

singer-songwriter, and founder of BMW Portfolio enterprise Swarm Tour™.

Angela Boatwright — Punk / Skate / It Girl Culture Chronicler

Photographed Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz as a model and it-girl founder 

of BMW Portfolio’s Black Grrrl Revolution™ for Jane Magazine — a subcultural 

iconography of a deeper, strategic vision of the “it-girl” — an intersection 

of activism, entrepreneurship, beauty, style and the elevation 

and legacy of girls and women of color.

Kesha Bruce — Art Photographer of Black Feminine Presence
Photographed Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz as a model, singer-songwriter, 

music industry survivor, activist, and founder of BMW Portfolio enterprise 

Black Grrrl Revolution™ for Curve Magazine—The Ani DiFranco issue.

Stefano Giovannini — Editorial & Fashion Photographer

Stefano Giovannini photographed Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz 

as a model, artist, and founder of Moore Awareness Productions 

for Nylon Magazine— capturing her creative leadership within 

New York City’s emerging female-led-culture vanguard.

Barron Claiborne — Cultural Portraitist

Barron Claiborne photographed Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz 

as a model and singer-songwriter for his body of work in homage 

to New York City Black women artists, positioning her within 

a lineage of creative legacy and visual sovereignty.

Dith Pran — Pulitzer Prize Photojournalist
(The Killing Fields, International Award of Excellence)
Documented Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz as a model, activist, and founder of 

BMW Portfolio enterprise Problackgrrrl Movement for Universal Freedom™— 

speaking at the Puerto Rican Day Parade Rally — The New York Times.

BMW Portfolio—culturally documented in photojournalism by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz— envisions wealth and legacy for girls and women of color. Its archive—built from grassroots documentation to institutional coverage—captures society with rare precision—

revealing what power conceals and documenting what the world overlooks.

A deeply committed photojournalist, BMW Portfolio founder Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz goes under-the-radar to capture the inner workings of society and culture with a level of investigation 

and relentless precision rarely seen in contemporary reportage—prolific and artistic— 

documenting every moment and detail of life’s experiences.

The B. Wojnarowicz Photojournalism™️ approach reflects a rare duality: 

insider access paired with outsider clarity, and the mantra of being

“blessed and honored to bear witness” life at a personal level, 

community level, industry, and cultural revolution level.

BMW Portfolio founder Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz‘ photojournalism muse in exile 

has been motherhood—as purpose, sentiment, creative force, and radical site of genius. 

In the maternal-photography traditions of Annie Hsiao-Ching Wang (The Mother as Creator), 

Sally Mann, and Dorothea Lange, B. Wojnarowicz Photojournalism™️ documents mixed, 

multicultural and multilingual family, youth genius, homeschooling, immersion 

in arts, rituals of home, and everyday life, beauty and revolution.

CULTURAL WITNESSING: LIVE CONCERTS & PERFORMANCES

B. Wojnarowicz Photojournalism™️—awakened through motherhood as muse and the 

act of documenting her child’s creative journey—is informed by cultural witnessing of 

live performance as revolutionary visibility, ritual, and culture-building since 1989.

—

SELECTED CONCERTS & PERFORMANCES

Iconic Venues & Artists:
Diana Ross — Radio City Music Hall (1978)
The Jacksons, Victory Tour — Giants Stadium (1984)
Stevie Wonder — Madison Square Garden (1986)
Lauryn Hill — Radio City Music Hall
Public Enemy — Radio City Music Hall
Queen Latifah with Digital Underground (feat. Tupac Shakur as backup dancer) & 3rd Bass

Hip-Hop History & Industry Milestones:
Ice Cube & Yo-Yo East Coast debut — New Music Seminar
Leaders of the New School (Busta Rhymes) debut — Los Angeles Hip-Hop Conference
Arrested Development — The Palladium
Doug E Fresh & MC Serch freestyle — Hotel Amazon
Heavy D — Daddy’s House by Puff Daddy

Alternative, Global, & Counterculture:
Ani DiFranco — Irving Plaza
Bratmobile — Wilson Center, Washington DC
Virginia Rodrigues — Joe’s Pub
Ronnie Spector — Life NYC
Cirque du Soleil — Battery Park City
Grateful Dead Alumni feat. Jerry Garcia — Woodstock ’94

Latin, Freestyle, Urban Diasporic, & Conscious Female Rap:
La India — SummerStage
Skadanks — Wetlands Preserve

32 Tribes (feat. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah Jr.) — Wetlands Preserve
Seduction — Red Zone Music Venue
Noel — The Saint
Jodeci debut — Atlantic City Music Convention
Treach vs. LA Star Historic MC Battle — New Music Seminar
Moore Awareness Productions female rap artist Aliqui debut — New Music Seminar

Moore Awareness Productions female rap artist Aliqui debut — Amateur Night at The Apollo
Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch — Private Event, Hard Rock Café NYC (Guest of Richard Channer)

—

INTERGENERATIONAL CULTURAL WITNESSING: MOTHERHOOD AS MUSE

My cultural witnessing and visual language expanded to include intergenerational 

documentation of my child’s musical journey as part of a living cultural continuum.

Mateusz Dominik Wojnarowicz — Workshop & Ohm Radio 96.3 Open Mic Series
Mateusz Dominik Wojnarowicz — Nuyorican Poets Café Open Mic Series

—

B. WOJNAROWICZ PHOTOJOURNALISM™️ WEALTH & LEGACY STATEMENT

These experiences formed my visual understanding of music as visual language, 

performance as revolutionary visibility, and photojournalism as historical record—

where women, youth, artists, and communities are preserved with dignity, 

accuracy, and authorship by B. Wojnarowicz Photojournalism™️.

The interactions, industries, and experiences within the BMW Portfolio history has been 

documented in memoir form by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz for BMW Portfolio 

enterprise Unheard Girl Publishing™️ — ensuring that no history is lost, 

no lesson is wasted, and no experience goes undocumented.

Each Unheard Girl Publishing™️ memoir by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz 

is a literary testimony, and as a collection they form a living archive and 

definitive body of work claiming BMW Portfolio and its founder 

Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz as witnessed, 

archived, claimed, and heard.

What others overlook becomes legacy
What others deny becomes literature

What others erase becomes record.

BMW Portfolio by Brigétte Michelle Wojnarowicz has generated a powerful constellation of responses — including testimonials, praise, letters of support, and personal accounts from artists, academics, attorneys, journalists, authors, cultural workers, and visionary leaders.

“A woman-child genius.”
— Kervin A. Simms, Entertainment Attorney

“Brigétte’s fly.”
— Rosie Perez, Founder of The Fly Girls

“You rock!”

(hand-signatured on Nu America letterhead)

— Cey Adams, Visual Artist & Co-Founder, Def Jam Creative 

“Brigétte’s a genius.”
— Kevin Maxwell, A&R, Tommy Boy Records

“A revolutionary voice for the freedom of women everywhere! Sing your song loud! We need you bad! Respect & Love, Pearl Cleage Jan., 2001” (signed copy of Mad At Miles: A Blackwoman’s Guide To Truth donated to Bernadine Louise Library™️)
— Pearl Cleage, Playwright & Author 

“Who’s this kid with that kind of insight?”
— Tom Silverman, Founder, Tommy Boy Records & New Music Seminar
(Discovering Brigétte at the New Music Seminar board and planning meeting)

“You have TOO MUCH POSSE. Nothing wrong that. Congratulations on the new job—you’ll do well. Thanks for all your help in 1990. Good luck in ‘91. (chillin in Tokyo…with Major Force)”
— Dave Funken-Klein, NYC & International Hip-Hop Pioneer

“That’s my brilliant Beamer.”
— Monica Lynch, President, Tommy Boy Records
(“Beamer” boss’s nickname—slang for BMW, years before W initial.)

“You have a real gem in Brigétte.”
— Neil H. Moritz, Producer, Juice—starring Tupac Shakur
(Read and reviewed historic Juice script to prep Tommy Boy President)

“Who’s her mom? Any mother of hers should be working for me.”
— Russell Simmons, Co-Founder, Def Jam

“Here’s my business card. Young lady, take my card home to your parents. Tell them to call me. Tell them I said to come to this club and stand up there in the Mezzanine and watch you dance. You are one of the the best hip-hop dancers I’ve ever seen. They need to see this.”
— Charlie Ahearn, Director, Wild Style (at Milky Way at Irving Plaza)

“I see you coming up in my shadow.”
— Sista Souljah, Activist, Writer, & Recording Artist

“Brigétte, congratulations, you’re everywhere.”
— Rebecca Walker, Author

“Anyone who looks like you should be singing.”
— Pattie Devries, A&R, Sony

“Your voice is like a new Tracy Chapman.”
— Philip Cowan, Entertainment Attorney (at demo listening)

“Keep me up to date on everything.”
— Wanda LeBron, ASCAP & Zulu Nation 

“Thank you for being the beautiful person you are. I’m so happy I met you this year. I’m going to miss you. Keep in touch!! With much love from Dara.”
— Dara Hamilton-Shanks, Accessories, Galeries Lafayette At Trump Tower

“Your songs made me and my daughters cry.”
— Sonya Sohn, Spoken Word Artist, Actress, & Filmmaker

“You‘re giving birth to an illuminati.”
— Saul Williams, Spoken Word Artist, Actor, & Author

“Brigétte —president, Moore Awareness Productions, I wanna be a rapper, and I heard you have stoopid juice. You would do well in Hollywood. We hung out at an actor‘s house named Alec something who starred in Hunt for Red October. Then we rolled by Carrie Fisher’s house from Star Wars etc… I’ll come by your spot one day.”
— Funken-Klein, President, Red Alert Productions (Sheraton Universal letterhead)

“Sisters In Business!!”
— Aliqui, Female Rap Artist, Moore Awareness Productions

“Oh yeah!! I saw Dan Charnas’s name in Source Magazine! I started thinking about how we were at his place all the time tripping on him—he’s cool though.” (Aliqui’s demo was produced and recorded in Dan Charnas’s 8-track home studio)
— Aliqui, Female Rap Artist, Moore Awareness Productions

“You are the prettiest Black girl I’ve ever seen in my life.”
— Mary J. Blige, SIR Studios Rehearsal, NYC

 “Hey B! Cinco de Mayo! Queens NY baby! I received your two letters today. I did a big “OMYGOD” when I saw the wedding picture. You two are absolutely gorgeous!!! You are glowing!! I also enjoyed the bat stamps —you are a goddess”
— Joan Lucas, Board Member, Black Grrrl Revolution (handwritten letter)

 “Through all these years, you’ve been my teacher.”
— Juliana Plotkin, Public Relations & Marketing Strategist (handwritten letter)

“You’re a very unique & wonderful person. You’ll get everything you wish for because you’ve worked hard and you deserve it. You’ve inspired me in many ways. I’ll never forget you or what you taught me. I love you! Peace.
— Juliana Plotkin, Public Relations & Marketing Strategist (handwritten letter)

“Ever since we were young, I envied you. Ironically, that envy has helped me more than it has hurt me. I was jealous of the person you were or wanted to be. You were so ambitious that you sort of inspired me in some ways. You’ve taught me many things mostly to be myself. You’ve opened up new doors for me and wish me nothing but the best in anything I do. I know you’ll make it real big one day, I always did. Remember me when you’re famous.”
— Juliana Plotkin, Public Relations & Marketing Strategist (handwritten letter)

“Having insight into your journey just confirms that there is no wrong path. So many connections… It’s amazing. We’re on opposite ends of the globe but we share the same realizations. We are no doubt linked in a most profound way and I cherish you as a living goddess. Namaste. Om Shanti”
— Derise Tardell, Yogi (handwritten from Nepal)

“I just want you to know you are never alone, The universe is full of friends and angels, God will send you everything you need and more, you are completely supported and guided. Never fear. Just remember, you’re the channel, God is using you to send Love out.”
— Asia, A Course In Miracles

“To Brigétte: For I know the plans I have for you declare the Lord plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will come and pray to me and I will listen to joy. — Jerimiah 29:11-12”
— Clara, co-worker, Henri Bendel (handwritten letter)

“You have an awesome personality! I know you have big dreams & I know someday they will all come true & you’re going to be someone important!
— Clara, co-worker, Henri Bendel (handwritten letter)

“You have remarkable resilience.”
— Sean (Love) Combs, Legendary Mogul, Producer, Artist, & Activist

“You have a powerful and inspiring life story.”
— Sean (Love) Combs, Legendary Mogul, Producer, Artist & Activist

“This is lovely, you have a wonderful project.”
— El DeBarge, Legendary Singer-Songwriter, on BMW Portfolio logo preview

“Mom, you count.”
— Mateusz Dominik Wojnarowicz, Polish-Multiracial Generation Z Prodigy & Visionary