My name is Raymond O'Neal Jr., founder of romStudio AI, a next-generation digital content production and creative marketing agency blending human insight with cutting-edge generative AI tools to craft high-impact brand stories. We specialize in delivering visually dynamic, culturally resonant marketing campaigns across video, social media, and web platforms. From immersive AI-generated content to out-of-the-box marketing and brand launch services, we help clients—startups, nonprofits, and legacy brands alike—stand out in a crowded digital landscape. Our work is anchored in purpose, powered by technology, and driven by storytelling that moves people. But we are much more than that. This is my call to rebuild with purpose.

Watch the story, and if it moves you, please consider donating or sharing. 95% of this video was created with AI technology. This is a part of what we do.

Watch What Your Help Will Do

What Drove Me Into Media

Growing up, I was angry at the way Black people were portrayed in mainstream media: exaggerated and disrespectful stereotypes or complete erasure. And when I first heard rap, I didn’t like it. That changed the day a friend handed me a Kool DJ Red Alert mixtape from his show on KISS FM in New York City. What I heard wasn’t the watered-down rap fed to the masses—it was raw, poetic, rebellious truth. It was Black America speaking to itself. I was witnessing a new kind of media emerging from the margins. And that’s when I knew: I had to be part of the movement to SMASH stereotypes, reclaim our narratives, and build platforms that told our stories, on our terms.

From FlyPaper to romStudio AI

That fire led me to co-found FlyPaper, an underground hip-hop music and culture magazine that helped launch my career in urban media. From there, I joined the history-making team at Vibe magazine, and later co-published Blaze, a national rap magazine that gave birth to the iconic Blaze Battle on HBO. I continued as a music producer for Vibe Late Night (hosted by Sinbad) and Weekend Vibe (a nationally syndicated TV series). Then I joined Uptown Media Group, the publisher of Uptown magazine, where I produced content that centered on affluent Black voices and redefined excellence on our own terms. At every stop, my mission remained the same: to create spaces where our voices, our struggles, our creativity, and our humanity were at the forefront.

What was my side-hustle, single-shingle consultancy, has evolved into romStudio AI—a remote, generative AI content production and marketing studio. My purpose and mission haven’t changed since my mixtape days, but the landscape has. Dramatically.

Why This Matters & Why I'm Asking for Your Support

To build the next chapter of my mission—and make this movement sustainable—I need your help.

romStudio AI is currently in its soft launch phase, and we’re building a Black-owned, community-focused AI content production and marketing studio, dedicated to cultural storytelling, digital empowerment, and social and financial equity.

This GoFundMe campaign aims to create access, education, and empowerment for Black and Brown communities. I’m raising $36,000 to fund the operations for the next 12 months ($5,000 in by July 31st) to cover basic operating costs:

Production overhead and access to AI tools like HeyGen, ElevenLabs, and other specialized software; updating our hardware to meet the computer processing demands that working with Artificial Intelligence requires; and adding community-based freelance support.

Building capacity by adding freelancers to serve community-based small businesses, other content creators, and non-profits.

Marketing initiatives to help further access additional capital to hire personnel to build capacity and scale for romStudio AI.

Your donations will also support two transformative projects currently in development at romStudio AI:

Development and rollout of The AI Come-Up (TAICU): a digital newsletter, content + training platform designed to teach everyday folk (and their kids) how to use artificial intelligence to better their lives, enhance performance on the job, start businesses, and create generational wealth—from a culturally grounded, Black-centered perspective.

‍♀️ Fresh episodes of Rooted Global:

Accessible meditations that speak directly to the mental health needs of women of color in multiple languages. Rooted Global – a multilingual meditation and mental wellness video series featuring affirmations and practices in English, Spanish, and French, with other languages in the pipeline. I have the privilege of being the Director of Post-Production for this historic endeavor. Click here to check it out—https://tinyurl.com/RootedGlobal

Historically speaking, our communities have been among the last to benefit from emerging technologies, often left behind due to a lack of access, inadequate education, and high entry costs. romStudio AI exists to break that cycle—and to put powerful new tools directly into our people’s hands. The good news is that our clients already include startups, Black-owned businesses, nonprofits, educators, and content creators—people who want to tell stories that matter.

When you support this campaign, you’re investing in our collective future—one where technology serves culture, not the other way around.

❤️ If this mission resonates with you, here's how you can help:

✅ Donate what you can. Every donation—large or small—brings us closer to creating tools, content, and spaces that heal, uplift, and empower.

✅ Share this campaign with friends, family, or your network.

✅ Reach out if you're interested in partnering, sponsoring, or collaborating.

I’ve spent my life telling our stories—and now I want to help us take the mic in this new media age. With your help, we can build a future that looks like us, sounds like us, and moves with respect and love.

Thank you for believing.

Thank you for investing.

Let’s rise together. ✊

rwo

Raymond O’Neal

Founder, romStudio AI