DETROIT — Detroit rapper Big Sean has partnered with music superstar Usher to invest $1 million in a new entertainment production facility for Detroit youth.

The Detroit Entertainment Innovation Incubator, which will be housed in the new Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan inside Michigan Central, will offer a virtual production studio, special effects lab, a creators' lounge and more, according to a Thursday release from the Boys & Girls Club.

"Detroit has always been the blueprint for innovation, from the assembly line to Motown. This collaboration — especially with two heavy hitter alumni — extends that legacy by proving the creative economy can be a pathway to ownership and equity," Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan president and CEO Shawn H. Wilson said in a statement. "Together, with our amazing partners, we're transforming talent into capital and creativity into generational wealth."

The new Boys & Girls Club is set to open inside Michigan Central in February. Partners on the project include Usher's New Look, Big Sean's Sean Anderson Foundation, Ilitch Sports + Entertainment and Emory University's Goizueta Business School.

"Detroit is where my creativity was born. From freestyling in my mom's basement to performing on the biggest stages in the world. My mission has always been to make sure the next generation of dreamers and innovators from my city have the access, tools and mentorship to do the same," Big Sean said in a statement. "The Innovation Incubator is about showing young people that they don't have to leave Detroit to chase opportunity, they can build it right here."

The Innovation Incubator marks the latest partnership between Big Sean, born Sean Anderson, and the local Boys & Girls Clubs; since 2018, he has contributed four production studios to local facilities.

In a statement, Usher said the new facility will help prepare users for greatness. "It takes just one person to believe in your success," he said, "and I'm honored to be one of many in this partnership to help make that happen."

The new Boys & Girls Club location is slated to officially open with a ribbon cutting ceremony in February, according to a statement.

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