pretty much at the point where I move past them and figure it out on my own. To say I tracked them down would be an understatement. I literally called around to different people, including their label at the time, Ruthless Records, and found out where they would be. When they arrived at their location, I was there, front and center, with a well written proposal in hand and an explanation of my intentions. Now surely, nothing materialized in the end, but I still felt vindicated, and happy with the results. When everyone told me it was impossible to make contact, I made it happen. It’s a lesson to anyone that anything is possible if you do what it takes to make it possible. I firmly believe that, and its what I continue to live by this very day.
I would continue to build upon my experiences and opportunities following this eye-opening experience. Ultimately, I would leave Radio One for an internship with WKYC TV 3. Just like before, once I was inside, I networked as much as I possibly could, and that landed me a permanent position within their mail room. The thing I’ve learned through time is that you always have to remain humble. When you want an opportunity, you have to be willing to do what it takes, and sometimes, that puts you in a position that you may not really want. The last thing I wanted was to work in a mail room, however, I was willing to do it to get my foot in the door. That led to me transitioning into a vacant position as a production assistant. Clearly, had I not been with the company already, I likely would have never known about the vacancy. Taking that position in the mail room put me in the right place at the right time. Sometimes, you have to take one step back to move two steps forward. That worked out tremendously for me because I was able to gain valuable experience in a television newsroom. That knowledge can never be taken away from me.
In addition to the blessings I earned with these two positions and organizations, I also began freelancing as a Journalist in 2001. It’s been truly amazing because it afforded me the opportunity to gain, build, and nurture so many relationships within the entertainment industry. So many people ask how I began my freelancing career, and they’re so amazed when I tell them how easy it really was for me. Any Journalist can tell you how difficult it is to get experience as a writer in the very beginning. There are a number of ways to get experience. First and foremost, you have to be willing to offer your skills for free. There are so many opportunities available in the freelance world for anyone who is willing to do it for free. Obviously experience will come into play at some point, but you still stand a pretty good chance of getting valuable experience when you are willing to do it for free. That was the very thing that helped me in the beginning. I offered my writing services for a number of online and print publications for free. Immediately, people were willing to extend the opportunity to me, and as I did more, it became that much easier to get more work. Going backwards a bit to the website I created for Bone Thugs N Harmony and the proposal I submitted, I took that website when nothing materialized, and transitioned it into a blog. Now mind you, not many were blogging in 2001. There definitely were a few, but not very many. Titled Urban Connectionz Online, that would be the catalyst for all things to come for me in the Journalism world. Within two weeks of launching, I was contacted by representatives of Def Jam about interviewing none other than Kelly Price. The relationships only grew from that point, and the interviews began to flow in faster and faster. Throughout the years, I’ve had the opportunity to interview a laundry list of entertainers, and it has again provided me with such valuable experience in the business. The beauty in having my own blog was it gave me the ability to interview and publish on my own terms, and that ultimately became my experience. That experience then allowed me to gain opportunities in other areas as a freelance Journalist, and ultimately as a publisher later on in my career.
I’ve been able to work this way for a number of years, with my own publishing company being the end result.