Letter From the Editor
The Return of UrbanELITE
First and foremost I have to say...Damn it feels good to be back!!
Writing has been a part of my professional life since 2005, you can find all sorts of stories and interviews that I've done on the internet. When my journey with entertainment media and writing began, it didn't take very long for people to learn who the “Social Butterfly” was. My work around AZ began with interviews that I sought out on my own for various sites. Before long, I started having little features in IliveHipHop.com with Yungface, and various appearances playing around with the men of Trill Talk Radio where J. Milly (their female co-host) and I got to know one another. From there, Milly started “Hustle-N-Grind” radio where I was co-host for a little while. This all occurred between the end of 2008 and into 2009. Despite the phenomenal growth and fast popularity, none of these ventures were really “mine”. Sure I was enjoying myself...but I was never one to stay behind the scenes of someone else...eventually I would want to break out on my own. Then the idea of starting a digital magazine came about. UrbanELITE first published in October 2009. It didn't take long before I was being contacted to do features for rising artists, local events, music releases, ect. UrbanELITE even hosted events in town including our work alongside AWAL Productions and the 2010 “Respect Mine” MC Battle at the Stray Cat. Had interviews with well known celebrities such as Omar Gooding (think BabyBoy...Smart Guy), Twitter Rants and back and forth chats with Shaquille O'neal (felt like we were old buddies), inside peek to Twista's Category 5 with our interview with the Legendary Traxster, ect....had a planned interview with David Banner and Chino XL in the works...Shout outs in mixtapes, plus a mention in an album cover...everything was looking great!
So, if all this was going on.....why did I stop the train, or practically derail it??
A few reasons...and I will be very brief, I let what I allowed someone to do to me cause me to walk away....what does that mean? It means someone who I thought would never hurt me, betrayed me while they were supposedly “helping” me make this magazine grow. I say I allowed it because rather than leave a nasty situation where it was...I ultimately stayed for too long. I allowed things that I didn't approve of to continue to happen because I didn't stand up for what I felt was right...and unfortunately I felt that this was at the expense of my reputation. One thing that everyone knows about me is that I take my reputation very seriously. I felt what I worked so hard on building was tarnished. I didn't know how or if I could continue just because my “partner” in this was practically an enemy in my eyes. Besides this I had other dreams that I started wanting to see come true. Everyone knows my passion in medicine. Well, years after I decided that being a Nurse wasn't what I wanted but knew deep down in my soul I needed to be working in the medical industry...I had the opportunity to go back to college to become a Paramedic. Two years of school was going to take away from doing events and everything else that was involved in this magazine. But it was well worth the sacrifice! I still wrote as a freelancer during my time in school (had to make money...boy did it keep me afloat lol)...graduated and working in my field and loving every single bit of it. But damn if having my magazine up and going again wasn't in the back of mind this whole time. I say it was because I got rid of the problem that stole my joy from it in the first place.
Here we are, 2014...UrbanELITE is back! I have lost time to make up for and a lot of rebuilding to do but at least this time around I am stronger...as a person, and business owner. I'll be damned if I ever let another PERSON steal my joy! The issues of the past are left in the past and no grudges are carried with me today. I am in a wonderful place in life! The messages and comments that I've received over the years asking when UE would return makes this Re-Introduction even more exciting for me! I thank all of you who have been down this journey with me since 2008 when Phoenix first got to know Shae Freeman as a Writer/PR...and especially to my readers who have been with me since 2005 when this all began. This is for you!