0:07

This is not a video . When I was coming

0:09

out , we had to go outside the city . We

0:12

had to go travel , go out of town , beat down doors

0:14

. This was the first time Bill has ever gone on this set

0:16

.

0:19

He said here comes the token , this is not a

0:21

video . And out of my mouth I

0:23

said F you , this

0:29

is not a video . This

0:35

is my real story .

0:36

This is who I am .

0:38

I built myself off a dream

0:40

without a man's help , without a basketball

0:42

player . Particularly , the patriarchal

0:45

box says white , cisgender

0:48

males have to find for us should

0:51

be how we define ourselves . That's

0:53

what they were saying on the street . I didn't say it . That's

0:56

what they were saying on the street , the streets

0:58

, the avenues and the bulletin . Welcome

1:03

, welcome

1:06

, welcome . You're now tuned into another

1:08

amazing edition of Sanya

1:10

Onay . I'm your host , sanya Hudson-Payton

1:12

, and how do I sort of feature in every single

1:15

show ? You

1:17

guessed that I have another great show for you

1:19

, but before I tell you about today's

1:21

guest , I need you to do me a

1:24

favor , just a little favor . It'll

1:26

cost you $3.99 . All

1:28

I need you to do is subscribe

1:31

to every Sanya Onay streaming platform

1:33

. Sanya Onay streams on

1:36

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, itunes , amazon

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Podcast , google Podcast

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you name it . Sanya Onay

1:46

is there . Also , if you're watching

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this on YouTube , not

1:50

only hit the subscribe button , but

1:53

also hit the notification bell . Just

1:55

a little bell . It looks like this . It goes

1:57

like that way every time

1:59

I upload an all new Sanya

2:01

Onay celebrity interview , unpacking

2:04

their pivotal moments and milestones , you'll

2:06

be the first ones to know . The notification

2:08

bell lets you know every time there is

2:10

an all new Sanya Onay celebrity

2:13

interview . So today's

2:16

guest Today's

2:19

guest is an unsung

2:21

icon by

2:23

the name of Deidre Tate

2:25

. Now let me tell you something . This

2:29

woman has been

2:31

the power behind

2:33

some of the world's leading

2:36

music labels . Let

2:40

me tell you about some of the record labels that

2:42

she's worked with and lead

2:44

. As a matter of fact , mca

2:47

, motown

2:49

Bif10 record

2:51

you know Bif10 , that's with Michael Bivens

2:54

of New Edition and BBD Queen

2:58

Latifah's Flavor Unit

3:00

, and she's also been

3:02

a producer for television

3:05

and film . A lot of times

3:07

you see these people in front of the cameras , you know

3:09

, singing the songs , rapping

3:12

the lyrics , acting out things

3:14

and television and film . She's

3:17

that person behind them . And

3:20

those are the people that we don't really well

3:22

, you don't . Those are the

3:24

people who aren't really given

3:26

a spotlight too often . And

3:30

when the world doesn't spotlight people

3:32

, I wonder how do they receive their flowers

3:34

? Do they want to give it to

3:38

themselves ? You know , just buy some roses , go

3:41

to 1-800-FLOWERS and say from

3:44

Sanya to Sanya , is that how this

3:46

happens ? So

3:49

I just wanted to make sure that Didre

3:51

Tate understands that we

3:54

see you , boo , I

3:56

see you and I want you

3:58

to see her too . So she's

4:00

going to be joining us in just a few moments

4:02

Before we bring in Ms

4:04

Tate . Why don't we get into the

4:06

latest celebrity news

4:08

? This is not even

4:11

on here . Oops

4:13

, she did it again

4:15

. Britney Spears , that is , britney Spears

4:18

is back in the news , but this time she isn't

4:20

dancing scantily clad with knives

4:23

on social media . Oh , no , no . She

4:25

has a new book that is

4:27

soon to be released and it's called

4:29

the Woman and

4:31

Me . Now , mind you , the cover of the book

4:33

. She ain't got no shirt on her , maybe

4:39

not . So a

4:42

part of the book . She is talking about her

4:44

ex , justin

4:46

Timberlake . She is spilling

4:48

the beans , the secrets . She

4:50

said that back in the

4:52

dizzy , when they were dating

4:55

and Justin Timberlake was still

4:57

the lead singer of the group in

4:59

Sink . There

5:02

was a time when Justin

5:04

Timberlake met Genuine

5:06

, the R&B singer , riding

5:08

my pony , my

5:11

saddles waiting

5:13

, okay , all right , so , anyway . So when

5:15

Justin met Genuine

5:18

, he put on his black scent and

5:22

he started talking to Genuine using

5:25

, let's say , urban vernacular , like

5:27

foshies , foshies

5:31

. So

5:34

Britney was saying that he just wanted

5:36

to act

5:38

black . He wanted to be a part

5:40

of the culture . So bad , ms

5:43

Britney Spears , ms

5:45

Britney , claudine Spears Well

5:47

, I don't know if Claudine is her real name , but don't you look like

5:49

a Claudine from the South Fried

5:52

pickles and pig feet . So

5:56

Britney , claudine Spears , we

6:00

knew this girl . The

6:03

community knew this . When Justin first

6:05

appeared , remember , when he had the

6:08

corn rolls going back and

6:11

the community was saying he's trying

6:14

to be black , and

6:17

everyone was saying no

6:19

, he's not . But we knew , we

6:22

knew . Why is it that it

6:25

ain't a thing ? Until they say it's a thing

6:27

, I don't get it . How

6:29

many times have you spoken to

6:31

a person who isn't a part of the black

6:33

community , who isn't black ? Let's just say that person who isn't

6:35

black ? And when they talk to

6:38

you , they try to talk to you as

6:40

if they are part of the culture . Let me give you a

6:42

quick story . So over the

6:44

summer I went to

6:46

I wouldn't

6:49

really call them friends , we're

6:51

becoming friends Like

6:53

we own some property together

6:56

and they invited

6:58

me to their penthouse For

7:03

July 4th weekend to see the fireworks

7:05

, amazing penthouse overlooking

7:07

all of New York City . Loved it . They're rich

7:09

, they're filthy , filthy rich . So

7:13

anyway , so me and the rest of my

7:15

black family go over to these white

7:17

people's house at home and

7:20

you know I brought

7:22

some rosé from

7:25

my favorite vineyard in the Hamptons and

7:29

they were serving dinner and

7:32

they had fried

7:35

chicken and

7:37

cornbread and collard greens . I

7:40

don't eat any of that , I'm

7:43

slightly pescetarian

7:45

, more on the vegetarian side . And

7:49

their daughter looked

7:51

at the plate and said , mommy , what

7:54

is this ? And

7:56

the mother said that's cornbread

7:59

. Just try it , you'll like it . And

8:02

then they started playing some rap music and

8:06

I looked at my daughter and she looked

8:08

at me like what , what

8:10

? And the raisins

8:13

and the potato salad is going on

8:15

. And

8:21

I looked at the rest of my family and

8:24

they were like , oh , I'm going to be the best . And

8:27

they felt as if the only way they could

8:30

relate to us was to tap into one layer of the black

8:32

experience , as if that defined us

8:34

all . Back

8:37

to Justin Timberlake . That's

8:39

what he tried to do . He wanted

8:42

to be relatable instead of being

8:44

himself , and he wanted to be a person that was as good as they

8:46

feel , as if they can go

8:49

into different rooms and be that culture

8:51

. But , darling , when we go into

8:53

certain rooms , we can't take this off

8:55

ever . We

8:58

are not allowed , even if we wanted to . So

9:02

I'm excited to hear about everything

9:04

else that Brittany

9:07

Claudine Spears will

9:10

be revealing , because

9:13

if she is doing anything , like Jada Pinkett

9:15

Smith , who just released a book , she's

9:20

going to reveal all the secrets so

9:22

her pockets can go ka-ching with

9:25

the book sales . If you people

9:27

don't know this by now , I

9:31

don't get it . I don't

9:33

get it . I wonder if I'm ever going to get to a place

9:36

where I'm just going to share some dirty

9:38

, dirty secrets just to sell a book

9:40

. Well , they do . That's

9:43

what happens in this celebrity space . Everything

9:46

is so salacious and

9:49

I don't get it . And I was going to share another

9:51

story that I had a conversation

9:53

with some record

9:55

label executives as to how

9:58

certain music is just allowed to

10:00

be published

10:02

and why they sign particular

10:04

artists that are trash . I'll

10:08

save that story for another

10:11

episode , but

10:13

time to be going to purchase the book the

10:15

Woman and Me from

10:17

Brittany Claudine Spears

10:19

. I'm

10:22

not interested , so

10:24

let's get back to sign your name so

10:26

we can talk about Deidre Tate

10:28

for the culture . Okay , stay

10:31

tuned . But

10:33

let me tell you , deidre , I'm really excited to

10:35

have this conversation with you

10:37

because I think the world

10:40

needs to see more unsung

10:42

legends and heroes such

10:44

as yourself . You've navigated

10:47

through this industry in such an amazing

10:49

way as a woman of color and I think

10:51

that it's about time that your story is heard

10:54

. Let's start from

10:56

the beginning . Okay , your

10:58

time at Howard University . Now

11:01

we know that today , college

11:03

is viewed a little bit differently , sort

11:05

of like a big business . When

11:07

you decided to apply

11:09

and attend Howard University

11:11

, was it a decision

11:13

that you knew would lead directly into

11:15

the music industry , or was it a decision

11:18

based upon what your parents told you

11:20

to do ?

11:21

So actually my story in

11:23

the entertainment industry started in high school

11:25

. My sister and I

11:27

both had a column in the Amsterdam news

11:29

, which you know is the largest African

11:31

American publication all four

11:33

years of high school , called Tomorrow's Generation . So

11:36

we interviewed everybody , from Michael Jackson

11:39

we went to every single concert in limos

11:41

. We had fan mail from prisoners

11:43

. Believe me , we were . It was crazy and

11:46

you have to remember , when I graduated from high

11:48

school I was only 15 , going on 16

11:51

years old . This is like between the ages

11:53

of 12 and 16 years old

11:55

. So I knew that I wanted to

11:57

major in journalism , but because

12:00

I had already had a column in the Amsterdam news which

12:02

people that graduate from Howard try

12:04

to get a starting position there

12:06

. That's when I decided to major in broadcast

12:09

journalism . I only

12:11

applied to two schools . One was UCLA

12:13

and one was Howard University , and my parents

12:15

are both bison . They met

12:17

there , fell in love , had my sister

12:19

and there was nowhere else . They were going to let me go . They

12:22

were like you could go to UCLA

12:24

if you want to , but you'll only be coming home during

12:26

the summer .

12:28

But you know , I don't want to just glaze over that

12:30

, because that is no small feat as

12:33

a high school student to write for

12:35

the Amsterdam news .

12:37

Yes , how did that happen ? So

12:39

my godmother , Audrey J Bernard

12:41

, who is close friends with both of my parents , she

12:44

knew that we love to write and we always

12:46

went to all of the concerts and we always threw parties . I

12:49

have been like my entire family has

12:51

been throwing parties all of my life since I can remember

12:53

. So we used to promote events

12:56

and she was like you know what you girls should do

12:58

, a column that you know with interesting

13:00

things for teenagers . So

13:02

that's why we called it tomorrow's generation . It

13:04

had our pictures on there and actually , when I went

13:06

to Howard , every single one of my articles

13:09

is on microfiche in the founders library

13:11

.

13:13

Wow , yes , Wow

13:15

, that's huge . But you know what

13:17

? Every conversation that I speak

13:20

, that I have with successful

13:22

people such as yourself , they always tap

13:24

into their social capital and

13:27

how they were able to enter rooms

13:29

because of people who knew them . And

13:32

I'm so glad that you mentioned that , because we

13:34

don't understand the importance of a social capital

13:37

Right and being surrounded by like

13:39

minded individuals . So

13:41

, okay , so high school writing for

13:43

the Amsterdam news , now you're

13:45

a student at Howard University and

13:47

you graduated .

13:48

Yes , Go ahead . Yes

13:51

, so I made you in broadcast journalism because

13:53

I originally wanted to be the

13:55

black Barbara Walters . But during

13:57

the time that I was in college

13:59

they launched MTV . It was a brand

14:01

new network back then and my father at the

14:03

time was the head of marketing

14:06

and advertising for black enterprise

14:09

. So I was like , dad , do you know anybody

14:11

at MTV ? And this is what I , whenever

14:13

I speak to people , I tell them networking

14:16

nepotism and follow

14:19

up . Nepotism is a word that black people

14:21

do not use enough and do not take advantage

14:23

of enough . I immediately called my dad

14:25

. I was like what context do you have ? And

14:28

he said actually one of my mentees

14:30

is an account executive at MTV . So

14:32

do you know ? My parents , for graduation

14:34

, sent me on a vacation to

14:36

Europe . I was in Europe and traveled around

14:39

and when I came back I had an interview lined

14:41

up at MTV with two

14:43

to account executives . Because

14:45

Barbara Britain , who is the person that

14:47

was my first mentor and my dad's

14:49

mentee , she made arrangements

14:51

for me to get an interview to get into the ad sales

14:54

department . So that's how I got my foot in

14:56

the door and I knew I didn't want to stay in advertising

14:58

because my goal was to be in the music news and in

15:00

the creative area . So I

15:03

just kept my eye on those postings

15:05

and I made friends with human resources . And

15:07

when a position became available in talent relations

15:09

because I had worked in ad sales

15:12

I knew that every time one of my bosses wanted

15:14

to wine and dine , somebody take

15:16

them to a concert or people wanted tickets

15:18

, you had to submit ticket requests to do

15:20

the talent relations department . I

15:22

was like that's the department I want to be in and

15:25

that's the department I made it into . Wow

15:27

.

15:28

You mentioned , you know , having a mentor

15:30

, yes , nepotism

15:33

these are all keys

15:35

to success . And what a lot

15:37

of people don't know is that I've been in education

15:40

for over 20 years and for the past

15:42

I would say eight years , it has been a

15:44

primary focus for me to

15:46

create social capital for high

15:48

school students , marginalized

15:50

high school students , because

15:52

white people do it all the time .

15:54

Right .

15:54

And it is about time that we understand

15:56

that that is definitely a strategy

15:59

that works in order to get into spaces

16:01

that were never created for us .

16:03

Correct .

16:04

I mentioned that . So when did you like

16:07

? Okay , so MTV , talk about

16:09

your experience working at MTV

16:11

. Did you like it ? Did you hate it ?

16:12

Yeah , so I absolutely loved

16:14

it . I was one of a handful

16:17

if it was even a handful of black people at

16:19

the time . This was in 1984 . This

16:22

is when Martha Quinn , jj

16:25

Jackson these are all of the the VJs

16:27

that were on there I was working at MTV

16:29

when , when downtown , julie Brown came to

16:31

audition , when they were doing auditions for the

16:33

host of Club MTV . So that

16:36

was during the time and I ended up in talent relations

16:38

. And then my next mentor

16:41

was Sam Kaiser , who was my boss . He

16:43

came over from Atlantic Records and he was the head

16:45

of marketing and talent relations . I

16:48

ended up working for MTV a total of three

16:50

years , but when he was leaving to start

16:53

a label with Elton John called Uni Records

16:55

, he actually challenged the

16:57

executives at MTV to ask them what

16:59

were their plans for me , because I told you I was like the

17:01

only African American in that whole creative

17:04

floor . And he said that if

17:06

they let him out of his key man

17:08

contract so that he was able

17:10

to hire me , that he thinks that I would have a , you

17:12

know , better opportunity of moving forward . So

17:15

they did that and he was able to hire me because

17:17

he shouldn't have been able to hire anyone for a one

17:19

year period after he left the company

17:21

when he decided to leave .

17:23

I'm sorry the Wi-Fi went out . Can

17:25

you repeat what you just said ?

17:27

Yeah , you hear me ? Yes

17:30

, you're frozen , though I'm frozen

17:36

again Now . We're both frozen . Oh

17:38

no , I'm still moving . You're frozen , though You're

18:11

frozen you

18:16

.

18:46

Okay , wait , give me one

18:48

second

18:50

.

18:50

Yeah , you have to kick yourself out . You know

18:52

I produce shows on screen .

18:55

That's exactly what I had to do . I'm

18:59

in this whole different space and we're

19:01

kind of getting used to the , to the wi-fi

19:03

which goes in and out . But

19:05

you know what I did hear from when we

19:08

were disconnected ? You

19:11

, you were able to transition to

19:13

a whole new space , even though you were only

19:15

one of the few African

19:18

Americans in that space , working on MTV

19:20

. What did you do ? That

19:22

made you stand out where someone

19:24

said I'm leaving and I'm going to take you with

19:26

me . What did you do ?

19:28

So I did something very specific

19:31

when I was still working in ad sales and I

19:33

was applying for that position . So

19:35

it was the hot that's the hottest department at

19:37

MTV to work at . So everybody and

19:39

their mother and these that includes like

19:41

hundreds of privileged white

19:44

young people that are straight out of college

19:46

whose parents know everybody that's in

19:48

the building already . So what I did

19:50

with my journalism background , I created a book

19:52

called Deidre Tate and why

19:54

and I researched my boss

19:56

and I knew that he commuted to Long Island

19:58

. I found out everything about him and I wrote

20:00

a little book and put that cover on there . I had

20:03

articles that I had written for the Hilltop

20:05

at Howard , all of the one sheets that I

20:07

wrote for the salespeople at MTV Like

20:09

every single thing that I have produced on

20:12

my own or for other people I put in there

20:14

. And then I handed it to him at the end of my interview

20:16

and I said I know you're living in Long Island and you're

20:18

going to have a long train ride , so if there's anything

20:20

, I have an answer for you . I've made something

20:23

for you . And when he saw that Deidre Tate and why , he

20:25

was like , oh , you're hired .

20:26

Wow , I love it . And this

20:28

is what I encourage youth to do , because

20:30

, once again , I prepare them for

20:33

internship opportunities , enrichments

20:35

, expanding their social capital . And

20:37

I'm telling them whenever you are in the

20:39

face of an employer and you are

20:41

hired , don't just do what

20:43

is written down on paper the roles and

20:46

responsibilities and the expectations . Create

20:49

something different and new and present

20:52

it . Make yourself stand out . So I'm glad

20:54

that you dropped that gem , because a lot of

20:56

people just think that they have to stick to the

20:58

script , and I'm so glad that

21:00

you stepped out on fear and innovation

21:02

and you

21:04

just made a name for yourself . So MTV

21:06

, uni . What was next after

21:08

that ?

21:09

Well , while everything in my career

21:11

has been like a series of connecting the dots

21:13

. So when I was working at UNI

21:15

, uni was owned by MCA Records . We

21:18

happened to be on the same floor because UNI

21:21

was like a small boutique label

21:23

within the MCA system . But

21:25

on our same floor was the MCA Records

21:27

Black Music Division . So one day I'm

21:29

riding up on the elevator and there's somebody

21:31

saying hold it , hold it . So I hold the elevator

21:34

and this man looking fly comes

21:36

on . I can tell I don't know who he was

21:38

, but he gets on the elevator and he said

21:40

I said what floor you're going to ? And he said eight . And I

21:43

said oh , some of mine , it's my first eight . And

21:45

he was like really , where you going ? I said I'm

21:47

working at UNI and he was like there's black people

21:49

at UNI and I said that's how they got the name , I'm the

21:51

only one there . And he busted out laughing

21:53

and then when I got off the elevator

21:56

we walked in and he was like I'm going to come find

21:58

you later . I had no idea

22:00

it was Gerald Busby , the CEO of

22:02

MCA . So he just

22:04

looked for me on the floor , came

22:07

to my office and he was like tell me about

22:09

yourself . We just started talking and he was

22:11

like I can't believe it . I am really so impressed

22:13

I was showing him the work that I was doing because

22:15

even at UNI I created a

22:17

little newspaper on my own and this was back

22:19

in the days of cutting , pasting , photocopying

22:22

and then distributing to everybody . It was called

22:24

UNI tombs . We had

22:26

like Eric B and Rock Kim was the first rap

22:29

group that I worked with , but other than that we had all pop

22:31

groups . But I would cut out the little pictures

22:33

from Billboard , put the chart position

22:35

that we were last week , this week , and it was like

22:37

a little Bible for every artist that

22:39

was on UNI and I would distribute it to every

22:42

single person on the entire floor , which

22:44

were all people from MCA . So

22:46

he was like you're the one that's been doing those UNI

22:48

tombs . And then , the first opportunity that came

22:50

up , he sent me on a trip

22:52

, told me that during that trip

22:54

I went to Jamaica , took some of my friends

22:56

. He was like you're going to get a call around three o'clock

22:58

every single day . Somebody's going to be

23:01

on the other end to interview you and when I came home

23:03

, I was announced as the new Northeast Regional

23:05

Director for MCA Records .

23:08

Wow . So you were ready . Whenever

23:10

the opportunity is presented itself , you

23:13

were ready . Where does that fearlessness

23:15

? Where does that innovative spirit ? Where does

23:17

that creativity stem from ?

23:19

It comes from both of my parents . So

23:21

my dad he's like

23:24

the unsung mayor . Everybody , I think , in

23:26

New York knows Bob Tate . So my father

23:28

not only graduated from Howard

23:30

with a business degree , he was in the military

23:32

. Then he worked for amazing

23:35

corporations and he decided to start working

23:37

for Black Enterprise and then

23:39

from there he was at Ebony and Jet , actually during

23:42

my junior and senior year high school , before

23:44

he started publishing his own magazine , which

23:46

one you probably know of , that's still around Black

23:48

elegance . I think they changed it to Black

23:51

noir , but he had Black elegance

23:53

magazine , bell magazine and

23:55

Spice magazine , which was like

23:57

a competitor of Right On . My mother

23:59

, on the other hand , was the flyest

24:02

brainiac you would ever want to meet and she

24:04

is our hidden

24:07

treasure , like the movie Hidden Treasures . She was

24:09

an IT person . She was one of the first

24:11

female vice presidents at a bank , a

24:13

chemical bank , doing programming

24:15

with all white men , exactly like the movie

24:18

Hidden Figures .

24:20

So you know , I know that some kids , when they

24:22

come from a household where both

24:24

parents are very , very successful , sometimes

24:27

they are fearful to step into their own

24:29

greatness in fear that they won't measure

24:32

up to their parents . Did

24:34

you ever experience that fear of not

24:36

being enough ?

24:37

No , because they never put that pressure

24:39

on us . A lot of people that have

24:41

those high-powered corporate parents

24:44

, they put so much pressure on their children that

24:46

they're afraid that they're not going to measure up to them

24:48

. We never had that . We traveled the world

24:50

with Dance Theatre Harlem . We were creative . We were

24:52

with Dance Theatre Harlem and then another company

24:54

called the Harlem Children's Theatre Company traveling

24:57

all over the world . So we were always well-rounded

24:59

. My mother took us everywhere we were in the Girl

25:02

Scouts . She exposed us to the theater

25:04

and then when we did the article , you

25:06

know , when we had Al Column in the Amsterdam News , we

25:08

were exposed and around so

25:10

many people and we were always around

25:13

celebrities because they had a lot of friends like

25:15

no pointer and different people that would come

25:17

like to out some house and play like

25:20

just in the middle of the floor at their parties

25:22

, just do jam sessions . So we

25:24

were never jaded . It's kind of like we grew

25:26

up in that fun environment

25:29

and we were always just encouraged to do what

25:31

made us happy , and music was what

25:33

made me happy .

25:34

I love it . You mentioned a keyword

25:36

exposure . Exposure

25:38

is so important for

25:40

anyone growing up . I

25:43

always encourage the youth tap into

25:45

the options , because

25:47

once you tap into the options you now

25:49

have choices to make your decisions

25:52

on . So I'm glad that you

25:54

had options as a part of your early

25:56

beginnings , because then you were able to navigate

25:59

into different rooms because you had already been

26:01

in different rooms .

26:02

Correct . You have to do that and

26:05

I always , when I speak to young

26:07

people , I always tell them I don't care

26:09

how old you are , have a business

26:11

card . That business card can just

26:13

have if you're a student . It should have when

26:15

you're going to graduate . But if you're not a student , just

26:17

have your email address or something with your social

26:19

media so that you have something to show

26:21

that you're professional when you're speaking to people

26:24

and greeting them , because networking is

26:26

like 80% of the

26:28

battle and then you have to have the 20%

26:30

has to be backup 80%

26:34

is the battle and 20% is the backup

26:36

. Yeah , but you know

26:38

this generation .

26:39

Do you think that business cards

26:42

are still essential ?

26:44

Absolutely . Now it's a QR code . I

26:46

have one myself the dot card . So when

26:48

people are just like the last card you'll ever need

26:50

and that's a great plug for them because they sponsored

26:52

an event that I produced but when

26:55

I pull out that dot card , the young kids

26:57

are the ones that's like yo , where'd you get that

27:00

? And I'm like , if I don't have one on

27:02

me to give to them , I tell them the order . If they're only $20

27:04

, you can put all of your information , including

27:07

your they're always cash appings , zelling

27:09

, doing all kinds of financial transactions

27:11

all of that information stored on there with

27:13

your picture . You could design the page however

27:15

you want and it loads just like a regular contact

27:18

, but in like 10 times the power

27:20

.

27:21

I'm going to do that with a few students

27:24

that I work with . I think that that is very

27:26

innovative , especially for this new digital

27:29

space , because when I talk to kids they're

27:31

like , oh , nobody's carrying business cards . But now

27:33

to introduce this new era

27:35

of a business card , I think that they would be more

27:37

likely to tap in . Yeah .

27:39

And it's called the last card you'll ever need , cause you

27:41

just need one and you just let people scan

27:44

that QR code . There's also another

27:46

free one that I've scanned

27:48

of some other people that forgot the name of it , but

27:50

it's a QR code that you can actually pull up on your

27:52

phone . That's similar and it has the

27:55

same information , but I just still like the effect of pulling

27:57

out a card .

27:58

Right , right , right , I love it , I love it

28:00

. And then you know I

28:02

may be missing the timeline or , you

28:04

know , reorganizing it , but

28:06

you also worked with Bif 10

28:09

, entertainment with Michael Bivens

28:11

. How does that happen ?

28:13

So remember I'm going back to connecting

28:15

the dots Jerry Busby , who became

28:17

my mentor and hired me over at MCA

28:20

records . In a year he

28:22

took over Motown from Barry Gordy so

28:24

he bought me over to Motown with him so

28:27

I was handling video

28:29

like MTV already had a great relationship

28:31

there and also promotions

28:33

, record promotions . So after

28:36

a couple of years I was at Motown a total

28:38

of eight years . But after

28:40

five years because of the success cause

28:42

you know , we had boys to men , another

28:44

bear creation , michael just in general

28:46

, had a production company where I

28:48

worked with all of those groups and helped break them in

28:51

the number one markets . So when

28:53

they had his , when they decided to give

28:55

him his label , gerald and Michael Bivens

28:57

decided that they would name me the general manager

28:59

. So I kind of skipped over a

29:02

lot of positions and create

29:04

to general manager of his boutique label

29:06

and we were still within the Motown family

29:09

. So I did that for another three years .

29:12

Amazing , but I want to ask you a question

29:14

just related to the current space of

29:16

the music industry today . So

29:18

I know , like success , success today

29:20

when it comes to record sales is measured upon

29:22

streams . We didn't have that back

29:25

in the day . Do you like how

29:27

that has evolved , how

29:29

artists are now measured based upon the streams

29:31

, or do you think we should go back to the old recipe

29:33

?

29:34

So I think it's a double-edged

29:36

sword , because there are people that are never

29:38

going to get the opportunity to get that record

29:41

deal at a major label , so all they

29:43

have is the streams and their own marketability

29:46

and then putting themselves out there

29:48

and getting the likes and the shares and everything

29:50

that's needed to make other people

29:52

see what they're not seeing . Then

29:54

, on the other hand , if you're at a label

29:57

and you are not keeping up to speed , you're

29:59

going to drop down on the totem pole , so it

30:01

like can work against you , depending on if

30:03

you have a label deal or if

30:05

you are independent artists . So I personally

30:07

think that right now the climate is

30:09

best for independent artists because they're

30:11

able to make more money . There's a lot of ways

30:14

that they can start monetizing even

30:16

from one record without even having to go in

30:18

debt with the record label deal where they're going

30:20

to be paying all of these other producers and studio

30:22

time promotions . People like myself

30:25

. I used to tell Bobby Brown and all of my artists

30:27

whenever they were like I want another limo

30:29

, I want this , okay , but you know

30:31

that's recoupable , that's the word . You need to look up

30:33

Every single

30:36

dime I put on this credit

30:38

card because you think that this is all free

30:40

. It's all getting deducted from every

30:42

dime that you make . Yeah .

30:44

Yeah .

30:44

I always try to teach that to my artists too

30:46

, and let them know that they are actions

30:49

like . You may think that you're getting over . You're not

30:51

getting over because that's going to be coming out of

30:53

your check and when you get your payment you're

30:55

going to be looking like what happened to my money .

30:57

Yeah , so did you find you know your

30:59

experience working in the music industry with all

31:01

of those artists ? Did you find that

31:03

that was a heart lesson for those artists to learn

31:05

about managing their money ?

31:07

So you know what it seems like , especially

31:10

in a group situation . There's always that one

31:12

member that is all about the

31:14

business . And I can tell you Michael

31:16

Bivens was that person

31:18

in New Edition . I worked with New Edition since their

31:21

Andy Hartbreak album . When I first

31:23

got hired at MTV they actually

31:25

I mean at MCA . They actually announced

31:27

my new position during

31:29

the holiday party , which was also

31:31

the Andy Hartbreak album release party

31:33

. So I've been working with them since

31:35

then , still friends with all of them to this day

31:38

, and ended up working closely with Michael

31:40

. But Michael was always the one that stayed behind

31:42

that wanted to know how do you read ? What are these

31:44

charts ? What does this mean ? What does that

31:46

mean ? And then Gerald poured so much

31:48

into him , which you see in the documentary

31:51

that he has at now the hustle of

31:53

at 617 . Mike Bibb got to put in a plug

31:55

for that . He really was a

31:57

sponge . And that's the same thing

31:59

with like Nate , from Boys to Men . There's

32:01

like in a group environment if you don't

32:03

have that one person , it's not

32:05

going to work out well for you and it's not going to work

32:08

out well for your group , because they are

32:10

the ones that are when people see someone's

32:12

paying attention and reading the contracts and

32:14

like they are kind of getting it . You can't

32:16

get over on those feet . Right , right

32:18

, right , right entertainment business . But

32:20

it is a business of entertainment and

32:22

the business is first .

32:25

That's a good statement that you

32:27

made . So you know you mentioned

32:29

working with Michael

32:31

Bivens , bif 10 entertainment . Were

32:33

you surprised to receive a call that they wanted you to

32:35

be a part of his documentary at 617

32:38

? What is it , Mike Bibb ? What's the name of the documentary

32:40

?

32:40

It's called the Hustle of at 617

32:43

, mike Bibb . So at 617 , mike

32:45

Bibb is his Instagram handle . You

32:47

know it's just his hustle Right

32:49

, but I was Michael and I

32:51

were fricking frack for years

32:54

. For years he was the CEO

32:57

and I was his number . I was his right hand

32:59

. So you know

33:01

, for all of those years that I was there , we had

33:03

, you know , all of our artists that we put

33:05

together on our All For One , one For All

33:07

album , which was the kickoff where we had about

33:10

50,000 groups about that

33:12

in the documentary . And then

33:14

we had our first release was

33:16

Subway , which was a quartet out of Chicago

33:18

. We had 702 . Of course , we

33:20

recently lost Irish and previously

33:22

had lost Irish , but when I was there

33:24

and we signed them , there were four members

33:27

, so both of the twins were actually in the group when

33:29

I was still at Bibb 10 .

33:31

Wow , yeah , you mentioned

33:33

the group 702

33:35

. I just had Mila on my show

33:37

a few weeks ago , and

33:40

Rest in Peace , irish . What is your

33:42

fondest memory working

33:44

with the group 702 ?

33:46

My fondest memory is flying

33:48

to Las Vegas to tell them

33:51

that they were signed to Bibb 10 Records

33:53

. And I went with Todd Roussa

33:55

, who did A&R , and we were at their family's

33:58

house and there's like a bunch of kids

34:00

, you know all of the kids are there . Their parents

34:02

were there , their sister and

34:04

her boyfriend or they might have been married

34:07

by then . That were their managers at the time and

34:09

I think that was the greatest thing actually

34:11

going out and letting them know that they had

34:13

a record deal .

34:14

Wow , I love it . I love it when people

34:17

get joy , giving joy

34:19

to other people .

34:20

Absolutely . I think that's why people don't

34:22

do it enough . I

34:24

do it all the time . If I see something on social

34:26

media that I'm like , oh my God , that's fly

34:28

. I'll share it immediately . Or I'll make

34:31

my own entire post about it and

34:33

then big them up and tag them and tell

34:35

people to share it , because it's

34:38

not always great to tut your own horn

34:40

and people . They don't want to do that , so it's

34:42

great when other people share it and help you celebrate

34:45

yourself . Wow .

34:47

You know now , it explains why

34:49

you're so successful . I mean

34:51

, you have all the ingredients that

34:53

don't even . It's not even

34:55

led by selfishness . It's

34:57

all in service of something or someone

34:59

else .

35:00

Yeah , service is key , yeah .

35:02

When you enter life in service

35:04

, I find that those are the most

35:06

successful people that I want to be around . But

35:10

let's talk about you are also the general manager

35:13

of Queen Latifah's flavor

35:15

unit . Talk about that .

35:17

Yeah , so I would . While I was running

35:19

Biv10 , as general manager

35:22

Gerald

35:24

signed Queen Latifah to Motown , so

35:26

I told you we were all in the same building so I

35:28

would always see Latifah and Shaquem , her partner

35:30

, and then we would . I was always

35:33

at all of the NBA All-Star games . So

35:35

I think I had a monopoly for a good

35:37

10 years straight with my artist singing

35:39

the national anthem , no matter what label I was

35:41

. And it was because of my relationships , because

35:43

I have really strong relationships . The name

35:46

of my independent company is actually

35:48

called Unlimited Contacts Inc . Which I

35:50

hijacked from my dad , but

35:53

that's what I have unlimited contacts and

35:55

their contacts that are strong and that have stood

35:57

the test of time . So one of

35:59

my BFFs , leah

36:01

Wilcox . She's the head of play

36:03

and talent relations at the NBA for years . So

36:05

I always had different people that were performing

36:08

there . So one time I had another Bear Creation

36:10

out there , michael Boyce-Tamen

36:12

. Boyce-tamen was going to be singing the national anthem

36:15

and I ran into Shaquem in front

36:17

of the hotel and I was giving out

36:19

like CD singles of another Bear

36:21

Creation's new single or something and

36:23

he was like I really like your style , you

36:25

out here hustling , and I wasn't even out

36:27

there with another Bear Creation . I was there with Boyce-Tamen

36:29

but I was still promoting all of my groups

36:31

. So he just always remembered that . And then

36:34

he called me like maybe a

36:36

year or two later and it

36:38

just so happened that I was getting ready to

36:41

have to relocate to California

36:43

almost full time for Biv10

36:46

. I was basically living out at a hotel there because

36:48

I had just bought an apartment and I was engaged

36:51

so I really didn't want to move to the West

36:53

Coast . So that opportunity , when

36:55

they asked me to be the president and general manager

36:57

of Flavor Unit and that I would

36:59

have the opportunity to work not only

37:01

with record labels but with management and

37:03

helping them transition

37:06

from management into records , that

37:08

was an opportunity that I could not pass up and

37:10

I was able to stay on the East Coast .

37:13

Was there ever any opportunity that you had

37:15

to give a hard no to ?

37:19

Yes , yes , yes , that's

37:22

been more recent

37:25

. That comes back to all money's

37:27

not good money , exactly . But

37:31

you know that people try to offer me

37:33

money and no

37:35

, I'm going to pass , or their reputation

37:37

if it's not a person that has a really

37:40

good reputation , because I also do my research

37:42

. So you know , fool me once

37:44

but you're not going to fool me twice . And you may have

37:46

fooled other people , but my degree is in broadcast

37:48

journalism , investigative reporting , so

37:50

I'm a find out and do my research before I

37:52

even go there .

37:53

Okay , you're not a journalist . Like a

37:55

Porsche from the housewise

38:02

.

38:02

When I want to find something out , I'm going to find it

38:04

out .

38:06

I love it . But you know , when you build up

38:08

such a repertoire

38:10

, a resume that

38:13

you have , you have the

38:15

privilege now of saying no

38:17

and you know people

38:20

have to work to get to that point

38:22

and I love that . We tapped into

38:25

, you know , like a condensed version of

38:27

your timeline , but it really just showed the evolution

38:30

, like I said , of you , the unsung

38:32

hero . You also dabbled

38:34

in film as well , correct ?

38:36

Yes , and that started back

38:38

to connect the dots . While I was at Flavor

38:40

Unit the company shifted

38:42

when Latifah got a call to be in

38:45

the movie Chicago , so that kind

38:47

of first . She was in a film called Living Out Loud

38:49

with Catherine . Sada Jones actually sent a

38:51

huge thing with like 100

38:53

roses to the office begging

38:55

her to take a role . And so

38:57

she did that movie . And then she started singing

38:59

jazz . She was a jazz singer in

39:01

that movie . So we ended up shifting

39:03

and doing an entire album of cover

39:06

songs . So we went . We had

39:08

to put our whole the unit project

39:10

, which all of these new groups that we had just signed . They were

39:12

all rap artists but we were piggybacking

39:15

all of them off of Latifah to get

39:17

them into radio , you know , to get airplayed

39:19

, to take them into the record pools , because

39:21

people are not just going to take a whole bunch of new

39:23

artists . So we had to shift the focus actually

39:25

of the whole company because of Latifah's

39:28

success in film . And

39:30

then it just shifted and we started Flavor

39:32

Unit Television in film and the

39:34

first thing that we did was produce the Vibe

39:36

Awards . That was one of the first things

39:38

. We partnered with Vibe Magazine

39:40

and CBS with Jack Sussman

39:42

at the time and I was the

39:45

supervising producer for that

39:47

. So that's how I started doing

39:49

TV . And then , because of the success

39:51

of that , I really started

39:53

meeting a lot of directors and I fell in

39:55

love with this one director , jerry Lamoff , who had

39:57

a project that was a passion project called

39:59

Blackout . At the same time , shaquem

40:02

was getting ready to start producing a comedy

40:04

called the Cookout . So I met with

40:06

him and I told him that I wanted to produce

40:09

Blackout underneath Flavor Unit

40:11

Television and Film , and I also wanted to sign

40:13

Jerry to Flavor Unit Management . So

40:16

he said that he wasn't interested

40:18

in doing dramas . So I

40:20

restructured my deal and I was able to give

40:22

Flavor Unit a first ride of refusal so

40:24

I could still work there . And then I also was

40:27

able to manage Jerry . That's when I started Unlimited

40:29

Contacts and I was also able to go raise

40:31

$1.2 million to produce Blackout

40:34

, which starred Jeffrey Wright , zoe Saldana

40:36

, melvin Van Peeples . It was an

40:38

amazing all-star ensemble

40:41

and it was just a great first

40:44

entree into the world of independent

40:46

producing .

40:48

The audacity of you to be so

40:50

bold , to be so no , seriously to

40:52

be so bold and to be so fearless in a

40:54

space that wasn't really created for Black

40:57

women . Was

40:59

it hard being

41:02

in spaces that were initially

41:04

built for White men ? Was

41:07

it ever a time where there was an uncomfortable situation

41:09

where you had to really show

41:11

your presence as a Black woman

41:14

?

41:14

So I think it's not even just White

41:17

men , because you know the most segregated

41:19

corporations are music companies

41:22

. There's a completely separate Black

41:24

music division than there is the

41:26

regular pop division . The pop division gets all

41:28

of the money . So that's a whole other battle that

41:31

you don't even get to until you reach a certain level

41:33

. So in my instance it was

41:35

more of the Black men

41:37

and men in general that were

41:40

the ones getting the promotions and

41:42

, you know , moving far ahead than

41:44

most of the women in the industry . But I think I

41:46

was really fortunate because I had some great

41:48

mentors that were very powerful

41:51

and whenever I sought

41:53

a position I was able to get that

41:55

position . So I think I moved

41:57

up and I was able to be in those rooms because

42:00

I was really like one of the fellas

42:02

. Any of the guys in the industry you talked to they

42:04

know I was hanging in the outspots

42:07

. I could drink them under the table , all of that

42:09

stuff , and still get up and get my records played

42:11

in the morning , wow . So we had to

42:13

go as a promotion person . You had to be up

42:15

for the morning show and

42:17

you had to be up till Vaughn

42:19

Harper , the quiet storm , then take him up

42:21

to Harlem after I was

42:23

spotted . Hang out up there , right , so

42:25

it's not time to get in the shower , throw

42:28

your clothes on and start it all over again . So

42:30

you know , as long as you were able to do your

42:32

job and you had great relationships , I

42:34

think that that , coupled with having

42:37

great mentors that had positions

42:39

of power , is what kept me out

42:41

of feeling that I was ever

42:44

being passed over , because it actually worked

42:46

in my favor .

42:47

Got it . Got to stay connected to the right

42:49

people .

42:50

You have to have allies . You have to

42:52

have allies , you have to have mentees

42:54

and you have to have somebody that you look up

42:56

to . That you can still learn from .

42:58

So true , so true . So

43:01

you know what I'm thinking of is your

43:03

name was in rooms even

43:05

when you weren't in those rooms . Once

43:08

again , it speaks magnitude to

43:11

your audacity . So

43:13

print music

43:17

, tv and film

43:19

. What's the first love ?

43:22

My first love . If I

43:24

had millions of

43:26

dollars of disposable income , I would make movies

43:28

all day . Really I would . What

43:30

type of movies would you make ? Independent films

43:33

, all independent films . I

43:36

would find those directors that have those passionate

43:38

stories that are untold . They are

43:40

unsung heroes and that's why I go

43:42

to all of the film festivals and that's really

43:44

something that I enjoy , because

43:47

you can tell your own story without a filter . Yeah , anytime

43:49

you go to a movie company . So

43:52

I wouldn't even want to be the president of a major studio

43:54

. Too much pressure . You have to chop up people's stories

43:56

. We've been there , done

43:58

that . When I was managing Jerry , we

44:00

had a project that was called Kidnap

44:02

that we started out with Lionsgate . Luckily

44:05

, we were able to get multiple checks because they loved

44:07

the script . We thought they were going to shoot

44:09

it , but then they did a deal , I think , with LL , and

44:12

they started producing all of those projects . Then

44:14

, after LL , was Tyler Perry , so then it was a

44:16

wrap , because now they had all of their content that they

44:18

needed . But in the meantime

44:21

we had gone through four rewrites

44:23

with different writers . Jerry was no

44:25

longer the writer , but that's why I also mentor

44:27

and speak to a lot of young filmmakers

44:30

and tell them that they need to keep their name attached to their project

44:32

in every area possible

44:34

. You need to be the writer , you need

44:36

to be trying to be the producer . Tell them you

44:38

want to direct , you make as many connections

44:40

and as many tentacles as possible , because if

44:43

you do go into a major company

44:45

they're going to start cutting away at those tentacles

44:47

and you want to be attached to something . So

44:50

even if they bring in another writer , it's going to have to

44:52

say original story by blah blah

44:55

, blah and your name is going to be on there

44:57

and you are going to be associated forever with your project

44:59

, as long as you make sure that you stay into time and

45:02

you come up with the creative ideas .

45:05

That's another gem . So if

45:07

you had that disposable income where

45:09

you could create films

45:11

let's

45:13

assume right tomorrow

45:15

you are about to create some content

45:18

for the big screen because

45:20

you want to fill a void , what

45:22

void in the film industry would you

45:24

fill ?

45:26

So I am a huge , huge horror

45:28

fan . I also like tear

45:31

jerkers , but not

45:33

love stories , but tear jerkers

45:35

that are really emotional . I love comedies

45:37

. I actually love every type of film , so

45:40

I think I would produce across the gamut . As

45:42

long as it had a connection with

45:44

the audience and if it connects with me , I would want

45:47

to make it Got it .

45:49

So it was a no brainer that it's

45:52

not even the culmination of who you

45:54

are , but where you are currently

45:56

in this space . You know your own

45:58

company , unlimited Contacts , the

46:00

years of building

46:02

your social capital , allotting

46:05

yourself with like-minded individuals

46:07

. Now you have the contacts

46:09

. Talk about Unlimited Contacts and what

46:11

it does .

46:13

So Unlimited Contacts is actually I've

46:15

had my company , so it was originally

46:17

. It is my dad's company name

46:20

, right ? So I started publishing . He was

46:22

under Unlimited Contacts . But then , when

46:24

I was going to start managing Jerry

46:26

and producing films on my own

46:28

, I was trying to think of a company name and all

46:30

I kept thinking about is Unlimited Contacts

46:33

, because that's really who I am and what

46:35

I have and it's an extension

46:37

of being Bob Tate's baby girl . So

46:40

I was like dad . I called my lawyer up and

46:42

he told me that I can register Unlimited Contacts

46:45

in New Jersey . He didn't have it

46:47

worldwide . So I was like , would

46:49

you mind if I use the company name

46:51

too , if I could get my own federal ID number ? And

46:53

he was like no problem . So that's what we did

46:55

. So we actually still partner on

46:58

a lot of events . So we both are Unlimited

47:00

Contacts but we have different federal ID

47:02

numbers . So underneath that banner

47:05

I produce TV , film

47:07

and events . So I started

47:09

doing events

47:11

and this goes back to another type of networking

47:13

. I'm a member of Jack and Jill of America

47:15

and I'm also a member of the Lynx Incorporated . So

47:18

one of my Jack and Jill sisters and

47:20

one of my Lynx sisters became

47:22

my number one clients when

47:25

I was doing consulting and that was producing

47:28

their events , and from that

47:30

I now actually am the executive producer

47:32

and director of special events for Black Health

47:34

Matters , producing some of the largest health

47:36

summits across the country and virtually

47:39

. So all of that came from connections

47:41

and it's all still underneath my wheelhouse and

47:43

we involve celebrities , we have many concerts

47:46

, I mean , and I'm able to utilize all

47:48

of my contacts , so I love it .

47:51

Wow , wow

47:53

. I am in awe of

47:55

everything , because I love to see us in

47:57

positions of influence

48:00

, of change , of creativity

48:02

, of audacity , and

48:04

you've managed to tap into all of those

48:07

important pillars and

48:09

people . Looking at you , I'm

48:11

hoping that they walk away with

48:13

some huge takeaways , because

48:16

everything that you said was so inspirational

48:18

and so aspiring

48:20

for anyone , even myself

48:23

. Black

48:25

Health Matters and you mentioned that briefly

48:28

is one of the events that you produce

48:30

, and Black Health Matters is very , very

48:32

important and dear for me . Talk

48:35

about that specific event and the purpose

48:37

of it .

48:38

So Black Health Matters is actually the largest

48:40

communications company for

48:43

Black Health and Information . They

48:45

started out with the website . Their website has

48:47

, I think , 200,000 pages of

48:49

content on every type of disease

48:52

state . And when I came on board

48:54

Rosalind , who is one of my link sisters

48:56

, rosalind Young-Dandel she founded Black

48:59

Health Matters in 2012 , which is one year before

49:01

Black Lives Matters . So people

49:04

that think that Black Health Matters was

49:06

modeled after that that is not the case . She had

49:08

already . Her company was in existence for

49:10

a year . She started it as a result of

49:12

the Affordable Care Act and was so excited

49:15

that Black people were going to be able to have an opportunity

49:17

to get medical insurance and coverage

49:19

. But they didn't really know how to navigate the system

49:22

. So that's when she started BlackHealthMatterscom

49:24

and from that grew the

49:26

events . So she brought me into producing an event

49:28

right before quarantine

49:30

. It was going to be a huge health

49:33

summit and expo at the Riverside

49:35

Church in Harlem and that's when COVID

49:37

hit . So we quickly did a

49:39

quick pivot and we learned about a company

49:42

called VFairs . I studied and trained

49:44

with VFairs for three months to learn

49:46

how to produce these huge virtual events

49:48

. I'm actually going to be a guest speaker for an

49:51

event as a success

49:54

story of Black Health Matters relationship

49:56

with their virtual platform . But the team's based

49:58

in Dubai and so the time difference

50:01

didn't even matter . I would wake up at 4 o'clock in the morning

50:03

and I would learn . I learned how to build

50:05

the whole back end of the system , how

50:08

to do the front , and then we started bringing

50:10

in community partners . I started out

50:12

doing everything by myself . I now have a team

50:14

of six people that work on my events

50:16

team , and BlackHealth Matters has now grown from

50:18

four people to over 30 people in

50:20

five different states , and we produced

50:22

events all over the country . We

50:26

even did a global summit

50:28

that was in London , which

50:30

was virtual , and now we're just branching

50:32

out and we're now doing . I'm

50:34

leaving on Wednesday to go

50:36

to the National Panhellenic Conference to

50:39

produce two events for them . Those are

50:41

called Super Weekends . That's when we partner

50:43

with one pharma company and we focus on one

50:45

disease state . This one's going to be heart health

50:47

. So we have a dinner that we curate

50:49

with all of the health leaders and the heads

50:51

of the fraternities and sororities . We bring

50:53

in all of the top doctors from

50:56

that area and hospital systems and then we

50:58

do dinner with a conversation

51:00

about heart health in our communities , and then

51:02

we follow it up with a huge summit the next day

51:04

.

51:05

I love it . You know , as you were talking

51:08

, I'm just like you are always

51:10

in service of others , helping

51:12

them soar . Who helps you

51:14

soar ?

51:15

My family , my family

51:18

, and then I have a lot of very , very

51:20

, very , very , very

51:22

spiritual . So I wake up , I

51:24

have my prayer , both they go with me everywhere . I

51:26

wake up praying that my eyes are

51:29

open and I give thanks and I think that because

51:31

I'm thankful and grateful and humble , I

51:34

really just want to be able

51:36

to love my family , make sure

51:38

we all are good , pray

51:40

for everybody's health , and then they

51:43

support me with everything that I need From

51:45

day one being in this business . I was

51:47

not married until I was like 35

51:49

years old because I was an absolute worker holler

51:51

. But when I did have my son , I

51:53

was like 37 . And I was at the peak of

51:55

my career and traveling . So my mom came

51:58

and moved in so she could take care of my son

52:00

while I traveled . I have always had the

52:02

best support system and

52:05

they always just lift me

52:07

up and make sure that I stay grounded and

52:09

that I'm the same Diedra from the Bronx when

52:11

I grew up , when I was little , before we moved

52:13

to Manhattan . Oh , you're from the Bronx

52:16

, I absolutely am from the Bronx

52:18

of 875 Morrison Avenue

52:20

in Soundview . That's

52:22

where we grew up until I was going into

52:24

the seventh grade and then it was like

52:26

somebody put

52:28

the hood over our head and

52:30

knocked us out and moved us to 79th Street

52:33

, between Columbus and Amsterdam , in a doorman building

52:35

. Oh , you thought what has happened

52:37

. We couldn't believe it . There was no more black people

52:40

.

52:41

Yeah , you went from black to black .

52:43

Oh my gosh , we had doorman

52:45

. We were like what in the world happened

52:47

, and my parents did it while we

52:49

were away at summer camp . When we

52:51

came home , we no longer lived in the Bronx Wow

52:54

. But I have always maintained and connected

52:56

with my people in the Bronx . I still have

52:58

my best friends from kindergarten , first

53:01

grade , second grade , fifth grade

53:03

. We are all still thick as these

53:05

, and I'm also on the advisory

53:07

board for the Universal Hip Hop Museum

53:09

that's coming up in the Bronx in 2024

53:12

.

53:12

Yes , I did want to mention that and I'm so

53:14

glad that you reminded me , because we

53:16

are definitely celebrating and just

53:19

overwhelmed in a good way with the

53:21

50th anniversary of hip hop . So

53:23

the museum in the South Bronx you said is scheduled

53:25

to open in 2024? .

53:27

Yes , it was slowed down a little bit because

53:29

of COVID , so originally we

53:31

were supposed to be opening in 2022 . Then

53:34

, when we saw that everything was shut

53:36

down and it was hard to get parts and build

53:39

it out , that's when we came up with the idea

53:41

for the pop-up . So that was

53:43

just closed recently . So the

53:45

original concept for the pop-up was going

53:47

to be a two-year plan and every six months

53:49

we were changed to the next decade of hip

53:52

hop with what was featured inside the museum

53:54

. So it's now called the Hip Hop Museum

53:56

. It's been rebranded from the Universal

53:59

Hip Hop Museum and so that is thhmorg

54:02

. You can go there and see

54:04

amazing things . We actually have an activation

54:06

going on right now that's traveling around the

54:08

country where people can see what they're going

54:10

to be in store for when they come to the museum .

54:13

So when the museum opens , where will it be

54:15

located in the Bronx ?

54:16

It's right at Bronx Point , across from

54:18

the Bronx Point market

54:21

, yeah , yeah , yeah , which is further down from Yankee

54:23

Stadium and it's the anchor

54:25

of a new housing development

54:28

that is a combination of luxury

54:30

and low-income housing .

54:32

That area is changing honey .

54:34

Yeah , and they just did the ribbon cutting

54:36

last week . Nice For

54:38

the departments , and that's Rocky

54:40

Buchano . He's our

54:42

executive director and chief

54:44

leader . He has led this vision for

54:47

many , many years and it's just an

54:49

honor to be on the team that's helping bring

54:51

it to fruition .

54:53

Nice , nice , nice . Well , just so you know

54:55

my work with schools

54:57

, I'm primarily based out

55:00

of the Bronx , even though I don't live in the Bronx . But

55:03

just looking at reading scores , math scores

55:05

and where they land , I said they

55:07

need additional support and additional help

55:09

and resources . So I'm here in service

55:11

as well in the Bronx , yeah , so which school

55:13

are you at ? On the campus

55:15

of John F Kennedy .

55:17

Oh , ok , that's one of a couple of my

55:19

friends went to John F Kennedy . Really , I'm

55:22

actually part of a book called Women

55:24

Behind the Mic . We have an entire

55:26

program that is tailored for schools . We've

55:28

been to several other high schools in

55:30

the Manhattan area and we actually

55:33

come in with a program to teach them about different

55:35

opportunities in the music industry . They

55:38

can set up internships , mentorship

55:40

, everything . So you should definitely contact me about

55:43

that .

55:43

Yes , I definitely will Like .

55:45

I'm having an information session tomorrow when

55:47

we bring some of the featured artists , so

55:50

the book features 22 unsung

55:52

sheroes of the music industry

55:54

that help develop and make

55:56

a lot of the household names . People know stars

55:59

but you wouldn't know their names . So that's

56:01

why LeJoyce Bookshire and

56:03

Michelle Joyce came up with this concept for

56:05

this book . They featured 22 women

56:07

. They're getting ready to have another installment

56:10

of it , but we do traveling tours and

56:13

we bring everything right to you .

56:15

I'm definitely going to reach out to you after

56:18

this to see how we can introduce you to

56:20

our school , because what I'm now

56:22

challenging one particular school is

56:24

to really address the deficit

56:26

and boys of color applying

56:28

for enrichment opportunities . That

56:31

is a conversation that hasn't

56:33

been addressed . I'm going to address

56:36

it because I'm the known disruptor

56:38

.

56:38

Yeah , I think you have to be , or

56:41

everybody needs that little bit of disruptor . Stuff's

56:44

just not going to get done .

56:45

It just won't get done . This

56:48

has been an amazing

56:50

night . Prior to having a conversation with you

56:52

right now , I ended a conversation with

56:54

the legendary Melba Moore .

56:57

Oh yeah , Didn't she just get a star

56:59

?

57:00

Yes , she did For the one on the same

57:02

yeah . She did and she attributed to

57:04

Kat Williams . So I love to

57:06

speak to legends such

57:08

as Melba Moore , such as yourself , unsung

57:11

heroes that the world just

57:13

needs to really , really know about , people

57:15

behind the mic , behind the

57:18

stage , such as yourself , who really

57:20

pushed artists to the forefront , but

57:22

you're the reason for their success .

57:24

But with Melba Moore . She actually was in front

57:26

of the mic , but she still was . She still

57:28

was the person that found and discovered all

57:30

of those artists that were on her . I'm really

57:33

good friends with Melissa Morgan and several

57:35

other artists and producers that worked

57:37

for their label and I know what a force she

57:39

was in bringing all of that to fruition

57:41

.

57:41

Yes , and just hearing her story about how she

57:44

lost everything and came

57:46

back , so I'm full . I'm

57:48

full . Her conversation , your conversation

57:51

. I can't wait until I launch both

57:53

of your conversations because everyone

57:55

needs to hear from the both of you

57:57

what's up next for you , deidre ?

58:00

So right now I am getting ready

58:02

for Usher . I'm

58:04

going to finally take a little vacation and go to Vegas

58:06

and catch one of his last shows . Right

58:09

now I'm talking about the Piki Palmer . Oh

58:12

, no , no , no , no . I am just so looking

58:14

forward to having some downtime

58:16

because I just realized that I still

58:18

have like six vacation days with

58:21

Black Health Matters that I need to take by the end of the

58:23

year . So I was like , oh , and I was like I'm

58:25

going to go see Usher , so I just took

58:27

that whole trip . I'm looking forward to the downtime

58:29

so that I could re-energize

58:32

, because the National Panelinic Conference is

58:34

the last big event that I'm producing

58:36

this year for Black Health Matters and at

58:38

the top of the year we'll be starting back up again .

58:41

Love it , love it . So all of the work that

58:43

you've done . What

58:46

legacy do you want to leave the world

58:48

with ?

58:50

So I think I want to

58:52

leave a legacy that the

58:54

way you show up and the way that you

58:56

treat people is the way that

58:58

you'll end up being

59:01

or having the

59:03

legacy that you want , which is to have been

59:05

a view with respect , known

59:07

for helping people , known for

59:10

giving people opportunities , known for

59:12

not just giving them the opportunity but nurturing

59:14

them through the process and always being

59:16

there for them , having long-lasting

59:19

relationships and connections , because that's

59:21

really important , because a lot of people can

59:23

make a connection and then burn a bridge in the

59:25

same day . So I think that the

59:27

fact that I have my best friends

59:29

since I was a little girl but

59:31

I also am still friends with every single

59:34

artist that I have ever worked with I can

59:36

get them on the phone , I go see them Still even

59:38

another band creation who were little boys

59:40

I go see them and hang out with them . We're

59:42

drinking shots now when I go out and play . They

59:46

grow them and I still see them as little boys , but they

59:48

grow them with kids and families . But that's

59:50

the type of person that I pride

59:53

myself in being , and I also have helped a lot

59:55

of people , hired a lot of people

59:57

and meant a lot of people . So that's really what's most

59:59

important , all while maintaining a strong

1:00:01

family bond .

1:00:03

I love it Absolutely

1:00:05

. Love , love , love , love , love . I'm full Show

1:00:08

over damn it , love it . Ha ha , ha , ha , ha , ha

1:00:10

, ha , ha , ha , ha , ha , ha , ha , ha , ha ha . Deidra

1:00:13

, I'm telling you I'm going to be in touch so we can talk

1:00:15

about your program .

1:00:17

Definitely definitely do that , because

1:00:19

we have a whole curriculum .

1:00:21

Good .

1:00:22

Yeah , good , good , good . I'll

1:00:24

continue with LeJoyce and Michelle and you will be in capable

1:00:26

hands and they will hook it up . We could

1:00:28

be in the Bronx in no time .

1:00:30

You got it . It's already a done deal , deidra

1:00:32

. You keep being the

1:00:35

person that you are the

1:00:37

audacity , the boldness

1:00:40

, the courageousness , the

1:00:42

fearlessness and the beauty

1:00:44

. Thank you so much for

1:00:46

blessing this space and continue

1:00:49

blessings to you , my sister , because

1:00:51

you are absolutely amazing .

1:00:53

Thank you , sonia . It's been wonderful and I

1:00:55

want to shout out my girl , cordelia , for hooking

1:00:57

the door . Yeah , Cordelia always makes big

1:00:59

happen , oh okay , I'm like where

1:01:01

are we making big happen today ? She's actually

1:01:04

about to get a big award . I'll be there to support

1:01:06

her for that as well . I'm not surprised

1:01:08

. And she has a movie that just got

1:01:10

accepted into a film festival , into the Manhattan

1:01:12

Film Festival her first documentary . So I'm

1:01:15

so proud of her .

1:01:16

About the LGBTQ community is it

1:01:18

?

1:01:18

It's actually about her family dealing

1:01:21

with COVID . Oh

1:01:23

yes , she has the trailer up now

1:01:26

. It's really something I didn't see that

1:01:28

.

1:01:28

I'm going to take a look at it

1:01:30

, and I also wanted to talk to you offline

1:01:33

too , just about the Black Health Matters

1:01:35

, because I'm headed to Supreme Court before

1:01:37

2024 , suing two major

1:01:39

hospitals here in New York City for

1:01:43

the negligent treatment of

1:01:45

my mom , and that's how she and

1:01:47

that's how she died , so I'm on my way to Supreme

1:01:50

Court . The case was Wow .

1:01:53

So I wish you luck and sorry to hear that

1:01:55

.

1:01:55

Thank you so much . I'm a disruptor and

1:01:57

I loved when you spoke about

1:01:59

Black Health Matters , because we matter

1:02:01

.

1:02:02

Yep , we have to do .

1:02:04

And we step into these hospitals , when we step

1:02:06

into these doctor's offices

1:02:08

, they need to understand that we

1:02:10

are human too .

1:02:12

Yeah , so Black Health Equity is something

1:02:15

that is super important , and also being knowledgeable

1:02:17

about all of the things that can affect

1:02:19

African Americans that we don't even know about

1:02:21

. So go to blackhealthmatterscom , click

1:02:24

on there and look up rare diseases , lupus

1:02:26

, everything that affects us , some stuff I

1:02:28

had never even heard of . Yeah

1:02:31

, like multiple myeloma . I had never

1:02:33

heard of multiple myeloma . Now I'm completely

1:02:35

familiar with it . Hattr , amyloid

1:02:37

doses these are things that affect African

1:02:39

Americans at an alarming rate and

1:02:41

there are ways to treat them and people that

1:02:43

are not looking like us . When you go in their offices

1:02:46

, they don't even know to look for that . So

1:02:48

if you have a doctor that's telling you they can't tell

1:02:50

you what's the matter , you need to be able to look up

1:02:53

some of those symptoms . Go to Black Health

1:02:55

Matters , make yourself knowledgeable and attend

1:02:57

our summits . Watch the videos . Everything

1:02:59

is out there online for free .

1:03:02

There we go More information , additional

1:03:04

resources , tap into

1:03:06

it , people . This has been a conversation

1:03:08

worth sharing with everyone . Deidra

1:03:10

, once again , thank you so much and continue blessings

1:03:13

. Thank you , have a good one . Okay , bye-bye

1:03:15

. Omg

1:03:17

, when I told you all that this was going to be

1:03:19

a powerful conversation

1:03:21

, did I lie ? But

1:03:23

did I lie to you ? Did

1:03:26

I lie Once again ? The

1:03:28

evolution of an unsung

1:03:30

hero , deidra Tate . We

1:03:34

mentioned , or we ran through a condensed timeline

1:03:37

of her history . Who

1:03:39

, in the Bejezies , is

1:03:42

a high school student writing

1:03:45

for the Amsterdam News ? If you don't

1:03:47

know about the Amsterdam News , it

1:03:49

was based out of Harlem in New

1:03:51

York City , right off of 125th

1:03:54

Street in Amsterdam . You

1:03:56

better research it because that was hard . I

1:03:59

remember when I wrote my first book and

1:04:01

I would go to the Amsterdam News just

1:04:03

looking for write-up , some

1:04:05

sort of coverage . It was very , very , very

1:04:07

, very difficult so to

1:04:09

know that she was still in high school , and

1:04:13

it was all because of her

1:04:15

social capital , her

1:04:18

social network and nepotism . Her

1:04:20

father was in the industry , knew certain

1:04:22

individuals , put her

1:04:24

in the right rooms , she got into the rooms

1:04:27

and she didn't rely upon her

1:04:29

father . She

1:04:32

was innovative . She had the audacity

1:04:35

to be bold , to not stick

1:04:37

to the paper that said here

1:04:40

are your roles and responsibilities . She

1:04:42

said I am a black

1:04:44

girl , one of few , how

1:04:48

can I stand out ? And she did things the

1:04:50

unconventional way . I

1:04:52

think that , when it comes to the black experience

1:04:54

, we always have to be unconventional

1:04:57

. We cannot subscribe to

1:04:59

the

1:05:01

strategies , the steps , the blueprint

1:05:04

that is outlined and given

1:05:06

to us because it ain't for us . So

1:05:09

have the audacity to be fearless

1:05:12

, to be bold . Every single conversation

1:05:14

, every single celebrity guest that I bring

1:05:16

to you on Saanje on Air has

1:05:18

a high level of

1:05:20

audacity , a high

1:05:23

level of boldness , an

1:05:25

elimination of fear . So

1:05:27

please tap into that , because

1:05:29

you are worthy . And

1:05:34

that's what I have to say . I'm full

1:05:37

, I'm done , I'm going home . Okay , this

1:05:41

has been another amazing edition of Saanje on Air . Make sure that you

1:05:43

subscribe , make sure that you hit the

1:05:45

notification button if you are watching this on

1:05:47

YouTube , and I'll see you again

1:05:49

for more Saanje on

1:05:51

Air celebrity interviews unpacking

1:05:54

their pivotal moments and milestones

1:05:56

. Take care Smoochies , dolls , background

1:05:59

music

1:06:02

, playing , 흐흐 .