May 4, 2023 • 36 mins
At its core, radio is a community service. No one knows that better than Angela Yee. She’s been on the airwaves for over a decade as a founding member of The Breakfast Club, host of her midday show, Way Up, and now the podcast, Lip Service. Angela is a friend and mentor to her listeners and she’s no different off the air. As an entrepreneur, she finds creative ways to help others. From juice bars, to coffee, to open conversations about finance, she spreads the wealth of her successful career to communities in need. Recording live from the NAB Show (National Association of Broadcasters) in Las Vegas, Angela recounts this journey to Bob. Listen to hear how she went from Wu-Tang Clan’s assistant to a respected voice in hip hop and beyond.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
You're listening to Math and Magic. A production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Radio is very instant, and so part of being on
the radio is not being a celebrity. It's being one
in the community and one of the community. And I'm
always always trying to educate too. Every time I learn something,
I want to bring it to people.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Welcome to this recording of Mathemagic special episode. We're at
the National Association of Broadcasters, the NAB Conference. We're being
recorded live in Las Vegas. This is the industry's brightest
gathering together to celebrate one hundred years of innovation in media,
(00:45):
broadcasts and entertainment. And our guest here today, Angela Yee,
is a big part of that momentum. Angela was the
founding member of the wildly successful Breakfast Club Morning Show
along with Charlemagne to God and DJMB that's heard on AMFM,
on the iHeartRadio app, and has anchored on Power one
(01:05):
oh five point one in New York City. It's also
at the top of the charts on YouTube, and it's
also one of the biggest podcasts globally. After more than
a decade ride in that rocket, Angela has just gone
solo with her own midday show Way Up with Angela Yee.
She is also the longtime host of her podcast lip Service.
(01:29):
She's an accomplished entrepreneur, innovative, philanthropist, and all around great
human being. Brooklyn born, blessed with a great education Brooklyn Polyprep,
Columbia High, Wesleyan College. She got her start in the
music business before radio, and we got a lot to
talk about.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Angela welcome, Thank you, it's good to be here. Thanks
everybody who's here.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Before we get to the meat of it, I want
to do a quick overview. I want to do you
in sixty seconds, if you don't mind, you ready, Okay?
Do you prefer cats or dogs?
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Cats, early riser or night owl early riser, East.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Coast or West coast, East coast city or country city,
eminem or Wu Tang clan.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Oh, you can't do that. I have to say Wu Tang.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Winter or summer, summer, salty or sweet sweet beach or
mountains hip hoper rap hip hop, coffee or tea.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Coffee call or text, text podcast or YouTube podcast.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
It's about to get harder. Favorite TV show, The Office,
smartest person you know, Badman? Oh good? I love that.
Favorite city.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Favorite city is Brooklyn.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Secret talent djang What did you want to be when
you're growing up?
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Writer?
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Favorite radio personality when you were.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Growing up Angie Martinez.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Oh, I love that still share the airways with Yes,
So let's dig in to you. We're at the NAB
Radio is in the air here and when you think
about our company, mission is to give everybody to America
a friend anytime anywhere. We're licensed by the FCC to
(03:18):
serve the communities, and indeed we're there in time of need, hurricanes, fires, pandemics,
but we've also gone through some really tough social issues
that we dealt with. Let's talk a little bit about
your commitment to the community. I know you've been actively involved,
have not only a big heart, but have a big platform.
How do you see it and what are some of
(03:38):
the examples of some of the things you've done well.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
I've made a commitment really early that if I can
get paid to go out and do things, I also
want to make sure that I'm doing things that give
back to the community at the same time. And so
I feel like, because I've been really fortunate to be
in the position that I'm in, part of being successful
and making money is making money to be able to
help other people, and so that's always been something from
(04:02):
early on, even when I didn't have much time, was
always important to dedicate. And so when I go places,
I always want to do everything, Like if I go
to a children's hospital, I'm like, I want to come
back and help. And so part of that for me
is I know just showing up can mean a lot,
and so I always tell people if you can't give money,
you can do a post, you can give time, you
(04:23):
can do all of those things. And that's something that
I've always believed in. Education's been important to me. I
work with the New York Public Library, and I do
a book clubs with students in the public schools.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
All of those things really do mean a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
I remember doing a town hall with these young girls
and we were talking about the Me Too movement and
they were just talking about all of the things that
they've been through and everybody ended up crying.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
It was like one hundred and twenty of us.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
And so things like that, I feel like if I
have the platform that I have and I can go
and talk to people, and somebody can come up to
me one day and be like, you know, I met
you at this event, and it really made a difference
That means more to me than anything.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
How do you think you around the music business too,
which will come to in a minute. How do you
think radio is different from all the other media and
all the other forms of entertainment as it relates to
serving the communities.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Radio is very instant, and so part of being on
the radio is not being a celebrity. It's being one
in the community and one of the community. And so
I've never looked at myself as a celebrity. I look
at it more like, I'm just like you guys. I'm
talking about the same things that you're talking about. I'm
affected the same ways that you're affected, And so I
just try to make sure and I'm always always trying
(05:33):
to educate too. Every time I learn something, I want
to bring it to people. So if I'm talking about
like taxes are due, you know, We've done a couple
of different episodes where we talk about taxes. I have
a segment called Wealth Wednesdays. Part of why I did
that was because growing up, I didn't get the financial
education that I have now. It took me a long
time to get there, and the earlier you learn those things,
(05:54):
the better that you'll be. And so if there's anything
tangible that I can give, like providing resources on the radio,
that is the perfect platform to do that.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
I feel like radio is your friend.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
It's not like a movie or a TV show that's fictional.
It's real life, and so I enjoy that aspect of it.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
You've made a huge impact on culture. And before we
get into some of those specifics, I gave you sort
of the trick question the beginning about rap and hip hop.
Can you define for the audience here, what's the difference
between rap and hip hop?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Well, rap is really just the music aspect of it.
Hip hop is the whole culture that comes with it.
And so I feel like there's a lot of people
that can enjoy rap music, but they may not be
a part of the hip hop culture. Hip hop is
all encompassing, and so I look at it as rap
is just like a form of the music, but rap
is a part of hip hop.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
And so, looking back on the last ten years, talk
a little bit about what you've seen the impact of
the hip hop culture on fashion, language, movies, music, books, TV,
the whole Americana.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
I think when it comes to the youth, hip hop.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Rap music is the most impactful music that people can
feel like they relate to because that's where it comes from.
It comes from being in the community, it comes from
real life struggles. That's why it's so important that people
are like did you write your own lyrics? Or being
able to relate to music more than in any other genre.
Right when it comes to rap and hip hop, it's like,
this is real life situations. And sometimes people can say
(07:25):
that things are disturbing or it's not good for the community,
but it's more of a reflection of what's happening. And
so to me, when people say that, it's like, okay, well,
then that just means to me that there are things
that have to change, you know, And it's unfortunate that
sometimes we listen to the music and we're like, this
is you know, something that we could look at it
is it's harmful to the youth, but it's also a
(07:45):
reflection of that, and so to me that's kind of
like a cry for let's figure out what can we
do to make things better. And by the way, I
also want to say, hip hop is not just one thing,
one dimensional. We have such a wide variety of representation.
When it comes to hip hop. So I also don't
like when people act like hip hop is harmful because
(08:05):
we also have hip hop that's very uplifting and it's
just multi dimensional. So there's the struggle, but then there's
also the successes. There's also the educational aspect of it,
and so I just want to make sure that we
embrace all of those things. But because I feel like
there's such a microscope on it as it being real,
that's why people really judge it more than anything else.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
So let's jump a little bit to you. You interned
at MTV. In college, you worked at a management company
for Wu Tang Clan. That's why I give you the question,
just a question I'm sure people listening of how on
earth did you get such a cool job right out
of college and such a cool internship.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Well, I went to Wesleyan University, and part of what
I learned in college was internships are so important. And
another thing that I learned was when I interned, we
had a career resource center. And so the first internship
I had was at a label called tvt rec Right
and they also licensed like all the TV tunes, the
cartoon music that you hear, and so When I did
that internship, it was in the legal department. I did
(09:08):
not care about the legal department at all, but I
knew that in order for me to get my foot
in the door, that was just a way for me
to get in. And so one thing I learned was
just get your foot in the door. And so I
started doing these internships. I had an internship with MTV
and the person I interned for he was the music manager,
so he would present the videos that they would then
(09:29):
have to decide what was gonna air. So everybody wanted
to get in with him, you know. I remember going
to Puffy's studio back then when he was playing like
big these videos for him, and they gave a champagne
and I was just interning, and I was like, this
is amazing, like the fact that everybody is kissing this
guy's ass trying to get their music on their music
videos played on MTV. And so for me, internships in
(09:50):
college were really important. Back then, we didn't get paid.
I know now interns like get paid and there's certain
things that they can't and won't do. But I was
like picking up dry cleaning. I was doing everything that
I had to do as an intern. And I think
it gave me like a really strong work ethic. And
so when I graduated from college, I had an opportunity
to work at either Columbia Records, but I was actually
(10:11):
going to visit Wu Tang. It was the same day
that they were doing summer jam and I didn't even
realize it, and they were like, come with us a
summer jam. And the guy who I interned for was like,
you know, we've been trying to find you. We wanted
to hire you. This is when people didn't have cell
phones and you know, didn't have social media, and so
I was like, okay, cool, and I turned down everything
(10:31):
else because I felt like this was a better opportunity.
My best friend was interning at Epic at Sony in
the A and R department, and she was like, Angela,
take that job for Wu Tang.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
They'll let you do a lot more.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Because I'm interning here and they're so threatened by me
wanting to take their job that they're not letting me
do anything. So go someplace where you can actually do
things and get you know, get work done.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
And that's why I took that job.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Speaking of learning things, there's a story that you went
on the road as a manager, and you turned out
to be a roaring success because you were good with money.
Can you talk a little bit about that, because there's
a lesson in there somewhere.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
So I ended up going on the road with Jizza
from Wu Tang. He had to go to Europe at
the last minute, his manager couldn't go it with some
passport issues, and so I had to get my passport
same day to be able to go. And so I
went on the road, and I literally when we came back,
had like a whole ledger down to the penny of
what everybody got paid and what money we had left.
(11:32):
And he had never gotten that before, and I just thought,
that's how I have to do things. And so he
was so impressed by the fact that he got all
his money that he was supposed to get. Everybody was
paid what they were supposed to get paid, and everything
was correct to the penny that after that I just
was his manager.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Wow, that's pretty good. What's a lesson in this? But
both getting your jobs out of college and turning into
a manager, what's a lesson that you think is applicable
to other people in business?
Speaker 2 (12:02):
I think that at the foundation of things that hard
work is the fundamental thing. I feel like a lot
of times people see other people who are successful and
they think it just happens, or they think it's just relationships.
You can get your foot in the door, but then
what happens after that? And so for me, I've always
been like the first person in the office the last
(12:22):
person to leave.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
That's what I was doing.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
And also, honesty is important, and I don't feel like
a lot of people are honest. I feel like money
can get people to act very different when that gets involved.
And then a lot of times people don't watch their
own business the way that they should.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
I'll say that.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
And I've worked for a lot of artists who may
not even know what's going on when it comes to
legal things, when it comes to their accounting, and so
they're always surprised when you can be really transparent, but
people appreciate that it's rare.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
So before we talk about your jump to radio, let's
go back in time to your childhood. You're a fellow Capricorn.
You grew up in the eighties and nineties, mostly Brooklyn,
some New Jersey. Paint the picture of those times in
your life and your family.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
When I was young, and I actually grew up listening
to the radio a lot. Z one hundred was my
station and the Z Morning Zoo. That's what I used
to listen to. And I feel like at that time,
hip hop didn't have its own station, Like we would
have a certain period of time that it would air
and we had you know, video music box. And it's
great to see like Ralph McDaniel's doing his documentary because
(13:29):
there were certain times that we could see it and
hear it, and we didn't have streaming, so if you
wanted to hear something, you had to literally record it
with a cassette. And so I would do that, Like
there were certain times that certain radio shows would come
on and I would make sure that I recorded it
because you don't know when you would hear it again
if you didn't have a chance to do that. And
so that's how I grew up. Just in Brooklyn. I'm
(13:50):
from Flap Bush. It's a very Caribbean community, so we
grew up with a lot of soca and a lot
of dancehall and reggae music and a lot of the
block party. Those were always like my biggest highlights growing
up when we had the Black Party and so all
of those things, and I just remember I went to
private school. I went to Poly Prep, and that was
after going to a program that was for underprivileged youth
(14:12):
who were quote unquote gifted, and so I had to
test to get into this program, and that's how I
ended up going to private.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
School Prep for Prep.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Yeah, Prep for Prep.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
And it's a great program, you know, because it's free
and they really give you the resources so that when
you go to a private school or get ready for college,
you learn things in advance. And it was really instrumental
for me because I also got to meet a lot
of kids from outside of Brooklyn. I was very in
my neighborhood, and so I feel like that was really
instrumental in opening up my eyes to a lot of
other things. And then going to private school was different
(14:42):
for me. That's when I started really playing sports.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
You know. I learned a lot just.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
From even going to Polyprep, having smaller classes and the
impact that that had. I wanted to be a teacher
at one point after that experience. I did this whole
urban education semester in Washington Heights when I was in college,
but just because because I understood how much great teachers
can impact your future because I've had great ones and
I've also had terrible ones, and so I've always understood
(15:09):
the importance of that too. But that was going from
public school to private school and learning those things, having
the smaller classes, having more attention.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
So you have I think anyone who knows you would
say you have enormous self confidence. You have a lot
of healthy ambition. Where did that come from in your childhood?
Speaker 2 (15:30):
I don't think that I always had a lot of
self confidence, you know what. I think I took the
biggest risk in my life when I was always at
my lowest, and that's something that I can appreciate that
I did. It would be like the worst time for me,
and I'd be like, I have nothing more to lose,
and I feel like that's the time that you're supposed
to take those risks, right when you feel like, well,
(15:50):
it can't get any worse. And that taught me the
worst thing that can happen is that something doesn't work.
You know, it doesn't work the way that you intended,
and I would hate to not try. And so for me,
I've always like put my all on the line. I
have things that go wrong every single day all the time,
and somebody was just telling me if the things always
went right, then life would not be interesting. So my
(16:11):
life has been extremely interesting with all the things that
haven't happened the way that they should. Even this last week, like,
I've had all kinds of things that sometimes it's hard
for me when it's not in my control, when you
have to rely on other people to make deals happen
and make things happen, and they don't hold up their end,
and then now you're left like what am I going
to do? But I've also learned from that is it's
(16:32):
kind of like betting is not to put everything on
the line always right, only put out what you can
afford to lose. And so that's something that I always
live by too. If this is something that will devastate me,
then I just can't do it. But if I feel
like I can afford to, if this doesn't happen, make
this be a learning lesson. I look at it as
like an investment into my education. We paid a lot
(16:52):
to go to school, so it's okay if I lose.
Sometimes it's an investment.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Moral Mathem magic for this quick break. Welcome back to
math and magic. Let's hear more from my conversation with Angela. Ye,
it's time to make the jump to radio. You're in
the Radio Hall of Fame. You've won numerous awards along
(17:20):
the way in your radio career. Tell us the story.
How did you make the jump? From you it sounded
like things were going really well in the music business
and suddenly you jumped to radio.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
I actually came from marketing, and I think marketing is
a great tool, you know, to be able to do
anything in life, to be able to market yourself. So
I was doing marketing. I worked for Eminem's clothing line,
and you know, we all got laid off from that,
and so I took a little time. I had worked
my whole life up until then, I was, you know,
my whole life. I was twenty eight, but you know,
(17:51):
I had never had a break, like from when I
first was in college. Up until then, I've always had
a job. So I said, let me take a few
months just to like sit back, get this unemployment that
I've been putting money toward, and figure out what I
want to do next. And I actually went on hot
jobs on Yahoo and I saw a job opening as
serious and I was like, this sounds interesting. It was
(18:12):
in the marketing department, and I called up Eminem's manager,
Paul Rosenberg, and I said, Paul, you know, I really
want to try to see if you can just get
me an interview in the marketing department.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
I can take it from there.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
So he set up an interview, but he also said
to me, Angela, would you want to try to audition
for the morning show. We're looking for someone, And so
I ended up auditioning for three months and eventually getting
the job after a great interview with Jay Z.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
One of your hallmarks on the air are the interviews
you do on satellite radio, certainly on Power and on
the Breakfast Club. What's the secret to doing a great
interview research?
Speaker 2 (18:48):
I think being prepared is one of the biggest secrets.
I've had people say, Oh, I like to go into
an interview and just ask questions like I don't know anything,
and I don't feel like as somebody who's in the
position that I'm in, I should approach things that way.
I like to do research because I feel like it
respects the person who you're interviewing, and then it also
makes for a better conversation because sometimes interviewees aren't the
(19:13):
most talkative and maybe they're a little irritated. They've been
answering the same questions NonStop. And when you do research,
you can actually impress them with oh okay, I haven't
had a chance to talk about this, or I would
love to elaborate on this, And I think it's a
respect thing. And so I feel like when I'm well
researched and I do an interview, it always is way
(19:34):
better and people appreciate it so much. And so that
would be because there's been times early on when something
might come up last minute and I'm doing an interview
that I didn't anticipate, and I don't like doing that
at all because I never feel prepared. It makes me
feel flustered and sometimes a little silly and foolish.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
And so I would say, research.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Do you have a favorite interview?
Speaker 2 (19:56):
I would have to say, well, of course, jay Z,
because that's what got me my first job and radio.
When I walked out of there, they were like, you're
hired because that interview was that good. But you know,
I mean so many I guess we get to talk
to so many iconic people all the time. Sometimes it's
people you wouldn't expect, like I interviewed JB. Smooth Ones,
and I really enjoy that. Obviously, I had like a
(20:17):
August I've seeing an interview that a lot of people
saw that was a big deal because that was the
whole Will Smith, you know, Jada thing during the pandemic,
Tiffany Hattish when she first was in Girls Trip.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
I enjoyed that interview.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
I just like people who are really open and honest,
and even on my podcast that's a whole different type
of interview, but I enjoy those also just because it's
kind of off the beat in track and you never
know what people feel like getting off their.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Chests when you're speaking of getting it off your chest.
You have a feature on your show now which is
about people telling their secrets. Can you tell us a
little bit about it's a great feature.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
So this is really, like I think, has been a
hallmark for us. It's called tell us a secret, and
people call in anonymously and we don't judge. That's the
main thing. We are like, it's no judgment, and they
tell us a secret. And so people have called in
to tell us all kinds of things. One guy has
a secret family and the Dominican Republic, you know, we're
not judging him, but we don't know if those are
(21:15):
his kids because he never got a DNA test. There's
somebody who stole a car in the nineties and he
still feels.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Bad about it to this day.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
And so it's a great feature just because you know,
we sit there and we don't judge you. We let
you say whatever it is that you have to say.
We ask whatever questions, and then that person hopefully feels
a little relieved afterward.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
So I want to jump a little bit to another
side of you, a Julie the entrepreneur and business person,
and also, by the way, a generist. We've already talked
about the philanthropist. Tell us a little bit about some
of the business as you're in Juices for Life and
some of the other I know you're doing real estate
and some of the other things.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Well, my first ever brick and mortar business was Juices
for Life, which is a juice bar in Brooklyn, which
we're renovating to make a coffee shop. Clash because financially
it's been a lot dealing with the cost of fruits
and vegetables, so I've had to diversify what we offer
in there. From that, I started a press juice business
called Dring Fresh Juice, just because people would come in
(22:13):
all the time and we're like, how can I get this?
Speaker 3 (22:16):
You know where I live. And so that's been doing well.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
And then I launched Coffee Uplift People, my own coffee company,
which by the way, will be in targets starting in June.
So I'm excited to make those things happen, and I'm
very hands on with it. So I literally will like
go to restaurants. You know, we're in the Grill in Brooklyn,
We're in Tatianas in Manhattan, Brooklyn chop House, Like, I
will literally go to restaurants and ask to talk to
(22:39):
the person. I'm very hands on with my business, and
so one thing I did learn too was even just
talking about my business, I like to know as much
as possible and so that way people don't look at
me it's just a face or somebody who's endorsing something.
I'm super involved in all of it, and so I
have a hair store in Detroit also, and I do
real estate. I just got my first Airbnb property last
(22:59):
year in upstate New York. I'm closing on a deal
this week in Detroit. A thirty unit building in Midtown.
That has been really difficult, but that's like my biggest
project to date. And then I have a condo and
Williamsburg two Brownstones in Brooklyn.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
So how did you learn this? I mean this is
you've gone through your history and nowhere in there did
you say you had an MBA or you did business training.
Where did this come from?
Speaker 3 (23:23):
You know?
Speaker 2 (23:24):
My first house, I really bought a house because my
best friend bought a house. Her name is Santi Gold
and she's an artist. Also, we were roommates. We went
to college together, we were roommates there, we were roommates
after college, and when she was looking for a house
in Brooklyn, I went with her and she was like,
you know, come with me.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
To look at this house.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
And I learned a lot just from being with her
and like going on these trips, and I was like, Okay,
this is so exciting.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
My best friend's buying a house.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
I went to do that too, and so I started
really actively like saving, taking on side jobs just so
I could get enough money for the down payment. And
so once I bought my first house and got that
out of the way, I felt like, okay, it was
a two family house.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
It was a very practical purchase.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
My realtor told me, when you buy a house, this
is not your one and only dream house, this is
your first house.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
You know, it's an investment.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
And that was something that really stuck with me, like
to this day, is this a good investment? And that
was the first house that I bought. And then after that,
I bought a couple of properties in Detroit and flip
those and then I use that money to go and
buy another I bought a condo in Williamsburg.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
That was a great purchase.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
And then after that I was just like, Okay, I
have money coming in from these other things that I've done,
and I never like to have money sitting in the bank.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
I feel like it's not working.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
I've seen interviews where people are like, I still have
you know, all this money that I don't touch that
I get from these other streams of income, but with
the way that interest is and you know, with the
money that you're not making because you have money sitting
in the bank. I learned really quickly that my money
has to work. And so every time I set a
goal for myself, and once I hit a certain goal,
it's time to invest in something.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Else, so yourself taught.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Yes, Google, thank you too well.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
By the way, it's pretty impressive. I mean Google gets
a lot of credit here. You also flip this around
too in your Wealth Wednesdays when you do the free
financial services and education for people, talk a little bit
about it because you started that actually live in your
juice bar too, right.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Yes, So I met Stacy Tisdale and she worked for
the Wall Street Journal. She was on the floor at
the Nasdaq, and I learned a lot from her. And
I always feel like empowerment comes from financial freedom too, right.
That's something that is really important for our community.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
And so I told her.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
I was like, I would love for us to do
something like on a consistent basis, And so we strategized
and came up with Wealth Wednesdays. We started doing that
in the Juice Bar, and at first we didn't make
any it was just free. Like we had different people
coming through. The small business services came through, they bought
their RV people were able to sign up for services
on the spot, they got to meet the commissioner ask
whatever questions. And then from that, you know, we did
(25:57):
certain things about like relationship, some money and credit scores
and then we started monetizing it and we were able
to bring in people who actually, you know, wanted to
because we wanted to be able to offer free services.
But it was also costing us to do that. And
so the one thing that I like to do is
give it to you for free, but make some of
these corporations pay. And I think, you know, that is
(26:20):
a really good trade off for them to get that.
And so we've done a lot of things with different corporations.
Google has come in a few times to talk about
like Google AdWords and how to really support your business
with Google and let you know how inexpensive it can be,
but how to do it right. And I just want
people to have, like I always say, tangible things that
they can walk away with and understand and learn.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
So let's do some quick topics work life balance, What
does it mean to you? How do you do it well?
Speaker 2 (26:47):
I work a lot, but I like to bring my
friends with me sometimes, So say I'm going, you know,
to do something like an appearance somewhere. If it's someplace fun,
then I'm like, Okay, who wants to come with me?
Let's make this a whole And then I also try
to make sure that and I just said this. I
know I'm launching this new show way up with Antilae,
but I ay, I just told my producer, I said,
(27:08):
I need just one day a week where I don't
have like a packed schedule, and that way I can
handle personal things that I need to do because it
is really important for me to be there for my family,
Like my cousin's getting married.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
I'm like, Okay, block this off.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
So a lot of it is just about scheduling and
making sure that just like you schedule work, you have
to schedule that.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Time AI helpful or scary.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Scary, but you know, I think that it's important to
understand and to be involved because you also don't want
to get left behind, right, And so it is something
that is scary though. And I think a lot of
times when things are new and different, they're scary and
just from what we've been seeing, it's like, man, But
(27:50):
at the same time, I'm like, I could probably get
AI to come in and do my show.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
You gotta have a little more time off the post
pandemic life. How do you think it's different.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
I think people's habits are different.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
You know, a lot more people are working from home
or doing like a hybrid situation. I feel like we
as employees have a lot more leeway as far as
being able to negotiate things because you know, as a
business owner myself, I know how hard it's been to
find employees now. So a lot of times we're offering things,
not just financial things, but quality of life things to
(28:27):
make people feel like this is a community. I think
that people are more interested in self care, a lot
more interested in their own mental well being also, which
I think is a positive thing.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
And people's habits are just changed, you know.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
So even with radio, a lot of people listen on
the podcast, I feel like, and so it's great. Like
I said, we talk about AI and people being scared,
but the same thing with podcasting, people feel it's important.
I think like even with iHeart, how iHeart has really
embraced it early on, you know, because if not, you
get left behind music.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
What's next.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
I think the way that we've been going is, you know,
people have been putting out singles and projects, and it's
not just like putting out an album.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
People people don't even say albums anymore.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
They'll be like I put out a project, and people
are also really I think back to visuals. You know,
that's important too, because right now it's so we're so
inundated with things that we can possibly listen to and
different regions and everything, and you know, the ability to
not have to go and see somebody in person somewhere
(29:35):
that experiences matter so much more so now it's like,
how can I be more creative and make sure that
I stand out from everything else that's happening, because there's
a lot of noise that people have to separate themselves
from so fundamentally like it has to be amazing, But
then how do you support that? And what do you
do for your fans to show them that? Okay, you know,
I'm giving you X Y and Z. Also on top of.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
This last point here opportunities for young peopleeople and those
who've been historically disenfranchised.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
What's the future I think with leveling the playing field
and having access that's important. I think there's a lot
of programs that are available to that people really have
to make sure that they seek in order to be able.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
To have these opportunities.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
And I just feel like, if you can be really
creative and consistent, okay, and also just respectful of your audience,
that you can definitely have a future and blow up.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
You know.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
I feel like sometimes people who have been really privileged
aren't taking advantage of the things that, you know, that's
available to them because they don't have to struggle in
that way. But with the kids nowadays, I mean, my god,
children know way more than I do. I'm asking them
for help on like how can you do this? And
how can you do that? And so it's just a
great opportunity. But if you're on your phone all day,
(30:52):
or your kids are on their phone all day, and
you see that they can be actually making money off
of that. There's people getting paid to play video games,
you know, to go on Twitch, to go on all
these different platforms, and so instead of doing things that
is a waste of time, figure out how you can
actually monetize that. I think there's so many great apps
when it comes to investing, when it comes to different things,
(31:12):
and kids are on their phone, so we just have
to make sure that we're marketing to them, you know,
in that way, but also being really responsible.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
So a little advice. Somebody's listening today, They want to
be you on the radio. Are you, as the business
person entrepreneur, what advice would you give them.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Well, first, don't want to be me, because I think
it is important to know who you are and what
makes you different from everybody else and really stand on that.
And then it's all about hard work and being consistent
and don't look at what other people are doing and
think I want to do it. Just like that, you
have to think, Okay, how can I create my own lane,
and how can I also educate myself. I'm a big
(31:53):
fan of like taking classes and things. Like we said,
I'm doing a lot of real estate. Well, I'm getting
my real estate license just because I wanted to take
the courses to understand it better to make sure that
I can be an expert at it. And that's why,
like even where Robert Green's book Mastery, I always talk
about that book, But anything that it is that you
want to do, make sure that you're researching it. There's
too much information out there for us to not educate
(32:15):
ourselves to the highest level on something. You know, it's
people dibble and dabbling things, But if you really care
about something and you want to go really hard. I'm
a big fan of making business plans every time I
want to do something, even if I'm not using the
business plan. I will sit down and write a whole
business plan for myself so I can set clear goals
and then always go back and revise those and refresh those.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
So, if you could give some advice to your eighteen
year old self, what would.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
It be, should have bought some property earlier when it
was really cheap, Because I've definitely had times in my
life where I might have had like a little chunk
of money and that could have bought a bit of
down payment on something, especially back then. And so investing
early at an earlier age, because you know, I didn't
start my roth Ira until I was older, my four
(33:05):
oh one k. All of those things she has to
prepare for the future. The earlier you do it, the better.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
So we usually end every episode of Math and Magic
with a shout out to the greats of the math
side and the magic side of marketing and business. But
because we're here today at the NAB conference, we're talking
about radio. Give us your shout out for your mentors,
heroes and role models and radio.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
Definitely Angie Martinez. You know I said that earlier, but
I just remember listening to her on the radio, how
personable she always was, how as a woman being in
the field that she is in hip hop, there weren't
a lot of us that were representing in that way.
And then also her morals, right, she never was like
a shock jock type of person and she never cared
(33:50):
about like, Okay, I'm gonna have this moment and not
care about another person. So that's something that I've always
looked up to her for the way that she's conducted herself,
conducted her And if you have had the longevity that
she's had.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
That's fantastic. Well, Angela, you are an inspiration to many people.
You do a fantastic job on the radio. You are
affecting culture, driving culture, and as well you're a successful
business person. Congratulations, thanks for sharing with us today.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Here's a few things I picked up from my conversation
with Angela. One, get your foot in the door when
you're just starting out, take any opportunity that's given to you.
Angela considers college internships to be among her most valuable experiences.
Don't underestimate those small jobs. They could be the biggest
boost to your career. Two, do your research. These days,
(34:46):
we have so many resources at our disposal. If you
have an interest, they could become an exciting new venture
or a meeting with someone new. Become an expert. First
knowledge will put you one step closer to success and
strengthen your connections. Three, create your own laying. If Angel
is just a successful radio host, that would be enough,
(35:07):
but she's positioned herself as a host, entrepreneur, and philanthropist
to make a path that's wholly her own. You don't
have to be one thing. Follow all your passions to
achieve a career that's unique and satisfy. I'm Bob Pittman.
Thanks for listening.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
That's it for today's episode. Thanks so much for listening
to Math and Magic, a production of iHeartRadio. The show
is hosted by Bob Pittman. Special thanks to Sidney Rosenbloom
for booking and wrangling our wonderful talent, which is no
small feat. Our editor Emily Meronoff, our engineers Jessica Crinchitch
and Baheid Fraser, our executive producers Nikki Etoor and Ali Perry,
(35:53):
and of course Gail Raoul, Eric Angel Noel, and everyone
who helped bring this show to your ears.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
Next time,
You're listening to Math and Magic. A production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Radio is very instant, and so part of being on
the radio is not being a celebrity. It's being one
in the community and one of the community. And I'm
always always trying to educate too. Every time I learn something,
I want to bring it to people.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Welcome to this recording of Mathemagic special episode. We're at
the National Association of Broadcasters, the NAB Conference. We're being
recorded live in Las Vegas. This is the industry's brightest
gathering together to celebrate one hundred years of innovation in media,
(00:45):
broadcasts and entertainment. And our guest here today, Angela Yee,
is a big part of that momentum. Angela was the
founding member of the wildly successful Breakfast Club Morning Show
along with Charlemagne to God and DJMB that's heard on AMFM,
on the iHeartRadio app, and has anchored on Power one
(01:05):
oh five point one in New York City. It's also
at the top of the charts on YouTube, and it's
also one of the biggest podcasts globally. After more than
a decade ride in that rocket, Angela has just gone
solo with her own midday show Way Up with Angela Yee.
She is also the longtime host of her podcast lip Service.
(01:29):
She's an accomplished entrepreneur, innovative, philanthropist, and all around great
human being. Brooklyn born, blessed with a great education Brooklyn Polyprep,
Columbia High, Wesleyan College. She got her start in the
music business before radio, and we got a lot to
talk about.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Angela welcome, Thank you, it's good to be here. Thanks
everybody who's here.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Before we get to the meat of it, I want
to do a quick overview. I want to do you
in sixty seconds, if you don't mind, you ready, Okay?
Do you prefer cats or dogs?
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Cats, early riser or night owl early riser, East.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Coast or West coast, East coast city or country city,
eminem or Wu Tang clan.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Oh, you can't do that. I have to say Wu Tang.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Winter or summer, summer, salty or sweet sweet beach or
mountains hip hoper rap hip hop, coffee or tea.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Coffee call or text, text podcast or YouTube podcast.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
It's about to get harder. Favorite TV show, The Office,
smartest person you know, Badman? Oh good? I love that.
Favorite city.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Favorite city is Brooklyn.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Secret talent djang What did you want to be when
you're growing up?
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Writer?
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Favorite radio personality when you were.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Growing up Angie Martinez.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Oh, I love that still share the airways with Yes,
So let's dig in to you. We're at the NAB
Radio is in the air here and when you think
about our company, mission is to give everybody to America
a friend anytime anywhere. We're licensed by the FCC to
(03:18):
serve the communities, and indeed we're there in time of need, hurricanes, fires, pandemics,
but we've also gone through some really tough social issues
that we dealt with. Let's talk a little bit about
your commitment to the community. I know you've been actively involved,
have not only a big heart, but have a big platform.
How do you see it and what are some of
(03:38):
the examples of some of the things you've done well.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
I've made a commitment really early that if I can
get paid to go out and do things, I also
want to make sure that I'm doing things that give
back to the community at the same time. And so
I feel like, because I've been really fortunate to be
in the position that I'm in, part of being successful
and making money is making money to be able to
help other people, and so that's always been something from
(04:02):
early on, even when I didn't have much time, was
always important to dedicate. And so when I go places,
I always want to do everything, Like if I go
to a children's hospital, I'm like, I want to come
back and help. And so part of that for me
is I know just showing up can mean a lot,
and so I always tell people if you can't give money,
you can do a post, you can give time, you
(04:23):
can do all of those things. And that's something that
I've always believed in. Education's been important to me. I
work with the New York Public Library, and I do
a book clubs with students in the public schools.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
All of those things really do mean a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
I remember doing a town hall with these young girls
and we were talking about the Me Too movement and
they were just talking about all of the things that
they've been through and everybody ended up crying.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
It was like one hundred and twenty of us.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
And so things like that, I feel like if I
have the platform that I have and I can go
and talk to people, and somebody can come up to
me one day and be like, you know, I met
you at this event, and it really made a difference
That means more to me than anything.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
How do you think you around the music business too,
which will come to in a minute. How do you
think radio is different from all the other media and
all the other forms of entertainment as it relates to
serving the communities.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Radio is very instant, and so part of being on
the radio is not being a celebrity. It's being one
in the community and one of the community. And so
I've never looked at myself as a celebrity. I look
at it more like, I'm just like you guys. I'm
talking about the same things that you're talking about. I'm
affected the same ways that you're affected, And so I
just try to make sure and I'm always always trying
(05:33):
to educate too. Every time I learn something, I want
to bring it to people. So if I'm talking about
like taxes are due, you know, We've done a couple
of different episodes where we talk about taxes. I have
a segment called Wealth Wednesdays. Part of why I did
that was because growing up, I didn't get the financial
education that I have now. It took me a long
time to get there, and the earlier you learn those things,
(05:54):
the better that you'll be. And so if there's anything
tangible that I can give, like providing resources on the radio,
that is the perfect platform to do that.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
I feel like radio is your friend.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
It's not like a movie or a TV show that's fictional.
It's real life, and so I enjoy that aspect of it.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
You've made a huge impact on culture. And before we
get into some of those specifics, I gave you sort
of the trick question the beginning about rap and hip hop.
Can you define for the audience here, what's the difference
between rap and hip hop?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Well, rap is really just the music aspect of it.
Hip hop is the whole culture that comes with it.
And so I feel like there's a lot of people
that can enjoy rap music, but they may not be
a part of the hip hop culture. Hip hop is
all encompassing, and so I look at it as rap
is just like a form of the music, but rap
is a part of hip hop.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
And so, looking back on the last ten years, talk
a little bit about what you've seen the impact of
the hip hop culture on fashion, language, movies, music, books, TV,
the whole Americana.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
I think when it comes to the youth, hip hop.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Rap music is the most impactful music that people can
feel like they relate to because that's where it comes from.
It comes from being in the community, it comes from
real life struggles. That's why it's so important that people
are like did you write your own lyrics? Or being
able to relate to music more than in any other genre.
Right when it comes to rap and hip hop, it's like,
this is real life situations. And sometimes people can say
(07:25):
that things are disturbing or it's not good for the community,
but it's more of a reflection of what's happening. And
so to me, when people say that, it's like, okay, well,
then that just means to me that there are things
that have to change, you know, And it's unfortunate that
sometimes we listen to the music and we're like, this
is you know, something that we could look at it
is it's harmful to the youth, but it's also a
(07:45):
reflection of that, and so to me that's kind of
like a cry for let's figure out what can we
do to make things better. And by the way, I
also want to say, hip hop is not just one thing,
one dimensional. We have such a wide variety of representation.
When it comes to hip hop. So I also don't
like when people act like hip hop is harmful because
(08:05):
we also have hip hop that's very uplifting and it's
just multi dimensional. So there's the struggle, but then there's
also the successes. There's also the educational aspect of it,
and so I just want to make sure that we
embrace all of those things. But because I feel like
there's such a microscope on it as it being real,
that's why people really judge it more than anything else.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
So let's jump a little bit to you. You interned
at MTV. In college, you worked at a management company
for Wu Tang Clan. That's why I give you the question,
just a question I'm sure people listening of how on
earth did you get such a cool job right out
of college and such a cool internship.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Well, I went to Wesleyan University, and part of what
I learned in college was internships are so important. And
another thing that I learned was when I interned, we
had a career resource center. And so the first internship
I had was at a label called tvt rec Right
and they also licensed like all the TV tunes, the
cartoon music that you hear, and so When I did
that internship, it was in the legal department. I did
(09:08):
not care about the legal department at all, but I
knew that in order for me to get my foot
in the door, that was just a way for me
to get in. And so one thing I learned was
just get your foot in the door. And so I
started doing these internships. I had an internship with MTV
and the person I interned for he was the music manager,
so he would present the videos that they would then
(09:29):
have to decide what was gonna air. So everybody wanted
to get in with him, you know. I remember going
to Puffy's studio back then when he was playing like
big these videos for him, and they gave a champagne
and I was just interning, and I was like, this
is amazing, like the fact that everybody is kissing this
guy's ass trying to get their music on their music
videos played on MTV. And so for me, internships in
(09:50):
college were really important. Back then, we didn't get paid.
I know now interns like get paid and there's certain
things that they can't and won't do. But I was
like picking up dry cleaning. I was doing everything that
I had to do as an intern. And I think
it gave me like a really strong work ethic. And
so when I graduated from college, I had an opportunity
to work at either Columbia Records, but I was actually
(10:11):
going to visit Wu Tang. It was the same day
that they were doing summer jam and I didn't even
realize it, and they were like, come with us a
summer jam. And the guy who I interned for was like,
you know, we've been trying to find you. We wanted
to hire you. This is when people didn't have cell
phones and you know, didn't have social media, and so
I was like, okay, cool, and I turned down everything
(10:31):
else because I felt like this was a better opportunity.
My best friend was interning at Epic at Sony in
the A and R department, and she was like, Angela,
take that job for Wu Tang.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
They'll let you do a lot more.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Because I'm interning here and they're so threatened by me
wanting to take their job that they're not letting me
do anything. So go someplace where you can actually do
things and get you know, get work done.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
And that's why I took that job.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Speaking of learning things, there's a story that you went
on the road as a manager, and you turned out
to be a roaring success because you were good with money.
Can you talk a little bit about that, because there's
a lesson in there somewhere.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
So I ended up going on the road with Jizza
from Wu Tang. He had to go to Europe at
the last minute, his manager couldn't go it with some
passport issues, and so I had to get my passport
same day to be able to go. And so I
went on the road, and I literally when we came back,
had like a whole ledger down to the penny of
what everybody got paid and what money we had left.
(11:32):
And he had never gotten that before, and I just thought,
that's how I have to do things. And so he
was so impressed by the fact that he got all
his money that he was supposed to get. Everybody was
paid what they were supposed to get paid, and everything
was correct to the penny that after that I just
was his manager.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Wow, that's pretty good. What's a lesson in this? But
both getting your jobs out of college and turning into
a manager, what's a lesson that you think is applicable
to other people in business?
Speaker 2 (12:02):
I think that at the foundation of things that hard
work is the fundamental thing. I feel like a lot
of times people see other people who are successful and
they think it just happens, or they think it's just relationships.
You can get your foot in the door, but then
what happens after that? And so for me, I've always
been like the first person in the office the last
(12:22):
person to leave.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
That's what I was doing.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
And also, honesty is important, and I don't feel like
a lot of people are honest. I feel like money
can get people to act very different when that gets involved.
And then a lot of times people don't watch their
own business the way that they should.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
I'll say that.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
And I've worked for a lot of artists who may
not even know what's going on when it comes to
legal things, when it comes to their accounting, and so
they're always surprised when you can be really transparent, but
people appreciate that it's rare.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
So before we talk about your jump to radio, let's
go back in time to your childhood. You're a fellow Capricorn.
You grew up in the eighties and nineties, mostly Brooklyn,
some New Jersey. Paint the picture of those times in
your life and your family.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
When I was young, and I actually grew up listening
to the radio a lot. Z one hundred was my
station and the Z Morning Zoo. That's what I used
to listen to. And I feel like at that time,
hip hop didn't have its own station, Like we would
have a certain period of time that it would air
and we had you know, video music box. And it's
great to see like Ralph McDaniel's doing his documentary because
(13:29):
there were certain times that we could see it and
hear it, and we didn't have streaming, so if you
wanted to hear something, you had to literally record it
with a cassette. And so I would do that, Like
there were certain times that certain radio shows would come
on and I would make sure that I recorded it
because you don't know when you would hear it again
if you didn't have a chance to do that. And
so that's how I grew up. Just in Brooklyn. I'm
(13:50):
from Flap Bush. It's a very Caribbean community, so we
grew up with a lot of soca and a lot
of dancehall and reggae music and a lot of the
block party. Those were always like my biggest highlights growing
up when we had the Black Party and so all
of those things, and I just remember I went to
private school. I went to Poly Prep, and that was
after going to a program that was for underprivileged youth
(14:12):
who were quote unquote gifted, and so I had to
test to get into this program, and that's how I
ended up going to private.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
School Prep for Prep.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Yeah, Prep for Prep.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
And it's a great program, you know, because it's free
and they really give you the resources so that when
you go to a private school or get ready for college,
you learn things in advance. And it was really instrumental
for me because I also got to meet a lot
of kids from outside of Brooklyn. I was very in
my neighborhood, and so I feel like that was really
instrumental in opening up my eyes to a lot of
other things. And then going to private school was different
(14:42):
for me. That's when I started really playing sports.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
You know. I learned a lot just.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
From even going to Polyprep, having smaller classes and the
impact that that had. I wanted to be a teacher
at one point after that experience. I did this whole
urban education semester in Washington Heights when I was in college,
but just because because I understood how much great teachers
can impact your future because I've had great ones and
I've also had terrible ones, and so I've always understood
(15:09):
the importance of that too. But that was going from
public school to private school and learning those things, having
the smaller classes, having more attention.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
So you have I think anyone who knows you would
say you have enormous self confidence. You have a lot
of healthy ambition. Where did that come from in your childhood?
Speaker 2 (15:30):
I don't think that I always had a lot of
self confidence, you know what. I think I took the
biggest risk in my life when I was always at
my lowest, and that's something that I can appreciate that
I did. It would be like the worst time for me,
and I'd be like, I have nothing more to lose,
and I feel like that's the time that you're supposed
to take those risks, right when you feel like, well,
(15:50):
it can't get any worse. And that taught me the
worst thing that can happen is that something doesn't work.
You know, it doesn't work the way that you intended,
and I would hate to not try. And so for me,
I've always like put my all on the line. I
have things that go wrong every single day all the time,
and somebody was just telling me if the things always
went right, then life would not be interesting. So my
(16:11):
life has been extremely interesting with all the things that
haven't happened the way that they should. Even this last week, like,
I've had all kinds of things that sometimes it's hard
for me when it's not in my control, when you
have to rely on other people to make deals happen
and make things happen, and they don't hold up their end,
and then now you're left like what am I going
to do? But I've also learned from that is it's
(16:32):
kind of like betting is not to put everything on
the line always right, only put out what you can
afford to lose. And so that's something that I always
live by too. If this is something that will devastate me,
then I just can't do it. But if I feel
like I can afford to, if this doesn't happen, make
this be a learning lesson. I look at it as
like an investment into my education. We paid a lot
(16:52):
to go to school, so it's okay if I lose.
Sometimes it's an investment.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Moral Mathem magic for this quick break. Welcome back to
math and magic. Let's hear more from my conversation with Angela. Ye,
it's time to make the jump to radio. You're in
the Radio Hall of Fame. You've won numerous awards along
(17:20):
the way in your radio career. Tell us the story.
How did you make the jump? From you it sounded
like things were going really well in the music business
and suddenly you jumped to radio.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
I actually came from marketing, and I think marketing is
a great tool, you know, to be able to do
anything in life, to be able to market yourself. So
I was doing marketing. I worked for Eminem's clothing line,
and you know, we all got laid off from that,
and so I took a little time. I had worked
my whole life up until then, I was, you know,
my whole life. I was twenty eight, but you know,
(17:51):
I had never had a break, like from when I
first was in college. Up until then, I've always had
a job. So I said, let me take a few
months just to like sit back, get this unemployment that
I've been putting money toward, and figure out what I
want to do next. And I actually went on hot
jobs on Yahoo and I saw a job opening as
serious and I was like, this sounds interesting. It was
(18:12):
in the marketing department, and I called up Eminem's manager,
Paul Rosenberg, and I said, Paul, you know, I really
want to try to see if you can just get
me an interview in the marketing department.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
I can take it from there.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
So he set up an interview, but he also said
to me, Angela, would you want to try to audition
for the morning show. We're looking for someone, And so
I ended up auditioning for three months and eventually getting
the job after a great interview with Jay Z.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
One of your hallmarks on the air are the interviews
you do on satellite radio, certainly on Power and on
the Breakfast Club. What's the secret to doing a great
interview research?
Speaker 2 (18:48):
I think being prepared is one of the biggest secrets.
I've had people say, Oh, I like to go into
an interview and just ask questions like I don't know anything,
and I don't feel like as somebody who's in the
position that I'm in, I should approach things that way.
I like to do research because I feel like it
respects the person who you're interviewing, and then it also
makes for a better conversation because sometimes interviewees aren't the
(19:13):
most talkative and maybe they're a little irritated. They've been
answering the same questions NonStop. And when you do research,
you can actually impress them with oh okay, I haven't
had a chance to talk about this, or I would
love to elaborate on this, And I think it's a
respect thing. And so I feel like when I'm well
researched and I do an interview, it always is way
(19:34):
better and people appreciate it so much. And so that
would be because there's been times early on when something
might come up last minute and I'm doing an interview
that I didn't anticipate, and I don't like doing that
at all because I never feel prepared. It makes me
feel flustered and sometimes a little silly and foolish.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
And so I would say, research.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Do you have a favorite interview?
Speaker 2 (19:56):
I would have to say, well, of course, jay Z,
because that's what got me my first job and radio.
When I walked out of there, they were like, you're
hired because that interview was that good. But you know,
I mean so many I guess we get to talk
to so many iconic people all the time. Sometimes it's
people you wouldn't expect, like I interviewed JB. Smooth Ones,
and I really enjoy that. Obviously, I had like a
(20:17):
August I've seeing an interview that a lot of people
saw that was a big deal because that was the
whole Will Smith, you know, Jada thing during the pandemic,
Tiffany Hattish when she first was in Girls Trip.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
I enjoyed that interview.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
I just like people who are really open and honest,
and even on my podcast that's a whole different type
of interview, but I enjoy those also just because it's
kind of off the beat in track and you never
know what people feel like getting off their.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Chests when you're speaking of getting it off your chest.
You have a feature on your show now which is
about people telling their secrets. Can you tell us a
little bit about it's a great feature.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
So this is really, like I think, has been a
hallmark for us. It's called tell us a secret, and
people call in anonymously and we don't judge. That's the
main thing. We are like, it's no judgment, and they
tell us a secret. And so people have called in
to tell us all kinds of things. One guy has
a secret family and the Dominican Republic, you know, we're
not judging him, but we don't know if those are
(21:15):
his kids because he never got a DNA test. There's
somebody who stole a car in the nineties and he
still feels.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Bad about it to this day.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
And so it's a great feature just because you know,
we sit there and we don't judge you. We let
you say whatever it is that you have to say.
We ask whatever questions, and then that person hopefully feels
a little relieved afterward.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
So I want to jump a little bit to another
side of you, a Julie the entrepreneur and business person,
and also, by the way, a generist. We've already talked
about the philanthropist. Tell us a little bit about some
of the business as you're in Juices for Life and
some of the other I know you're doing real estate
and some of the other things.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Well, my first ever brick and mortar business was Juices
for Life, which is a juice bar in Brooklyn, which
we're renovating to make a coffee shop. Clash because financially
it's been a lot dealing with the cost of fruits
and vegetables, so I've had to diversify what we offer
in there. From that, I started a press juice business
called Dring Fresh Juice, just because people would come in
(22:13):
all the time and we're like, how can I get this?
Speaker 3 (22:16):
You know where I live. And so that's been doing well.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
And then I launched Coffee Uplift People, my own coffee company,
which by the way, will be in targets starting in June.
So I'm excited to make those things happen, and I'm
very hands on with it. So I literally will like
go to restaurants. You know, we're in the Grill in Brooklyn,
We're in Tatianas in Manhattan, Brooklyn chop House, Like, I
will literally go to restaurants and ask to talk to
(22:39):
the person. I'm very hands on with my business, and
so one thing I did learn too was even just
talking about my business, I like to know as much
as possible and so that way people don't look at
me it's just a face or somebody who's endorsing something.
I'm super involved in all of it, and so I
have a hair store in Detroit also, and I do
real estate. I just got my first Airbnb property last
(22:59):
year in upstate New York. I'm closing on a deal
this week in Detroit. A thirty unit building in Midtown.
That has been really difficult, but that's like my biggest
project to date. And then I have a condo and
Williamsburg two Brownstones in Brooklyn.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
So how did you learn this? I mean this is
you've gone through your history and nowhere in there did
you say you had an MBA or you did business training.
Where did this come from?
Speaker 3 (23:23):
You know?
Speaker 2 (23:24):
My first house, I really bought a house because my
best friend bought a house. Her name is Santi Gold
and she's an artist. Also, we were roommates. We went
to college together, we were roommates there, we were roommates
after college, and when she was looking for a house
in Brooklyn, I went with her and she was like,
you know, come with me.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
To look at this house.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
And I learned a lot just from being with her
and like going on these trips, and I was like, Okay,
this is so exciting.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
My best friend's buying a house.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
I went to do that too, and so I started
really actively like saving, taking on side jobs just so
I could get enough money for the down payment. And
so once I bought my first house and got that
out of the way, I felt like, okay, it was
a two family house.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
It was a very practical purchase.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
My realtor told me, when you buy a house, this
is not your one and only dream house, this is
your first house.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
You know, it's an investment.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
And that was something that really stuck with me, like
to this day, is this a good investment? And that
was the first house that I bought. And then after that,
I bought a couple of properties in Detroit and flip
those and then I use that money to go and
buy another I bought a condo in Williamsburg.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
That was a great purchase.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
And then after that I was just like, Okay, I
have money coming in from these other things that I've done,
and I never like to have money sitting in the bank.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
I feel like it's not working.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
I've seen interviews where people are like, I still have
you know, all this money that I don't touch that
I get from these other streams of income, but with
the way that interest is and you know, with the
money that you're not making because you have money sitting
in the bank. I learned really quickly that my money
has to work. And so every time I set a
goal for myself, and once I hit a certain goal,
it's time to invest in something.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Else, so yourself taught.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Yes, Google, thank you too well.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
By the way, it's pretty impressive. I mean Google gets
a lot of credit here. You also flip this around
too in your Wealth Wednesdays when you do the free
financial services and education for people, talk a little bit
about it because you started that actually live in your
juice bar too, right.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Yes, So I met Stacy Tisdale and she worked for
the Wall Street Journal. She was on the floor at
the Nasdaq, and I learned a lot from her. And
I always feel like empowerment comes from financial freedom too, right.
That's something that is really important for our community.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
And so I told her.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
I was like, I would love for us to do
something like on a consistent basis, And so we strategized
and came up with Wealth Wednesdays. We started doing that
in the Juice Bar, and at first we didn't make
any it was just free. Like we had different people
coming through. The small business services came through, they bought
their RV people were able to sign up for services
on the spot, they got to meet the commissioner ask
whatever questions. And then from that, you know, we did
(25:57):
certain things about like relationship, some money and credit scores
and then we started monetizing it and we were able
to bring in people who actually, you know, wanted to
because we wanted to be able to offer free services.
But it was also costing us to do that. And
so the one thing that I like to do is
give it to you for free, but make some of
these corporations pay. And I think, you know, that is
(26:20):
a really good trade off for them to get that.
And so we've done a lot of things with different corporations.
Google has come in a few times to talk about
like Google AdWords and how to really support your business
with Google and let you know how inexpensive it can be,
but how to do it right. And I just want
people to have, like I always say, tangible things that
they can walk away with and understand and learn.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
So let's do some quick topics work life balance, What
does it mean to you? How do you do it well?
Speaker 2 (26:47):
I work a lot, but I like to bring my
friends with me sometimes, So say I'm going, you know,
to do something like an appearance somewhere. If it's someplace fun,
then I'm like, Okay, who wants to come with me?
Let's make this a whole And then I also try
to make sure that and I just said this. I
know I'm launching this new show way up with Antilae,
but I ay, I just told my producer, I said,
(27:08):
I need just one day a week where I don't
have like a packed schedule, and that way I can
handle personal things that I need to do because it
is really important for me to be there for my family,
Like my cousin's getting married.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
I'm like, Okay, block this off.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
So a lot of it is just about scheduling and
making sure that just like you schedule work, you have
to schedule that.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Time AI helpful or scary.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Scary, but you know, I think that it's important to
understand and to be involved because you also don't want
to get left behind, right, And so it is something
that is scary though. And I think a lot of
times when things are new and different, they're scary and
just from what we've been seeing, it's like, man, But
(27:50):
at the same time, I'm like, I could probably get
AI to come in and do my show.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
You gotta have a little more time off the post
pandemic life. How do you think it's different.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
I think people's habits are different.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
You know, a lot more people are working from home
or doing like a hybrid situation. I feel like we
as employees have a lot more leeway as far as
being able to negotiate things because you know, as a
business owner myself, I know how hard it's been to
find employees now. So a lot of times we're offering things,
not just financial things, but quality of life things to
(28:27):
make people feel like this is a community. I think
that people are more interested in self care, a lot
more interested in their own mental well being also, which
I think is a positive thing.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
And people's habits are just changed, you know.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
So even with radio, a lot of people listen on
the podcast, I feel like, and so it's great. Like
I said, we talk about AI and people being scared,
but the same thing with podcasting, people feel it's important.
I think like even with iHeart, how iHeart has really
embraced it early on, you know, because if not, you
get left behind music.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
What's next.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
I think the way that we've been going is, you know,
people have been putting out singles and projects, and it's
not just like putting out an album.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
People people don't even say albums anymore.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
They'll be like I put out a project, and people
are also really I think back to visuals. You know,
that's important too, because right now it's so we're so
inundated with things that we can possibly listen to and
different regions and everything, and you know, the ability to
not have to go and see somebody in person somewhere
(29:35):
that experiences matter so much more so now it's like,
how can I be more creative and make sure that
I stand out from everything else that's happening, because there's
a lot of noise that people have to separate themselves
from so fundamentally like it has to be amazing, But
then how do you support that? And what do you
do for your fans to show them that? Okay, you know,
I'm giving you X Y and Z. Also on top of.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
This last point here opportunities for young peopleeople and those
who've been historically disenfranchised.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
What's the future I think with leveling the playing field
and having access that's important. I think there's a lot
of programs that are available to that people really have
to make sure that they seek in order to be able.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
To have these opportunities.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
And I just feel like, if you can be really
creative and consistent, okay, and also just respectful of your audience,
that you can definitely have a future and blow up.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
You know.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
I feel like sometimes people who have been really privileged
aren't taking advantage of the things that, you know, that's
available to them because they don't have to struggle in
that way. But with the kids nowadays, I mean, my god,
children know way more than I do. I'm asking them
for help on like how can you do this? And
how can you do that? And so it's just a
great opportunity. But if you're on your phone all day,
(30:52):
or your kids are on their phone all day, and
you see that they can be actually making money off
of that. There's people getting paid to play video games,
you know, to go on Twitch, to go on all
these different platforms, and so instead of doing things that
is a waste of time, figure out how you can
actually monetize that. I think there's so many great apps
when it comes to investing, when it comes to different things,
(31:12):
and kids are on their phone, so we just have
to make sure that we're marketing to them, you know,
in that way, but also being really responsible.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
So a little advice. Somebody's listening today, They want to
be you on the radio. Are you, as the business
person entrepreneur, what advice would you give them.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Well, first, don't want to be me, because I think
it is important to know who you are and what
makes you different from everybody else and really stand on that.
And then it's all about hard work and being consistent
and don't look at what other people are doing and
think I want to do it. Just like that, you
have to think, Okay, how can I create my own lane,
and how can I also educate myself. I'm a big
(31:53):
fan of like taking classes and things. Like we said,
I'm doing a lot of real estate. Well, I'm getting
my real estate license just because I wanted to take
the courses to understand it better to make sure that
I can be an expert at it. And that's why,
like even where Robert Green's book Mastery, I always talk
about that book, But anything that it is that you
want to do, make sure that you're researching it. There's
too much information out there for us to not educate
(32:15):
ourselves to the highest level on something. You know, it's
people dibble and dabbling things, But if you really care
about something and you want to go really hard. I'm
a big fan of making business plans every time I
want to do something, even if I'm not using the
business plan. I will sit down and write a whole
business plan for myself so I can set clear goals
and then always go back and revise those and refresh those.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
So, if you could give some advice to your eighteen
year old self, what would.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
It be, should have bought some property earlier when it
was really cheap, Because I've definitely had times in my
life where I might have had like a little chunk
of money and that could have bought a bit of
down payment on something, especially back then. And so investing
early at an earlier age, because you know, I didn't
start my roth Ira until I was older, my four
(33:05):
oh one k. All of those things she has to
prepare for the future. The earlier you do it, the better.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
So we usually end every episode of Math and Magic
with a shout out to the greats of the math
side and the magic side of marketing and business. But
because we're here today at the NAB conference, we're talking
about radio. Give us your shout out for your mentors,
heroes and role models and radio.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
Definitely Angie Martinez. You know I said that earlier, but
I just remember listening to her on the radio, how
personable she always was, how as a woman being in
the field that she is in hip hop, there weren't
a lot of us that were representing in that way.
And then also her morals, right, she never was like
a shock jock type of person and she never cared
(33:50):
about like, Okay, I'm gonna have this moment and not
care about another person. So that's something that I've always
looked up to her for the way that she's conducted herself,
conducted her And if you have had the longevity that
she's had.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
That's fantastic. Well, Angela, you are an inspiration to many people.
You do a fantastic job on the radio. You are
affecting culture, driving culture, and as well you're a successful
business person. Congratulations, thanks for sharing with us today.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Here's a few things I picked up from my conversation
with Angela. One, get your foot in the door when
you're just starting out, take any opportunity that's given to you.
Angela considers college internships to be among her most valuable experiences.
Don't underestimate those small jobs. They could be the biggest
boost to your career. Two, do your research. These days,
(34:46):
we have so many resources at our disposal. If you
have an interest, they could become an exciting new venture
or a meeting with someone new. Become an expert. First
knowledge will put you one step closer to success and
strengthen your connections. Three, create your own laying. If Angel
is just a successful radio host, that would be enough,
(35:07):
but she's positioned herself as a host, entrepreneur, and philanthropist
to make a path that's wholly her own. You don't
have to be one thing. Follow all your passions to
achieve a career that's unique and satisfy. I'm Bob Pittman.
Thanks for listening.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
That's it for today's episode. Thanks so much for listening
to Math and Magic, a production of iHeartRadio. The show
is hosted by Bob Pittman. Special thanks to Sidney Rosenbloom
for booking and wrangling our wonderful talent, which is no
small feat. Our editor Emily Meronoff, our engineers Jessica Crinchitch
and Baheid Fraser, our executive producers Nikki Etoor and Ali Perry,
(35:53):
and of course Gail Raoul, Eric Angel Noel, and everyone
who helped bring this show to your ears.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
Next time,
Host
Bob Pittman
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