November 11, 2025 • 61 mins
The spark starts at a school desk with a kid who lived by the radio. From that early obsession, Dr. LaJoyce Brookshire built a career producing shows, shaping artists, and guarding images at the highest levels of music. We walk through those rooms with her—Bad Boy hallways, photo sets under the Brooklyn Bridge, tense moments that turned into trust—and unpack how advocacy, preparation, and presence can transform raw talent into a durable brand.
The conversation isn’t nostalgia; it’s a field guide for creatives, publicists, and leaders who need to show up when the stakes are messy. Dr. Brookshire breaks down the lost art of artist development, explains why “no exposure before readiness” saves careers, and shares the Biggie media-training saga that evolved from friction to family. We talk about the emotional bill of grinding through grief, the cost of silence, and the power of calling your village early. Her litmus test for relationships—who deposits more than they withdraw—doubles as a compass for healthier teams and boundaries.
We also confront representation and erasure. Too many women who built pop culture were left out of the retellings, so she co-authored Women Behind the Mic and launched Backstage Pass Careers to help students see the jobs behind the spotlight: publicity, A&R, promotions, styling, songwriting. Then we pivot to her health mission as the Good Doctor, teaching people to attain, maintain, and reclaim wellness with practical tools like food journaling and her 21-day detox program. The through line is clear: author your story, protect your energy, and build systems that let you keep your light bright without burning out.
If this resonates, subscribe and share it with someone who needs a boost. Drop a review with your biggest takeaway, and tell us which lesson you’ll apply this week.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:55):
Welcome everyone.
You're now tuned into anotheramazing edition of Sonya on Air.
I'm your host, Dr.
Sonia, and are you ready totruly dive into the lives and
minds of your favoritecelebrities, especially those
incredible figures whoilluminate black culture and
entrepreneurship?
We're talking intimate,thought-provoking conversations
(01:19):
that peel back the layers,offering not just glimpses, but
profound insights into theirpivotal moments and remarkable
journeys.
It's more than just celebrityinterviews, it's a springboard
for inspiration, illuminating apath for us all.
So, in just a few short moments,I'm going to bring to you Dr.
(01:39):
LaJoyce Brookshire.
She is an iconic figure behindsome of the most profound
celebrities in the past, thecurrent, and the future.
She is the name behind suchiconic entertainers such as
Aretha Franklin, Tony Braxton,Sean P.
Diddy Combs, Biggie Smalls, andso much more.
(02:03):
This conversation is reallygoing to unpack the intersection
between personal empowerment andprofessional success.
Those two lanes always merge.
And as a leader, as a boss,sometimes we don't know how to
navigate or manage it all.
We're going to be sharing Dr.
LaJoyce's stories, her journeys,the failures, the losses, and
(02:27):
the wins.
Because we're ushering in a newgeneration of bosses, too.
So do me a favor.
Before I bring in Dr.
LaJoyce, I need you tosubscribe.
Sonia Onair streams across everymajor platform.
Make sure you subscribe, leave acomment, and share it amongst
your family and friends.
Also, make sure you visit theSonya Onair website,
(02:49):
www.sanyaonair.net.
Sanya will be launching all newmerch really, really soon.
So make sure that you're thefirst to rock the Sonya Onair
merch.
So without any further ado,let's just bring in Dr.
LaJoyce Richard.
How are you doing today, Dr.
LaJoyce?
I am well.
(03:09):
Thank you, Dr.
Sanya.
Let me tell you something, Dr.
LaJoyce.
This is the first time thatsomeone's called me Dr.
Sonia.
I don't know if you noticed, butyeah, there's been a significant
name change.
SPEAKER_01 (03:24):
No, say more.
SPEAKER_02 (03:26):
I wasn't a doctor the last time I spoke to you.
SPEAKER_01 (03:32):
Congratulations, then.
SPEAKER_02 (03:34):
Thank you.
Yes, the ceremony is October11th, and I'm super, super
excited.
SPEAKER_01 (03:40):
Bless your heart, honey.
I remember that.
Well, there's no greaterfeeling, right?
SPEAKER_02 (03:46):
Yeah.
I remember as a child, I alwaysenvisioned what my life would be
like as an adult.
And I said, Oh, I want to becomea doctor.
Didn't have a clue how that wasgoing to happen, but I always
led my life in service of.
And when the opportunitypresented itself, and because I
was ready, I was just able towalk into the opportunity.
(04:09):
Beautiful.
Well, congratulations.
Welcome.
Thank you.
So it brings me to the firstquestion that I have for you.
Now, the the overarch of thisconversation is going to be
about how your personal growthfuels your personal professional
success.
So I want to start at the very,very beginning because as an
educator working in the largestNew York City charter high
(04:32):
school network, and I'm alwaystalking to students about their
adulthood.
What do they want to become?
Where were you?
And how old were you when youdecided that you wanted to enter
into the entertainment industry?
An industry that we have heardis one of the most demonic
(04:52):
industries to ever exist.
Where were you and how old?
SPEAKER_01 (04:58):
I was probably in seventh grade.
And I was in Louisiana, and wewere doing this pretend thing.
And my cousin said, I'm gonna bea news reporter.
And I said, I'm gonna be on theradio.
(05:21):
Wow.
And my friends jokingly used tocall me radio because they said
I never shut up.
Right?
So true story, fast forward, Idid my internship at WJPC, the
amazing AM 95 in Chicago.
And uh my the first day at work,then I went to work there.
(05:46):
I worked there.
And when I came out of thenewsroom, the uh receptionist
said, The your third gradeteacher is on the line.
Her name is Mrs.
Carmen, and I said, Yes, and shesaid she she has to speak to
you, she's been holding on for awhile, and so I took the call
and she said all she said wasthank god somebody's paying for
(06:07):
the news.
And I thought, Miss Carmen, andthen she hung up.
Wow, I said, Lord, today.
SPEAKER_02 (06:18):
But you know, that's a similar story.
I love it when people can seethe trajectory in us that we
can't see in ourselves becausemy fourth grade teacher, my
fourth and sixth grade teachers,they still keep in contact with
me um every single birthday, andthey also told me, I am so glad
that you found a place to landall of your talking.
SPEAKER_01 (06:41):
Yes, definitely.
SPEAKER_02 (06:43):
But wait a minute, at the age, you said the seventh
grade, that's when you knew thatyou wanted to go into the
entertainment broadcasting.
Yes, how did you know that?
And did you know exactly whatsteps you should take in order
to get into the radio business?
SPEAKER_01 (06:58):
I had no clue of the steps.
I I knew it, I was the kid wholived by the radio.
I've been married 28 years to myhusband, and we're childhood
sweethearts.
I have watched more televisionsince I've been married to him
than I ever saw in my life.
I was the kid who lived by theradio.
My mother would punish me, shewould take my radio and leave me
(07:19):
with the TV.
SPEAKER_02 (07:22):
I was always the kid with the radio.
So that's a gem.
I don't I'm not sure if youdropped it because once again,
similar stories.
This is how I know that this isa testimony for someone else.
I remember in the year 2005 or2007, I lost everything in
Florida due to Hurricane Ivan.
I didn't have anything but theclothing on my back.
(07:43):
And I said, Well, now that Ihave to start from scratch and
rebuild, what am I going to do?
Now it has to be intentional.
I said, Well, what did I like todo all the time as a kid?
I like to talk and I like towrite short stories.
Hence, I'm in media and henceI'm a published author.
Get back to what excited you asa child.
(08:05):
So that was a gem right there.
SPEAKER_01 (08:06):
Well, and speaking, yes, that thank you.
And I wrote short stories aswell.
I actually always wrote, Ialways had a diary, thanks to my
husband.
Like I said, we were childhoodsweethearts.
He gave me my first diary forChristmas when I was 12.
unknown (08:23):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (08:24):
And I uh and what I used to do was I used to write
the school plays, primarily somy friends could be in it.
Wrong motivation, but that'swhat I did.
No one else was writing them,and we always had an assembly,
so I always wrote the plays, andI won an ebony junior writing
contest when I was 11.
Remember Ebony Junior magazine?
(08:44):
Yes, I won a writing contestwhen I was 11, and uh it I was
like a third runner-up orsomething like that, and I was
just thrilled to death.
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (08:56):
Okay, so a part of your journey, so radio.
I know a part of your journey,you also got into public
relations for some of the mosticonic entertainment um
professionals that we heard fromin the past, the current, and
potentially in the future.
How did you get into publicrelations?
And then we're going to talkabout some of the clients that
(09:17):
you've worked with.
SPEAKER_01 (09:19):
I got into public relations as a next natural
progression of being a radioproducer.
I was a writer and producer atSheridan Broadcasting Networks,
which is now American UrbanRadio.
And we had a name change when Iwas working there.
(09:39):
And I used to write the show andco-produce the show, Top 30 USA,
with Donnie Simpson.
It was to come on Saturdaymornings, you're in New York,
WBLS.
That's where you stay here.
And then the next thing you kindof do after being a radio
producer is go work for a label.
So I went before I worked for alabel, though, I started my own
(10:02):
public relations company.
And I was handling a lot ofnot-for-profit people, a lot of
upstarts, a lot of fringe typepeople who needed publicity.
And then I went to work at HushProductions and where else did I
(10:23):
work?
Hush Productions Polygram.
Uh, but at Polygram, though, Iworked at international AR
because they were thrilled withmy Spanish background.
I I went to I studied at theUniversity of Madrid.
Have a dual La Universidad deMadrid, I have a dual degree in
speech and Spanish.
SPEAKER_02 (10:42):
Nice.
I just want to pause for amoment because sometimes we get
stuck because we're both from ageneration, you get a good job,
you keep it, and you retire.
But all throughout you talkingabout this early journey, I was
like, Oh my gosh, she had theaudacity to know when to go into
the next journey and when topivot.
(11:04):
When did you get that itch tosay it's time for me to move on
and to now write the next pageof this book?
SPEAKER_01 (11:11):
Because I always had an itch to the next thing.
My mother gave me a sense, agreat sense of adventure.
We used to have to keep asuitcase packed under our beds,
and we had what you call travelclothes.
That these are the clothes youtravel in, you don't wear them
any other time.
You have travel pajamas, atravel toothbrush, and so, and
(11:32):
then we have come home from atrip, we had to wash our
clothes, put them back, and putour suitcases under the bed.
That's because my mother wouldpick us up from school, she
would go to the office, and on aFriday, LaJoyce and Stephen
Hunter come to the main office,LaJoyce and Stephen Hunter, and
people be like, Where y'allgoing now?
We said, We don't know.
We thought we out, we outside.
(11:53):
So when uh we used to just andshe was just so spontaneous like
that.
So she gave me that sense ofadventure, but she was a teacher
for 33 years, and I'm here totell you that me getting the
itch to go from job to job, itwas much to her disappointment.
The choice, you keep going fromgirl, you need to get somewhere
(12:17):
and stay there, girl.
That job, you like it.
I said that mommy, this is notit.
This is not it.
I said, You taught me that.
She said, I taught you how to gofrom city to city, and say
nothing about going from job tojob.
SPEAKER_02 (12:29):
So, how did you alleviate her um concern?
Because you know, we're childrentalking to our parents,
sometimes they don't get it, itdoesn't land because they feel
as if they always know what'sbest for us.
How did you still take that stepof leap, even though your mother
was against it, to say, I knowthat this is the right path for
me?
SPEAKER_01 (12:48):
Yes, I took, I was able to take the leaps even when
mommy was uh fussing.
But you know why I was able todo it?
I was able to show her proof ofwhy.
She was a very rational, logicalwoman.
I'm very logical myself, andshe's very black and white.
And so what I would always do iswrite a letter.
(13:10):
I'm like, I'm writing you thisletter because I don't want to
cry and I don't want to argue,and then I would state my case,
and then she would call and say,You go, girl.
Nice.
This is good's like a good moodfor you.
Yes, I like to write a letter.
Write a letter.
I'm big on writing letters, yes,very big.
SPEAKER_02 (13:32):
Okay, so and that's that's a strategy that I also
employ because my dad loves himdearly, he's in the back.
Sometimes I just can't getthrough, and sometimes I'll say,
Okay, let me put this in a textmessage.
Sometimes, even some of thebooks that I co-authored, I
said, Let me write this messagefor him in this book, and I'll
just pass him the book and say,Here, dad, read this.
(13:54):
Oh, yeah.
So I enjoyed that strategy, andit just lands a lot differently
because then I'm giving him theopportunity to process what I
just said instead of respondingfirst, he's processing first so
that he can think of a moremeaningful um answer to what I
wrote.
I'm glad that you mentionedthat.
(14:15):
So you get into publicrelationships now.
Let's talk about some of theiconic figures that you've
worked with.
Name them.
SPEAKER_01 (14:25):
Well, at Arista Records, I was director of
publicity and I worked with MissAretha.
I worked with Kenny G, WhitneyHouston, Carly Simon, Kenny G.
Did I say Kenny G?
Yes, I did say Kenny G.
(14:46):
The notorious B I G, my biggie.
Wow, uh, total 112.
I had the entire bad boy roster.
112, mace, and Sean Puffy Combs.
And don't ask me any questions.
And and I also worked with allof the artists on La Face,
Usher, Tony Braxton, TLC, and Ihad Rowdy as well, Monica,
(15:12):
Dallas Austin, yes, uh, andoutcast.
SPEAKER_02 (15:17):
Wow, you know, I'm so glad that you ran off your
roster, and I'm sure thatthere's many, many more.
And oftentimes we look at thepeople who are at the front, and
we're not looking at the peoplewho made them ready.
Share a moment with us where itwas really difficult getting an
artist ready for the public.
(15:38):
Share the moment, and who wasthe artist?
SPEAKER_01 (15:42):
Oh my gosh, which one?
They all had to get readybecause they were all so green
when they came.
I I let me say this before mepreface what I'm about to say
with this point.
My greatest joy was taking anunknown gem, letting them get
(16:05):
getting them polished and readyfor public consumption and
presenting them to the world.
That was my greatest joy.
I would say one of the toughestartists to get ready was Biggie.
And I could see it.
Well, I had come in, and justwhen he was about to be media
(16:28):
trained, Wendy Washington wasleaving Arista, and I replaced
Wendy Washington.
She said, Now I already plannedthis little day with Biggie.
I heard he's difficult.
I haven't had a chance to mediatrain him.
He hasn't allowed me to get withhim, but you know, the press is
coming.
She had already set up the day.
I said, okay.
And she said, but you're goingto need to meet with him a
couple of hours before and givehim a quick down and dirty.
(16:50):
It's no problem.
So we get there.
He's he's he arrives.
He's at Bad Boy when I arrivedvery early.
And we're in the room with thehospitality and everything that
I had set up.
And then so we start talking,and I introduce myself, and he
goes, he looks me up and downand goes, Okay.
And so I sit down and I said, Istart asking him questions.
I said, I just want to do arun-through really quickly.
(17:12):
I want to do a little mediatraining with you.
He goes, uh-huh.
And I say, so he's answeringquestions, and I'm saying, okay,
answer the question with thequestion, stop saying the
N-word, and look people directlyin the eye when you speak to
them.
He said, I'll be right back.
Oh, then he then he looked me upand down again.
He said, You will be.
(17:35):
And I said, I don't know whatyour cuss policy is, but no,
cuss like a sail if you want to.
Go ahead.
I told him it's miss bitch toyou.
Wow.
Okay.
And he said, I'll be right back.
And so about 15 minutes passed.
I said, Well, he should havebeen back in here by now.
I went around the office lookingfor him.
I didn't see him.
I went to ask the receptionist,Did you see Biggie pass here?
(17:56):
She said, Oh, yeah, he leftabout 15 minutes ago.
I was like, Left, like, left thebuilding.
And I went into Michelle Joyce'soffice and broke down crying.
I said, My gosh, the press iscoming here in two hours.
And Biggie has left thebuilding.
She said, Girl, this is how herolls.
Get used to it.
(18:17):
You're hungry, come with me.
And I sat, I first sat in heroffice and cried real tears.
This is my first thing I'm doingat Aerister.
And I said, Am I about to getfired from this job?
And it went like that our firstyear.
Then finally, it took a turnwhen he saw that I was really on
his side.
And he started calling me Ma.
(18:38):
And then it then he's he wantedto be media trained more.
He wanted all of those things.
So I suck, I uh got DeannaWilliams.
I said, I'm gonna stick somebodyon you, make Deanna Williams
train you, and she done take noT for the fever.
So she trained him up, and thenhe became a little superstar.
(18:59):
Wow, because then he wanted itby the second album.
My first album was Rocky, justas the second album was moving
on, he was I'm gonna becooperative, I'm not gonna have
20 people with me, it's gonna begood.
SPEAKER_02 (19:11):
I said, Okay, I'm looking forward to it.
So I just want to capturesomething very pertinent that
you said because for people whoare in the business of building
relationships, sometimes it maynot always start that easy.
But you were able to persist.
What exactly did you do tocultivate the relationship
between you and the notoriousBIG where he felt safe, where he
(19:36):
started calling you mom, wherehe was ready by album two?
What did you do?
SPEAKER_01 (19:42):
What I did on a regular basis to really cement
our relationship was I showedup.
I advocated, I jumped up anddown and screamed and hollered.
I wouldn't let photographerstake a picture if nothing was
right, if everything wasn'tright, if his collar was
crooked, I go, hold up, wait aminute.
Come in and straighten hiscollar.
(20:04):
Wait a minute, hands need lotionto the point where he wouldn't
take pictures without me.
Wow, no pictures without me.
I had to be present at all photoshoots.
And then one time I thought hewas gonna beat up a photographer
because the photographer did notsay that it was a fifth-floor
walk up.
(20:26):
And he had a fit, and I told thephotographer that might be a
little something you want to sayto a man who's 300 pounds,
right?
And to me, so I could pass iton.
All right, I understand thatthis is your studio, but we
could have rented a studio.
Yeah, I had the means to do thatso that he didn't have to walk
up a fifth floor walk up.
(20:48):
And Biggie punished him, he madehim go get food.
He said, You go get my food.
I said, I'll get it, I'll getit.
He said, No, no, no, no, you'renot.
He's gonna get it back.
And the his hands were reallycrusty, like, really needed.
Ash, I called I used to carrythis stuff called body butter
back in the day before bodybutter was out.
(21:08):
My girl used to create bodybutter, and he's like, I need
some of that butter body.
I told him my hands are crusty.
He said, Go get that butterbody, and he told the guy, yo,
you about to take my picture ofme looking like this.
I was like, I put out a lot offires, and I was an ad advocate
because artists artists need anadvocate, yeah, yeah, and not
(21:29):
just the company they have.
Yes, you know what I mean.
SPEAKER_02 (21:32):
Yes, yes.
I'm hearing that there are a lotof people who will just do
anything to be in the room.
Um, they don't want to ruffleany feathers.
So, when you think about the waythat you cultivated these
relationships with these iconicartists and the way that artists
are handled today in this space,do you think that there are
(21:53):
significant changes?
And if and if so, in what ways?
SPEAKER_01 (21:58):
The significant change that I see is that
there's no more artistdevelopment.
Either the artist is alreadypolished before they get to the
label, because the label is nolonger doing that.
And no one told me per se thatthis was my responsibility, but
(22:18):
I knew it was.
I know how to media train, Iknow I was a journalist, so I
know what people are looking forto be in front of them.
That was very helpful.
The fact that I was ajournalist, I was a press
person, I had a press pass.
So, and these press people weremy colleagues.
So I know how we whisper behindyou know the backs of the
(22:43):
artists who were not ready to bein front.
And I'd be daggone if I wasgonna put my people in front
when they weren't ready, becausenow you are facing the
possibility of bad press, yeah,and that has cost many of my
colleagues their jobs.
SPEAKER_02 (23:03):
Do you think because of those significant changes
that that has impacted the musicindustry or the entertainment
industry in a negative way?
SPEAKER_01 (23:14):
Listen, the negativity of the industry
today, yeah, it takes mydaughter to tell it, right?
Who's 23, who says the music oftoday is trash, these artists
today are trash, that they needthey need some boot camp.
Yeah, yeah.
They need a boot camp.
SPEAKER_02 (23:31):
And I'm glad that you mentioned your daughter's
age because I don't want it tocome across as you know, those
old ladies, they don't even knowwhat they're talking about.
This music isn't for them.
But your daughter is 23 yearsold, and she's saying the same
thing that we're both saying.
The music is definitelydifferent.
I remember listening to music,and it was so intriguing, and it
(23:52):
spoke to my soul.
I don't know if you used to dothis.
When we had, let's say, therecord player or the cassette, I
would press play, stop, writedown the lyrics.
Yes.
Until I wrote down the entiresong.
I don't do that anymore.
SPEAKER_01 (24:09):
True story.
Okay, I'm a fan of trap musicfor one reason because of the
beat, and I dance and you knowdo workouts, and so I'm always
looking for a hot beat.
That trap music beat that getsme moving, right?
Oh, yes.
I told my daughter, I've somehowI feel in the back of my spirit
(24:31):
that I really shouldn't belistening to that.
I'm gonna look up the word.
She said, Don't do that.
She said, Don't do that.
You don't want to really knowwhat they're saying.
No, I just told my class today,I cannot believe that mumble rap
is a genre.
SPEAKER_02 (24:49):
It is a genre in the world, yeah.
I don't get it, and it's like agenre for top charting artists
that I don't understand how theyeven made it there.
SPEAKER_01 (25:03):
I'm just gonna because they don't have choices.
SPEAKER_02 (25:07):
That's true, that's true.
So, you know, like I said, Ijust wanted to set the frame for
this conversation.
I wanted people to fullyunderstand how long you've
worked in this industry, theiconic artists that you've
worked with.
So we've seen the success, butnow I want to start to unpack
all of the emotional and mentalvices that you had to arm
(25:30):
yourself with just to beresilient.
So let's talk about embracingvulnerability to build
resilience.
Let's just talk about learningthrough loss.
That is when I know I had to bethe most vulnerable and when I
(25:51):
learned the most.
And when I'm talking about theloss, I'm talking about
sometimes the loss of a job orthe loss of a family member.
Um, when did you experienceextreme loss, but it built
resilience and success for you?
SPEAKER_01 (26:07):
Oh wow.
I experienced uh the one of thegreatest losses of my life was
when my grandmother died.
I happened to have been inChicago, which is where I'm
from.
I was in Chicago with total and112.
(26:27):
And uh there were three groups.
I don't remember who the thirdgroup was right now, but I had
planned an evening to get theChicago tastemakers to come out
to listen to the artist.
And it was going to be at thisclub called the uh Red Parrot,
and it was owned by myboyfriend, who was my boyfriend
(26:49):
from first grade, John Moultrie,right?
So John said, Yeah, yeah, y'allcan come, no problem.
And it was gonna be fantastic.
My grandmother died while I wasin town the night before that
party.
Oh, the day of that party, shedied, and she had been in the
hospital, and so I was runningback and forth to the hospital,
and then right before the party,she died.
(27:11):
And I still had to show up.
What I learned was I I played aday, it's a it's a very
dangerous game to play, let mesay.
Because you're working withpeople who do care about you.
Right.
And you know, we're taught inmany ways to suck it up and show
(27:31):
up, and we're taught to not dragyour personal things into the
office, but the damage that itdoes personally as a
naturopathic doctor now, Iunderstand the damage of
swallowing that or attempting toswallow it because you never
really do.
And so when I had to show up, sothen after I was supposed to go
(27:54):
back to New York and take careof other things with those
artists, of course I didn't gobecause now it's time for the
funeral for my grandmother, andwe had two nights of events in
Chicago, and then I ended upstaying in Chicago.
While I was dealing with all ofthis, before that, even and uh I
(28:16):
also experienced another deathwhile working at Arista, and it
was the death of my firsthusband.
I took the job at Arista, andthey knew that my husband was
sick.
What they didn't know was thatmy husband had full-blown AIDS,
and he married me knowing he hadAIDS and did not tell me.
SPEAKER_00 (28:38):
Oh, wow!
SPEAKER_01 (28:40):
Turns out that praise God, I'm HIV negative,
thank the Lord.
Amen.
And but he he died.
I canceled, I had an Usher photoshoot had to be canceled, and it
wasn't because I needed tocancel it, but that day I moved
him into hospice from home, andmy colleagues they knew that I
(29:04):
had a sick husband, they theythey thought he had cancer
because that was the family lieback then, and so I just didn't
tell anybody what I was dealingwith, and I only took off about
six days total after he died,and he died the day of the
(29:26):
Biggie and Faith photo shootthat I had done with Vibe
Magazine.
Oh wow, when they were on thecover like a gangster and his
girl in the backseat.
Yeah, he died that day, so uhit's 102 degrees under the
Brooklyn Bridge that July day.
I had on a white suit because itwas too hot to have on anything
(29:48):
else.
I had gone to see him thatmorning because I knew I'd be
tied up all night with thisphoto shoot.
They wanted sunset shots aswell, and it was really big.
Biggie, who made me leave thatphoto shoot.
On a break, he ran over to meand he said, What in the world
(30:08):
is going on?
What is this that your husbandis dying in hospice?
He was like, Ma, you didn't sayanything.
I said, And you for you to dowhat?
He said, Ma.
He said, You're leaving here.
And I said, Oh no, honey,because you like to cut up at a
photo shoot.
He said, No, nope, this isalmost over.
(30:29):
I promise you, I said, Biggie, Icannot lose this job.
This man's about to die.
Please, Biggie.
He walked me to the car.
He told the driver, who wassomewhere refreshing himself.
He told the driver, get in thecar, take her home.
Because she needed to get hometo her husband.
He was like, I just cannot evenbelieve you're here.
What I learned about that, thatbounce back spirit developed
(30:53):
even more because I had a wholecompany rallying around.
And I also learned not to staysilent when the trouble comes,
when everybody's gonna havetheir turn to have murky water.
My immediate vice presidentknew, and my immediate director
(31:16):
knew, but black music didn'tknow.
And the day that the black musicdepartment found out, oh my
gosh, Jean Riggins, president ofBlack Music, called me into her
office with an urgency that Iliterally thought I was fired.
But Joyce, get into my office.
I said, Okay, I grabbed thenotepad, I ran down to her
(31:36):
office.
I got in there, she was standingup over her desk.
The vice president, there weretwo vice presidents, one was
looking out the window and onewas standing like this.
And so I look around, she said,sit down.
And she said, What is this?
I hear you got a husband at homedying.
I thought, oh, oh, that what?
(31:58):
Because literally I thought Iwas gonna lose my job and didn't
know why.
And I said, Yes, yes, it's true.
She said, Why are we justfinding out about this?
They fussed at me and they lovedon me.
SPEAKER_02 (32:11):
Wow, yes, I'm hearing a lot in what you just
shared with us, and it makes mereally think about you know,
people love to say the work-lifebalance.
I don't think it exists, I justcall it the work-life
integration.
Yeah, that's exactly what it is,because you have to manage them
both or manage it all.
(32:32):
But if you know now, if you knewthen what you know now, would
you have done it differently andleft sooner?
Or would you have done it thesame way?
You mean left the industry orleft left the the photo shoot
that day that you had uh forBiggie when you left?
SPEAKER_01 (32:52):
Let me tell you what was easier.
It was easier for me to managemy workload than it was for me
to marry manage the husband.
What I understand very clearlyis that we collective, black
(33:13):
community, Hispanic community,communities of color, period.
We believe that we can lovepeople through medical
emergencies.
You cannot she don't need notherapy after no stroke, she's
not going to any rehab.
My mama's coming home.
You are not medically certifiedto rehab someone who's had a
(33:37):
stroke.
Why don't we feel that we needto get our family professional
help?
And why do we feel that there'sa betrayal if we do?
Yeah, yeah.
That is now, if you have someonein the family who's qualified, I
agree with that.
Bring your family member home.
But what I could no longer dowas manage, and my family had an
(33:59):
intervention with me because Ihad a carefully coordinated
calendar of friends and familyto come into our home to help
take care of him.
People gave up their vacations.
My mother and father came werecoming every other week and
staying a week because they werethe retired ones, and literally
(34:20):
they'd have a day of overlap todo the training on okay, this is
how everything needs to be caredfor, so that I could go to work.
They did that for me.
And when it got to be too much,my mother called me at work and
said, It's time, it's time forhim to have the professional
help.
Because LaJoyce, we have alldone our best, haven't we?
(34:43):
I said, We have.
And the next phone call, as Isat at my desk, like I looked at
my calendar, like, ooh, thatUsher photo shoot was canceled.
I said, Thank you, God.
And I got on the phone and Istarted calling to find out who
could receive him as a hospicepatient because he was at home
gossips.
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (35:02):
But you know, LaJoyce, Dr.
LaJoyce, there's so manyindividuals who don't have the
support of their job or thesupport of family to make it
easier for them as you go towork.
So, what would you say forsomeone who's navigating through
loss while also trying tounderstand personal work life
(35:25):
balance integration?
Is it okay to say I need sometime and I put a pause on things
so that I can re you know,re-emerge stronger and more
powerful than ever?
Is it okay to press the stop orpause button?
SPEAKER_01 (35:43):
It is absolutely okay to press the pause button,
and now it's easier to do thatbecause now everyone has an
understanding about mentalhealth and about the necessity
to dial it back if need be.
Now we are more aware than everbefore.
(36:04):
This that is one of the thingsthat emerged after COVID that
was a good thing, sure.
And what I say to people on howto get the bounce back is this
we all have a 100 100% successrate of surviving the bad days,
(36:27):
when you really think about it,we do, how we handle it is quite
another story.
Yeah, and so I think that ifpeople have a solid foundation
and choose not a life ofisolation, because who can you
(36:50):
call?
Who are your are your team ofpeople?
Who's your Dr.
Bombay?
Who is your who is your go-to,your ride or die?
Now is the time to get theminvolved.
SPEAKER_02 (37:04):
Yeah.
I'm glad that you, I felt likeyou were talking directly to me
because in my journey ofnavigating loss, and one
strategy that you just mentionedwas to, you know, call on your
village.
And when I went to call myvillage, I said I don't even
know what numbers to dial.
(37:26):
And I had to really take uh aninternal look at myself and and
really ask myself, did youinvest in all the right people?
Because if you are figuring outwho you should call, it really
made me, it made me even moredepressed because I was just
(37:47):
like, oh my gosh, how do youchoose who to invest in when it
comes to your personal andprofessional circle?
SPEAKER_01 (37:56):
Oh, so we're going there.
Oh, yeah, we're going there.
Oh, here's how you choose wiselyon where to invest.
Take a look of who's making morewithdrawals than deposits from
your life.
Take a look around at the peoplewho give you that sage wisdom,
(38:22):
who always have a kind word, akind text, people who hold you
accountable and don't take yourmess.
That is how you discern, andiron sharpens iron.
People who are not filling upwith garbage and gossip and an
insistent need, or people who,when your phone rings and you
(38:45):
look at that and you know theywant something all the time.
Who are the people?
How do you want something all ofthe time?
Aren't we good and grown?
How do you need what are youdoing asking me for anything?
You have no children.
You can't balance a checkbookyet.
What in the world?
Yeah, that's how you decide.
SPEAKER_02 (39:05):
Yeah, and I wish that that lesson was
communicated more when adultswere children.
Because for me, like I said, Ijust woke up at this big old age
and I was just like, Oh, I lookback and said, What have I done?
But now it just makes me walkwith a more intentional purpose,
(39:25):
so that these latter years, onceagain, I'm rebuilding
intentionally and purposefully.
But I always say, What would mylife be like if I would have
been led with that messageearlier on?
SPEAKER_01 (39:41):
So, my next question I hope you have no regrets
though.
SPEAKER_02 (39:44):
No, none at all.
SPEAKER_01 (39:46):
Okay, good.
SPEAKER_02 (39:47):
Because when we talked about learning through
failure, I don't think of it asa failure.
For me, it's just a teachablemoment, and it's just
scaffolding on okay, so this iswhat I now need to do because I
learned from this example, andyou know what?
SPEAKER_01 (40:03):
John Maxwell has a quote sometimes you win,
sometimes you learn.
I like that one.
I like that one.
So, you know, througheverything, through every
stream, yeah, that's so true.
SPEAKER_02 (40:19):
And I can't believe I've never heard that one
before.
I'm gonna use that one, gonnause it.
So, you know, you've talkedabout the people that you worked
with, um, some of your journeysearly on in the music industry.
How did you develop such amental and emotional fortitude
that allows you to amplify yourvoice with audacity?
SPEAKER_01 (40:44):
I have to credit my mother with giving me the strong
voice and being the strong womanthat I am today because my
mother took no tea for thefever.
She was five feet one, she waslight-skinned, she had
strawberry red hair and greeneyes, and she would tell you in
(41:06):
two seconds I'm a black woman.
And she never choked back herwords, she never bit her tongue,
and she could be very harsh orseemingly harsh, but she was
exceptionally hard on me.
And I feel that it's okay, thatthere's nothing wrong with being
(41:29):
hard on your on your child fortheir for their for their
growth, for their improvement,for how they will show up in
this world.
My birthday was last weekend,and my daughter wrote in my
card.
I was telling her, I'm worriedabout you living in Philly, I'm
worried about you.
But you know, that's a mother'sworry.
But as she wrote in my card, youdid the best possible job you
(41:52):
could have raising me.
And I am so thankful for it, andit helps to inform me on how I
show up in this world, and Ihope that helps you to worry
less.
Wow, tears.
I know you did, I know youcried.
I had to read it again.
I was like, Oh my gosh, worryless.
(42:15):
But my mother helped to give methat voice that uh and a strong
will and a desire to be anythingI could be.
She I would tell her, but so andso's going to the party and
everybody's going.
She would always say, You're noteverybody.
And I believed her.
SPEAKER_02 (42:32):
Yeah, yeah.
But you know, similar to you, toyou, uh, Dr.
LaJoyce, I was also um raised bya powerful mother who um was
very unapologetic.
And my daughter and I, we alwaysjoke, like, you have to have
tough skin to grow up in thishousehold.
But then when I transitioned toadulthood and I started to enter
(42:54):
into the workforce, I noticedthat my audacity and the way
that I amplified my voice wasn'talways met with roses or a
welcome mat.
How do you navigate as a womanof color, amplifying your voice
in this current space where theywant to silence or minimize our
(43:16):
voices?
How do you still push through?
SPEAKER_01 (43:19):
I'm able to push through in this way.
And now, as a speech professor,I teach this that we have to
walk softly but carry a bigstick.
And we have to use words,elevated words, that leave you
scrambling for a dictionary whenyou really get pissed off
instead of using words that golower, go higher.
(43:41):
Michelle Obama had that right.
Because I don't really, I don'tneed to go lower with you
because karma and uh seedsplanted.
When when my friend says this,Elisa Gabrielle, she goes, Dr.
Elisa, she says, when they golow, karma goes lower.
Yes.
I look at it like this.
I'm God's girl.
(44:01):
Who are you messing with?
You don't even know you'remessing with the daughter of the
most high God, and you have lostyour mind.
Amen.
And so that's the way I look atit.
So um, when I choose my words, Iand I I choose my words
carefully, especially when I'mangry.
And when I am angry, I don'tknow.
I have the recall of the wordsfrom the SAT test, I hardly ever
(44:24):
use them, but I don't know, theyjust come forth.
And I leave see people going,What?
That what and so language hasalways been my weapon, and uh
speaking clearly so that I'munderstood, and I make sure that
we have a firm understanding.
But even when I'm telling youoff using multisyllabaic words
(44:47):
that you probably don't evenunderstand, but I just make sure
that we're here and I nod andyes, and eventually they go, Oh,
yes, but it softens it insteadof escalating it.
So you're the one who'sscreaming, you're the one who's
angry, and I'm not.
SPEAKER_02 (45:04):
So I'm gonna follow that up because we may be more
intentional with our tone, wemay choose these SAT words, but
once again, in this space, ourpresence is always weaponized.
How do we still navigatethrough, still showing up
correctly, but still being facedwith this hostility?
(45:29):
How do we reset in order tostill push through?
SPEAKER_01 (45:34):
Here's what I think that we need to do.
We need to maintain our lightand hand those people shade
because I am not dimming mylight to make you feel more
comfortable.
I am so sorry.
I've been fired for this.
I'll never forget I was doing Iwas director of marketing and
(45:58):
publicity at this big musicoutlet that they have here in
the Poconos where I live.
And the director said, When youcome around, everybody starts
working faster, working harder,even though they're working,
that you blow through, and it'slike, good morning, everybody.
And I said, Well, I say thankyou when I asked them to do
(46:20):
something.
He said, That's not what I'mtalking about, and you know it.
So I eventually got fired.
But the point was, I said, It'snot my fault if they can't
handle the light.
It's all right.
I understand that it's big andit's bright, it's not for
everyone, right?
It's not for everyone, but don'ttry to diminish it, and you're
(46:45):
not gonna make me feel less thanbecause of it.
Yeah, I see you though, I seeyou, and I understand your need
to feel comfortable, Iunderstand your fragility, and
I'm not here to play with it.
Yeah, I didn't come to play withyou or it.
Can we all just get the workdone, please?
SPEAKER_02 (47:06):
Yes, yes.
I'm glad that I was um able tokind of talk about this right
here because this is my story.
This is the story of so manywomen who have the audacity to
amplify their voice, but they'refacing resistance and hostility,
and oftentimes results in thembeing fired.
(47:27):
Um, that's happened to me umbefore, but yet and still I
remain steadfast because it'snot up to me to make you
comfortable.
SPEAKER_01 (47:35):
That's right.
It's not my job.
SPEAKER_02 (47:37):
That's not my job.
The only thing that I can do isto continue to walk in purpose.
So I'm glad that you know thiscan be a gem for someone who is
facing hostility at their jobbecause they're simply
amplifying their voices in aspace where we are supposed to
be silenced andor minimized.
(47:57):
Now, speaking of them trying tosilence andor minimize us, do
you feel that there's enoughrepresentation in the
entertainment business?
When I mean representation, I'mtalking about of black and brown
people in the entertainmentbusiness.
Is there enough representation?
SPEAKER_01 (48:14):
There's a lot of representation behind the
scenes.
Yeah, we have there's a book.
Can I show it?
Women behind the mic.
Is this backwards?
Yes.
Is that backwards to you, or doyou see?
No, it's not.
Uh-huh.
It's right.
All right.
Women behind the mic, curatorsof pop culture, volume one, word
to the wise.
And we also have volume two, thehip hop edition.
(48:34):
And this book features, thisbook features 24 women
executives who worked behind thescenes.
And the hip hop edition features22 executives who worked behind
the scenes.
And this is voluminous.
People are saying, oh, there arenot that many black women who
worked behind the scenes.
(48:55):
Oh, yes, there were.
And yes, there are.
And you don't know about themjust for what you said.
We're facing erasure.
And we're facing our erasure byour own people as well.
For instance, in the new editionstory, I love to tell this is
this this is how women behindthe mic, one of the reasons it
(49:18):
came to be.
In the new edition story, whichwas three nights.
Yes, I sat with my popcorn,cleared my calendar, and I
waited with bated breath to seehow Juanita Stephens and how
Renee Foster would be depicted.
Because when Renee Foster wasthe assistant to Juanita
(49:42):
Stephens, who was vice presidentat MCA Records, and they did
everything for those boys, madesure they had their studies,
made sure they had their uhtheir studies turned in, made
sure that they had good hotels.
They each they even made surethey had condoms.
Okay.
That's not too much information,but it's it's the truth.
(50:04):
And in three nights, they didn'tdepict Renee or Juanita at all
in a three-day biopic.
And those women were influentialin making sure those boys had
the start that they needed.
I was serious.
Then in the movie Notorious,there was only one scene where
(50:24):
it could have been a publicist,and that is where Faith Evans is
sitting on the couch with thereporter, and then some Biggie
knocks on the door because he'sangry about this Tupac thing,
right?
And the white guy in the suitjumps up to handle it.
So if there are three people inthe room with Faith, an
(50:44):
interviewer, and a white guy ina suit, that's the publicist's
job.
I stood up in that movie theaterand I threw popcorn and screamed
out loud.
I'm like, oh, so I'm a white mannow.
And the white man didn't sayanything.
You just grabbed any availableperson to depict the publicist's
(51:08):
role.
If you're trying to get thethings right, why didn't you get
all the things right?
Right.
All right.
Erased.
You could have grabbed anyrandom black girl standing
around on that set, put a suiton her, and let her be, let her
have been the accurate depictionof the black woman publicist who
worked with Faith, who set upthat interview that day.
(51:29):
Yeah, you could have done that.
The last thing was Puffy's can'tstop, won't stop.
Michelle Joyce, my co-writer, myco-creator here.
She called me, said you seeCan't Stop, Won't Stop.
I said, Yeah.
She said, Puff call you.
I said no.
He called you.
She said no.
She worked in his office.
She was his director ofmarketing.
(51:49):
And every other one departmentexcept for two was run by women
at Bad Boy Records, and not oneof them was asked to say a word
in Can't Stop, Won't Stop.
I said, I'm tired.
We she said, me too.
We got said, got our friendstogether, said, blow the dust
off your memories.
We're tired of being a race.
(52:10):
This is three strikes, y'all areout.
But you know what, Dr.
Sanya?
It is not their responsibilityto tell our stories, it's ours.
SPEAKER_02 (52:19):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (52:20):
Onus lies with us.
SPEAKER_02 (52:21):
Yes, yes, yes.
And and I'm glad that youdecided the onus on this lies
with us.
Because I was just like, okay,so who is this this book for?
Who is the audience?
And I'm so glad that you wereable to capture all of the she
roles in the entertainmentindustry.
Because if I'm going to highschool students and they're
(52:44):
talking to me about careers, Iwant to give them an examples.
That's right.
I want them to see themselves.
That's right.
So I'm glad that you all decidedto pen um this book.
I also want to mention, and Ibriefly alluded it to it uh just
now, you're also pushing uhcurriculum into schools as well,
correct?
SPEAKER_01 (53:05):
Absolutely.
We have written curriculum, it'scalled Backstage Pass Careers
for the entertainment industry.
And this is exploringentertainment careers, is the
exact name.
And we come into schools, we cando a one-day, full-day workshop,
we can break it out into eightweeks.
It's totally customizable.
(53:26):
And each each week, each sessionis each session is uh taught by
the person who actually did it.
So I would teach publicity, andwe've got one to teach
promotions, AR, uh songwriting,um, artist development, and even
all of the stylists and the makeall of those things.
(53:49):
So we teach all of the thingsthat it takes to make the
artist, and the students areactually able, they actually
have an assignment within thattime frame, and they walk away
with something tangible thatthey can put into their
portfolios.
So it's an excellentopportunity, and then we also
have pathways to internships andwe go on field trips, so it's
(54:09):
really exciting for thestudents.
SPEAKER_02 (54:11):
Amazing.
Like I mentioned to you before,I definitely want to share this
amongst my colleagues ineducation.
Um, but for those uh, let's sayadministrators or leaders in
education who are watching thisconversation, how can they get
in touch with you if they wantto bring the curriculum inside
their schools?
SPEAKER_01 (54:30):
Uh, women behind the mic at gmail.com.
That's womenbehind the mic atgmail.com.
Amazing.
SPEAKER_02 (54:39):
And we can do also briefly, there's so many things
like you are just multi-layered,multi-hyphenated.
Like I can be here all day, butthis is what I love about
impressive women.
You know, the the portfolio isvery much diversified, and I
love it.
You also have a podcast.
You Ask the Good Doctor,correct?
SPEAKER_01 (55:00):
Ask the good doctor, yes.
That's my Ask the Good Doctor ismy entire brand.
I teach audiences how to attain,maintain, and reclaim perfect
health.
That is my personal, my personalassignment from the Lord.
I teach people how not to diefrom diseases we can prevent.
(55:21):
I have just created my new book,Trinity, the 21-day
detoxification program, 21 daysto becoming healthy, wealthy.
And that's available anywhere,books or so.
That's my 11th book, by the way.
Wow.
And this is my Trinity 21-daydetoxification program, and it's
(55:42):
a box set, it comes witheverything you need to fully
detoxify your body in 21 days.
I went all the way to Malaysiato have it formulated with the
best products in the world, andthey were so excited about it.
I went there in January 2025,and they launched it at their
(56:02):
national internationalconference in Dubai in April.
So we we are officially in themarketplace.
I'm so excited about it.
I just love teaching people howto be healthy, wealthy because
it's our birthright.
SPEAKER_02 (56:17):
Amazing.
So we, you know, we talked aboutthe mental, emotional strength.
Now we're talking about beinghealthy.
What compelled you to be sohealth conscious?
Did something happen where yousaid, I really need to figure
this out?
SPEAKER_01 (56:31):
Absolutely.
Cindy Rogers, in my senior highschool persuasive speech class,
gave a speech on why you shouldbecome a vegetarian.
We're still friends today.
She said that she was inspiredby a little booklet that she
read by Dick Gregory, and heraunt was just beautiful, and she
(56:54):
wanted to be everything her auntwas.
And her aunt gave her the bookand said, I do everything Dick
Gregory says here.
She gave us that speech.
I went to the lunchroom, Iordered a grilled cheese
sandwich on rye.
That night I went home, told mymom, I'm never eating meat
again.
She said, Help yourself, there'ssome salad in the refrigerator.
And then I went to get a job atGeneral Nutrition Center, which
(57:15):
is now GNC.
GNC used to be the Whole Foods.
We used to make sandwiches,squeeze peanut butter, and juice
juice.
Yes, we did.
SPEAKER_02 (57:23):
That's true.
That's so true.
But you know, I'm glad that youare embarking upon all of these
initiatives to just get ustogether.
Um, I too had a similar journey.
I haven't eaten meat in I wouldsay 30 years.
SPEAKER_01 (57:38):
Wow, I did go back to eating meat.
My hair started falling out.
I wasn't replacing my proteinsproperty because when I went to
college, I didn't really knowhow to.
They would just hand me thispack of cheese.
That wasn't the answer.
Yeah, but I never went back toeating beef or pork.
I eat organic chicken only.
Turkey, as you know, is minimum,is not processed at all.
(58:00):
And I eat wild-caught fish only.
SPEAKER_02 (58:03):
Yeah, it's definitely a lifestyle journey.
Um, even after 30 years, I'mstill trying to figure out um a
few things, but I really noticedum my health was being affected,
my mental.
And what I did was before I madethe change, was every time I ate
something, I wrote down in ajournal how it made me feel.
(58:24):
Good.
And then after a while, I waslike, Oh my gosh, it's what I'm
eating.
And that's when I decided tomake this very significant
lifestyle change, and I haven'tgone back since then.
SPEAKER_01 (58:35):
You are so smart because getting people to keep
that food diary is the hardestpart of all, and that's your
first assignment when you cometo see me.
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (58:46):
So when they uh if when my audience wants to really
tap into the health journey toimprove their health, how can
they contact you, the gooddoctor?
SPEAKER_01 (58:56):
Ah, ask the gooddoctor1 at gmail.com.
That's ask the gooddoctor one atgmail.com.
SPEAKER_02 (59:04):
Amazing.
So we have Women Behind the Mic,Volume One.
Is volume two out yet?
SPEAKER_01 (59:10):
Volume two is out.
I'm looking around from my deskfor one.
I don't have one nearby, butyes, volume two is absolutely
out.
SPEAKER_02 (59:17):
And they can also purchase that online.
SPEAKER_01 (59:19):
Oh, yes, they're both available everywhere.
Books are sold.
Amazing, amazing, Dr.
SPEAKER_02 (59:24):
LaJoyce.
I really appreciate yourconversation.
I really appreciate you sharingyour story with us.
We really ran the gamut fromyour early beginnings up until
present day, and I hope, well, Iknow that my audience is going
to leave full and also inspiredwith next steps.
Thank you so much for yourconversation.
SPEAKER_01 (59:46):
Thank you so much for inviting me.
I appreciate you so much.
Looking forward to seeing youagain soon.
SPEAKER_02 (59:51):
Thank you.
I'm just going to continue onwith the show, but we will
definitely stay in touch.
SPEAKER_01 (59:55):
All right, take care.
Bye bye.
SPEAKER_02 (59:57):
You take care as well.
There you have it.
Dr.
LaJoyce Brookshire.
Wasn't that an amazingconversation?
I mean, there's just so manygems that Dr.
LaJoyce dropped.
Um, how to get stuck?
How she got started in the radioindustry, how she decided to
pivot, how she decided toeliminate, I wouldn't say
(01:00:21):
eliminate, but to process thenoise to say it isn't going to
minimize me.
It may frame me in a little bitin order to continue being
unapologetic and being audaciousin whatever I have to do.
She's worked with some of themost iconic industry
professionals.
So I know that Dr.
(01:00:42):
LaJoyce Joyce's uh journey willinspire you.
Make sure that you purchaseevery single book that she's
written, um, especially WomenBehind the Mic, volume one and
two.
And if you are um involved in aschool district and you know
that your school district willbenefit from her curriculum,
(01:01:05):
please contact her, or you canjust contact me directly and I
will put you in touch with Dr.
LeJoyce.
Once again, if you haven'tsubscribed, if you haven't
posted a comment, please do sonow.
Once again, representation inmedia is so important, and it's
the little things that you cando, like I just mentioned
(01:01:27):
subscribing, replying,resharing.
These are the things that I'masking you to do to leverage the
representation in media.
I thank you so so much fortuning in to another amazing
edition of Sonia on Air with myspecial guest, Dr.
LaJoyce.
(01:01:47):
Stay tuned next week for anotheramazing Sonia on Air show.
Take care.
Welcome everyone.
You're now tuned into anotheramazing edition of Sonya on Air.
I'm your host, Dr.
Sonia, and are you ready totruly dive into the lives and
minds of your favoritecelebrities, especially those
incredible figures whoilluminate black culture and
entrepreneurship?
We're talking intimate,thought-provoking conversations
(01:19):
that peel back the layers,offering not just glimpses, but
profound insights into theirpivotal moments and remarkable
journeys.
It's more than just celebrityinterviews, it's a springboard
for inspiration, illuminating apath for us all.
So, in just a few short moments,I'm going to bring to you Dr.
(01:39):
LaJoyce Brookshire.
She is an iconic figure behindsome of the most profound
celebrities in the past, thecurrent, and the future.
She is the name behind suchiconic entertainers such as
Aretha Franklin, Tony Braxton,Sean P.
Diddy Combs, Biggie Smalls, andso much more.
(02:03):
This conversation is reallygoing to unpack the intersection
between personal empowerment andprofessional success.
Those two lanes always merge.
And as a leader, as a boss,sometimes we don't know how to
navigate or manage it all.
We're going to be sharing Dr.
LaJoyce's stories, her journeys,the failures, the losses, and
(02:27):
the wins.
Because we're ushering in a newgeneration of bosses, too.
So do me a favor.
Before I bring in Dr.
LaJoyce, I need you tosubscribe.
Sonia Onair streams across everymajor platform.
Make sure you subscribe, leave acomment, and share it amongst
your family and friends.
Also, make sure you visit theSonya Onair website,
(02:49):
www.sanyaonair.net.
Sanya will be launching all newmerch really, really soon.
So make sure that you're thefirst to rock the Sonya Onair
merch.
So without any further ado,let's just bring in Dr.
LaJoyce Richard.
How are you doing today, Dr.
LaJoyce?
I am well.
(03:09):
Thank you, Dr.
Sanya.
Let me tell you something, Dr.
LaJoyce.
This is the first time thatsomeone's called me Dr.
Sonia.
I don't know if you noticed, butyeah, there's been a significant
name change.
SPEAKER_01 (03:24):
No, say more.
SPEAKER_02 (03:26):
I wasn't a doctor the last time I spoke to you.
SPEAKER_01 (03:32):
Congratulations, then.
SPEAKER_02 (03:34):
Thank you.
Yes, the ceremony is October11th, and I'm super, super
excited.
SPEAKER_01 (03:40):
Bless your heart, honey.
I remember that.
Well, there's no greaterfeeling, right?
SPEAKER_02 (03:46):
Yeah.
I remember as a child, I alwaysenvisioned what my life would be
like as an adult.
And I said, Oh, I want to becomea doctor.
Didn't have a clue how that wasgoing to happen, but I always
led my life in service of.
And when the opportunitypresented itself, and because I
was ready, I was just able towalk into the opportunity.
(04:09):
Beautiful.
Well, congratulations.
Welcome.
Thank you.
So it brings me to the firstquestion that I have for you.
Now, the the overarch of thisconversation is going to be
about how your personal growthfuels your personal professional
success.
So I want to start at the very,very beginning because as an
educator working in the largestNew York City charter high
(04:32):
school network, and I'm alwaystalking to students about their
adulthood.
What do they want to become?
Where were you?
And how old were you when youdecided that you wanted to enter
into the entertainment industry?
An industry that we have heardis one of the most demonic
(04:52):
industries to ever exist.
Where were you and how old?
SPEAKER_01 (04:58):
I was probably in seventh grade.
And I was in Louisiana, and wewere doing this pretend thing.
And my cousin said, I'm gonna bea news reporter.
And I said, I'm gonna be on theradio.
(05:21):
Wow.
And my friends jokingly used tocall me radio because they said
I never shut up.
Right?
So true story, fast forward, Idid my internship at WJPC, the
amazing AM 95 in Chicago.
And uh my the first day at work,then I went to work there.
(05:46):
I worked there.
And when I came out of thenewsroom, the uh receptionist
said, The your third gradeteacher is on the line.
Her name is Mrs.
Carmen, and I said, Yes, and shesaid she she has to speak to
you, she's been holding on for awhile, and so I took the call
and she said all she said wasthank god somebody's paying for
(06:07):
the news.
And I thought, Miss Carmen, andthen she hung up.
Wow, I said, Lord, today.
SPEAKER_02 (06:18):
But you know, that's a similar story.
I love it when people can seethe trajectory in us that we
can't see in ourselves becausemy fourth grade teacher, my
fourth and sixth grade teachers,they still keep in contact with
me um every single birthday, andthey also told me, I am so glad
that you found a place to landall of your talking.
SPEAKER_01 (06:41):
Yes, definitely.
SPEAKER_02 (06:43):
But wait a minute, at the age, you said the seventh
grade, that's when you knew thatyou wanted to go into the
entertainment broadcasting.
Yes, how did you know that?
And did you know exactly whatsteps you should take in order
to get into the radio business?
SPEAKER_01 (06:58):
I had no clue of the steps.
I I knew it, I was the kid wholived by the radio.
I've been married 28 years to myhusband, and we're childhood
sweethearts.
I have watched more televisionsince I've been married to him
than I ever saw in my life.
I was the kid who lived by theradio.
My mother would punish me, shewould take my radio and leave me
(07:19):
with the TV.
SPEAKER_02 (07:22):
I was always the kid with the radio.
So that's a gem.
I don't I'm not sure if youdropped it because once again,
similar stories.
This is how I know that this isa testimony for someone else.
I remember in the year 2005 or2007, I lost everything in
Florida due to Hurricane Ivan.
I didn't have anything but theclothing on my back.
(07:43):
And I said, Well, now that Ihave to start from scratch and
rebuild, what am I going to do?
Now it has to be intentional.
I said, Well, what did I like todo all the time as a kid?
I like to talk and I like towrite short stories.
Hence, I'm in media and henceI'm a published author.
Get back to what excited you asa child.
(08:05):
So that was a gem right there.
SPEAKER_01 (08:06):
Well, and speaking, yes, that thank you.
And I wrote short stories aswell.
I actually always wrote, Ialways had a diary, thanks to my
husband.
Like I said, we were childhoodsweethearts.
He gave me my first diary forChristmas when I was 12.
unknown (08:23):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (08:24):
And I uh and what I used to do was I used to write
the school plays, primarily somy friends could be in it.
Wrong motivation, but that'swhat I did.
No one else was writing them,and we always had an assembly,
so I always wrote the plays, andI won an ebony junior writing
contest when I was 11.
Remember Ebony Junior magazine?
(08:44):
Yes, I won a writing contestwhen I was 11, and uh it I was
like a third runner-up orsomething like that, and I was
just thrilled to death.
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (08:56):
Okay, so a part of your journey, so radio.
I know a part of your journey,you also got into public
relations for some of the mosticonic entertainment um
professionals that we heard fromin the past, the current, and
potentially in the future.
How did you get into publicrelations?
And then we're going to talkabout some of the clients that
(09:17):
you've worked with.
SPEAKER_01 (09:19):
I got into public relations as a next natural
progression of being a radioproducer.
I was a writer and producer atSheridan Broadcasting Networks,
which is now American UrbanRadio.
And we had a name change when Iwas working there.
(09:39):
And I used to write the show andco-produce the show, Top 30 USA,
with Donnie Simpson.
It was to come on Saturdaymornings, you're in New York,
WBLS.
That's where you stay here.
And then the next thing you kindof do after being a radio
producer is go work for a label.
So I went before I worked for alabel, though, I started my own
(10:02):
public relations company.
And I was handling a lot ofnot-for-profit people, a lot of
upstarts, a lot of fringe typepeople who needed publicity.
And then I went to work at HushProductions and where else did I
(10:23):
work?
Hush Productions Polygram.
Uh, but at Polygram, though, Iworked at international AR
because they were thrilled withmy Spanish background.
I I went to I studied at theUniversity of Madrid.
Have a dual La Universidad deMadrid, I have a dual degree in
speech and Spanish.
SPEAKER_02 (10:42):
Nice.
I just want to pause for amoment because sometimes we get
stuck because we're both from ageneration, you get a good job,
you keep it, and you retire.
But all throughout you talkingabout this early journey, I was
like, Oh my gosh, she had theaudacity to know when to go into
the next journey and when topivot.
(11:04):
When did you get that itch tosay it's time for me to move on
and to now write the next pageof this book?
SPEAKER_01 (11:11):
Because I always had an itch to the next thing.
My mother gave me a sense, agreat sense of adventure.
We used to have to keep asuitcase packed under our beds,
and we had what you call travelclothes.
That these are the clothes youtravel in, you don't wear them
any other time.
You have travel pajamas, atravel toothbrush, and so, and
(11:32):
then we have come home from atrip, we had to wash our
clothes, put them back, and putour suitcases under the bed.
That's because my mother wouldpick us up from school, she
would go to the office, and on aFriday, LaJoyce and Stephen
Hunter come to the main office,LaJoyce and Stephen Hunter, and
people be like, Where y'allgoing now?
We said, We don't know.
We thought we out, we outside.
(11:53):
So when uh we used to just andshe was just so spontaneous like
that.
So she gave me that sense ofadventure, but she was a teacher
for 33 years, and I'm here totell you that me getting the
itch to go from job to job, itwas much to her disappointment.
The choice, you keep going fromgirl, you need to get somewhere
(12:17):
and stay there, girl.
That job, you like it.
I said that mommy, this is notit.
This is not it.
I said, You taught me that.
She said, I taught you how to gofrom city to city, and say
nothing about going from job tojob.
SPEAKER_02 (12:29):
So, how did you alleviate her um concern?
Because you know, we're childrentalking to our parents,
sometimes they don't get it, itdoesn't land because they feel
as if they always know what'sbest for us.
How did you still take that stepof leap, even though your mother
was against it, to say, I knowthat this is the right path for
me?
SPEAKER_01 (12:48):
Yes, I took, I was able to take the leaps even when
mommy was uh fussing.
But you know why I was able todo it?
I was able to show her proof ofwhy.
She was a very rational, logicalwoman.
I'm very logical myself, andshe's very black and white.
And so what I would always do iswrite a letter.
(13:10):
I'm like, I'm writing you thisletter because I don't want to
cry and I don't want to argue,and then I would state my case,
and then she would call and say,You go, girl.
Nice.
This is good's like a good moodfor you.
Yes, I like to write a letter.
Write a letter.
I'm big on writing letters, yes,very big.
SPEAKER_02 (13:32):
Okay, so and that's that's a strategy that I also
employ because my dad loves himdearly, he's in the back.
Sometimes I just can't getthrough, and sometimes I'll say,
Okay, let me put this in a textmessage.
Sometimes, even some of thebooks that I co-authored, I
said, Let me write this messagefor him in this book, and I'll
just pass him the book and say,Here, dad, read this.
(13:54):
Oh, yeah.
So I enjoyed that strategy, andit just lands a lot differently
because then I'm giving him theopportunity to process what I
just said instead of respondingfirst, he's processing first so
that he can think of a moremeaningful um answer to what I
wrote.
I'm glad that you mentionedthat.
(14:15):
So you get into publicrelationships now.
Let's talk about some of theiconic figures that you've
worked with.
Name them.
SPEAKER_01 (14:25):
Well, at Arista Records, I was director of
publicity and I worked with MissAretha.
I worked with Kenny G, WhitneyHouston, Carly Simon, Kenny G.
Did I say Kenny G?
Yes, I did say Kenny G.
(14:46):
The notorious B I G, my biggie.
Wow, uh, total 112.
I had the entire bad boy roster.
112, mace, and Sean Puffy Combs.
And don't ask me any questions.
And and I also worked with allof the artists on La Face,
Usher, Tony Braxton, TLC, and Ihad Rowdy as well, Monica,
(15:12):
Dallas Austin, yes, uh, andoutcast.
SPEAKER_02 (15:17):
Wow, you know, I'm so glad that you ran off your
roster, and I'm sure thatthere's many, many more.
And oftentimes we look at thepeople who are at the front, and
we're not looking at the peoplewho made them ready.
Share a moment with us where itwas really difficult getting an
artist ready for the public.
(15:38):
Share the moment, and who wasthe artist?
SPEAKER_01 (15:42):
Oh my gosh, which one?
They all had to get readybecause they were all so green
when they came.
I I let me say this before mepreface what I'm about to say
with this point.
My greatest joy was taking anunknown gem, letting them get
(16:05):
getting them polished and readyfor public consumption and
presenting them to the world.
That was my greatest joy.
I would say one of the toughestartists to get ready was Biggie.
And I could see it.
Well, I had come in, and justwhen he was about to be media
(16:28):
trained, Wendy Washington wasleaving Arista, and I replaced
Wendy Washington.
She said, Now I already plannedthis little day with Biggie.
I heard he's difficult.
I haven't had a chance to mediatrain him.
He hasn't allowed me to get withhim, but you know, the press is
coming.
She had already set up the day.
I said, okay.
And she said, but you're goingto need to meet with him a
couple of hours before and givehim a quick down and dirty.
(16:50):
It's no problem.
So we get there.
He's he's he arrives.
He's at Bad Boy when I arrivedvery early.
And we're in the room with thehospitality and everything that
I had set up.
And then so we start talking,and I introduce myself, and he
goes, he looks me up and downand goes, Okay.
And so I sit down and I said, Istart asking him questions.
I said, I just want to do arun-through really quickly.
(17:12):
I want to do a little mediatraining with you.
He goes, uh-huh.
And I say, so he's answeringquestions, and I'm saying, okay,
answer the question with thequestion, stop saying the
N-word, and look people directlyin the eye when you speak to
them.
He said, I'll be right back.
Oh, then he then he looked me upand down again.
He said, You will be.
(17:35):
And I said, I don't know whatyour cuss policy is, but no,
cuss like a sail if you want to.
Go ahead.
I told him it's miss bitch toyou.
Wow.
Okay.
And he said, I'll be right back.
And so about 15 minutes passed.
I said, Well, he should havebeen back in here by now.
I went around the office lookingfor him.
I didn't see him.
I went to ask the receptionist,Did you see Biggie pass here?
(17:56):
She said, Oh, yeah, he leftabout 15 minutes ago.
I was like, Left, like, left thebuilding.
And I went into Michelle Joyce'soffice and broke down crying.
I said, My gosh, the press iscoming here in two hours.
And Biggie has left thebuilding.
She said, Girl, this is how herolls.
Get used to it.
(18:17):
You're hungry, come with me.
And I sat, I first sat in heroffice and cried real tears.
This is my first thing I'm doingat Aerister.
And I said, Am I about to getfired from this job?
And it went like that our firstyear.
Then finally, it took a turnwhen he saw that I was really on
his side.
And he started calling me Ma.
(18:38):
And then it then he's he wantedto be media trained more.
He wanted all of those things.
So I suck, I uh got DeannaWilliams.
I said, I'm gonna stick somebodyon you, make Deanna Williams
train you, and she done take noT for the fever.
So she trained him up, and thenhe became a little superstar.
(18:59):
Wow, because then he wanted itby the second album.
My first album was Rocky, justas the second album was moving
on, he was I'm gonna becooperative, I'm not gonna have
20 people with me, it's gonna begood.
SPEAKER_02 (19:11):
I said, Okay, I'm looking forward to it.
So I just want to capturesomething very pertinent that
you said because for people whoare in the business of building
relationships, sometimes it maynot always start that easy.
But you were able to persist.
What exactly did you do tocultivate the relationship
between you and the notoriousBIG where he felt safe, where he
(19:36):
started calling you mom, wherehe was ready by album two?
What did you do?
SPEAKER_01 (19:42):
What I did on a regular basis to really cement
our relationship was I showedup.
I advocated, I jumped up anddown and screamed and hollered.
I wouldn't let photographerstake a picture if nothing was
right, if everything wasn'tright, if his collar was
crooked, I go, hold up, wait aminute.
Come in and straighten hiscollar.
(20:04):
Wait a minute, hands need lotionto the point where he wouldn't
take pictures without me.
Wow, no pictures without me.
I had to be present at all photoshoots.
And then one time I thought hewas gonna beat up a photographer
because the photographer did notsay that it was a fifth-floor
walk up.
(20:26):
And he had a fit, and I told thephotographer that might be a
little something you want to sayto a man who's 300 pounds,
right?
And to me, so I could pass iton.
All right, I understand thatthis is your studio, but we
could have rented a studio.
Yeah, I had the means to do thatso that he didn't have to walk
up a fifth floor walk up.
(20:48):
And Biggie punished him, he madehim go get food.
He said, You go get my food.
I said, I'll get it, I'll getit.
He said, No, no, no, no, you'renot.
He's gonna get it back.
And the his hands were reallycrusty, like, really needed.
Ash, I called I used to carrythis stuff called body butter
back in the day before bodybutter was out.
(21:08):
My girl used to create bodybutter, and he's like, I need
some of that butter body.
I told him my hands are crusty.
He said, Go get that butterbody, and he told the guy, yo,
you about to take my picture ofme looking like this.
I was like, I put out a lot offires, and I was an ad advocate
because artists artists need anadvocate, yeah, yeah, and not
(21:29):
just the company they have.
Yes, you know what I mean.
SPEAKER_02 (21:32):
Yes, yes.
I'm hearing that there are a lotof people who will just do
anything to be in the room.
Um, they don't want to ruffleany feathers.
So, when you think about the waythat you cultivated these
relationships with these iconicartists and the way that artists
are handled today in this space,do you think that there are
(21:53):
significant changes?
And if and if so, in what ways?
SPEAKER_01 (21:58):
The significant change that I see is that
there's no more artistdevelopment.
Either the artist is alreadypolished before they get to the
label, because the label is nolonger doing that.
And no one told me per se thatthis was my responsibility, but
(22:18):
I knew it was.
I know how to media train, Iknow I was a journalist, so I
know what people are looking forto be in front of them.
That was very helpful.
The fact that I was ajournalist, I was a press
person, I had a press pass.
So, and these press people weremy colleagues.
So I know how we whisper behindyou know the backs of the
(22:43):
artists who were not ready to bein front.
And I'd be daggone if I wasgonna put my people in front
when they weren't ready, becausenow you are facing the
possibility of bad press, yeah,and that has cost many of my
colleagues their jobs.
SPEAKER_02 (23:03):
Do you think because of those significant changes
that that has impacted the musicindustry or the entertainment
industry in a negative way?
SPEAKER_01 (23:14):
Listen, the negativity of the industry
today, yeah, it takes mydaughter to tell it, right?
Who's 23, who says the music oftoday is trash, these artists
today are trash, that they needthey need some boot camp.
Yeah, yeah.
They need a boot camp.
SPEAKER_02 (23:31):
And I'm glad that you mentioned your daughter's
age because I don't want it tocome across as you know, those
old ladies, they don't even knowwhat they're talking about.
This music isn't for them.
But your daughter is 23 yearsold, and she's saying the same
thing that we're both saying.
The music is definitelydifferent.
I remember listening to music,and it was so intriguing, and it
(23:52):
spoke to my soul.
I don't know if you used to dothis.
When we had, let's say, therecord player or the cassette, I
would press play, stop, writedown the lyrics.
Yes.
Until I wrote down the entiresong.
I don't do that anymore.
SPEAKER_01 (24:09):
True story.
Okay, I'm a fan of trap musicfor one reason because of the
beat, and I dance and you knowdo workouts, and so I'm always
looking for a hot beat.
That trap music beat that getsme moving, right?
Oh, yes.
I told my daughter, I've somehowI feel in the back of my spirit
(24:31):
that I really shouldn't belistening to that.
I'm gonna look up the word.
She said, Don't do that.
She said, Don't do that.
You don't want to really knowwhat they're saying.
No, I just told my class today,I cannot believe that mumble rap
is a genre.
SPEAKER_02 (24:49):
It is a genre in the world, yeah.
I don't get it, and it's like agenre for top charting artists
that I don't understand how theyeven made it there.
SPEAKER_01 (25:03):
I'm just gonna because they don't have choices.
SPEAKER_02 (25:07):
That's true, that's true.
So, you know, like I said, Ijust wanted to set the frame for
this conversation.
I wanted people to fullyunderstand how long you've
worked in this industry, theiconic artists that you've
worked with.
So we've seen the success, butnow I want to start to unpack
all of the emotional and mentalvices that you had to arm
(25:30):
yourself with just to beresilient.
So let's talk about embracingvulnerability to build
resilience.
Let's just talk about learningthrough loss.
That is when I know I had to bethe most vulnerable and when I
(25:51):
learned the most.
And when I'm talking about theloss, I'm talking about
sometimes the loss of a job orthe loss of a family member.
Um, when did you experienceextreme loss, but it built
resilience and success for you?
SPEAKER_01 (26:07):
Oh wow.
I experienced uh the one of thegreatest losses of my life was
when my grandmother died.
I happened to have been inChicago, which is where I'm
from.
I was in Chicago with total and112.
(26:27):
And uh there were three groups.
I don't remember who the thirdgroup was right now, but I had
planned an evening to get theChicago tastemakers to come out
to listen to the artist.
And it was going to be at thisclub called the uh Red Parrot,
and it was owned by myboyfriend, who was my boyfriend
(26:49):
from first grade, John Moultrie,right?
So John said, Yeah, yeah, y'allcan come, no problem.
And it was gonna be fantastic.
My grandmother died while I wasin town the night before that
party.
Oh, the day of that party, shedied, and she had been in the
hospital, and so I was runningback and forth to the hospital,
and then right before the party,she died.
(27:11):
And I still had to show up.
What I learned was I I played aday, it's a it's a very
dangerous game to play, let mesay.
Because you're working withpeople who do care about you.
Right.
And you know, we're taught inmany ways to suck it up and show
(27:31):
up, and we're taught to not dragyour personal things into the
office, but the damage that itdoes personally as a
naturopathic doctor now, Iunderstand the damage of
swallowing that or attempting toswallow it because you never
really do.
And so when I had to show up, sothen after I was supposed to go
(27:54):
back to New York and take careof other things with those
artists, of course I didn't gobecause now it's time for the
funeral for my grandmother, andwe had two nights of events in
Chicago, and then I ended upstaying in Chicago.
While I was dealing with all ofthis, before that, even and uh I
(28:16):
also experienced another deathwhile working at Arista, and it
was the death of my firsthusband.
I took the job at Arista, andthey knew that my husband was
sick.
What they didn't know was thatmy husband had full-blown AIDS,
and he married me knowing he hadAIDS and did not tell me.
SPEAKER_00 (28:38):
Oh, wow!
SPEAKER_01 (28:40):
Turns out that praise God, I'm HIV negative,
thank the Lord.
Amen.
And but he he died.
I canceled, I had an Usher photoshoot had to be canceled, and it
wasn't because I needed tocancel it, but that day I moved
him into hospice from home, andmy colleagues they knew that I
(29:04):
had a sick husband, they theythey thought he had cancer
because that was the family lieback then, and so I just didn't
tell anybody what I was dealingwith, and I only took off about
six days total after he died,and he died the day of the
(29:26):
Biggie and Faith photo shootthat I had done with Vibe
Magazine.
Oh wow, when they were on thecover like a gangster and his
girl in the backseat.
Yeah, he died that day, so uhit's 102 degrees under the
Brooklyn Bridge that July day.
I had on a white suit because itwas too hot to have on anything
(29:48):
else.
I had gone to see him thatmorning because I knew I'd be
tied up all night with thisphoto shoot.
They wanted sunset shots aswell, and it was really big.
Biggie, who made me leave thatphoto shoot.
On a break, he ran over to meand he said, What in the world
(30:08):
is going on?
What is this that your husbandis dying in hospice?
He was like, Ma, you didn't sayanything.
I said, And you for you to dowhat?
He said, Ma.
He said, You're leaving here.
And I said, Oh no, honey,because you like to cut up at a
photo shoot.
He said, No, nope, this isalmost over.
(30:29):
I promise you, I said, Biggie, Icannot lose this job.
This man's about to die.
Please, Biggie.
He walked me to the car.
He told the driver, who wassomewhere refreshing himself.
He told the driver, get in thecar, take her home.
Because she needed to get hometo her husband.
He was like, I just cannot evenbelieve you're here.
What I learned about that, thatbounce back spirit developed
(30:53):
even more because I had a wholecompany rallying around.
And I also learned not to staysilent when the trouble comes,
when everybody's gonna havetheir turn to have murky water.
My immediate vice presidentknew, and my immediate director
(31:16):
knew, but black music didn'tknow.
And the day that the black musicdepartment found out, oh my
gosh, Jean Riggins, president ofBlack Music, called me into her
office with an urgency that Iliterally thought I was fired.
But Joyce, get into my office.
I said, Okay, I grabbed thenotepad, I ran down to her
(31:36):
office.
I got in there, she was standingup over her desk.
The vice president, there weretwo vice presidents, one was
looking out the window and onewas standing like this.
And so I look around, she said,sit down.
And she said, What is this?
I hear you got a husband at homedying.
I thought, oh, oh, that what?
(31:58):
Because literally I thought Iwas gonna lose my job and didn't
know why.
And I said, Yes, yes, it's true.
She said, Why are we justfinding out about this?
They fussed at me and they lovedon me.
SPEAKER_02 (32:11):
Wow, yes, I'm hearing a lot in what you just
shared with us, and it makes mereally think about you know,
people love to say the work-lifebalance.
I don't think it exists, I justcall it the work-life
integration.
Yeah, that's exactly what it is,because you have to manage them
both or manage it all.
(32:32):
But if you know now, if you knewthen what you know now, would
you have done it differently andleft sooner?
Or would you have done it thesame way?
You mean left the industry orleft left the the photo shoot
that day that you had uh forBiggie when you left?
SPEAKER_01 (32:52):
Let me tell you what was easier.
It was easier for me to managemy workload than it was for me
to marry manage the husband.
What I understand very clearlyis that we collective, black
(33:13):
community, Hispanic community,communities of color, period.
We believe that we can lovepeople through medical
emergencies.
You cannot she don't need notherapy after no stroke, she's
not going to any rehab.
My mama's coming home.
You are not medically certifiedto rehab someone who's had a
(33:37):
stroke.
Why don't we feel that we needto get our family professional
help?
And why do we feel that there'sa betrayal if we do?
Yeah, yeah.
That is now, if you have someonein the family who's qualified, I
agree with that.
Bring your family member home.
But what I could no longer dowas manage, and my family had an
(33:59):
intervention with me because Ihad a carefully coordinated
calendar of friends and familyto come into our home to help
take care of him.
People gave up their vacations.
My mother and father came werecoming every other week and
staying a week because they werethe retired ones, and literally
(34:20):
they'd have a day of overlap todo the training on okay, this is
how everything needs to be caredfor, so that I could go to work.
They did that for me.
And when it got to be too much,my mother called me at work and
said, It's time, it's time forhim to have the professional
help.
Because LaJoyce, we have alldone our best, haven't we?
(34:43):
I said, We have.
And the next phone call, as Isat at my desk, like I looked at
my calendar, like, ooh, thatUsher photo shoot was canceled.
I said, Thank you, God.
And I got on the phone and Istarted calling to find out who
could receive him as a hospicepatient because he was at home
gossips.
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (35:02):
But you know, LaJoyce, Dr.
LaJoyce, there's so manyindividuals who don't have the
support of their job or thesupport of family to make it
easier for them as you go towork.
So, what would you say forsomeone who's navigating through
loss while also trying tounderstand personal work life
(35:25):
balance integration?
Is it okay to say I need sometime and I put a pause on things
so that I can re you know,re-emerge stronger and more
powerful than ever?
Is it okay to press the stop orpause button?
SPEAKER_01 (35:43):
It is absolutely okay to press the pause button,
and now it's easier to do thatbecause now everyone has an
understanding about mentalhealth and about the necessity
to dial it back if need be.
Now we are more aware than everbefore.
(36:04):
This that is one of the thingsthat emerged after COVID that
was a good thing, sure.
And what I say to people on howto get the bounce back is this
we all have a 100 100% successrate of surviving the bad days,
(36:27):
when you really think about it,we do, how we handle it is quite
another story.
Yeah, and so I think that ifpeople have a solid foundation
and choose not a life ofisolation, because who can you
(36:50):
call?
Who are your are your team ofpeople?
Who's your Dr.
Bombay?
Who is your who is your go-to,your ride or die?
Now is the time to get theminvolved.
SPEAKER_02 (37:04):
Yeah.
I'm glad that you, I felt likeyou were talking directly to me
because in my journey ofnavigating loss, and one
strategy that you just mentionedwas to, you know, call on your
village.
And when I went to call myvillage, I said I don't even
know what numbers to dial.
(37:26):
And I had to really take uh aninternal look at myself and and
really ask myself, did youinvest in all the right people?
Because if you are figuring outwho you should call, it really
made me, it made me even moredepressed because I was just
(37:47):
like, oh my gosh, how do youchoose who to invest in when it
comes to your personal andprofessional circle?
SPEAKER_01 (37:56):
Oh, so we're going there.
Oh, yeah, we're going there.
Oh, here's how you choose wiselyon where to invest.
Take a look of who's making morewithdrawals than deposits from
your life.
Take a look around at the peoplewho give you that sage wisdom,
(38:22):
who always have a kind word, akind text, people who hold you
accountable and don't take yourmess.
That is how you discern, andiron sharpens iron.
People who are not filling upwith garbage and gossip and an
insistent need, or people who,when your phone rings and you
(38:45):
look at that and you know theywant something all the time.
Who are the people?
How do you want something all ofthe time?
Aren't we good and grown?
How do you need what are youdoing asking me for anything?
You have no children.
You can't balance a checkbookyet.
What in the world?
Yeah, that's how you decide.
SPEAKER_02 (39:05):
Yeah, and I wish that that lesson was
communicated more when adultswere children.
Because for me, like I said, Ijust woke up at this big old age
and I was just like, Oh, I lookback and said, What have I done?
But now it just makes me walkwith a more intentional purpose,
(39:25):
so that these latter years, onceagain, I'm rebuilding
intentionally and purposefully.
But I always say, What would mylife be like if I would have
been led with that messageearlier on?
SPEAKER_01 (39:41):
So, my next question I hope you have no regrets
though.
SPEAKER_02 (39:44):
No, none at all.
SPEAKER_01 (39:46):
Okay, good.
SPEAKER_02 (39:47):
Because when we talked about learning through
failure, I don't think of it asa failure.
For me, it's just a teachablemoment, and it's just
scaffolding on okay, so this iswhat I now need to do because I
learned from this example, andyou know what?
SPEAKER_01 (40:03):
John Maxwell has a quote sometimes you win,
sometimes you learn.
I like that one.
I like that one.
So, you know, througheverything, through every
stream, yeah, that's so true.
SPEAKER_02 (40:19):
And I can't believe I've never heard that one
before.
I'm gonna use that one, gonnause it.
So, you know, you've talkedabout the people that you worked
with, um, some of your journeysearly on in the music industry.
How did you develop such amental and emotional fortitude
that allows you to amplify yourvoice with audacity?
SPEAKER_01 (40:44):
I have to credit my mother with giving me the strong
voice and being the strong womanthat I am today because my
mother took no tea for thefever.
She was five feet one, she waslight-skinned, she had
strawberry red hair and greeneyes, and she would tell you in
(41:06):
two seconds I'm a black woman.
And she never choked back herwords, she never bit her tongue,
and she could be very harsh orseemingly harsh, but she was
exceptionally hard on me.
And I feel that it's okay, thatthere's nothing wrong with being
(41:29):
hard on your on your child fortheir for their for their
growth, for their improvement,for how they will show up in
this world.
My birthday was last weekend,and my daughter wrote in my
card.
I was telling her, I'm worriedabout you living in Philly, I'm
worried about you.
But you know, that's a mother'sworry.
But as she wrote in my card, youdid the best possible job you
(41:52):
could have raising me.
And I am so thankful for it, andit helps to inform me on how I
show up in this world, and Ihope that helps you to worry
less.
Wow, tears.
I know you did, I know youcried.
I had to read it again.
I was like, Oh my gosh, worryless.
(42:15):
But my mother helped to give methat voice that uh and a strong
will and a desire to be anythingI could be.
She I would tell her, but so andso's going to the party and
everybody's going.
She would always say, You're noteverybody.
And I believed her.
SPEAKER_02 (42:32):
Yeah, yeah.
But you know, similar to you, toyou, uh, Dr.
LaJoyce, I was also um raised bya powerful mother who um was
very unapologetic.
And my daughter and I, we alwaysjoke, like, you have to have
tough skin to grow up in thishousehold.
But then when I transitioned toadulthood and I started to enter
(42:54):
into the workforce, I noticedthat my audacity and the way
that I amplified my voice wasn'talways met with roses or a
welcome mat.
How do you navigate as a womanof color, amplifying your voice
in this current space where theywant to silence or minimize our
(43:16):
voices?
How do you still push through?
SPEAKER_01 (43:19):
I'm able to push through in this way.
And now, as a speech professor,I teach this that we have to
walk softly but carry a bigstick.
And we have to use words,elevated words, that leave you
scrambling for a dictionary whenyou really get pissed off
instead of using words that golower, go higher.
(43:41):
Michelle Obama had that right.
Because I don't really, I don'tneed to go lower with you
because karma and uh seedsplanted.
When when my friend says this,Elisa Gabrielle, she goes, Dr.
Elisa, she says, when they golow, karma goes lower.
Yes.
I look at it like this.
I'm God's girl.
(44:01):
Who are you messing with?
You don't even know you'remessing with the daughter of the
most high God, and you have lostyour mind.
Amen.
And so that's the way I look atit.
So um, when I choose my words, Iand I I choose my words
carefully, especially when I'mangry.
And when I am angry, I don'tknow.
I have the recall of the wordsfrom the SAT test, I hardly ever
(44:24):
use them, but I don't know, theyjust come forth.
And I leave see people going,What?
That what and so language hasalways been my weapon, and uh
speaking clearly so that I'munderstood, and I make sure that
we have a firm understanding.
But even when I'm telling youoff using multisyllabaic words
(44:47):
that you probably don't evenunderstand, but I just make sure
that we're here and I nod andyes, and eventually they go, Oh,
yes, but it softens it insteadof escalating it.
So you're the one who'sscreaming, you're the one who's
angry, and I'm not.
SPEAKER_02 (45:04):
So I'm gonna follow that up because we may be more
intentional with our tone, wemay choose these SAT words, but
once again, in this space, ourpresence is always weaponized.
How do we still navigatethrough, still showing up
correctly, but still being facedwith this hostility?
(45:29):
How do we reset in order tostill push through?
SPEAKER_01 (45:34):
Here's what I think that we need to do.
We need to maintain our lightand hand those people shade
because I am not dimming mylight to make you feel more
comfortable.
I am so sorry.
I've been fired for this.
I'll never forget I was doing Iwas director of marketing and
(45:58):
publicity at this big musicoutlet that they have here in
the Poconos where I live.
And the director said, When youcome around, everybody starts
working faster, working harder,even though they're working,
that you blow through, and it'slike, good morning, everybody.
And I said, Well, I say thankyou when I asked them to do
(46:20):
something.
He said, That's not what I'mtalking about, and you know it.
So I eventually got fired.
But the point was, I said, It'snot my fault if they can't
handle the light.
It's all right.
I understand that it's big andit's bright, it's not for
everyone, right?
It's not for everyone, but don'ttry to diminish it, and you're
(46:45):
not gonna make me feel less thanbecause of it.
Yeah, I see you though, I seeyou, and I understand your need
to feel comfortable, Iunderstand your fragility, and
I'm not here to play with it.
Yeah, I didn't come to play withyou or it.
Can we all just get the workdone, please?
SPEAKER_02 (47:06):
Yes, yes.
I'm glad that I was um able tokind of talk about this right
here because this is my story.
This is the story of so manywomen who have the audacity to
amplify their voice, but they'refacing resistance and hostility,
and oftentimes results in thembeing fired.
(47:27):
Um, that's happened to me umbefore, but yet and still I
remain steadfast because it'snot up to me to make you
comfortable.
SPEAKER_01 (47:35):
That's right.
It's not my job.
SPEAKER_02 (47:37):
That's not my job.
The only thing that I can do isto continue to walk in purpose.
So I'm glad that you know thiscan be a gem for someone who is
facing hostility at their jobbecause they're simply
amplifying their voices in aspace where we are supposed to
be silenced andor minimized.
(47:57):
Now, speaking of them trying tosilence andor minimize us, do
you feel that there's enoughrepresentation in the
entertainment business?
When I mean representation, I'mtalking about of black and brown
people in the entertainmentbusiness.
Is there enough representation?
SPEAKER_01 (48:14):
There's a lot of representation behind the
scenes.
Yeah, we have there's a book.
Can I show it?
Women behind the mic.
Is this backwards?
Yes.
Is that backwards to you, or doyou see?
No, it's not.
Uh-huh.
It's right.
All right.
Women behind the mic, curatorsof pop culture, volume one, word
to the wise.
And we also have volume two, thehip hop edition.
(48:34):
And this book features, thisbook features 24 women
executives who worked behind thescenes.
And the hip hop edition features22 executives who worked behind
the scenes.
And this is voluminous.
People are saying, oh, there arenot that many black women who
worked behind the scenes.
(48:55):
Oh, yes, there were.
And yes, there are.
And you don't know about themjust for what you said.
We're facing erasure.
And we're facing our erasure byour own people as well.
For instance, in the new editionstory, I love to tell this is
this this is how women behindthe mic, one of the reasons it
(49:18):
came to be.
In the new edition story, whichwas three nights.
Yes, I sat with my popcorn,cleared my calendar, and I
waited with bated breath to seehow Juanita Stephens and how
Renee Foster would be depicted.
Because when Renee Foster wasthe assistant to Juanita
(49:42):
Stephens, who was vice presidentat MCA Records, and they did
everything for those boys, madesure they had their studies,
made sure they had their uhtheir studies turned in, made
sure that they had good hotels.
They each they even made surethey had condoms.
Okay.
That's not too much information,but it's it's the truth.
(50:04):
And in three nights, they didn'tdepict Renee or Juanita at all
in a three-day biopic.
And those women were influentialin making sure those boys had
the start that they needed.
I was serious.
Then in the movie Notorious,there was only one scene where
(50:24):
it could have been a publicist,and that is where Faith Evans is
sitting on the couch with thereporter, and then some Biggie
knocks on the door because he'sangry about this Tupac thing,
right?
And the white guy in the suitjumps up to handle it.
So if there are three people inthe room with Faith, an
(50:44):
interviewer, and a white guy ina suit, that's the publicist's
job.
I stood up in that movie theaterand I threw popcorn and screamed
out loud.
I'm like, oh, so I'm a white mannow.
And the white man didn't sayanything.
You just grabbed any availableperson to depict the publicist's
(51:08):
role.
If you're trying to get thethings right, why didn't you get
all the things right?
Right.
All right.
Erased.
You could have grabbed anyrandom black girl standing
around on that set, put a suiton her, and let her be, let her
have been the accurate depictionof the black woman publicist who
worked with Faith, who set upthat interview that day.
(51:29):
Yeah, you could have done that.
The last thing was Puffy's can'tstop, won't stop.
Michelle Joyce, my co-writer, myco-creator here.
She called me, said you seeCan't Stop, Won't Stop.
I said, Yeah.
She said, Puff call you.
I said no.
He called you.
She said no.
She worked in his office.
She was his director ofmarketing.
(51:49):
And every other one departmentexcept for two was run by women
at Bad Boy Records, and not oneof them was asked to say a word
in Can't Stop, Won't Stop.
I said, I'm tired.
We she said, me too.
We got said, got our friendstogether, said, blow the dust
off your memories.
We're tired of being a race.
(52:10):
This is three strikes, y'all areout.
But you know what, Dr.
Sanya?
It is not their responsibilityto tell our stories, it's ours.
SPEAKER_02 (52:19):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (52:20):
Onus lies with us.
SPEAKER_02 (52:21):
Yes, yes, yes.
And and I'm glad that youdecided the onus on this lies
with us.
Because I was just like, okay,so who is this this book for?
Who is the audience?
And I'm so glad that you wereable to capture all of the she
roles in the entertainmentindustry.
Because if I'm going to highschool students and they're
(52:44):
talking to me about careers, Iwant to give them an examples.
That's right.
I want them to see themselves.
That's right.
So I'm glad that you all decidedto pen um this book.
I also want to mention, and Ibriefly alluded it to it uh just
now, you're also pushing uhcurriculum into schools as well,
correct?
SPEAKER_01 (53:05):
Absolutely.
We have written curriculum, it'scalled Backstage Pass Careers
for the entertainment industry.
And this is exploringentertainment careers, is the
exact name.
And we come into schools, we cando a one-day, full-day workshop,
we can break it out into eightweeks.
It's totally customizable.
(53:26):
And each each week, each sessionis each session is uh taught by
the person who actually did it.
So I would teach publicity, andwe've got one to teach
promotions, AR, uh songwriting,um, artist development, and even
all of the stylists and the makeall of those things.
(53:49):
So we teach all of the thingsthat it takes to make the
artist, and the students areactually able, they actually
have an assignment within thattime frame, and they walk away
with something tangible thatthey can put into their
portfolios.
So it's an excellentopportunity, and then we also
have pathways to internships andwe go on field trips, so it's
(54:09):
really exciting for thestudents.
SPEAKER_02 (54:11):
Amazing.
Like I mentioned to you before,I definitely want to share this
amongst my colleagues ineducation.
Um, but for those uh, let's sayadministrators or leaders in
education who are watching thisconversation, how can they get
in touch with you if they wantto bring the curriculum inside
their schools?
SPEAKER_01 (54:30):
Uh, women behind the mic at gmail.com.
That's womenbehind the mic atgmail.com.
Amazing.
SPEAKER_02 (54:39):
And we can do also briefly, there's so many things
like you are just multi-layered,multi-hyphenated.
Like I can be here all day, butthis is what I love about
impressive women.
You know, the the portfolio isvery much diversified, and I
love it.
You also have a podcast.
You Ask the Good Doctor,correct?
SPEAKER_01 (55:00):
Ask the good doctor, yes.
That's my Ask the Good Doctor ismy entire brand.
I teach audiences how to attain,maintain, and reclaim perfect
health.
That is my personal, my personalassignment from the Lord.
I teach people how not to diefrom diseases we can prevent.
(55:21):
I have just created my new book,Trinity, the 21-day
detoxification program, 21 daysto becoming healthy, wealthy.
And that's available anywhere,books or so.
That's my 11th book, by the way.
Wow.
And this is my Trinity 21-daydetoxification program, and it's
(55:42):
a box set, it comes witheverything you need to fully
detoxify your body in 21 days.
I went all the way to Malaysiato have it formulated with the
best products in the world, andthey were so excited about it.
I went there in January 2025,and they launched it at their
(56:02):
national internationalconference in Dubai in April.
So we we are officially in themarketplace.
I'm so excited about it.
I just love teaching people howto be healthy, wealthy because
it's our birthright.
SPEAKER_02 (56:17):
Amazing.
So we, you know, we talked aboutthe mental, emotional strength.
Now we're talking about beinghealthy.
What compelled you to be sohealth conscious?
Did something happen where yousaid, I really need to figure
this out?
SPEAKER_01 (56:31):
Absolutely.
Cindy Rogers, in my senior highschool persuasive speech class,
gave a speech on why you shouldbecome a vegetarian.
We're still friends today.
She said that she was inspiredby a little booklet that she
read by Dick Gregory, and heraunt was just beautiful, and she
(56:54):
wanted to be everything her auntwas.
And her aunt gave her the bookand said, I do everything Dick
Gregory says here.
She gave us that speech.
I went to the lunchroom, Iordered a grilled cheese
sandwich on rye.
That night I went home, told mymom, I'm never eating meat
again.
She said, Help yourself, there'ssome salad in the refrigerator.
And then I went to get a job atGeneral Nutrition Center, which
(57:15):
is now GNC.
GNC used to be the Whole Foods.
We used to make sandwiches,squeeze peanut butter, and juice
juice.
Yes, we did.
SPEAKER_02 (57:23):
That's true.
That's so true.
But you know, I'm glad that youare embarking upon all of these
initiatives to just get ustogether.
Um, I too had a similar journey.
I haven't eaten meat in I wouldsay 30 years.
SPEAKER_01 (57:38):
Wow, I did go back to eating meat.
My hair started falling out.
I wasn't replacing my proteinsproperty because when I went to
college, I didn't really knowhow to.
They would just hand me thispack of cheese.
That wasn't the answer.
Yeah, but I never went back toeating beef or pork.
I eat organic chicken only.
Turkey, as you know, is minimum,is not processed at all.
(58:00):
And I eat wild-caught fish only.
SPEAKER_02 (58:03):
Yeah, it's definitely a lifestyle journey.
Um, even after 30 years, I'mstill trying to figure out um a
few things, but I really noticedum my health was being affected,
my mental.
And what I did was before I madethe change, was every time I ate
something, I wrote down in ajournal how it made me feel.
(58:24):
Good.
And then after a while, I waslike, Oh my gosh, it's what I'm
eating.
And that's when I decided tomake this very significant
lifestyle change, and I haven'tgone back since then.
SPEAKER_01 (58:35):
You are so smart because getting people to keep
that food diary is the hardestpart of all, and that's your
first assignment when you cometo see me.
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (58:46):
So when they uh if when my audience wants to really
tap into the health journey toimprove their health, how can
they contact you, the gooddoctor?
SPEAKER_01 (58:56):
Ah, ask the gooddoctor1 at gmail.com.
That's ask the gooddoctor one atgmail.com.
SPEAKER_02 (59:04):
Amazing.
So we have Women Behind the Mic,Volume One.
Is volume two out yet?
SPEAKER_01 (59:10):
Volume two is out.
I'm looking around from my deskfor one.
I don't have one nearby, butyes, volume two is absolutely
out.
SPEAKER_02 (59:17):
And they can also purchase that online.
SPEAKER_01 (59:19):
Oh, yes, they're both available everywhere.
Books are sold.
Amazing, amazing, Dr.
SPEAKER_02 (59:24):
LaJoyce.
I really appreciate yourconversation.
I really appreciate you sharingyour story with us.
We really ran the gamut fromyour early beginnings up until
present day, and I hope, well, Iknow that my audience is going
to leave full and also inspiredwith next steps.
Thank you so much for yourconversation.
SPEAKER_01 (59:46):
Thank you so much for inviting me.
I appreciate you so much.
Looking forward to seeing youagain soon.
SPEAKER_02 (59:51):
Thank you.
I'm just going to continue onwith the show, but we will
definitely stay in touch.
SPEAKER_01 (59:55):
All right, take care.
Bye bye.
SPEAKER_02 (59:57):
You take care as well.
There you have it.
Dr.
LaJoyce Brookshire.
Wasn't that an amazingconversation?
I mean, there's just so manygems that Dr.
LaJoyce dropped.
Um, how to get stuck?
How she got started in the radioindustry, how she decided to
pivot, how she decided toeliminate, I wouldn't say
(01:00:21):
eliminate, but to process thenoise to say it isn't going to
minimize me.
It may frame me in a little bitin order to continue being
unapologetic and being audaciousin whatever I have to do.
She's worked with some of themost iconic industry
professionals.
So I know that Dr.
(01:00:42):
LaJoyce Joyce's uh journey willinspire you.
Make sure that you purchaseevery single book that she's
written, um, especially WomenBehind the Mic, volume one and
two.
And if you are um involved in aschool district and you know
that your school district willbenefit from her curriculum,
(01:01:05):
please contact her, or you canjust contact me directly and I
will put you in touch with Dr.
LeJoyce.
Once again, if you haven'tsubscribed, if you haven't
posted a comment, please do sonow.
Once again, representation inmedia is so important, and it's
the little things that you cando, like I just mentioned
(01:01:27):
subscribing, replying,resharing.
These are the things that I'masking you to do to leverage the
representation in media.
I thank you so so much fortuning in to another amazing
edition of Sonia on Air with myspecial guest, Dr.
LaJoyce.
(01:01:47):
Stay tuned next week for anotheramazing Sonia on Air show.
Take care.
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