Ep. 6 - Jackie Bertolette and Devon Merritt interviews

Featuring interviews with Jackie Bertolette from Haute Ohio Magazine and national recording artist Devon Merritt.

Episode Transcript

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BFCB Radio Network where Real Talk livesus Take two with Alexis nine on the
FCB Radio Network. Welcome to Taketwo with your host, Alexis Nunn.

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On the show today is Jackie Bercelettfrom Halts Ohio Magazine and national recording artists
Divine Merritt. Stay tuned. JackieBertlett is coming up next. You are
listening to Take two. My nameis Rock Camen, I'm sixteen years old.
My name is Jamonte and I'm fifteen. My name is Ed and I'm
fourteen. Why don't you smoke?You can lose one of your lung thing

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you get a hold in your throat. The reason why I don't smoke.
I'll play basketball, football and I'llget a lot of air my lungs for
me to be able to run updown the court and I'll be down the
field. I think about what itdoes. What if I die earlier than
I expect, or what if thingsstart to happen that I don't want to
happen. A message from FCB Entertainment, The Eyes have a media group and
Tobacco Free Kids. Welcome back toTake two with our guests Jackie Bertilett from

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Hole Ohio Magazine. Hi, howare you today? I am wonderful.
How you finger like that? I'mdoing good. It's kind of rainy outside,
kind of cold outside, just tryingto get through this weather. Yeah,
yeah, it's okay though. I'llCleveland. Yeah, that's Cleveland.
So can you tell me a littlebit about yourself? Can you tell me

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in the audience? Let me correctmyself about yourself. I am I'm a
commercial photographer, and I got mydegree a lot of years ago. Let's
just say that we're still your samefilm. And I knew a way back
when I was in high school,I wanted to work for magazine. So

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I got my degree as a photographer, went on to complete the almost got
a degree as a graphic designer,got a job in that fielder and dropped
out of school. And I've beenmaking my own clothes since I was fourteen
because I'm very tall and very thin, and I could never buy off the
wreck. So with all these yearsof experience in the modeling industry and the

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photography and fashion industry, just seemedappropriate that I would open the magazine that
I wanted to work for. Okay, okay, nice, nice. What
high school did you go to.I worked at East Like North High in
East Like Ohio. Was there anythingto do a fashion in that high school
for you? There was not.Now, there was very little in those

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days for women to do. Youwere either a secretary or a nurse or
a teacher. Very few things thenit was a while ago. Okay,
So other than you can't buying offthe rack, what was your inspiration into
going into this business. I've beenmaking clothes forever and other people have asked
me for clothes along the way.I'm not classically trained, if you will,

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I have no actual training and fashiondesign, but I've learned how to
sew the basics and just kind ofwing it the rest of the way.
People want my clothes and so myso for them. I generally sew one
of a kind, which is acouture style, and I do a lot
of red carpet and a lot ofavant garde one of a kind. Hmm,

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maybe I want some offits too,you know. There there you go.
So was your family any hope withyour what you wanted to do?
Absolutely? My parents have been verysupportive of me. That there's no artists
in my family. I'm kind ofthe first one, so I'm very lucky

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that they've they've embraced my career choice. So yeah, they've been wonderful.
My husband is a longtime musician who'sbeen touring for many years. He came
off the road and we got marriedand had kids, and so he completely
understands what's involved in artistic endeavor andhe's one hundred percent supporters as well.

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So on their loves, I'm happyfor you. So can you tell us
a little bit about your magazine?I can. So the name of the
magazine is called Hotel Ohio and thatis like a hote pictur, which in
French names high fashion, and themagazine focuses mainly on high fashion and cutting

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edge fashion that comes out of Ohioand the Midwest. So that would be
any talent that either originates or operatesin Ohio and the Midwest. And we
are dedicated to promoting and uplifting allthe Ohio talent and bringing them to the
world stage to show people that wehave world class talent alreadia back yard.

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So can you tell me how theprocess was for you to create that magazine.
What we are doing things a littlebit different than most publications. What
we are doing is doing a submissionprocess to an event called Capture Culture and
we do that about six weeks aheadof the actual release date for the publication.

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It's a quarterly publication and one peopleare juried to go to the Capture
cultur event and then it's actually anexclusive photoshoot and that is the magazine photoshoot,
and we use all of those imagesin the magazine and we feature every
one of the professionals that was involvedin that shoot, from the textile artist

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to the designer to a photographer,all the way down. Anyone that we
can feature, we do. Okay, okay, what made you decide to
create this magazine? I let fashionand I've I've been around a lot of
people in the industry for years andthere's been sort of a void and that

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there is not a magazine out therelike this. There was one at one
point that was in talks and wewere all super excited, but just like
into fruition, and I thought,you know what, we need this.
We have to have this in theMidwest. At one time we were actually
a fashion with manufacturing and textile productions, and we just need to show the

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world that we can do that again. On the design end. Now,
was there any complications that you hadgoing through this magazine? Like starting off
all the way up fils Now,what complications were being a brand new magazine?
It was a little difficult to findpeople who sort of trusted my vision.

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I had several people that I hadworked with just as a photographer our
designer along the way who were righton board with me and helped me continuously.
So beyond that, it was alittle difficult to sign people who would
kind of trust something that wasn't thereyet and participate. So I'm so grateful
for those who are in the premierissue because they really just kind of did

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a Hail Mary with me and justbelieved in what it could be. And
that would be my hardest, myhardest stumble, because now that we're out
there, people can see what myvision was. But before that it was
difficult. You had to be ableto either trust in nothing or see it
yourself. Okay, Okay, I'mhappy to hear that from you. Now,

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let's talk about the fashion industry inCleveland. What growth have you seen.
There has been a significant amount ofgrowth just in the last ten to
fifteen years. It's coming to thepoint where people are starting to not only
remain in Cleveland, but promote thatthey are Cleveland fashion professionals in Ohioland and

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West as well. In the past, people were would would change their affiliation,
they would move to New York andsay they were from New York because
if you said you were from theMidwest, nobody wanted to hear you or
even take a look at what youhad to show. So I think just
in the last ten or fifteen yearsthat has changed enough that people are beginning

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to feel comfortable mentioning where they trulyare from and being proud from the Midwest.
Yeah. I completely understand you onthat one. So my next question
is going to be what do youplan on doing in the future to make
it get even better. I wantto continue to find emerging talents because I

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know they're There's a million startup designersout there, so aspiring textile artists hmuays.
The high school kids are fabulous withmakeup. But there's so much talent
that's just emerging and aspiring, andI would love to mentor those and connect

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them with professionals that are successful.I'd love to do workshops on how to
actually succeed in the fashion industry inthe Midwest, maybe networking connections and resources.
And I also would really like tobe able to do workshops for say
the models in our area, toexplain to them how they need to go

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about getting into the modeling industry.They're not going to make it big from
the Midwest, but they need tokind of do their groundwork here and then
move out to Chicago and New York. So the kind of like make their
fundamentals here and then move on.Okay, okay, And you keep talking
about the Midwest fashion, what isthe Midwest question? Do we have our

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unique style? I would say thatwe have what we consider cutting edge is
different than obviously what New York conservescutting edge. I think we have more
of a conservative cutting edge, butmore of a like a pretty edge to
it than New York does. Soit's kind of a counterpoint actually in the

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fashion that comes out question is sortof like, you know, the underdog
and the interesting innovations come out ofCleveland and Midwest. Cincinnati is a huge
hub too, and of course ColumbusFashion leg is making a smart all over
the world. And I have twomore things, What can you say to

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people that want to be in thesame business as you. What advice can
you give them? I would definitelysay that they need to begin with education,
have to have a full desire becauseit's not an easy it's not an
easy career. There are a lotof people there who are negative. There
are a lot of people out thereand with vivas and you have to be

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six skins and you have to believein yourself. Get out there and make
networking contacts and just keep pushing.Okay, and now the last thing,
how can people get in contact withyou? We have a website is www
dot hote Ohio dot com and that'sfelled h A U T e O hi

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O and all the contact. I'mthere while lot with more information, or
you can check us out on Facebookand our pages at hote Ohio Magazine.
Okay, and I want to thankyou very much for coming on my show
and I appreciate you're very welcome.Stay soon. We'll be right back with
more. Thank you. This isJessica Lavish with the Outlaws. We know

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that racism still exists in our country, but what about slavery? Human trafficking
a form of modern day slavery iswhere people profit from the control and exploitation
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part of the solution if we eliminatethe demand, we eliminate human trafficking.
For more information, follow hashtag demandno More. Welcome back to Take two

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with your host Alexis None and todaywe have the Von Merit International Recording Artists.
Hi, Divine, how are youall. I'm doing great. This
is a close friend of mine.Everybody, this is like we kind of
grew up together a little bit,and I've watched him progress with his music

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and it's becoming really great. SoI'm excited for him to be on my
show. So can you tell theaudience a little bit about yourself? Um,
well, you know, like yousaid, I'm definitely there accordingly artists.
You know, you know, mymusic is a reflection of my life.
You know, I definitely put myaudience to my music. You know.

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I feel like, you know,your art should be something that's near
and didy your heart, and Idefinitely put a lot of my emotions a
lot of my characteristics in my music. So I mean, you really want
to know a lot about the vironman. Definitely pleases. You know,
pay attention to why saying my musicand you know, listen to my music.
So it is my music is mylife, my love, my leguage.
That's what I always say. Yeah, I know that, and so

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I know I know you've started witheye media because we were in there together.
Can you tell us what you learnedfrom my media? How did they
help you progress to what you aretoday? Man? You know it's so
much. So you know what I'msaying, I learned from my media.
But the thing that I really tookout of it was, you know what
I'm saying, things do not haveto ask them. People have challenge,

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people have passions, and people haveaspirations that you cannot ignore. You know
what I'm saying. Definitely always youknow, take that race can develop and
what you're good at, and youknow, saying where your potential and you're
certain talent can take you. Andyou know that's what I got out of
you know, never be scared tohide who you are and you know what
you're capable ofing. You know something, The one thing that makes you you

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like, and in my case,it was you know, being a singer,
being an artist. So that's likethe biggest thing I took out,
you know, took out of thatclass is you know, pay attention to
what you're good at music. Okay, now, what was one of your
favorite memories from that class that gotyou here who you are today? M
favorite memories? There's a lot ofnery man, I don't know talking,

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you know, definitely single one out, I mean music, not like I'm
gonna get to the class where wedid in that class, but one to
your music that I'm getting on rightnow, me and mister Darby o'morrow that
that had to be one, youknow did probably the most valible thing when
it came to my music because beforeI met him, like I just really

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thought it was just the talent.Like, well, somebody took the time
and you know analyze me and youknow, hear my talent and definitely like
look me in my eyes as aman and say hey, you need to
do something with it, like thisis no accident. And for me to
like, you know, hear somebodysay that, taking in the perspective and
then be like you know what I'myou know I have this for a reason,

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maybe that you know, this issomething I should look into, and
then seeing how it's changed my lifeand changed my view so many things,
you know, in the world.I definitely say, you know that one
minue in the moment that really sticksout with me because you know, that's
the thing that kind of turned meinto who I am today and you know,
got me developing who I am todayas well. So I probably gonna

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say, like, that's probably themost you know, notable woman is you
know me the kingpin, you know, shout out to my man. But
that's probably that's what it is rightthere. Okay, I want to say
one of my favorite memories for youis when I got to see you perform
at the Cavaliers game. Oh mygod, remember that I do. It

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was so good I saw it waslike I watched you grow. You grew
so much and for you to getthere, I thought that was really cool.
And so yeah, that's that's oneof my most notable limits like too,
and it's just like to be tojust think back to the actual performances,
like yo, I was nervous everyday before the performance. When I

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realized, ain't yo, this isreal like we're doing this about yeah,
but the funny the body is likeanother like chesting it to like me,
tennessis in my music and y know, learning who I was an artist,
I kind of dude, It's reallylike when I hit that you know Pinnacle,
Like when I'm like start doing reallybig performances thousands of people, and
like when I was to you know, every moment and every day before the

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performance to be nervous and to stepon the court in front of all those
people that are already my nerves togo away, Like that's just that possible.
Was something I took away or Ipaid attention to more or less than
you know, this is like no, like yo, like this is this
is who I am. Just youknow that's feeling inside when I steally performed
on that you know platform. Yeah, so can you tell the audience what

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kind of genre of music you have? I'm gonna say hipp and R and
B. You know. Right nowspecifically I'm paying more attention to the hip
hop side. You know, likeI said, we rocking with you know
Darby on Morrow. When I firstwhen he first met me, you know,
I was wanting to do more emotionalDrake, you know what I mean,

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not even Drake like that was myfavorite artist. I'm saying that's how
you were. Yeah, I wasvery like Drake person like I'm not new
Drake, but oh Drake, likevery emotional, very emotional, and it's
like I was like, he alwaystells me he's nothing wrong with that.
But that was just more of theside that I was in through and me
learning like my capabilities and the endlesstalent that I do possess. You know,

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now I'm paying more attention to thehip hop side simply because I'm you
know, I've been known for justbeing emotional singer dude or you know,
dude who makes really slow sauce andit's not going to stop boy far just
you know, definitely feel like sometimesI pay more attention to certain things that
develop your talent, especially when onedoesn't you know, hasn't grown as far
as the other one has. Soright now him wantsten to the hip hop

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song, I'm still singing, butyou know, altogether I'm hip hop.
Okay, okay, okay, Soare you working on anything new right now?
I'm always working, man, There'snot a time while I'm not working,
Like even in my eyes, evenif I'm not writing something down,
you know, I'm working like I'mat work and I'm you know, start

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the freestyle saying, or I startto you know, freestyle a little something.
I drive it down to my phoneand build something off of that.
You know, go look for beator you know, hit up Darbio and
tell them you know, you know, I got an idea. So I
said, the work the ground neverstops, like I'm always working. So
what is your inspiration? Do youmean like person or like like who is

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your inspiration and what inspired you todo what you are doing? Now I'm
saying you better say I'm part ofyour inspiration. I better be or we
gotta work. I'm putting that outthere. Well that way, you are
an inspiration. But you know,I says, miss I want to say,
I want to say, I wantto say us should I want to

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say I should yea Unsha and JacoleUsher and Jacole simply became I sure was
doing it at a very young age. That boy sings from his soul and
I've heard some music by him andI'm like, yo, dude, like
I've really got me motioning to thepart where like you can you can you
like really hear what he was goingthrough and that particular song when you heard

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him sing like that's I feel likethat's one part of my whole you know,
artists, you know that I'm tryingto build. I feel like that's
some more and more of what I'mtrying to like get towards it, like
you feeling the pay of you know, what I'm going through and the song
as opposed to just hearing all hecan sing. And I liked the song.
I feel like I'm trying to stillbuild on the part where I'm trying

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to make you feel it through thesong. So like a lot of times
about listening to the song about usand it's like, yo, dude,
I feel it. You know whatI'm saying that Jaco simply because he is
shouted his crash, he shouted himselfand he's lyrically a genius, like he
paints a pisces vivially and he tellsa story and almost every song, even

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if he's having phone and song whenpeople tell he got something on his mind,
he's trying to get out, LikeI just love how he paints his
picture and like lyrically, dude killsit. Yeah, I love Jacole.
I swear I want to meet himor get a chance to interview him.
One of my favorite rap songs abouthim was King Kum Kan Kenter. I
love that one. If I saidit right, I said it right,

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yeah. Um, who are youlistening to now of these days? And
just who I said? I meanother than Jacole and Usher? Um Um,
you know what I'm saying. LikeI do love Drake, I do
love Breezy. Um. Listen toa lot of Jamie Fox, a lot
of John Le Jamie Fox, JamieFox, I mean when he's making now

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isn't bad at all. I definitelyliked the song. But you know,
when it comes to like a guylike me who enjoys to sing and to
actually sing like runs like you know, you know, belting out how through
your voice, Like that's the typeof stuff that I'm you know, still
listening to, like to hear somebodyactually seeing as opposed to like a lot
of artists and Asians at out oftunes and a lot of things to you

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know, cult their voices because theydon't really have them Like I enjoy hearing
people sing. So when I hearlike raw, I tell it like you
would probably saying something and saying ifyou would seeing alive, like that's lot
of the music I'll listening like,you know a lot of music. And
I said, like when I'm listeningto us, like you hear something and
then you feel something right afterwards,like a lot of stuff. I mean,

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I like a lot of new musictoo, as far as what I'm
listening to, Like you look throughmy phone and see a lot more emotions
you would through the average dude phone, because you know, it's a reflection
of my art. So that's that'smore when I listened to, Like when
it comes to rappids, like Isaid, J Cole and Drake Brot of
lyricists that are out these days,I'm listen to that. Really it's a
truck music or I like that.So I'm not saying like throwing shave anything.

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I'm just I like, I likehearing the emotions due through music.
So okay, And so I gottwo more questions for you, and they
are well three actually because I justremember why um that one of the questions
is going to be what is yourmessage in your music? What kind of

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message are you trying to release?Um? It see it's a lot you
know, It's one is you know, be yourself. Always stay true to
who you are, accept who youare, you know, do what you
do. Um Another message I coulddefinitely say is you know, it's it's
okay to be different, you know, and have fun with your music.

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And another another message might be itis it's you know what I'm saying that
it's it's it's talent. We needsto come back. You know. It's
just different between being talent and beingcreative. So I definitely try to say
I love my talent and you know, go above and beyond my song.
So it's like it's not even likea message, that's not even a message
that I'm trying to say. It'sjust something I'm trying to show as well.

(23:59):
So I see, I feel likeit fits in both your question and
you know, but what I'm tryingto do, you know, because it's
like, you know, be yourself, have fun with it, you know,
and it's you know, definitely gotto get back to what news and
started upon, like real rock talent, like putting everything in motion to how
music and you know, not thinkingabout the payday that comes with it if

(24:21):
you get you know, put onwith the right person. Just actually loving
melodies and actually loving the fact thatyou can see something that may change somebody's
minds, that are changing somebody's lonelywalk home, you know, h okay,
And so what advice can you giveto someone that wants to be in
your shoes? You know what I'msaying, just the same thing I said

(24:41):
just you, So you know,I understand that I want. It's okay
to be different, to have funon what you do pre you take it
seriously and for you gotta love it, you know what I'm saying. You
gotta you gotta want it as badas you want to breathe. And once
you realize that you know how muchyou want it, like where you get
to the point where you have comfortabledoing anything but that and you know,

(25:02):
wanting like you want your next breath, then that's when it's gonna happen for
you. When you realize like there'snothing more, there's nothing less, there's
nothing else that I'd rather be doingthan than what I want. So that's
what the vice I did. Youknow what I'm saying This hone in on
your talent and tell yourself that it'sgoing to happen. You may not know
when, but never let anybody shakeyour faith and just keep going, keep

(25:25):
pushing, keep fighting. Okay,okay, now how can people get in
touch with you? Okay? Well? Hitting me up on Facebook at d
Vin Merritt. On Instagram is Ronunderscore marriage, that's v O N Underscore
or it T. You know whatI'm saying. Definitely give me a follow.
You know I have videos and thatwhat I'm singing. I got new

(25:47):
us you know, newer updates aboutwhat maybe coming up. You know,
look at my personal life as well. But you know that's how you get
in touch with me. You knowagain I say, Facebook, Davina Marriage,
Instagram, viron, I'm the premier. How you do it? Now?
Thank you for coming on my show. I'm happy to have you talking
to you again. We're gonna catchup, trust me most ye. Stay

(26:11):
tuned. We'll be right back withmore Take two. Hey, everybody,
it's your host, Alexa's none fromTake two telling you Take two is now

(26:34):
an itune, So pick up yourApple and subscribe. Welcome back to Take
two. I would like to thankmy guests, Jackie Bertillett from hant Ohio
Magazine and our national recording artist,Divine Merrit. And I will see you
guys. Next time, I'll taketwo with your host. Alexa's none