Today we’d like to introduce you to Jameelah Wilkerson.
Jameelah, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I launched The Hype Magazine in 2002, at the age of 23. The Hype originated as mostly a literary magazine at first, but then it turned into more of a Hip Hop magazine over the years. At the time, I was considered “young,” too young to start a company of this magnitude. Still, it was apparent that I was one of the few women trying to accelerate my career in the midst of a predominantly male-run industry. I remember the team and I passing out the magazines in the streets and people handing them back because they were too urban. It was an emotional rollercoaster getting to this point, and I am still making a name for myself and growing the brand.
About The Hype:
The Hype Magazine (H.Y.P.E., stands for “How You Perceive Everything”) has provided news updates to its patrons with relevant entertainment, music news, lifestyle and fashion trends, entertainment, happenings, and eye-catching consumer ads. The Hype Magazine gives you all the news from “Hip Hop to Hollywood”; while also spotlighting brands seeking to gain greater exposure. The Hype Magazine publishes daily content and monthly Digital Covers with freshly curated content from our portal for nearly 500,000 digital subscribers. As the #1 Digital Magazine in the world, The Hype Magazine continues to change the way digital-print publications inform and engage with readers, creating the evolving standard of delivering up-to-date news and happenings along with exclusive feature content.
Where The Hype Magazine is Today?
The Hype Magazine Celebrates its 20th Anniversary in 2022
The world’s #1 digital magazine, The Hype Magazine celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2022. As part of the celebration of two decades as an integral part of the media industry, the outlet will share its long and storied journey via a series of shorts published via its YouTube channel and streaming television platforms. Segments of the docuseries are currently in production and will be released incrementally throughout the year.
Founded in 2002 as a one-page community newsletter to service the Indiana market by CEO/Publisher Dr. Jameelah “Just Jay” Wilkerson, The Hype Magazine rapidly took hold. It evolved into a regional magazine that became the voice of the Midwest. Hype enabled breaking acts from outside of the market to gain access to a much-coveted and untapped region of the United States. Serving a rapidly growing fanbase across the country, The Hype Magazine added its web portal just a mere nine years behind the public release of the World Wide Web in 1993.
Combining The Hype Magazine’s physical presence with its online portal, it began to popularize and transform the “ezine” or “webzine” into the now popular format of “digital magazine” in the early 2000s as well.
The Hype Magazine has sought out and supported breaking artists long before the mainstream caught hold. Often the outlet provided the very first magazine cover for artists like Ludacris (March/April issue 2005), Soulja Boy (Issue 24-08), Jazmine Sullivan (Issue 27-09), MGK, Snow Tha Product, GRAMMY winner Whitney Peyton, Ty Dolla $ign (2012) and more. Gracing its more current impact covers (print and digital), you’ll see the likes of K Michelle, Nick Cannon, Yo Gotti, Rick Ross, Florida State Senator Randolph Bracy, Charlamagne Tha God, Yella Beezy, Bobby FishScale…the list goes on.
As a digital powerhouse, The Hype Magazine is home to more than 40,000 articles and posts featuring household names as well as those on the cusp of stardom.
In 2013 The Hype Magazine took to the retail newsstands claiming space in significant book retailers Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, select military bases and even catching the attention of collectors who would buy issues in bulk and resell them on eBay and Amazon!
The Hype Magazine network has expanded to include numerous magazine titles with the LGBT magazine Raynbow Affair as well as positions in streaming television and radio. CEO Wilkerson is also extending the brand’s reach via various other high-end ventures, to be announced throughout 2022.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, this road was not easy by far. I wasn’t taken seriously because of my gender, my color, my sexuality, and my age. It was a lot I was up against, but it never stopped me from growing in the industry. No one wanted to purchase ads because you know how artists are; sometimes they feel bigger than you, and you should give them something, even if they tracked you down to get a story.
Another struggle was building a team; everyone wanted me to play the background and stay in the office while they took the credit in the streets. So many people didn’t even know I owned the magazine; they thought I worked for my team for the longest. Now I prefer to be more “hands-on” when it comes to the tasks necessary to keep the magazine running smoothly.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Hype Magazine?
The Hype Magazine is a lifestyle and entertainment publication covering everything news from Hip Hop to Hollywood. Hype, which stands for How You Perceive Everything, prides itself on being a trusted platform from which news and interviews are delivered without adulteration from its contributors or editors. To date, Hype enjoys a global audience of approximately 1.4 million across its multiple platforms and social media profiles making it one of the most impactful independent portals in the industry. You can join The Hype Magazine’s social media conversations by following them on Twitter and Facebook @TheHypeMagazine and Instagram @TheHypeMagazineNetwork and enjoy its content via its website www.thehypemagazine.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was laid back and to myself a lot. My mother used to want me to go out and do something. It was over once I got my hands on a computer. I was on it every day, teaching myself everything I could learn. I was on the chess team in the 7th-8th grade; it’s crazy because I picked the chess team over basketball. Everyone thought I got cut, but I didn’t; I just wanted to play chess. I played basketball every day, all day, though, and ended up going to college to play basketball and turned around and quit again to come home and start a business. But needless to say I am (Dr.) Jameelah Just Jay Wilkerson now, so feel like it all played itself out.
Contact Info:
- Email: justjay@thehypemagazine,com
- Website: www.thehypemagazine.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/thehypemagazinenetwork
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehypemagazine
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/thehypemagazine
- Youtube: www.thehypetv.com
- Other: www.imjustjay.com
