Today we’d like to introduce you to Janeé Bolden.
Janeé, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I always knew I wanted to be a writer, but I took the long route for sure because I had so many people tell me that it was a difficult field to make a living. After graduating from NYU, I wasn’t quite ready to leave New York, so I applied to graduate writing programs and ended up being accepted at NYU’s Creative Writing Program. Studying there went a long way in giving me the confidence that I had talent as a writer, but I still wasn’t sure how to go about pursuing my dreams. I tried turning my thesis project into a book and I had some interest from a literary agent, but I’d gotten a full-time job working at NYU (at Stern School of Business’ Office of Career Development) my first year of grad school to get tuition remission to pay for school and it was a pretty sweet gig — low stress and good money and benefits so that security definitely distracted me from my goals for a while. What actually ended up pushing me out of my comfort zone was I suffered serious PTSD for years after 9/11 — it got to the point I was terrified of taking the subway and my mom managed to convince me I’d get my book done if I left.
I left NY in August 2005 and moved in with my boyfriend, who was living in Atlanta at the time. I ended up getting a job a few months later writing for a hip-hop website called SOHH.com. I’d helped a former NYU classmate of mine, Rashaun Hall with his resume (skills acquired at the NYU job) and he remembered me when he ended up working for SOHH. I remember getting very little training and just kind of learning on the job. The pay wasn’t much, but I got to work remotely and I was literally interviewing some of my favorite rappers and producers regularly and writing music news daily. After maybe a month, my editor assigned me a weekly column called Player Watch in addition to the work I was already doing and I got a little bump in pay. The Player Watch column was a profile on people working behind the scenes, for the most part, so my network quickly grew as I met more managers, A&Rs, DJ’s, producers, etc… it wasn’t long after those editors from other publications reached out and I started writing for XXL and The Source. I ended up moving to Los Angeles after living in Atlanta for a year but I remember the whole time I was there I’d constantly get calls from editors asking if I was in Atlanta and if I could cover some event or another. I had a feeling that if I moved back to Atlanta I’d have more freelance opportunities than I had in NY or LA. I ended up moving back in July 2008 after a breakup, and for a while, my theory was right — I made a pretty good living freelancing while continuing at SOHH, where I’d also picked up their SOHH Soulful blog and a column called Hot Press. I was regularly doing “Show And Prove” for XXL — the column that highlighted emerging artists and I can remember interviewing artists like B.O.B., Wiz Khalifa, Tyga, and Nicki Minaj before a lot of people knew who they were.
I probably could have spent my entire career as a freelance writer but a few things happened that changed that — SOHH got hacked pretty badly in the Spring of 2009 and they ended up doing huge layoffs. Around the same time, the recession hit and XXL cut writer rates in half once, then again. At this point in time, The Source was in their phase of not paying. I was freelancing anywhere I could, writing bios for extra money, but it was pretty clear I needed to get a job. I started doing tv and film production work where I could find it, sometimes writing, sometimes assisting and one of my friends in production introduced me to Marve Frazier, the CEO at BOSSIP, because they were looking for a Senior Editor. I wasn’t sure about writing for “a gossip site” but my best friend Angela Yee (who was working for Sirius XM at the time) encouraged me that I’d be good at it and when I saw the offer it was really competitive. For the first time in my life, I was making good money writing and there were a lot of things that just worked for me at BOSSIP — I had a lot of freedom in what I wrote about, I got to be funny and I got to do more creative work than I’d ever done before. Making feature images and working with the photo agencies was one of my favorite parts of the job, which I’d never have anticipated.
I’ve grown a lot since being hired in 2009, I went from Senior Editor to Deputy Editor, to Managing Editor and now, I am currently the Sr. Director of Content, Pop Culture for Interactive One, working with Bossip, Hip-Hop Wired and Global Grind. Managing people definitely comes with some challenges but there is a big reward in seeing other’s gifts and helping them manifest their dreams. I’ve experienced some really special moments in my job, like the time my BET Hip Hop Awards interview with Young Thug went viral, making TV appearances with Anderson Cooper and on “The Talk” and being part of the cast of BOSSIP on We TV the first season.
Another big moment had to be back in 2014 when A3C approached Bossip about partnering for the festival and I pitched a Women in Hip-Hop panel. The idea came mostly because I remembered how during my freelance days I’d watch my male peers forge these really strong relationships with male artists — I had a few relationships like these but because I was a woman a lot of times I’d set certain boundaries to keep things professional. I also remembered going to women’s panels and finding they were loaded with publicists and entertainment lawyers — careers that I have a lot of respect for, but I know tons of women working in music who have different roles, so I set about gathering a dream team of a panel. I invited my friend Karen Civil first, then Shanti Das, who helped me out by asking Da Brat to join us, I also asked Hannah Kang who’d I’d always admired and Deb Antney — who I’d profiled before for XXL and one of my mentors, Aiyisha Obafemi joined us at the last minute. This was my first time moderating a panel but it was so lively I had to just dive in and go to work. There weren’t even enough seats in the ballroom for the audience and you could literally FEEL the energy in the room. I found another passion almost by accident. Since then, I’ve also produced similar panels at SXSW, and the programming for Women in Charge has grown from one featured panel to a whole day of events.
In the last year, I’ve also launched a lifestyle brand – Curlmob, which is all about embracing natural textures. So far, the brand is primarily just merch, I have tees, hoodies and logo chains. We also partnered with a friend of mine Janae Werts, this year, along with Southern Curl Salon and did a Curl Power event during Breast Cancer Awareness month. We had a workout and panel discussion and I’m looking forward to doing more events in the future.
I still have dreams of writing books, so hopefully, 2019 will be the year for that, but I’m really grateful to be living out my aspirations. I wanted to write professionally and I’ve done that but I also learned to embrace being a storyteller and content creator in other ways and it’s been very fulfilling.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road — my biggest challenges early on were just getting in the door! Once I started writing for SOHH, it opened up opportunities at other outlets but it was hard getting that first gig. The recession was really tough too. I went six months without a steady income and it was super humbling. The best advice I can give is to just talk to people as much as you can about what you’re trying to do. A lot of opportunities I got came from having a great network and people looking out for me. I’d advise young women starting their journey to have a positive attitude and offer to help however you can.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
My 9-5 is Sr. Director of Content, Pop Culture at iOne Digital — working with BOSSIP, HipHopWired, and Global Grind. The site is known for their funny headlines and quirky take on pop culture news — we’ve given the word smithereens a life of its own. I’m proud of my team for being unique and creative.
Starting my Curlmob business was also a huge moment for me because my hair is such a key characteristic for me — I connect to a lot of people because of it and becoming an entrepreneur has been so humbling yet rewarding at the same time.
I’m also super proud of myself for moving from behind the keyboard in front of the camera. I used to dread being on camera but I’ve come to love it and look forward to working more in film and tv.
I am also super proud of my work as a moderator — especially for A3C’s Women in Charge platform. I’m happy that women in the entertainment industry are being recognized for their accomplishments. Also, interviewing Motown Records President Ethiopia Habtemariam was a huge moment for me in 2018. She’s a really incredible woman and spending time with her and finding how much we have in common was really special for me.
I think what sets me apart is I enjoy helping people tell their stories. My dreams aren’t selfish ones, I want people to feel good about who they are and I love that music, film and the arts are a way we can all connect.
Who do you look up to? How have they inspired you?
My greatest inspirations are those closest to me — my mother, my grandmother, my aunts have all inspired me. My mom is someone who can do just about anything — she’s an amazing cook, she has always been super creative, making my Halloween costumes and doing Christmas ornament projects with me from a young age. She’s been supportive of my dreams of becoming a writer and she has super high expectations so that’s always inspiring.
I’ve always looked up to black female writers like Ntozake Shange, Maya Angelou, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison — their words and works have been inspiring. I also love contemporary storytellers like the women writing for TV and film these days, Lena Waithe, Issa Rae, Natasha Rothwell, Mara Brock Akil, Shonda Rhimes, Jeni Rice-Genzuk Henry, Tina Gordon…
Not just black writers either — I love JK Rowling and Anne Rice as well.
Women around me inspire me too — my best friend Angela Yee is a huge inspiration, she’s also helped me learn to laugh more and have fun — I can sometimes get so focused on work that I forget to do that and she’s really helped me find a healthy balance. Friends like Karen Civil and Tahira Wright have inspired me because they’re such bosses and they’ve really paved their own way and not relied on working for others!
Contact Info:
- Website: janeebolden.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/janeebolden; instagram.com/curlmobofficial
- Facebook: facebook.com/janee.bolden
- Twitter: twitter.com/janeetmb
Image Credit:
Luc Richard Photography, Sankofa’s Sanctuary, Summer Jo, @Calligrafist
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