Meet Kimberlee Blocker of So Fab Kim | In The Diva’s Den

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberlee Blocker.

Kimberlee, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started my media journey in college when a good friend of mine encouraged me to do a radio show with him. After working through the first couple of shows and losing our butterflies, I immediately fell in love. At that moment, there was no turning back for me. I knew radio was going to be apart of my life in some sort of way. So a couple of years after graduating from college, I landed a job with iHeart Media. But this was no fairy tale. I had to work my way up. Eventually, I expressed interest in being a digital traffic coordinator and got promoted.

Shortly after that, I had asked for a blog on the station website. Once I was able to obtain one, I RAN with it. I was reaching out to artists, celebrities, comedians anyone I could get in contact with and landing interview after interview. I knew the only way the PD would respect me is if I showed them I had heart and hustle. I was knocking out interviews left and right, but I had missed being on air. So, I got the nerve to ask the PD at the time and, surprisingly, he had given me an overnight spot that I was so proud of. Unfortunately, the station ended up changing formats to country so I was off the air again. However, I didn’t let that stop me. I still kept landing interviews and pushing them out on social media until I asked my PD to be on air again. This time he gave me an early morning weekend spot on G105 here in Raleigh which was great and he was slowly allowing me to do midday on weekends (which was a BIG deal!) But eventually that all came to an end when a new PD was employed and he was probably one of the biggest assholes known to man. He didn’t want to give anyone a chance unless they kissed his behind and clearly had favorites, which I was not.

So I left iHeart for a smaller radio station at Northstar Broadcasting. There, I completely took off yet again formatting my show, bringing in interviews, good content, all kinds of promotions and giving a voice to those who often went unheard. I didn’t want to be a regular on-air personality who loved the sound of my own voice or did it for local fame, I wanted to make a difference. So I was always in the community, trying to help and give back anyway I could. Well, after two years of being there and giving my blood, sweat and tears, the GM decided to fire me. You’ll have to listen to my podcast to find out why 🙂. But after my experience with both places, I decided to branch out on my own and that was how my podcast Fabulous Foolishness and my social media show In The Diva’s Den was created.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It hasn’t. Anything worthwhile will come with challenges. I’ve dealt with doubt and being told no repeatedly. I’ve been passed up for jobs that I was WELL qualified for because of favoritism or the fact that I was a strong-willed black woman. I’ve experienced toxic masculinity, sexism and racism. I’ve broken down due to frustration. I just didn’t understand why I never got my big break like my other counterparts. I got tired of being told “no” or being made to feel like I wasn’t good enough. But then I realized I was trying to conform to this standard that I had no business conforming to. My personality, my ethics, my morals and my intelligence weren’t being put to good use. They were being squandered. I was thinking entirely too far ahead and a lot of people in the media industry are stuck in their own ways.

Alright – so let’s talk business. What else should we know about you and your career so far?
So Fab Kim is a media mogul and she works her ass off! Not only do I host events, but I have my own podcast and social media show. Fabulous Foolishness is an outlet where we can have real conversations, laugh and relate to one another. My podcast is my therapy. It helped me through my depression.

I also have my social media show In The Diva’s Den that I share with my co-host PreShus Lee. It’s essentially an expansion of what I was doing while on radio. It’s a show about current events, pop culture, local events and happenings. I have big plans for this show and I am excited to see it grow.

Finally, I am also working on a documentary that I am hoping will be released in 2020. However, due to the importance of the topic, I want to take my time with it and ensure the stories are being told properly.

What has always set me apart is that I am never big on exploitation, selling myself short, using cheap, tacky humor or trying to be something that I’m not. I see so much of that nowadays just to gain a following and I can’t get down with it. I’ve always been and will continue to be about class and authenticity.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was a good kid. I talked A LOT, but that was just my gift of gab emerging. I was always on honor roll or the dean’s list. I had my fun, but at the end of the day, I was always about getting my work done. I was pretty mature for my age and never really got into any serious trouble. I didn’t see the point. I didn’t like getting my mom upset and I definitely didn’t feel like hearing her yell at me, so I wouldn’t do anything to cause the later to happen.

However, I was very argumentative and even at a young age, I would always speak out. If I didn’t like how someone was being treated or if I didn’t think something was fair, I was going to speak up. I was raised to fear no man. So, I never held my tongue.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.SoFabKim.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @inthedivasdenTV | @sofabkim
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inthedivasdentv

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