Her Story
About Vonetta
I studied journalism and worked as a news producer with Fox, specializing in entertainment reporting. I left the news industry because the overnight scheduling was difficult for my family. I continued my journalism career by writing for Essence Magazine, which was a dream I achieved through persistence and hard work. Along with my husband, I host the Boom Bap Hour podcast, where we highlight artists in hip-hop and the broader arts community, interviewing both independent and celebrity artists. We've interviewed legends like Tommy Davidson, Yo-Yo, Dougie Fresh, Arrested Development, RL of Next, Cassidy, and many others. We're now starting Legacy Lab, a new chapter that branches into all creative arts disciplines, highlighting national and international talent. We're also developing this as a documentary. I'm also a life and health insurance agent, and I'm getting ready to start doing Medicare as well. Beyond my professional work, I'm a visual artist - my father was an artist and my mother was a writer. I've exhibited in galleries and shows, and it's a passion I hope to continue professionally in the future.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Vonetta
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
When I got a chance to interview Tommy Davidson, I asked him what he thought about the interview we had, and he told me: just say you deserve it. You deserve it, you deserve to be at the table, and with whoever. As long as you maintain that attitude that you deserve it and you deserve to be there. A lot of people sometimes have an inferiority complex, feeling that they don't have the same talent as these same people, they don't measure up to these people. But no, they put on their pants one leg at a time, just like you. So you walk into whatever room that you go into, and you act like you belong there, because you do, and you own it.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say that you start where you are. Persistence is everything. Talent does get you to a certain point, but don't think that you have to have it all together, or you have to be the perfect version of yourself to get started. Start where you are, and those opportunities and those doors will definitely open up for you with hard work and determination. That's about 75% of it. You could be talented all you want, but if you don't have the heart to start, and the persistence to keep going, well then it will only take you so far. So, persistence is everything. Never give up.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say in just about a lot of creative fields, as far as the challenges, sometimes it can be gatekeepers. Sometimes it can be hard, it can be slightly challenging to reach the people that you may want to interview and reach out to and feature, and trying to get in a lot of publications. If you're... people like to support sometimes people who are already famous, who already have a big name, and everything like that. Sometimes it can be just challenging to get past certain gatekeepers who don't want to allow you to get to certain levels. That's why it's always about just creating relationships. My biggest thing is just creating relationships wherever I go, so that we can be able to reach all of the people in all of the creative disciplines that we would like to talk to.
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