We caught up with the brilliant and insightful RoJay Armstead a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi RoJay, thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My mom (Debbrah Darby) raised three boys on her own and I never really understood how hard that must have been until I got older. She made sure she did whatever was necessary to make sure we had food, clothing and shelter. I watched my mom work a lot of jobs, and that is probably part of the reason I do so much. lol.
I definitely love the fact that she has three sons that love and support each other and never show jealously or try and take away from anyone’s accomplishments. We are all our own individuals. She always supports and I KNOW I wear her out with my schedule and my events, however she is always there to make sure I do and give my best. I couldn’t ask for a better cheerleader.
RoJay, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I chose to go into Broadcast Journalism at the last minute in college because I had gotten so tired of the actual writing process that I went through to set myself up to become a print journalist. It actually worked out because I had already been very well equipped as far as the technology of the time and my deep love for music as well. I found passion in radio and television and nothing seemed to be too complicated for me other than making sure I could sell my personality through my voice alone.
With radio came other opportunities to expand into areas I love as well which all revolve around entertainment. I got to host my first festival stage as an intern with 103.1 WEUP FM radio during their annual Black Arts Festival and the love I got from the massive crowds were enough to make sure I took every chance I would get to grab a mic and entertain.
I also decided to start a website, which would later turn into my LLC, where I would share new music, artist news and exclusive interviews. I built a following through my website and my first ever interview was with John Legend after he dropped his debut single and really got big! A few other notable interviews would come from a then new Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Ciara, Nivea, Amerie and Ne-Yo. My main goal was to get an interview with my favorite artist, Monica. I not only got two different interviews with Monica, but I also would later become an official member of her team as a production coordinator. With this new title and venture, I helped with album promotions and tours among other things.
Around 2012, I decided to officially let go of the online portion of MiddleChild Promotions to focus on my work with Team Monica, as well as launching a few other projects. In January 2020, I launched my television show called Out The Box with my good friend DJ PrimeTime256 and we are currently preparing for our fourth season!
How did you build your audience on social media?
I am probably about to date myself with this social media thing, but luckily I started my journey when messageboards and forums were the big thing to be a part of. This was the days of Myspace, College Club and Facebook was just starting and you had to be a college student with a college email to join. I was able to connect with so many music lovers and make genuine friendships through the internet. So when Twitter and then IG kicked off, I already had a small community of friends across the world that make my transition into the social media world as it is today pretty easy.
My growth on Tik Tok was a bit hard until I found out that what I have ALWAYS done will work for me on that platform as well. I am not so much of a lip sync and dance routine user, but my audience and engagement has grown because I discuss music and invite users to discuss whatever topics I am currently highlighting through different series.
I will say I still struggle a little bit with my Youtube audience, but it is growing now a bit faster than it ever has. The best advice I have is to do what is authentic for you and your brand, stay consistent and don’t be discouraged.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
I think one thing that I can applaud myself on is that I have always just gravitated to what I simply like. It didn’t have to necessarily be a popular or thriving artist. If your music moved me, than I was a fan and wanted to share with everyone else. Driving your content towards popularity is not always the thing that will help you win, but driving your content to what brings you joy will. There is an audience for everything and someone could simply just be looking for someone like you to highlight what they love as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.itsrojay.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/itsrojay
- Twitter: twitter.com/itsrojay
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@its_RoJay
Image Credits
Kenny Jones – Kenny Ray Shoots Chamberlain Parker – Hamlain House Cyndi B.