We recently connected with Lama Moppins and have shared our conversation below.
Lama, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?
As we sometimes reflect on our life, you look back at many things you wish you could have changed. But if you changed those things would you be the person you are today? You never know. Now I’ve always been a jack of all trades when it comes to being a creative person. In my 20’s I was pursuing a career in music production. I knew I had the talent for it, but I did not fully believe in my abilities. I cared about what people thought, and if people would even like my art. I would make beats and leave them sitting in my laptop. It wasn’t until I seen a Tyler the creator interview, and noticed how confident he was in whatever he did at the time. This was about 10 years ago, and at the time Tyler wasn’t the best producer or rapper. He was good at his niche, and people loved him for it. I looked at him and he was my inspiration to be confident, stand up tall and be proud of whatever I was doing and let the world see it. With all that being said, I do wish I let the world see my talents way sooner. But hey you live and you learn.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is LaMa, and I’m from Harlem, New York. Growing up in Harlem you pick up on the mindset to stand out. Whether it’s art, fashion, etc. You hand to stand out. Therefore with this mindset I never wanted to do what everyone else was doing, whatever I was doing had to be original. When I created Views Of An Ex Podcast, I was going through a heart break at the time. I was on journey trying to find ways to heal, therapy, books, YouTube, peers, etc. nothing worked for me. Being that I once had a previous podcast that didn’t pan out well, I’ve always wanted to get back into the field but with something original. There’s millions of podcasts out there, and there’s tons who speak on the same subject. Never ever want to be a copy cat, I’m from Harlem lol. One day at work I was sad as hell going through this heartbreak from losing my ex girlfriend. I said to myself hey what if I do a podcast asking random people how they’ve managed to cope and heal from their breakups. The ideas just started flowing, I started writing it all down and sent it to my homegirl who listens to podcasts. When she got back to me she said “this is messy, but I like it”. From there Views Of An Ex was born. What I love most about this podcast is how comfortable I make my guest feel. These are people I’m sometimes meeting for the first time, and they’re open to telling me one of their darkest times. Hearing that some of these stories helped heal others is so refreshing to hear. I want to continue to be that outlet for people to share their past experiences, and potentially take it to the next level with a tv or radio show. Outside of me doing this podcast, there’s a few podcasts I helped produce and edit. I haven’t fully started a podcast business yet, but if it’s a project I want to be apart of, I love offering my services.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
When I started Views Of An Ex I knew I wanted the growth of the show to be organic. If it’s good enough people will spread the word. In any field I’ve worked in, I would look and see who’s on top and who’s up and coming. In the the podcast field you can see clearly where everyone is. The true growth in my audience was done by networking. I would always listen to these two women who were on the rise by the names Lex P & Drea Nicole of Pour Minds Podcast. On a trip I was taking to Atlanta I thought it would be nice to reach out to people for potential episodes. In doing so I reached out to Lex P via twitter, and when she heard about the concept she was excited to do it. After interviewing Lex P she loved it so much that she phoned her co host Drea to also do an episode. Doing those episodes was so pivotal because as the ladies became more popular they would shout me out on several episodes, telling their listeners to check out my content. I’m still growing and have some ways to go, but staying consistent and true to my path thing will only get better.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
What I find to be the most rewarding aspect about being a creative is that what I’m putting out into the world will be here when I’m no longer living. These things are pieces of me that I’m leaving for others to discover. I may not get the fame or fortune for my work while I’m living, but we see it all time with those who are no longer here get highly praised for their hard work. I always keep that in the back of my mind.
Contact Info:
- Website: Viewsofanex.com
- Instagram: @Viewsofanex
- Twitter: @Lamabean111
- Youtube: youtube.com/@viewsofanexpodcast835
Image Credits
@Kamieyes on IG