We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Solo London a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Solo, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?
The kindest thing someone has ever done was believe in me enough to invest their time to energize skills/talents that I did not realize I had in order to make me a better and more successful person in a professional creative lane that I never considered. It was that seed planted by someone who happened to be my boss at that time to get me on a better path with life. There aren’t many people that will invest in others and be that hands on especially with someone that doesn’t look like them,
Solo, 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?
My current role is Program Director/Promotions Director for Core Radio group, an independent black owned radio conglomerate spanning over multiple cities, Atlanta, Chicago, New Orleans, Charlotte, Norfolk, Albany, GA just to name a few. I am responsible for directing, creating and pushing experience via radio and special events through the vision of the owner and CEO of the company. I am responsible and working with 40 employees consistently. I work with a team that is responsible for creating giveaways, charting music and developing relations with artists and the community daily.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
Growing up in my ecosystem, I did not have the information to think about resources for the creative radio lane. It was embedded in me to have such a narrow focus which I wish I would have had a wider focus because I may have took a different approach if I knew these opportunities existed and a career could be made instead of it always being second guessed as just a hobby with no future. Moving away to a new city to experience new opportunities opened my view and willingness to try new things that were not directly afforded to me as I grew up due to the fact that my elders did not share, know or care about other career choices that they were not familiar with. The career I am in should have a better outreach to make it make known and feasible to achieve in some fashion or form.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
One of the biggest lessons I learned is that be responsible for what you signed up for no matter what. I was hired for a particular job at well established nightclub (Club 112) in Atlanta. I was very young, wasn’t suppose to be in the venue but I was really good at the job and I didn’t drink or smoke plus the owner took a liking to me because I worked so hard. However, during random nights, after my duties were done I would get caught dancing by the GM (Mr Tommy Williams) which was not allowed. I assumed that it was harmless and since all my duties were done I could have some fun while on the clock. I got terminated from that job because of that. Me dancing wasn’t allowed in the venue and I never understood why because my work was always done but it was more than just that. My immaturity did not allow me to understand the consequences until later. Despite that hard lesson, I am happy it happened because it forced me to mature faster than I wanted and be very responsible when it came to employment. I am grateful for that hard lesson learned.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.usofsolo.com
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