Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to The R&B Representers. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
The R&B Representers, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
JR & Naturally Alise first met at a trip organized for music lovers to meet and fellowship for a whole weekend. No one in the group knew each other and everyone was only connected to the original organizer. When they met from the first day it was brotherly and sisterly love at first sight. The connection was so evident to others that one of the attendees told us that we had something special. We brushed it off, but continued our connection even after the trip. The group went on two more trips after that and our bond grew even stronger.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic both JR & Alise lost grandparents that we were very close to. We also were pretty much stuck in the house like most of the country at that time.. We both were devastated by these deaths with a global pandemic to boot. JR suggested that we hop on IG and go live to talk about the thing that connected us so much to begin with, R&B MUSIC! We had no aspirations to make it a show or a business, we just were in a bad place emotionally and wanted to blow off some steam by talking about R&B and being silly.
After this first live, it was destined that this would become a thing. The reaction was so positive and huge that we even had to hurry up and come up with a name before we did another live. Alise asked JR to make a list of possible names, she still got him making lists to this day, and one name stuck out to Alise though JR brushed it off. In true Alise fashion she said “I SAID WHAT I SAID WE ARE THE R&B REPRESENTERS!” From that a show and business was formed.
The R&B Representers highlight the architects, honor the legends, and educate about the history of R&B music. Created in July 2020, The R&B Representers have interviewed notable guests such as Brian Alexander Morgan, Trina Broussard, Terrace Martin, Zo!, and Craig Seymour. JR and Alise are committed to sharing their collective love of the R&B genre as well as sharing knowledge with R&B artists, critics, and fellow fans.
JR and Naturally Alise host Catch That!, a YouTube series of music conversations with people in the music industry taking a deep dive into influential R&B artists, albums, and eras. They also host a spinoff, Catch That! Mini Fans episodes where they talk to everyday music fans to do deep dives of R&B songs that are important to them. The R&B Representers also hosted “The Goodness,” a two-hour radio show featuring a mix of past and present R&B music, commentary, and artist interviews. A huge accomplishment was getting to do a live show at Duke University.
The R&B Representers will continue to create fun and engaging programming about a genre of Black music they both love, and consider it an honor to give the great R&B legends of our time their much-deserved flowers. We took our pain and turned it into a celebration.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Both JR and Naturally Alise are lifetime music lovers and researchers. This is something we started mostly from reading liner notes as kids (shout out ot Zo!). It was exciting for us to make connections from classic music to contemporary music and trends and it gave us so much joy to paint a whole musical picture.
Is there a mission driving your creative journey?
While we ultimately do want to have a television show and/or a national syndicated radio show, have large live shows, and conduct workshops examining music history; our biggest goal is to educate the masses about the importance and beauty of R&B. We want to preserve the legacy, correct the false narratives, and celebrate R&B culture. We are storytellers and ambassadors of this and we take it very seriously. It is truly a labor of love.
How did you build your audience on social media?
The way we built our audience on social media is creating video clips that display the chemistry of The R&B Reps speaking with guests on great topics about R&B which makes R&B lovers want to watch and connect with the R&B Reps!
The advice that can be given when building a social media presence is “it’s never too much”, don’t feel that you are posting too much because everybody doesn’t see everything the first or second time you post! Also, when building a social media presence “it’s never the wrong way” just because some ended up getting a huge following one way doesn’t mean that way will work for you! Be true to you and your platform and do what works for you!
Also, don’t rely JUST on social media. We created tee-shirts, we tell people about us in casual conversation and to our families, we take post cards with information about us to festivals, concerts, and even the grocery store. You have to be creative, but sometimes it’s just good old fashioned networking and word-of-mouth. Don’t lean too heavy on these platforms, as we have seen they can go away as quickly as they came. Be direct, confident, and knowledgeable about your brand with the best elevator pitch ready at all times, it makes all the difference.
Contact Info:
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Website: http://rnbreps.com
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Instagram: http://instagram.com/rnbreps
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Facebook: http://facebook.com/groups/
rnbreps/ -
Twitter: http://x.com/rnbreps
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Youtube: http://youtube.com/@rnbreps
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Other: https://
wedodopehoodiesandtees.com/ collections/the-goodness
Image Credits
Jevon Michaels Photography (for the pics in the colorful alley) – http://instagram.com/