Cover Stories

Talent/Podcast Appearances

For SXSW 2022, I moderated a conversation with Ashanti and Janice Taylor about content ownership.

For ESSENCE Hollywood House, I moderated a sit down with Kyla Pratt.

I appeared in two episodes of ‘RapCaviar Presents’ on Hulu. I provided commentary on the careers of Coi Leray and Roddy Rich.

I spoke about my ESSENCE op-ed, “Ariel Is Black. Cry About It, Racists” on the television station NBCLX.

For BBC News, I was brought on to discuss ‘Cowboy Carter.’

For ESSENCE, I participated in a track-by-track breakdown of Beyoncé's ‘Renaissance’ album.

I’m on the ‘eras’ episode of the ‘Where My Girls At’ podcast.

I’m in episode 244 of the ‘Who Cares About the Rock Hall?’ podcast. I talked about Missy Elliott and why she deserves to be inducted in 2023.

I was a featured on Our Body Politic to talk all things Missy.

Interviews

Essays and Cultural Criticism

Reporting

Women in Hip-Hop

I wrote Missy Elliott's official press bio. It was turned into a career timeline, complete with incredible images, that lives on Missy’s website.

In 2020, I sat down with the City Girls on Instagram live for ESSENCE. The duo exclusively revealed that they had an album in the works.

For The Gumbo, I wrote a piece on photos of women in hip-hop that were just as well known as the music they were attached to.

For ESSENCE, I published an excerpt of "Hip-Hop Heroines," an essay by veteran editor Kierna Mayo from the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap.

In 2021, I wrote Rico Nasty’s press bio for Atlantic Records.

Editing

Large-Scale Projects

For ESSENCE, I created and led the launch of “The State of R&B,” a week-long series of reported features addressing the “R&B is dead” debate.

I tapped four Black women music journalists to write the stories. I co-edited them, ideated supporting evergreen content (The 15 R&B Groups That Changed the Game and The 10 Best R&B Soloists of All-Time, Ranked), and worked closely with the web design, social, marketing, video and art teams to produce a cohesive, 360° package.

As a contributing editor, I worked with the Parents team on Kindred’s first-ever digital issue. I ideated, assigned and edited seven of the issue’s stories, which topically ranged from original reporting on the teachers making school a safe space for Black students (amidst ahistorical, racist legislation) to the necessity of outside play. I assisted with story order, visuals for each piece, a social rollout approach and building the pieces in CMS.