The music industry is a fickle business and in it’s realm of club promotion run by primarily money-hungry men things can get pretty ugly. But in this game of cards a queen has taken the throne in this male-dominated industry. She goes by the name Miss Diddy and currently holds the title as the only female promoter in Hollywood, but nightlife isn’t all this this self-proclaimed “GentleWoman” is in charge of. Diddy is also the head of premiere firm The Brand Group LA, a Hennessy key account manager and serves as a brand ambassador for the City of Los Angeles. She is the ultimate triple threat and many heavy hitters in the industry have taken notice to her go-getter mentality, including Kanye West, John Monopoly and Don Crawley, who saw her talent in the early stages of her career. The Compton native is not only known for throwing extravagant parties, but also her charming personality. She notes the key to her success being the solid relationships she has made, thus far. Diddy started out with a small street team and a dream. Now almost 100K social media followers later her brand has received international recognition and will continue to progress.
What was the transition like growing up in Compton to now living your dream in Hollywood?
I think that is a common misconception about Compton because it’s not so much that we grew up in this extremely gritty place. I don’t think that’s what it is. We are from Los Angeles so at the end of the day this is where the stars are. It is something that we are acustomed to. It’s not something that is unnatural to us. I didn’t grow up horribly at all. I grew up very good. Compton, of course, as in any inner city there are difficult parts, but it’s also full of beautiful houses. A lot of home owners and a lot of grandparents raised their children there. Things happen whether it’s during the 80’s, 90’s or the 2000’s with drugs and the gangs. I can’t say that it was a horrible place to grow up in.
You were born into a family of entertainers and musicians. How did they feel about you pursuing a career in music entertainment?
You know what, it’s interesting. My family that was in music was on board except for my father it took him a long time to grasp that I was going into music fully. He is an old head musician. [laughs] To everyone else it was no surprise that I went into music entertainment.
What was your first promotion job in the music industry?
My first job in entertainment was with Kanye. This was when he started GOOD Music. We did the West Coast promotions and we did the street team for GOOD Music. We did a street team with all women which was like all of my friends. We did this during the era of street teams when they were really big. That is pretty much how I got my foot in the door in entertainment. That was the moment when people started to take notice of what I do. In this business everything is about relationships. I focused on building relationships and figuring out that path. The path is never completely figured out not for me at least. My path is kind of an ongoing revolving door to climb the ladder to get as high as possible.
Think back to the first event you promoted in Los Angeles. Was it a flop or was it successful?
My very first party was extremely successful. One of my best friend’s boyfriend hit me up and asked if I wanted to come to the club. He told me to bring everybody. It was during the time of the lockout for the NBA. All of the NBA players were here in Los Angeles spending their money because they didn’t know what the heck they were about to do with their lives. It was an interesting time. It affected the whole culture with the NBA being on lockout. Mike Beasley was here and James Harden and so many players. I just told all of them to come out and come to the club. We went to this club called Premiere that’s no longer open. They came out spent and a lot of money and it was really successful. Everyone new this could turn into something. It was the start of me understanding it could be a business. I just wanted it to evolve from there. I was the first person to implement videos being shot in the club. I wanted the promo videos to look like a video shoot or a rap video. Before videos and cameras weren’t allowed in clubs so I wanted to capture these moments.
How did you determine your career path?
I don’t think I have yet to really settle on that. I have always been a person that makes smart decisions and did what makes sense, so for me if it was something that I was great at then I would say let’s take this all the way. I’ve always been a person people call in to listen to their albums to give ideas or to figure out how to make them hot, especially in this market in Los Angeles. It was something that I’ve always been good at and just kind of built from there with whatever that juice was.
You wear so many professional hats but out of all the jobs you have which one do your enjoy doing the most?
I enjoy being able to create a platform for artists to win. In all elements, there are irritating moments, frustration, a lot of sacrifice and a lot of work. If I stood back and objectively looked at my life with what I do every day I would say I enjoy all of it. I look at it as a business so that I stay focused. I love to be able to create platforms to where West Coast artists can win because that is the most important thing to me then artists as a whole.
What advice do you have for aspiring female entrepreneurs?
For me, people don’t like the truth. You really have to have a purpose as to why your doing something and you really have to be able to carry it. That is something I think people are birthed with and they can nurture. I don’t think everyone is a natural born leader or a natural born entrepreneur. I don’t believe that. I think that’s what makes the world great. The followers are just as important as the leaders if not more important. My suggestion is to always follow what your talent is and what you great at. I’ve always been a leader. I am the youngest of three children but I taught my little brothers how to tie their shoes. I have always been that type of person, but with that comes a lot of responsibility, accountability and a lot of pressure. Not everyone is built for that, so I think people should really take the time to find out their gift and go from there. It may not be a profession as a promoter because it looks dope and glamorous. There is so much that goes into that.
What role does technology and social media play in your career as a promoter?
I look at it as work. It is my business. They’re times that I’ve carved out to do certain things and I just try to stay on point as much as possible. There are fun times and times that I want to share with the world but all in all I look at it as a part of the business. People want to see that and people want to be engaged with you and feel like they are apart of your life and your world. I try to be honest on social media without trying to be too personal because I am a very private person outside of my life being public. I’ve always been that way. Social media has been great business wise but I have to structure things in my mind to get the best results.
You’re constantly surrounded by high-profile celebrities and socialites as part of your professional life. Do you have any industry peers you confide in on a personal level?
I honestly stay to my family and my real friends. These were the friends that I grew up with. They are all sound-minded women and solid people. They are also consumers. They know me better than anyone else knows me. Nobody knows me better than my core group of friends that I grew up with. I trust whatever they say with all of my soul. I respect them as the business women that they are. Just because they are not in entertainment doesn’t mean that they don’t understand the business. They have been around it just as long as I have. In terms of the industry, I don’t really go to many people, but I do go to Mona Scott Young sometimes. I recently had a Puff Daddy rant where I wanted to fire everyone then hire everyone again [laughs]. You get to the point where you feel like you’re, not at the stride you’re supposed to be at so you want bulldogs around you. You want people that are smarter than you and sharper than you. That is the true start of an entrepreneur. Their team has to embody that.
You’ve spoken about your relationship with Mona Scott Young. What are some words of wisdom she has passed on that have stuck with you throughout your career?
I asked Mona how many times does she hire and fire people. [laughs] She didn’t answer that specifically, but she definitley had a great response. She is definitely someone I respect as a woman. One of the very first intimate questions I asked her was how was she able to be this type of woman in this business. She kind of looked up at the sky and said, ” I never thought about me being a woman. I was smarter than everyone and I knew I was going to get the job done. I had a very tunnel-minded way of thinking. I was very focused.” I took that to heart because that is something that I feel as well.
What is Miss Diddy’s ultimate goal?
I definitely could have quit promoting a few years go. I’m really focused on just building my company. It’s always about going back to basics. Promoting is where I started so I honor that and I stay there. It’s important for me that I’m the person that evolves Hollywood and keeps the culture moving forward. As long as I keep my hand and foot in it I am able to do that. When people get too far removed from the streets they lose everything about the culture. I never want to be away from the streets. That is our lifeline. I will always in some way shape or form have my hand in that.
For more information of Miss Diddy, go to www.thebrandgroup.la
