The Master Plan

This week has been an amazing week for me. It hasn't been anything just spectacular but it was great nonetheless. First off, I had an interview with Sony/ATV! For those of you that have absolutely no clue who that is, its the WORLD'S LARGEST PUBLISHING COMPANY; Very exciting! I'm not sure if I got the job but the fact that my resume' looked so good that I was selected for an interview was amazing to me. It was a great experience because the hiring manager was so cool. The environment was so laid back I almost felt foolish for being so nervous. 

Something else that added to my week is the fact that I got to go to an interview with one of my professors at a radio station. It was both an exciting and humbling experience. I got the chance to talk on the radio, take pictures, and meet very influential and connected people in Nashville; the only problem is that they are connected to country music and I need to be connected to Hip Hop. In addition to being extremely happy to be in the presence of people who were making moves in the city, I was made to feel a bit unwelcome by the end of my visit by the owner of the company. At first everything was all good but once he found out that I was interested in Hip Hop, he was no longer as interested in me. It was almost as if he thought I was less intelligent because of my music choice. But that moment did two things for me; it made me realize how hard I have to work and how much more I need to know than the person sitting right next to me. 

Despite me feeling as though I was not looked at as equal simply because of my choice in music, I still had an awesome time and was very excited about the people I met. Although all was well, I left feeling like I'm in the wrong city to do what I want to do which is work in the hip hop music industry. I for the first time felt like I should have moved to Atlanta to persue this. I don't feel that way now, days later, but I'm glad I had that experience because it bred something in me that is something fierce. 

Having been treated like that, I noticed that their is such a major lack of support and spotlight for hip hop in Nashville. I sat back and thought for a while and noticed that out of all the radio stations you hear from Memphis to Nashville, the only stations that work are country music stations. On all of the stations available to me, I have never in my life heard a hip hop station on any radio station after passing through Jackson. In Nashville itself, it only has 1 station that dedicated to hip hop. Everywhere you go downtown all you hear is country music. Everything is about country music in this city; in this state. Every single parent record label is in Nashville. Every PRO company is in Nashville. Every major everything is here so why is it that they tell you to go to another city to do music? I don't get that. This is suppose to be the "Music City"but they are so biased to every other genre; There isn't even much pop here (despite the fact that country music is starting to sound much like pop to me). Might as well call it "COUNTRY Music City" that would fit best. I'm sorry to rant but I don't understand why I need to go to Atlanta to have a career when everything I need is here.

Through all of my ranting thoughts my master plan was concocted. I will continue to call it my master plan for now because I haven't thought of a name for it. Instead of leaving and moving to fit my career, I'm going to bring it to me.. to Nashville. There is a lot of hip hop inspired music and artist out here is Nashville that keeps on going to Atlanta to make it or spend their time trying. I am about to create a avenue right here is Nasvhille. 

I know that this post is probably all over the place but I am working on a plan that is going to rock the city, you just watch! 

Until Next Time: Dee Lechelle

Professional Challenges

As of late, I have been extremely unhappy with my professional position. I am currently working at a car dealership where I have happily been for the last 2 years, but as time goes on, I am becoming less and less satisfied with it. Don't get me wrong, this is a wonderful place to work; it has great customers, great staff, and a happy positive environment. What more could you ask for, Right? There was a time where I would work all day with no complaints, I wanted to be here.. I was excited about my day. And this wasn't that long ago. So what changed? What took my excitement away for being  apart of the GM family? Excepting where I wanted to be in life and going after my passion did!

 

For the longest time, I was ok being where I am. It was a good easy job where I actually loved everyone I work with and though all of that still applies, I'm no longer ok with being OK. I have found where I am in life is not where I want to be and I have control of that. Right now I am chasing my passion. I go to school and I intern in hopes that I will one day be able to live my passion but my current job in no way contributes to that. Its like when your hungry for steak, chicken nuggets aren't going to do the trick.

 

I will become a music industry mogul and I feel that all of my energy and free time need to be aimed towards making that happen. It is very hard for me to come to a place I know in no way fulfills me and my destiny. But for the time being this is all I have.. Unfortunately. I guess in a way I have to learn that no matter where I am I can still work towards my dream and make it my reality. Yes I now work at car dealership but I can use this place to network. I honestly meet a lot music industry professionals here that I may one day need or want to work with.

 

Message for today: Use every disadvantage to your advantage.

 

 

Until Next Time... Dee Lechelle

This past week has been one of the best weeks I have had to date. I pushed myself further than I ever have and it paid off. I also tested the power of building relationships and it worked in my favor.

 

First thing first, I had midterms last week. STRESSFUL! But I aced them all.. straight A's! So now my GPA for all of my classes remain at an A average... yay me! I was both shocked and proud of myself because it honestly was quite the struggle to push myself to study and go to class. The week before last, I literally struggled with not wanting to go to class. I wanted desperately to not go, I rather sleep instead, but I pushed myself and look what I accomplished!

 

In addition to my great grades, I had the pleasure of meeting R&B singer/songwriter Neyo and rapper French Montana! They were at a homecoming event in which I was attending. This is where the power of building relationships came into place. The event was thrown by someone I know personally which got me in the door, but prior contact with French Montana's booking agent/manager is what got me and my homegirls into VIP. Weeks before French Montana was scheduled to come to my city for a concert, I contacted his people to see how much it would be to get him for a after party since he was already going to be here. Unfortunately, I could not afford him but that did not stop him from coming. See Neyo was already scheduled to come to the party so all it took was a call from him and French was in the building. But even still, I was not guaranteed to meet them.. I was just someone at the party. What gave me the opportunity to meet them was the fact that I had built some type of relationship with EZ which is French Montana's manager. When they arrived at the club, I was greeted by EZ with a hug and handshake introduction which put a face to the voice for both of us. Once everyone got settled, I called EZ and he met me outside of VIP where I asked if he could get me and my girls in so that we could meet and take pictures with French and Neyo. He agreed with no hesitation. He got us in and we had the time of our life. We took shots, we laughed, we danced.. we had FUN!

 

I honestly believe that had I not built some type of relationship with him, and continued to build on it once they arrived.. I wouldn't have been able to do the things I did. He as some type of familiarization with me and it worked in my favor. I thanked him at the end of the night for everything, because he really did more for me with that moment than he could imagine. It wasn't that he got me in VIP to meet and party with the superstars but because he showed and gave me my first real life experience with the importance of building relationships and having such a great personality.

 

I am grateful for that situation. It was certainly a moment of being at the right place at the right time and taking advantage of the moment. After the week I had, I think its safe to leave you with the message that pushing yourself beyond what you feel your capable of is what it'll take to be successful in whatever you do; as well as knowing the importance of building relationships. No matter what career choice you make everything is relationship driven and you have to know how to make, build, and nurture them.

 

Until next time remember, no matter how high you set the bar.. go higher.

 

                                                                                                     -Dee Lechelle



Untitled

"Waves of sadness crashing against the shores of unsureness." I am becoming lost in my thoughts. I am constantly troubled by the now of my life instead of focusing on the future that I am working towards having. I have been covered in negativity as of late and its suffocating me. I cant focus, i cant see. My sureness has become unsure. I am trusting myself a little less today and a lot less than day 1.

Day 1 was the day I decided what I was going to do with my life and how I planned on getting there; it was a sure thing. There was no doubt in my mind that making the decision to follow my dreams would be a slice of pie but the pie is harder to slice that I anticipated. I wont lie, I'm emotional. This past weekend I cried for no reason. I was simply talking about something happy and it turned sad, I turned sad. Another time I was watching something as simple as The Voice and I shed tears.

At this very moment my eyes are watering and I'd like to think I don't know why, but I do. I am so suppressive that my growing disappointment in my inability to "do it all" is coming out at whatever chance it gets. It is hard.. it is SO hard to stay consistent in what you set out to do. Especially when you have other obligations and responsibilities other than focusing on your dream. But this is positive. This is just reassuring me that I am doing what i am suppose to be doing.

At this point, I am working towards my dream no matter what; and I wont stop. I have tried many avenues to reach success but none have I wanted as bad as the one I am chasing now! These tears just represent the fight in me and I will cry but I will not give up.. I will sweat, but I will not stop fighting and I will NOT stop believing in me. By any means I will continue to believe in me and push myself. I have to speak these dreams into existence. Everyday I have to tell myself "Dee, you can do this! You have been given the chance and opportunity to awake your dreams, wake them."

The saying goes "Anything worth having is worth fighting for." I am fighting! I guess my message for today is that your journey is going to be filled with knockdowns, some of those you will inflict on yourself, but you have to get up. No matter how you do it, just get up and keep fighting because one day you will open your eyes and be living the dream you once had and now dreaming another. I have been avoiding writing lately, but I find healing here. Not many will read or see this but for some reason I feel better. I feel free of my fear and like I can stop beating myself up because it will be OK. My plan for tonight is to cry my little heart out and wake up in the morning with a new start. Everyday is a chance to start fresh, your can't rewrite your past but you can determine your ending.

One day, my life will inspire. I have overcome everything that has been placed in front of me, this is no different. I needed this, Thank You for listening!

                                                                                -Dee Lechelle

Inspiration From Music Industry Icons

Today was an interesting day for me. I found myself going through some type of emotional roller coaster. I didn't know if I was sad or just didn't want to do anything. My mind was filled with thoughts about what I need to do today and what my next move needed to be- but I was at a standstill. I did not get my pen and paper out to work on everything I said I would until around 6 this evening. And still, the only thing I wrote was Dee Lechelle Management.. that was it. I had this feeling of sadness because I lacked inspiration. I don't work just to work, I work out of inspiration, passion, and drive.. and when I don't have those things I am less likely to work hard.

 

Looking for inspiration I turned to my first love... music. I listened to a song by Pretty Willie called "Find Rest." Now find rest really has nothing to do with what I am feeling but for some reason it always gives me this sense of peace. After I listened to that song about 5 times, I watched bits and pieces of the movie "Notorious." For those of you who have never heard of the movie, its about the life of a New York rapper by the name of Notorious B.I.G who really changed rap and still remains a legend in the hip hop community. Now I have seen this movie a million times and even watched a few videos on YouTube about his and his murder, but for some reason today was different. Today I spent hours on YouTube looking at his murder, interviews and interviews of the people close to him. He was truly loved. In addition to looking at his videos, I went on to look at those of Aaliyah, Left Eye and Tupac. And while watching those videos, I found inspiration.

 

I found inspiration in the lives of B.I.G, Aaliyah, Tupac, and Left Eye because they were such amazing artist and the fact that their legacy still lives on more than 10 years after their death is simply amazing and inspirational in its own. It really and truly amazes me how many people their music touched including me. I remember all of these artist, especially Aaliyah and Left Eye. I cried when Aaliyah died as if I knew her personally because in my heart I did, I knew her music. I was also inspired by the fact that they will forever live on and continue to gather fans through their music. That is special. That it something many people wont experience. To lose your kid, sister, mother etc and continue to be able to hear their voice and relive the highlights of their life every time their song comes on the radio is a blessing. I wish I could get the urge to hear my moms voice and all I have to do is cut on the radio. There is peace in that.

 

As an artist during your career you get the opportunity to inspire people but if you can continue to inspire people just as much once you have passed on as you did when you were alive, then you become a legend. Thank goodness for these legends because I needed to be inspired.

 

Until Next Time.. Dee Lechelle



Spoon Fed Dream VS The Starving Truth

When I was a kid I was told to go to college. I was told that if I went to college, I could make enough money to do whatever it is I wanted to do and have whatever it is I wanted to have. I was also told that if I didn't go to college, I could possibly end up like one of those people working at a fast food restaurant at 40. In addition to being told to go to college, I was also told to follow my dreams. I was told all of these things by my family, teachers, and pretty much everyone in society. Even corporations/businesses started by entrepreneurs who never went to college, says go to college to be successful. So you know what I did when I graduated from high school? I went to college. I went to college not because I had this life-long dream of doing so, but because I had been sold this dream that all I had to do was go to college and I would automatically be successful. I would have nice cars and houses, clothes and jewelry, and be able to take unlimited amounts of trips overseas. But boy was I WRONG!!!

 

The thing about being told to go to college is that you only hear the good parts. You never hear about the large amount of debt you go into trying to graduate with a degree that will get you a job, but certainly not one that will pay you enough to pay your student loans off before your retire. You never hear about the many times you will change your major so that you don't disappoint your parents, or the times you starve to death because you have run out of money that you got from your refund check. And most importantly they never discuss the feeling of defeat and disappointment you experience when you have been in college four years trying to figure out where you went wrong, and why everyone around you has finished and your still working on it. What about those who graduate with degrees that are allegedly "guaranteed jobs" like accounting and nursing but work at some dead end job with people who never went to college. Lets keep in mind, they still have to pay off their loans with the job they have getting paid minimum wage.

 

This is not what they told me college would be. Instead I am hit with the harsh reality that college is a struggle. Not just academically but mentally and emotionally. I am a college student and an employee. The hardest thing is having to choose which one is most important. How can I focus on school when I have to make sure my rent is paid, lights are on, and there is gas in my car? I use to wonder why people dropped out of college if it was so great, but now I understand why. Life happens no matter where you are and sometimes you have to do what you have to do to survive. At this exact moment, I am starving trying to finish school and its not because I had this life-long dream to do so, but because society has brainwashed me into believing the spoon fed dream instead of excepting the starving truth.

 

Until Next Time... Dee Lechelle

 

 

 

 

 

 



Learning Something New

Everyday is a chance to learn something new, and as of late, most of what I have been learning is about myself. One thing I have learned within the last 2 weeks is that in certain aspects of my life I'm a perfectionist. I never noticed until it came to exposing myself and experience via my blog. Last week was very exciting for me. I started school at SAE-Nashville and experienced a lot just in the first week. Everyday, I planned to blog about my experience but I didn't. I want every word to be correct and I want to write like the educated college student I am. That's the perfectionist part of me. I want to always be looked at as an educated, well spoken, classy young woman. Granted I am all of that, but that does not mean I cant write/speak about my experiences the way I want. So what if it does not come out in an ideal way, that's the whole point of this blog, to allow me to express my emotional and mental place no matter what is going on rather good or bad.

 

Another thing I have learned/noticed about myself these past 2 weeks is that I'm a severe procrastinator. Its like a disease for me. That's another reason why I haven't blogged in awhile, because I keep putting it off until tomorrow.. tomorrow could mean 2 weeks from now, even worse a month. The saddest part about being a procrastinator is that nothing is an exception. I know I have homework.. I'm still going to procrastinate doing it. I have somewhere important to go or do, I'm still going to procrastinate doing it. I even procrastinate getting out of bed in the morning. I know traffic is bad and that it takes me 45 minutes to get to work on a good day, I still wake up at 5:50 when I have to be at work at 7. It is sooo sad. What makes it worst is that I'm not even all the way sleep, I just don't want to get out of bed smh.

 

Nonetheless, an opportunity to learn is an opportunity to grow and no matter how big or small the lesson is.. its still worth appreciating. My goal for the rest of this month and probably life, is to not be a procrastinator and try not to be such a perfectionist when it comes to my writing. This is my story and I'm free to tell it however my emotions or thoughts would like for me to express it. What have you learned about yourself lately?

 

Until Next Time.. Dee Lechelle



A Loss is A Lost

I haven't blogged in a few days, might have even been a few weeks, but after last night.. I think its no better time than now to do so. Last night I experienced a loss. It wasn't even a loss of mine, it was a lost to someone close to me. But I felt as if it was my very own. No, I'm not talking about a lost as in death but a loss in business. A very great business man who has it all together took a hit that made it look as if he didn't know what he was doing, all because his team wasn't together and organized doing what they were supposed to be doing. That's OK. A loss in business hits close to home as if it was a lost in death. I say that because your emotions are attached to whatever ventures you set out to do especially when they are your own. Its like your baby that you created and raised to be exactly what you hoped and wanted it to be. I know saying that a loss in business hurts just as bad as death, may seem a little far fetched, but you ask yourself the same questions. What did I do wrong? Could I have done something different to prevent this? How will I recover from this? Do people blame me? Am I to blame? You ask some of the same questions and just like death, it cant be erased. You cant go back in time and correct all the mistakes in planning you made, to make that one loss a win. All you can do is take lessons from that loss and apply it to the next venture.

 

I read somewhere, while researching music industry artist management, that you will start your company over and over. The 1st time you wont do everything right and the second time will be the same, but if your smart, the mistakes you made the 1st time will be the only correct thing you did the second time. And that's real. So even though this loss isn't mine directly, I inherited it. I took it on as my own so that it can encourage me to learn from my mistakes in business as well as learn from the mistakes of those around me. Needless to say, after last night, I'm more than positive this wont occur again. At least not for the same reasons.

To Love a Man

To love a man is easy, at times. But alot of times it can be difficult. To love a man you have to understand him as well as his wants and needs. Many men dont require much but they need unspoken things. Like women, sometimes they need to be read and paid attention to, in order to even know that they need something. What I have learned is that men need the same thing women do. They need to feel loved, appreciated, protected, cared for, supported, and at any given time they need to know that losing them is a lost you cant bare and that you will do anything to ensure their happiness.

 

I find that to love a man is easy, at times. But alot of times it can be difficult. Especially when he is going through the trials and tribulations of life. It can be things with his family, his friends, or even his personal life. Maybe he is not where he feels he should be professionally or maybe he is just not happy with his surroundings. Those things take a huge toll on men especially those that want more for themselves. For instance a man that is use to providing for his family suddenly loses his job. The emotional and mental toll of that situation is much worse than the financial. A man looks at being financially secure as his ability to take care of his family and if that is taken away, many times a man feels as if he is less of a man. But as a woman, his woman, you cant let him feel that way. To love a man matters most when he is feeling like less of a man. They say that a woman's loyalty is tested when a man has nothing and that man's loyalty is tested when he has everything. One of the most important things to a man is loyalty.

 

To love a man is easy, at times. But even when it is hard its worth it. Because if you love a MAN right, the way he deserves.. he will love you better than you deserve.

The Power of Music

That feeling I get when I listen to music, unexplainable. I feel things I didn't know I was meant to feel or needed to feel. It brings these feelings of sadness and healing at the exact same time. My mind races and so does my heart. Its almost like these words came straight from my heart.

 

To be able to close my eyes and dive into the combination of perfectly laid vocals to a smooth and perfectly executed instrumental takes me somewhere.. away. I feel intertwined with my senses and my feelings.

 

My first love(music) will be my last and this is the reason why!

I have FINALLY arrived!

Finally, I can consider myself an official BLOGGER! For the longest amount of time I have been saying that I am starting a blog but I never take the time out to do it. Now I have. Im not sure how many people will be interested in my thoughts, opinions, and constant raves about fashion, beauty, music, and my journey to being a music industry mogul but Im going to share them anyway.

Reading my blog you will learn much about me and some of those things we will be learning together.