Luciano Layne Talks Rick Ross On Alpha Magazine's Cover, Importance Of Black Ownership + More
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
What's up?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Its way up with Angelayee. I'm Angela Yee and joining
me today, I have the editor in chief of Alpha Magazine.
We have Luciano Lane here.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
What's up?
Speaker 3 (00:13):
What's up?
Speaker 1 (00:14):
I'm good, you know, I mean there's a reason why.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
You know, I'm kidding. But first of all, just to
be clear, we do always like to highlight people who
are entrepreneurs. You know, we know you've had multiple things
and businesses going on, but right now today we're here
about Alpha Magazine and I'm on the cover.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Yeah, Well the reason that came to mind was, you know,
I've watched you from Afar and you've given so many
flowers to so many people. You're all about empowering other
people and just you're just such an inspiration and I
felt like it was time for you to have yours.
So that was like my number one goal, and I
was like, we gotta do this for Women's Month. You know,
(00:55):
she's somebody that I really respect and I really enjoy
what you do for the community, and I just feel
like any way I can help in the future, you know,
I'm here and I just respect everything you have to offer.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Well, thank you, and you guys sent over some great
questions for the interview and all of that. You know,
I just I feel like this is my twentieth year
in radio this year, and I know I was talking
about that behind the scenes at the photo shoot and
I was like, wow, this is crazy. It's twenty years
for me in November this year. And sometimes we're just
doing the work. Like I'm normally the one that's interviewing people,
(01:31):
you know, not always the person getting interviewed. So I've
always felt like what I do is more of a
vessel to help other people, you know, get what they
have going on.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Right same say out there.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Tell us about your beginnings though, because aside from the
publishing world, you have and you have a book out too,
by the way, Thirteen Letters to My Children, but you
also have done talent management. You've been an artist as well.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Yeah, yeah, I've been an artist as well. I started
out as an artist and then I took the transition
of being a ghostwriter and doing the behind the scenes
and stuff like that. I really enjoyed it. Then that
led into photography and then it just kind of went
from there. But the magazine came to me was I
(02:17):
just thought like I wanted to create something that could
highlight people in a different way. And I know when
people hear the name out for they're probably thinking like, oh,
it's a massie magazine or something like that. But really
it's just a mindset, you know. I think it's a
certain type of act of service that you have where
you're like, I'm willing to be selfless and put other
people first, and I just wanted to do something to
(02:39):
just highlight our people. I mean, there's so many magazines
out here that are you know, and they work for
what they work for now. I will never discredit what
they've done for the community, but I just wanted to
be you know, I had a goal. Of my goal
was I wanted to be the first black owned magazine
that was inclusive on newstands, Like why don't we deserve
to be on the covers? What the Hillary swanks and
(03:01):
everybody else? So, I mean, I just wanted to show
us in a different light, regardless of what genre that
person's in. I wanted to bring something different to the table.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
And you had Rick Ross on the cover recently too.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Right him and Dre Ross.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, okay, so talk to me about that issue.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
So it was a digital issue. Dre Ross is somebody
I've worked with for about seven years now, and I
met him when he was just on his come up,
and we've worked really well together and I've been kind
of like helping with the management and the development. And
he was like, hey, you know, I got this opportunity.
I'm getting ready to do this song. So I tried
(03:37):
to help him in the system as much as I can,
and we put together a team. I'm actually credited on
the video that they did bands as the art visual director,
and so we just had a moment and they were
able to we were able to facilitate everything that we
needed and it just came out right and it was cool.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
You know, with so many people shying away from the
magazine business, can you talk to me about what made
you say we're going full rittle into this.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
You know.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
I think people don't want to do the magazine because
it requires a lot of work, It requires a lot
of thinking. You have to be strategic, but it's really
not as complicated as people make it seem. I think
my thing is when you find something that you're passionate about.
I mean, you can be as very skillful as you
want to be, but I think ambition and having that
(04:23):
obsession to want to do great plays a huge factor
on the outcome of what you get out of that situation.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Right.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
And you know what I also want to talk about
is Debora Cox.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
She was on a cover.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Also, and then I saw her also doing interviews for
Alpha magazine previously. So yeah, that was interesting to me
to see Deborah Cox in that position.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
How did that happen?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
So actually, how it happened was we did my guy
Tay Revere, he's a makeup artist. He set it up
for us, and Debora did the photo shoot we did
in LA and after the photo shoot, me and her
had a co conversation. It was like a two hour
conversation and it just led into about We were talking
about love and life and just commune. I mean, anything
(05:09):
you can think about when two people just get along.
We were talking about it and I was like, Hey,
have you ever thought about being a creator director for Alpha?
And she was just like really, And so we started
working there and then it translated to her being and
executive director. And you know, we still I still have
with respect and we still I don't say she's still
(05:30):
with the company more, but she's elevating in her career,
and that was the goal for it. You know, it
was just to bring her in, to give her a
platform because I feel like a lot of people wasn't
familiar with DEBRAA. Cox, but I got her in Forbes.
I did a lot of behind the scenes work for her.
But like, she's an incredible woman. Uh you know, LaSelle,
(05:50):
They're just a great team and I have the most
respect for her and just everything that she's done. Yeah,
she's an amazing person.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Yeah all right, So when are we going to be
able to get our hands on the actual magazine?
Speaker 3 (06:04):
So we were actually on our way to go get it,
but it didn't come right on time. So it's actually delivered,
so it'll be here. It's here today basically. Okay, now,
but we have a surprise for you.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Okay, what's the surprise?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
I like to when there's delays, I gotta have surprises.
The matchup for So what we're gonna do this Saturday
and Time Square? We're gonna have your billboard?
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Oh a billboard?
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Yeah? What your cover?
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Oh my god, that's amazing. So how do I like,
how can I go see it?
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Like?
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Where?
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Tell me where it's gonna be?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna talk with
you guys and get what time you want to do.
I'm gonna I'm gonna customate it to be when you're already,
when you want to be there. How many times you
wanted to play, but it'll be there. So I wanted
to give you that.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
That's huge things, absolutely absolutely, And what's the vision for
Alpha Magazine moving forward?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
You know, I think the vision uh and I don't
want to say for me, but I think for as
a collective of people. I want to get like minded
individuals who are not content with the way things are,
and we can challenge each other to do better and
come together and say, hey, you know what, we're complaining
about this, but what can we do about it? What's
(07:19):
the solution? So I just you know, we went from
being just a fashion magazine to now being women men
high fashion. But also we're a human empowerment magazine. So
I think the goal for me is just you know,
really catapulting people but also showing people in a different light.
So any you know, speaking of that, we have a
(07:42):
I'm doing an event in April Wama a part of
an event, Jamal. I don't want to say the brother's
name wrong, what his name is, Jamal Thornhill. He's a
fellow of my brother's keeper.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Okay, okay, so keeper, Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
That's They have an event going on and he is working.
He organized an event with State New York Senator Leeword
Comery and I'm gonna be a keynote speaker there. So
I'm just trying to come together and bring the right
minds together because this is deeper than magazine, you know,
I think that this is there's a conversation that needs
(08:16):
to be add and you know, people like yourself need
to can you know, continuously be highlighted and uplift and
any I have a lot of resources and anything that
I can do to help anyone. I just want to.
I feel like I want to do my active service
to help people. That's it. You know.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I was purging my house over the weekend, and one
of the things that I did was I was finding
like all these old magazines that I was in because
it's not like there's no feeling like being in a magazine, correct,
I mean much less being on the cover of a magazine,
which is really amazing and I'm.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Grateful for that.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
But it was just interesting because I was looking at
like the first ever time I was in a magazine.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I actually have that magazine still.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Remember back in the day they used to have you
would be at a party and they would be like
a part of the magazine that was like all party pictures,
like who was at the party? You know, we don't,
I guess need that anymore because we have Instagram, right media.
But I still remember the first time I ever was
like in one of those pictures in a magazine and
I still had it was this magazine called One Worlds. Yeah,
(09:21):
and I was like, look at me. I had corn rolls.
Of course back then. But then even like the first
time when I started working in radio as serious on
Shade forty five, the first ever shoot I did a
double XL magazine did Shave forty five, you know limited
like special magazine, and I had a little shoot in
there and that was like my first ever magazine like
(09:43):
profile piece. And so just things like that I think
are really important for people to have that in history
because everything is and I think the digital support of
that is important too, absolutely, but there's just something to
be said for having something like you know there you
actually feel and sit on a toilet and read.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Yeah, absolutely, I agree with you. I agree with you
one hundred percent. That's really big. I mean, let me
ask you, what what did you think about the experience
with Alpha.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Just First of I was an all black teams, which
was really great and fun. The music was amazing. They
were like, what do you want to hear? I had
the Afrobeats playlist going too, but everybody was great, like
it was a very comfortable experience. What's the designer's name,
because we want to make sure we shout him out
to just ten, okay, just ten.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
So we used all his clothes and you.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Guys had like a lot of things for me to
choose from, you know, comfortably speaking, because you know how
I dress.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
I'm very like and always like sweatshirts.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Feel more comfortable.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Yeah that's how Yeah, yeah that's how I am though.
That's just how I've always been. And it was, you know,
great selections. You guys really paid attention to what it
was that I liked and needed. I also have on
a wig, and that's different for me too, so when
people saw these pictures they were like, who's that. I'm like,
that's me, but definitely had on a wig, so it
(11:03):
wasn't something that would look like how I always look.
So I think that that also really helped. But the
whole team was great.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
I appreciate that. I mean, I really strive for perfection
and not as in I want things to be perfect,
but I want to create like I feel like great
relationships are like a home cooked meal, right, and I
just want to leave a great taste. You know, you
want to keep coming back for seconds, and if you
you only got one time to make a good first impression.
And I think my goal was, you know, whatever you
(11:31):
or your team needed. I just had it in my
heart to say, let's just take care of her. You know,
she's our sister. Let's make sure she's great. Let's take
care of her. And you know, I didn't really have
to coach the team too well. You know, everybody was
just you know.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
They're pretty easy to work with.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
You are very easy to work with, very easy to
work with.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I was chilling, and you know, shout out to my
guy h O, who also was there working hard.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
He by the way, just like you used to be
a rapper.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Oh yeah, I tell you that.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
I know he did.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Me and him got a lot to talk about it.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
So y'all have had past lives. He's so mad that
I just revealed that right now. But yes, he also
what made you say I'm not doing this anymore? Like
I know you said you did ghostwriting, but then what
made you just say all right?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
You know? I think what it was was when it
comes to like the mindset of the way the structure
is built, and you might have somebody who's like super attractive,
like a trade Songs or a drake, and you might
be marketed a certain way, which is they're gonna market
you single and this and that, and you might have
(12:38):
somebody who's not as whatever, and they might say we
want you to be this way. I think for me
is like at that particular time, it was a complicated
space for me because I was maintaining a relationship, so
you know, trying to have a relationship and trying to
promote yourself as single. That's a lot for a person
extremely young to carry, you know, and it's hard to get.
(13:00):
You know, you get caught up in all the desires
and temptation. I felt like I wanted to learn the business.
I wanted to be behind the business. I wanted to
find another way that we can break artists without having
to degrade ourselves or you know, promote ourselves a certain way.
And I mean that was really what it was. I mean,
I think it was just more so that I lost
(13:21):
the love for I didn't really have the passion to
do it anymore. And I really felt the enjoyment of
writing the songs and being able to do it in
that perspective. So I mean, from that experience, you know,
even though it was ghostwriting, it was a great experience
because it was a great relationship, you know, and those
relationships and they just nurtured itself and here we are.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Today, all right, Well we love to see it. Well,
I am excited. Where can people find the magazine issue?
Speaker 3 (13:49):
So they can go to the website out of themagazines
dot com. And we're actually on newsstands too. We got Walmart, Target, Bars,
and Nobles on our website. We're probably doing about eighteen
million monthly subscribers, so we have turned up a lot.
So I'm really grateful to anybody who has supported us.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
I mean, like I said, we wait eighteen million monthly subscribers.
That's amazing. Yeah, how was advertising them? Because I know,
and this is something that Roland Martin shout out to him.
Always talks about how a lot of these corporations aren't
spending their dollars with you know, with black media the
way that they should.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Well, you know what it was. I can honestly say this.
It wasn't any money that we put into marketing or
anything like that. It was really the talent. You know,
we put the talent on there and just give them
that experience. Because think about it, when's the last time
you've seen this celebrity shoot for this magazine and they're
happy about it, and they're promoting it nine times out
of ten. They don't have no control of it. They
(14:48):
don't know when it comes out. It's not the greatest experience.
It's just like, Okay, my publish told me to do this,
and I'm just going to do it. But we we
tapped into creating a really good experience for them, you know,
and making sure that they felt so comfortable that every
single cover that we've had we've worked with, ninety percent
of them, they reposted it. They consistently reposted it, you
know they and that just kind of organically built itself.
(15:11):
And I think it's because it was so different and
when people see the magazine. Like a lot of people
when they first saw it, they thought it was white on.
They was like, oh, you got investors, and I'm like,
oh no, it's not. It's black owned. So I would
say I'm grateful for every single individual, even if they
wasn't a list. Everybody played a huge factor of the team.
(15:33):
I mean, you know, when you open a magazine, you'll
see the team's credit, you know, everybody. That's the first
magazine I've seen that every single person involved was tagged
or credited and mentioned per page. And I think that
leve alone just makes people more motivated to want to work.
I mean, if you're doing eight to ten hours working
with a celebrity and you only get into Instagram tag,
(15:55):
I mean, how is that even good enough? You know?
So I want I want to continue to take what
I know and just being like the iPhone and keep
updating my software with new information and trying to advance
in the best ways I can. And I couldn't deal
without people like you.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
All right, Well, thank you so much. And again I'm
Luciano Lean for joining us. How can people reach you personally?
Speaker 3 (16:16):
I'm on Instagram at I am Luciana Lane, you know,
so pretty much that is to connect to everything and
you'll see everything you need to see there.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
All right, Well, thank you so much for joining us
and for putting me on the cover of the magazine.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
My guy Ho is in the room too. He's a
business owner.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Rest make sure you follow him Chase Republic and you
know he does a lot of stuff for me and
bookings and I know he did his own shoot that day.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Yeah, well, he's amazing. This is my guy ho Is.
I would say I run across a lot of people
who have teams and stuff, and out of everybody, I've
worked with you guys for my favorite people. So Ho
is an amazing person.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
You don't say that to everybody. I'm going to go back.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
I'm very You can check the interviews. Checking the interviews
I'm sending on the record shows my guy. I really
appreciate you, Angela. And again, like I said, I felt
like all the flowers that you've given to people, I
just wanted to highlight you and I just want to
continue to bring people like you who are like minded,
who I feel that deserve to be on there. So
(17:16):
you guys got Alpha support And if there's ever anything
that I can do for you, guys, I got your
back one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
You definitely told us that as well that day. Shout
out to I guy Maurice. He's also our brother as well.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Oh yeah, yeah, you would.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Like who's more reely all right, it's swell y'all. Thank
y'all so much.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
Well,
What's up?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Its way up with Angelayee. I'm Angela Yee and joining
me today, I have the editor in chief of Alpha Magazine.
We have Luciano Lane here.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
What's up?
Speaker 3 (00:13):
What's up?
Speaker 1 (00:14):
I'm good, you know, I mean there's a reason why.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
You know, I'm kidding. But first of all, just to
be clear, we do always like to highlight people who
are entrepreneurs. You know, we know you've had multiple things
and businesses going on, but right now today we're here
about Alpha Magazine and I'm on the cover.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Yeah, Well the reason that came to mind was, you know,
I've watched you from Afar and you've given so many
flowers to so many people. You're all about empowering other
people and just you're just such an inspiration and I
felt like it was time for you to have yours.
So that was like my number one goal, and I
was like, we gotta do this for Women's Month. You know,
(00:55):
she's somebody that I really respect and I really enjoy
what you do for the community, and I just feel
like any way I can help in the future, you know,
I'm here and I just respect everything you have to offer.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Well, thank you, and you guys sent over some great
questions for the interview and all of that. You know,
I just I feel like this is my twentieth year
in radio this year, and I know I was talking
about that behind the scenes at the photo shoot and
I was like, wow, this is crazy. It's twenty years
for me in November this year. And sometimes we're just
doing the work. Like I'm normally the one that's interviewing people,
(01:31):
you know, not always the person getting interviewed. So I've
always felt like what I do is more of a
vessel to help other people, you know, get what they
have going on.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Right same say out there.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Tell us about your beginnings though, because aside from the
publishing world, you have and you have a book out too,
by the way, Thirteen Letters to My Children, but you
also have done talent management. You've been an artist as well.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Yeah, yeah, I've been an artist as well. I started
out as an artist and then I took the transition
of being a ghostwriter and doing the behind the scenes
and stuff like that. I really enjoyed it. Then that
led into photography and then it just kind of went
from there. But the magazine came to me was I
(02:17):
just thought like I wanted to create something that could
highlight people in a different way. And I know when
people hear the name out for they're probably thinking like, oh,
it's a massie magazine or something like that. But really
it's just a mindset, you know. I think it's a
certain type of act of service that you have where
you're like, I'm willing to be selfless and put other
people first, and I just wanted to do something to
(02:39):
just highlight our people. I mean, there's so many magazines
out here that are you know, and they work for
what they work for now. I will never discredit what
they've done for the community, but I just wanted to
be you know, I had a goal. Of my goal
was I wanted to be the first black owned magazine
that was inclusive on newstands, Like why don't we deserve
to be on the covers? What the Hillary swanks and
(03:01):
everybody else? So, I mean, I just wanted to show
us in a different light, regardless of what genre that
person's in. I wanted to bring something different to the table.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
And you had Rick Ross on the cover recently too.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Right him and Dre Ross.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, okay, so talk to me about that issue.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
So it was a digital issue. Dre Ross is somebody
I've worked with for about seven years now, and I
met him when he was just on his come up,
and we've worked really well together and I've been kind
of like helping with the management and the development. And
he was like, hey, you know, I got this opportunity.
I'm getting ready to do this song. So I tried
(03:37):
to help him in the system as much as I can,
and we put together a team. I'm actually credited on
the video that they did bands as the art visual director,
and so we just had a moment and they were
able to we were able to facilitate everything that we
needed and it just came out right and it was cool.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
You know, with so many people shying away from the
magazine business, can you talk to me about what made
you say we're going full rittle into this.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
You know.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
I think people don't want to do the magazine because
it requires a lot of work, It requires a lot
of thinking. You have to be strategic, but it's really
not as complicated as people make it seem. I think
my thing is when you find something that you're passionate about.
I mean, you can be as very skillful as you
want to be, but I think ambition and having that
(04:23):
obsession to want to do great plays a huge factor
on the outcome of what you get out of that situation.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Right.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
And you know what I also want to talk about
is Debora Cox.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
She was on a cover.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Also, and then I saw her also doing interviews for
Alpha magazine previously. So yeah, that was interesting to me
to see Deborah Cox in that position.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
How did that happen?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
So actually, how it happened was we did my guy
Tay Revere, he's a makeup artist. He set it up
for us, and Debora did the photo shoot we did
in LA and after the photo shoot, me and her
had a co conversation. It was like a two hour
conversation and it just led into about We were talking
about love and life and just commune. I mean, anything
(05:09):
you can think about when two people just get along.
We were talking about it and I was like, Hey,
have you ever thought about being a creator director for Alpha?
And she was just like really, And so we started
working there and then it translated to her being and
executive director. And you know, we still I still have
with respect and we still I don't say she's still
(05:30):
with the company more, but she's elevating in her career,
and that was the goal for it. You know, it
was just to bring her in, to give her a
platform because I feel like a lot of people wasn't
familiar with DEBRAA. Cox, but I got her in Forbes.
I did a lot of behind the scenes work for her.
But like, she's an incredible woman. Uh you know, LaSelle,
(05:50):
They're just a great team and I have the most
respect for her and just everything that she's done. Yeah,
she's an amazing person.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Yeah all right, So when are we going to be
able to get our hands on the actual magazine?
Speaker 3 (06:04):
So we were actually on our way to go get it,
but it didn't come right on time. So it's actually delivered,
so it'll be here. It's here today basically. Okay, now,
but we have a surprise for you.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Okay, what's the surprise?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
I like to when there's delays, I gotta have surprises.
The matchup for So what we're gonna do this Saturday
and Time Square? We're gonna have your billboard?
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Oh a billboard?
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Yeah? What your cover?
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Oh my god, that's amazing. So how do I like,
how can I go see it?
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Like?
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Where?
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Tell me where it's gonna be?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna talk with
you guys and get what time you want to do.
I'm gonna I'm gonna customate it to be when you're already,
when you want to be there. How many times you
wanted to play, but it'll be there. So I wanted
to give you that.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
That's huge things, absolutely absolutely, And what's the vision for
Alpha Magazine moving forward?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
You know, I think the vision uh and I don't
want to say for me, but I think for as
a collective of people. I want to get like minded
individuals who are not content with the way things are,
and we can challenge each other to do better and
come together and say, hey, you know what, we're complaining
about this, but what can we do about it? What's
(07:19):
the solution? So I just you know, we went from
being just a fashion magazine to now being women men
high fashion. But also we're a human empowerment magazine. So
I think the goal for me is just you know,
really catapulting people but also showing people in a different light.
So any you know, speaking of that, we have a
(07:42):
I'm doing an event in April Wama a part of
an event, Jamal. I don't want to say the brother's
name wrong, what his name is, Jamal Thornhill. He's a
fellow of my brother's keeper.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Okay, okay, so keeper, Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
That's They have an event going on and he is working.
He organized an event with State New York Senator Leeword
Comery and I'm gonna be a keynote speaker there. So
I'm just trying to come together and bring the right
minds together because this is deeper than magazine, you know,
I think that this is there's a conversation that needs
(08:16):
to be add and you know, people like yourself need
to can you know, continuously be highlighted and uplift and
any I have a lot of resources and anything that
I can do to help anyone. I just want to.
I feel like I want to do my active service
to help people. That's it. You know.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I was purging my house over the weekend, and one
of the things that I did was I was finding
like all these old magazines that I was in because
it's not like there's no feeling like being in a magazine, correct,
I mean much less being on the cover of a magazine,
which is really amazing and I'm.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Grateful for that.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
But it was just interesting because I was looking at
like the first ever time I was in a magazine.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I actually have that magazine still.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Remember back in the day they used to have you
would be at a party and they would be like
a part of the magazine that was like all party pictures,
like who was at the party? You know, we don't,
I guess need that anymore because we have Instagram, right media.
But I still remember the first time I ever was
like in one of those pictures in a magazine and
I still had it was this magazine called One Worlds. Yeah,
(09:21):
and I was like, look at me. I had corn rolls.
Of course back then. But then even like the first
time when I started working in radio as serious on
Shade forty five, the first ever shoot I did a
double XL magazine did Shave forty five, you know limited
like special magazine, and I had a little shoot in
there and that was like my first ever magazine like
(09:43):
profile piece. And so just things like that I think
are really important for people to have that in history
because everything is and I think the digital support of
that is important too, absolutely, but there's just something to
be said for having something like you know there you
actually feel and sit on a toilet and read.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Yeah, absolutely, I agree with you. I agree with you
one hundred percent. That's really big. I mean, let me
ask you, what what did you think about the experience
with Alpha.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Just First of I was an all black teams, which
was really great and fun. The music was amazing. They
were like, what do you want to hear? I had
the Afrobeats playlist going too, but everybody was great, like
it was a very comfortable experience. What's the designer's name,
because we want to make sure we shout him out
to just ten, okay, just ten.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
So we used all his clothes and you.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Guys had like a lot of things for me to
choose from, you know, comfortably speaking, because you know how
I dress.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
I'm very like and always like sweatshirts.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Feel more comfortable.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Yeah that's how Yeah, yeah that's how I am though.
That's just how I've always been. And it was, you know,
great selections. You guys really paid attention to what it
was that I liked and needed. I also have on
a wig, and that's different for me too, so when
people saw these pictures they were like, who's that. I'm like,
that's me, but definitely had on a wig, so it
(11:03):
wasn't something that would look like how I always look.
So I think that that also really helped. But the
whole team was great.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
I appreciate that. I mean, I really strive for perfection
and not as in I want things to be perfect,
but I want to create like I feel like great
relationships are like a home cooked meal, right, and I
just want to leave a great taste. You know, you
want to keep coming back for seconds, and if you
you only got one time to make a good first impression.
And I think my goal was, you know, whatever you
(11:31):
or your team needed. I just had it in my
heart to say, let's just take care of her. You know,
she's our sister. Let's make sure she's great. Let's take
care of her. And you know, I didn't really have
to coach the team too well. You know, everybody was
just you know.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
They're pretty easy to work with.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
You are very easy to work with, very easy to
work with.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I was chilling, and you know, shout out to my
guy h O, who also was there working hard.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
He by the way, just like you used to be
a rapper.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Oh yeah, I tell you that.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
I know he did.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Me and him got a lot to talk about it.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
So y'all have had past lives. He's so mad that
I just revealed that right now. But yes, he also
what made you say I'm not doing this anymore? Like
I know you said you did ghostwriting, but then what
made you just say all right?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
You know? I think what it was was when it
comes to like the mindset of the way the structure
is built, and you might have somebody who's like super attractive,
like a trade Songs or a drake, and you might
be marketed a certain way, which is they're gonna market
you single and this and that, and you might have
(12:38):
somebody who's not as whatever, and they might say we
want you to be this way. I think for me
is like at that particular time, it was a complicated
space for me because I was maintaining a relationship, so
you know, trying to have a relationship and trying to
promote yourself as single. That's a lot for a person
extremely young to carry, you know, and it's hard to get.
(13:00):
You know, you get caught up in all the desires
and temptation. I felt like I wanted to learn the business.
I wanted to be behind the business. I wanted to
find another way that we can break artists without having
to degrade ourselves or you know, promote ourselves a certain way.
And I mean that was really what it was. I mean,
I think it was just more so that I lost
(13:21):
the love for I didn't really have the passion to
do it anymore. And I really felt the enjoyment of
writing the songs and being able to do it in
that perspective. So I mean, from that experience, you know,
even though it was ghostwriting, it was a great experience
because it was a great relationship, you know, and those
relationships and they just nurtured itself and here we are.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Today, all right, Well we love to see it. Well,
I am excited. Where can people find the magazine issue?
Speaker 3 (13:49):
So they can go to the website out of themagazines
dot com. And we're actually on newsstands too. We got Walmart, Target, Bars,
and Nobles on our website. We're probably doing about eighteen
million monthly subscribers, so we have turned up a lot.
So I'm really grateful to anybody who has supported us.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
I mean, like I said, we wait eighteen million monthly subscribers.
That's amazing. Yeah, how was advertising them? Because I know,
and this is something that Roland Martin shout out to him.
Always talks about how a lot of these corporations aren't
spending their dollars with you know, with black media the
way that they should.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Well, you know what it was. I can honestly say this.
It wasn't any money that we put into marketing or
anything like that. It was really the talent. You know,
we put the talent on there and just give them
that experience. Because think about it, when's the last time
you've seen this celebrity shoot for this magazine and they're
happy about it, and they're promoting it nine times out
of ten. They don't have no control of it. They
(14:48):
don't know when it comes out. It's not the greatest experience.
It's just like, Okay, my publish told me to do this,
and I'm just going to do it. But we we
tapped into creating a really good experience for them, you know,
and making sure that they felt so comfortable that every
single cover that we've had we've worked with, ninety percent
of them, they reposted it. They consistently reposted it, you
know they and that just kind of organically built itself.
(15:11):
And I think it's because it was so different and
when people see the magazine. Like a lot of people
when they first saw it, they thought it was white on.
They was like, oh, you got investors, and I'm like,
oh no, it's not. It's black owned. So I would
say I'm grateful for every single individual, even if they
wasn't a list. Everybody played a huge factor of the team.
(15:33):
I mean, you know, when you open a magazine, you'll
see the team's credit, you know, everybody. That's the first
magazine I've seen that every single person involved was tagged
or credited and mentioned per page. And I think that
leve alone just makes people more motivated to want to work.
I mean, if you're doing eight to ten hours working
with a celebrity and you only get into Instagram tag,
(15:55):
I mean, how is that even good enough? You know?
So I want I want to continue to take what
I know and just being like the iPhone and keep
updating my software with new information and trying to advance
in the best ways I can. And I couldn't deal
without people like you.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
All right, Well, thank you so much. And again I'm
Luciano Lean for joining us. How can people reach you personally?
Speaker 3 (16:16):
I'm on Instagram at I am Luciana Lane, you know,
so pretty much that is to connect to everything and
you'll see everything you need to see there.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
All right, Well, thank you so much for joining us
and for putting me on the cover of the magazine.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
My guy Ho is in the room too. He's a
business owner.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Rest make sure you follow him Chase Republic and you
know he does a lot of stuff for me and
bookings and I know he did his own shoot that day.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Yeah, well, he's amazing. This is my guy ho Is.
I would say I run across a lot of people
who have teams and stuff, and out of everybody, I've
worked with you guys for my favorite people. So Ho
is an amazing person.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
You don't say that to everybody. I'm going to go back.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
I'm very You can check the interviews. Checking the interviews
I'm sending on the record shows my guy. I really
appreciate you, Angela. And again, like I said, I felt
like all the flowers that you've given to people, I
just wanted to highlight you and I just want to
continue to bring people like you who are like minded,
who I feel that deserve to be on there. So
(17:16):
you guys got Alpha support And if there's ever anything
that I can do for you, guys, I got your
back one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
You definitely told us that as well that day. Shout
out to I guy Maurice. He's also our brother as well.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Oh yeah, yeah, you would.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Like who's more reely all right, it's swell y'all. Thank
y'all so much.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
Well,
Way Up With Angela Yee News
Host
Angela Yee
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