What inspired you to start Unearthly Studios, and how has your journey shaped the agency’s mission and vision? What does it mean to be Unearthly?

As an avid concert goer, I was always at concerts and festivals, interacting with rising artists in my local communities, and giving back to artists with my dollars since music, film, and art has been a passion of mine since I was a child.

I have nearly a decade of marketing and social expertise and have built my career working with small businesses and creatives, all the way up to having the opportunity to develop organic and innovative social campaigns for dozens of emerging and enterprise brands during my time at a number of creative agencies including, Microsoft, Pandora Radio, Hydroflask, Samsung, PUMA, McDonalds, Popeyes, and more.

I started freelancing and supporting artists in the niche of marketing I saw myself in and realized there was, and still is, a huge demand and opportunity in this space, especially as a woman of color (8.4% of the music industry are women of color executives, an even smaller percentage for Black Women in crucial leadership roles), and knew I wanted to create something that would live beyond me and help address the underrepresentation of women in the music, film, and entertainment industries.

UNEARTHLY Studios’ primary mission is to “empower artists, creatives, and innovative brands to achieve their full potential. UNEARTHLY means “otherworldly” or “supernatural”, we believe that artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs are CREATORS. To create something from nothing is magic to us, we encourage our artists, clients, and community.

You credit your grandparents with being a huge inspiration to you. What are some key lessons you’ve learned from them about the importance of impact and purpose in your work?

My mother struggled with drug addiction my entire life, forcing me and my siblings into the foster care system multiple times at a young age. I was adopted alongside my siblings by my grandparents as a child. I credit my grandparents for giving me a real shot at life and can’t picture the incredible badass woman I am today without their love, guidance, care, example, and unconditional support.

My grandparents brought music into our home, my grandmother was our local church’s pianist and singer, while my grandfather played the drums and always sang with the voice of an angel. I was raised by resilient souls who grew up during the time of segregation, Jim Crow, and can clearly remember the stories of racism, prejudice, sacrifice, and resilience that my grandparents navigated growing up in the forties and fifties. I always had a different perspective on life, mortality, hardship, and most importantly learned that any obstacle can be overcome and that my beliefs are the only thing that can hold me back. My grandparents built a fruitful life from nothing and weren’t shy from understanding that hard work is still required to create the life of your dreams. 

Another lesson they taught me was love is all that matters, the love we pour into self, family, communities, and that life is meant to be of service to others, to make an impact, and add value. My grandfather was always someone that left people better than he found them, since his passing in 2018 I have dedicated my life in the pursuit of doing the same.

Can you share a specific moment or realization during the pandemic that solidified your decision to launch your creative agency?

I knew I couldn’t successfully make the impact I knew I was destined to make working for anyone else. For me, while I learned so much growing my corporate career, the constraints of the typical “9-5” was never for me. I never felt truly seen, valued, like my ideas were considered, there were many moments of emotional and psychological unsafety, microaggressions, and unfair treatment in previous workplaces, doing my best navigating these space as a Black Woman working within majority-white corporate institutions (often a the only person of color in the room or sometimes the entire company).

I stayed in these roles and continued to tolerate and normalize the grind, the industry I was in, and the people I surrounded myself with, because I felt like it was the only way for me to make an impact within the work I have always been passionate about. Due to the lack of soul alignment and a lot of soul searching, I found myself unable to see myself staying within a 9-5 for much longer. In early 2020 I started the journey to pivot my career and step into music marketing and artist development, building relationships, beta testing services, etc to build UNEARTHLY Studios while working my 9-5, until I finally made the jump into full time entrepreneurship at the end of last year. 

What strategies do you employ to combat imposter syndrome and maintain confidence in your vision for the agency?

Whew! I feel imposter syndrome can only be overcome from taking action, learning the mindsets, skillsets, and toolset you need to create the life of your dreams, and confidence that comes only by showing up and keeping the promises you made to yourself aka “do what you say you’re doing to do.”

I know that I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to because I have proved time and time again that I am able to do so. I also embrace the fact that I am a BEGINNER and I am always going to make mistakes and not get it completely right, that’s OKAY. In life, so many of us are afraid to be seen trying, to potentially “fail,” mess up, or get it wrong so much so that it stops us from trying or continuing on when we don’t see the result/reward automatically.

I know that the empire I am building won’t spring up overnight and that if I celebrate my wins daily, weekly, and monthly it adds up to the big results over time. 

Can you tell us about a particularly rewarding project you’ve worked on, and what made it successful?

One of my most rewarding projects for UNE since our launch last summer has been working on the artist development and creative side to support our roster artist, Seth Sutch’s 2023 album release “Sunset Nostalgia”, where I have been leading development and management in core areas for Seth since early 2022 in the areas of professional and career development, live performance training, developing our marketing and social campaigns, assisting with creative execution, securing organic press and media placements, relationship building to foster aligned brand opportunities, and more. I’ve been taking the time to immerse myself in all areas of the music business, developing my own skillsets as a music executive, A&R, and manager that has allowed me to help provide the best support and guidance for Seth, our other roster artists, and UNEARTHLY Studios clients.

What methods do you use to ensure that your clients’ marketing efforts are authentic and resonate with their target audiences?

Before our team develops strategy plans for our clients, we take each client through different educational workshops and exercises to help them (and us) gain better clarity on their brand identity, hone in their target and ideal audience for new agency clients who may have not yet dived into the crucial work to have a clear understanding of the ideal audience they are trying to reach and where their north star is for their vision and brand they are building.

With your passion for mentoring and guiding rising artists and creatives, what advice would you give to someone aspiring to break into the industry today?

“Don’t wait for opportunities, create them otherwise you might be waiting forever. Women in music, but all creative ventures are underrepresented and unvalued, so you have to know, trust, and always value yourself even if that means walking away from situations that don’t serve you or feel aligned. Be authentic, be yourself, and don’t dim your light you are meant to take up space and your in the room for a reason. Your ideas are GOLD.” – Jazz Jackson 

What are your goals and aspirations for Unearthly Studios, and what role do you see it playing in empowering underrepresented voices within the creative community?

My biggest goal is to build an innovative woman-led creative agency and artist development company that is known for our exceptional work within marketing, creative, and experiential events, collaborate with our dream clients/brands, and developing the careers of the next generation of artist, creatives, and lending our magic to support the rising brands of tomorrow. As we build the UNE dream team, our goal is to bring on other talented women and underrepresented minorities of color to increase the amount of career and professional opportunities for those aspiring a career within the music, arts, firm, and larger entertainment industries.