PROFILE
Passion: music and black film
Occupation: retail business owner specializing in black: music, film, books, magazines (commercial and underground)
Hometown: Harlem
Current Address: Harlem

Favorite Smell: Liz Clairborne for Women
Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Book: Durango Street
Favorite Quote: I just wanna work
Favorite Word: Sacrifice
Favorite Song: The Stakes Is High
Favorite Artist: De La Soul (their music reflects me)
Favorite Restaurant in Harlem and dish: It use to be Reliables //Copelands // smothered , that  chicken, but it closed down!
Favorite Place to Hangout in Harlem: Black Star Video
Favorite thing to do in Harlem: Get Money

MW: What do you love about Harlem?
POP: Ah… I just love Harlem. The history of it, the homely feeling of it. Anywhere I go and when I come back and I hit Harlem, I know I’m home. It’s no feeling like knowing that you’re back home.

MW: What do u think of what’s going on in Harlem today?
POP: I don’t really get down with it. Im old school. All this shit now is a bubble, nobody can rent anything, nobody can sell anything, nobody has any money, so it’s like all for nothing. They could have kept it the way it was for people on the street, amongst each other the way it’s always been. They took that away.

MW: How is business in Harlem for you today?
POP: Tsss… I don’t worry about business I know how to make money. If I see one area getting slow, u ain’t gonna catch me slippin. I take care of people, I employ people. I take care of my brother and his family everybody gotta eat, so what am I gonna do, fold? We try to be different from like Blockbuster, that’s a video store, here it’s like “Yo, I been hearing bout this place!” It’s an event to come here, you know what I’m sayin! I do a lot to keep this going. But we doing alright. Now, if you would have asked me this a couple of months ago, I would have said we were doing F*#ked up! The summer, oh man, I was about to fire one of my employees, man! But I’m doing alright now! It’s always back and forth, but know it’s looking up!

Pop and Shaquille O'neal

Pop and Bow Wow

Pop and Floyd Mayweather

Pop and Ice-T & CoCo

Pop and Chuck D

Pop and Fat Joe

Pop and a basketball player

Pop and a basketball player

Pop, Slick Rick and Stu (Pop's brother)

Pop and Zab Judah

Pop with Pete Rock at Black Star Music and Videos

Pop with retired basketball player, Charles Oakley

Pop with the real Frank Lucas (American Ganster) at Black Star Music and Videos

Pop with Idris Elba at Black Star Music and Videos

jay "ice-pick" jackson

PROFILE
Passion: Music
Occupation: Music Taste-Maker
Hometown: Harlem
Current Address: Harlem
Favorite Book: Forty Million Dollar Slaves
Favorite Movie: The Unusual Suspect
Favorite Quote: Yes, we can!
Favorite Song: Give It To Me Baby
Favorite Artist: Rick James
Favorite restaurant in Harlem: Londel’s and dish: Grilled chicken with the mustard wine sauce, sautéed spinach, and yams!
Favorite place to hangout in Harlem: 17 Below
Favorite thing to do in Harlem? Play basketball with my friends every Sunday in the park. It’s like a tradition. My boys go back to elementary school.

So I called up my long time colleague, Jay “Ice Pick” Jackson and asked him for an interview for my web site www.harlemtastemakers.com. I gave him the run down about the site, and as expected, he agreed. But I knew I would have to corner him for the interview because the life of a music exec is hectic: home today, another state tomorrow, different country the day after.

Initially, we agreed that the interview would be conducted via email. I would email him the questions and he would reply via email. After emailing him the questions, several times, I managed to pin him down and he agreed to reply immediately. He took one look at the emailed questions, hit reply, typed “Call me now!” and then he hit the send button! He let me know, too many questions, but he agreed to a phone interview at that very moment! Yes–finally!
I’ve known Jay for over 10 years and he is one of the humblest people I know in the music industry. He is extremely hard working, always positive, and doesn’t accept no as an answer. He is also very low-key, preferring to keep a low profile while working hard behind the scenes to help deliver hit records to the world. When I told him I would need a picture for the interview, he moaned and groaned. I warned him that I had a back in the day picture and it might not feature his good side. He said he would send me something… still haven’t received it {that’s the back in the day pic)! So, like any other savvy millennial baby, I googled his name and did a search for images. To my surprise, there are no flickrs of Jay on the net!! His discography popped up and his name filled up many google pages but no images. So who is this Jay “Ice Pick” Jackson?

Interview:

MW: What do you love about Harlem?
JJ: I love the history, the style, and the arrogance. People from Harlem, think they are the shit! They think they are a cut above the rest! People from Harlem think and believe that they know everything. Even though they maybe wrong, if they believe something to be true—you can’t tell them anything! You can’t argue with someone who believes something to be true! — When we speak, people listen! When you say, “I’m from Harlem,” that means something. That phrase demands your attention. There is a certain air about us. People respect us. I know when I was in high school and college and I said that to people it meant something! I didn’t really know what it meant, but people reacted, they showed me respect! —- Life in Harlem is immediate, urgent, competitive! It ages you. When you go someplace else life is slow. I just came back from Utah; there is not much to do out there. It’s not like life in Harlem, no place compares.

MW: So, you where born and raised in Harlem. Many music industry folks like yourself, who have made it in the game have moved out and gone onto the suburbs. You’re still here; tell me about your choice to be here?
JJ: I choose to live here because it is home. It is also conveniently located – a 20 minute ride from any place you want to go to. — I also told myself I would never leave if I didn’t own anything here. I want to own some property here. — The history here is so rich. I live in the mix of it all. 125th Street! Strivers Row had the uppity black lawyers and doctors. The people, the arrogance. Harlem is like a cultural Mecca. A lot of what you see today in terms of style and music comes out of Harlem. — Harlem built my character. I grew up watching hustlers who showed me that there are no limits to doing anything I wanted. They lived life like it was their last day. 10 Days of balling out for them, they experienced more than some people do their whole lives. I know I just did not want to end up in jail or murdered! I wanted to strive for more. —– It amazes me, I’m in my 30s and when I think back to when I was about 7 years, I was all over Harlem. I would travel all over, I was only seven! It was like a big neighborhood. Wherever I went in Harlem I saw people I knew, either from my building, my school, family, it was a community. It’s not like that today. As a matter of fact, I don’t even really know the people in my building. Maybe that’s my fault. Maybe I disassociated myself. I travel a lot and I am a loner. I keep to myself. I come and I go. I’m older now, my views are different. I’m more private. But there is not that much of a community feel though.

MW: What do you think of Harlem today?
JJ: Gentrification! Harlem is a beautiful place. Harlem is more diversified than when I was growing up. In 10 years, it will be even more different.

MW: How do you give back to the Harlem community?
JJ: I’m working on that. I do a lot of public speaking, but I’m still thinking of ways to make a great contribution. I travel a lot. I want to do something with the elderly.

MW: As a child, what did you dream you’d grow up to be?
JJ: WHen I was young I wanted to be a lawyer. I know if I still wanted too, I would be a great lawyer! But it was in junior high school I knew I wanted to be in the music industry. I was in a rap group. I was a rapper. So was everyone else. That was the thing! But I noticed that when I rapped I did not take myself seriously, like the others in my group! But I knew I wanted to be involved with the music, I wanted to influence the music somehow.

MW: What’s with Ice Pick?
JJ: That name comes from when I was in jewelry. I use to pick “ice” – diamonds. The name just stuck.

MW: How did you enter the game?
JJ: After graduating from college, I couldn’t find a job. I ended up working for a cleaning company. The person who owned the company was a friend of my grandmother’s. I was not happy there. I could not see myself there doing that, cleaning for the rest of my life. I just graduated from college. I was supposed to be doing better. That’s why I went to college. So, I moved on and started interning then working full-time for a party promoter who owned a jewelry store in Harlem. I was designing a ring for a “D” who is the CEO of Ruff Ryders, he was just starting out at that time. I spoke to him about working for him and the rest is history! That’s how I ended up in the mix of everything.

MW: What did you start out doing?
JJ: I started out as D’s assistant. I did everything. I did a lot of driving. This was a time when Ruff Ryders was starting out. So, I had the luxury of being in the mix of everything. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. No one at that level would get that opportunity that I had with an established label. You don’t see that. There was a lot going on. I saw everything. I was sitting in executive meetings. Our philosophy, no excuses, let’s get it done! Nothing else.

MW: How did you find your niche?
JJ: As D’s assistant, for a business that was just starting out, I did everything. But I was always in the studio. I knew coming in what I wanted to do – influence the music. I was always in the studio. I had to get the album done. I came up with concepts for songs and helped to find beats. I wore many hats it felt like I was a partner instead of an assistant.

MW: What was your biggest obstacle to overcome?
JJ: Working with the different artists personalities. You have to know how to work with them in a non-structured environment.

MW: What was your sweetest surprise?
JJ: Album sales! Seeing the magnitude of the sales and how the world gravitated toward what we were doing.

MW: Who was the first artist that you worked with?
JJ: DMX.

MW: What was that like?
JJ: Crazy! It was a crazy time. It was a roller coaster ride — the ups and downs of making the album. It was a great experience. Very inspirational to see him evolve into a star.

MW: Are you professionally where you want to be?
JJ: Put it this way, I am where I have allowed myself to be. Everything I said I wanted to do, I did it! I believe I have chosen loyalty over monetary advancement. I am comfortable in my skin. I have not regrets.

MW: What is the ultimate destination for you in the music industry?
JJ: I want to get into radio, either hosting my own show where I can voice my own opinion about the industry or I’d like to make regular guest appearances on a show, where I can voice my opinion. I don’t want to deal with the semantics and politics of the music industry. I just want voice my opinion about the industry.

MW: Are you living your dream?
JJ: Yes! I influence the music!

MW: Who are some of the artists you’ve worked with?
JJ: Who haven’t I worked? I’ve worked with pretty much everyone in the rap game today. I also worked with Patti La Belle, Mariah Carey, Shakira, the list goes on.

MW: Can I get a copy of your discography?
JJ: I don’t do paperwork. My work and name is out there.

MW: Who are you currently working with?
JJ: Jada Kiss, Pharrell, Tiana Taylor, Deevy–he is new from Cali; he is a producer/artist and Brandon Beal — also new from Texas.

MW: Has your education and or work experience prepared you for being a music industry executive?
JJ: Yes it has, it taught me to think outside the box.

MW: What do you try to accomplish in your work?
JJ: I try to draw out of the artist that raw, uncut truth about the pain or pleasure of life, their life. A great artist is able to connect with their audience. We are humans and we connect through out feelings. This makes great music.

MW: What do you think of the music industry today?
JJ: The music today, we are disconnected from it. There is no real focus on the artist connecting with the audience. The music is not original. We live in a society that tags along with everything. It does not encourage originality. A lot of people get caught up in the mix. Everything ain’t for everybody. It’s sad because there use to be so much energy back in the day and when I started out. The music was a movement, when the underdogs got a shot and they made it we felt like we made it with them. The people inspired the music and the music inspired the people.

MW: What do you think of the future of the music industry?
JJ: Do you want me to tell you what I think, or the reality of it? (The Harlem coming out!) The industry was run by old Jewish gangsters who monopolized the distribution. The internet twisted their game. They did not embrace that change. They can’t control it, they don’t know how. Piracy is crazy, you can’t stop it. It’s crazy! There is no more money in retail for records. Virgin Mega on 42nd Street is closing in April. Many people who were working at major labels for years have lost their jobs. There will always be good music. Now is actually a great time for small entrepreneurs, online labels, and independents. Not now but RIGHT NOW! The smart will survive.

MW: How long have you been in the industry?
JJ: 10 Years.

MW: What do you enjoy most about what you do?
JJ: The creative aspect of making the song. To make a record that affects other people — it touches them. To see something that you thought about that makes people feel a certain way.

MW: Who is the biggest influence in your career?
JJ: It was really the love of the music that influenced my career not a person. I  remember when I was just starting out, Bad Boy would come out with a hit, then Rockafella, then Murder Inc, then Def Row and Ruff Ryders. When one label would come out with a hit another would come back with a banger and another label would come out with another joint to top that. The music influenced me. I have to say that I was moved by Quincy Jones story when I read his autobiography. His passion for the music and his struggle to make it. It is inspirational!

MW: What is the most important lesson you learned along your career path?
JJ: Know your surroundings, know who you are dealing with and what you’re getting into.

MW: What do you consider your single most important professional achievement accomplished?
JJ: My loyalty and work ethic. The music industry is a big circle. I really believe in what I do. I stay close to the music, no gimmicks! It’s not about the check for me, my name is on the work.

MW: What is your business philosophy?
JJ: Make it happen! No excuses! By any means necessary!

MW: The biggest challenge you face today?
JJ: To stay creative and not get caught up in the politics of the industry. The hardest thing to do today in the industry is to stay sucker free.

MW: What are you doing these days?
JJ: I have my own consultant business. I offer my music development expertise and services to record labels, artists, management companies… whoever needs it. If you’re a new artist and you want to get an album made, come talk to me. If you’re a management company and you want to expand your company beyond music to other media outlets come see me. If you’re a label and you want to know what’s hot and what’s not, you definitely need to come talk to me!

MW: How is that going?
JJ: It is great! I have no complaints!

MW: What do you think of Barack Obama as the new president of the USA?
JJ: He’s got a hell of a job to ahead of him! I believe he shows kids anything is possible. He’s got a great wife to help him, which is just what he needs.

MW: What do you like doing in your free time?
JJ: Playing basketball! Of late, the past 8 months I’ve been playing a lot video games.

MW: Like?
JJ: The Call of Duty, basketball, PS3 games. They are addictive. Adults get to live out their fantasy in video games, we don’t want to let go.

MW: What book are you reading now?
JJ: The Celestine Prophecy.

MW: What are your beliefs about life in one sentence?
JJ: Do onto others as you want done to you.

MW: What major mistake from your past you do not regret?
JJ: Not taking that internship at NBC.

MW: What do you know for sure about life?
JJ: The move you make today will determine where you will be tomorrow.

MW: What do you consider your single most important personal achievement?
JJ: My daughter, being an active part of her life.

MW: Who do you admire most?
JJ: My grandmother.

MW: Why?
JJ: Throughout her life she struggled, but she kept going! She made a lot of sacrifices for her family, she was very giving!

MW: What’s the best feeling?
JJ: To know that I’ve done what I was suppose too and it had the desired effect I wanted.

MW: Elaborate?
JJ: Like when I worked with X (DMX) on either his second or 3rd album. From the ground up: picking the beats, the music, watching him work hard on the album, then watching him perform the music on stage for 20,000 people and watching them respond to the music they way we wanted them too. That is the best feeling!

MW: The worst?
JJ: Realizing that I could not make my family work, the time I lost, not having my daughter in the same household with me -— knowing I had to move on!

MW: Where do you find inspiration?
JJ: I have a picture at home of an angel that is a silhouette. He is looking over slaves picking cotton in a cotton field. I look at that picture and think if we could make it through slavery, we could make it thru anything! That picture inspires me.

MW: If you could meet one person dead or alive who would it be?
JJ: Marvin Gaye.

MW: Why?
JJ: We would have made some killer joints! I’d want to know how he did what he did, soak up his energy. He lived in a time when people inspired the music and music inspired the people.

MW: What advice would you give to someone trying to enter the music world, either as an exec or and artist?
JJ: Don’t do it for the money or fame, do it for the love.

MW: Finish this sentence: in 2020 Jay Jackson will be…….
JJ: Giving my opinion to the masses from a remote location.

Jhanna Davis

PROFILE

jhanna davis
student | trailblazer
Passion: psychology
Occupation: full-time student
Hometown: Harlem
Current Address: Baltimore, MD

Jhanna Davis is a truly a Phenomenal Teen. Jhanna is the daughter of Maria Davis, who is a vigilant AIDS activist in the Harlem community. Jhanna was 6 years old when her mother contracted the HIV virus. At such a tender age Jhanna had to care for her mother, becoming her eyes, ears, hands and feet when her mother became very ill. She did not have a typical childhood.

Jhanna is now 18 years of age. Her childhood experience has made her anything but a victim. She has emerged a strong and determined young woman, a leader in her own right. Throughout junior high and high school she was a HIV peer advisor, she coordinated AIDS awareness and HIV testing events; she led her peers to numerous AIDS walks and raised a bit of money towards AIDS research. Throughout all of this she still had the drama of being a teen growing up in New York City.

Despite what seemed at times like insurmountable odds, Jhanna graduated from high school.  When it seemed like she would not be able to go to college because her mother could not afford to pay for it, Jhanna’s experiences and determination led her to Morgan State University, where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Meet Harlem Taste-Maker, Jacqueline “Jacci” Allmond. She is the proud owner of Pizzaz Salon & Spa located at 333 Malcolm X Blvd in Harlem (bet 126th & 127th Streets).

PROFILE

Favorite Color: Pink
Favorite Movie: Bapps with Hale Berry, a romantic, heart warming movie, funny, ghetto, all rapped up in love.
Favorite Restarant in Harlem: Sylvia’s (fried chicken with mac & cheese and collard greens) and Food For Life (sunset salad)!
Favorite Place to hangout in Harlem: Hudson River Cafe It’s for the grown & sexy! My drink is the Mojito
What I LOVE about Harlem: I love everything about harlem! The people are like no other. The culture, the history, Cotton Club, Lenox Lounge, all the historical places are still        here for you to see. The first dept store, the sign is still there although the store is gone.

Tell me a bit about your background?

I began in the industry a little over 15 years ago. After completing 2 years of college I decided to go to beauty school (Robert Fiance) because I felt computers were going to take over the world. I wanted to have a skill that a computer could not take away from me.

I had a corporate job for a minute, along with doing hair part-time. Two things I realized were that if I wanted to be good at doing hair I had to apply myself full-time and that I was making more money in the two days I did hair rather than a week at my full time corporate job. I worked at a few salons then I opened Pizzaz in 1996.

What’s the culture like at Pizzaz?

I wanted a place were the stylist worked as a team, working for the betterment of our industry. I started out small  with 7 styling stations then decided to expanded when the space next door became vacant.

I did a full gut renovation with 15 styling stations, two treatment rooms for facials and massages and a manicure and pedicure area. I wanted to be able to keep the clients in one salon for all their services. At Pizzaz, we have a lot of fun on a daily basis. We’re a family. All of my clients feel welcomed at the salon. They can relax and be comfortable.

Do you specialize in Black hair care only?

I would say that because we do because that is what the neighborhood calls for, but we can do all hair types and textures. That’s the great thing about hair, it has no color, its about type and texture!

Who are your mentors?

I do have mentors in the hair industry: Veronica Forbes, Dave Ray and Jacqueline Tarrant

Where do you draw your inspiration?

I look at styles Europeans are wearing and bring that to our client base. For short cuts, what the men are sporting in the magazines. My team and I attend fashion shows and other hair shows. Inspiration comes from all things.

It could be a shape, a color or a tweek of a retro style from the past. We try to take things to a new level. Fashion plays a big part in where hair trends go. If a long coat is in than short hair looks great. If short fashion styles are in then long hair may rule. It really depends on certain elements.

Do you have a signature hair style?

Short cuts!

What do you LOVE most about what you do?

I would say the best part of what I do is when a person comes in one way and I do a complete change. It’s a make-over in disguise. The smile and even sometimes the happy tears are overwhelming. I love my work!! I am also a therapist. I mix personal advice in with the hairstyles.

How do you give back to the Harlem community?

I sponsor a list of events: domestic violence, Bapps for young girls, Pizazz Back to School Dazes, Harlem Week Fashion & Hair Show and fashion week.  We were featured in Jet magazine 3xs and we are in all the hair publications.

What are you up to these days?

Right now I am renovating the salon to add a hair replacement center.  I will also retail hair products. Also, I work for Soft Sheen Carson a division of L’Oréal and Sensationnel Pro 10 Hair.

Milton Allimadi owner Black Star News

Favorite Color: Black
Favorite Book: The Black Jacobins, by C.L.R. James
Favorite Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Favorite Newspapers: The Black Star News and The Wall Street Journal
Favorite Quote: All Men Are Created Equal
Favorite Word: Please
Favorite Smell: Rose
Favorite restaurant in Harlem and dish: Mo Bay Restaurant (Oxtail with rice and peas)
Favorite place to hangout in Harlem: My Home or Settepani Restaurant
Favorite thing to do in Harlem?: Walk along 125th Street
What do you love about Harlem?: It’s the Black cultural capital…..The Schomburg Center, The Studio Museum of Harlem, The Abyssinian Baptist Church, 125th Street….Black people
Why did you choose to live in Harlem?: Harlem is reflective of my character and the character of my newspaper, The Black Star News and my magazine Harlem Business News. Very Pan African and very Global.

MW: Tell me a little about yourself?
MA: I love writing and news and I love reading books and story telling. I am an eternal optimist and believe that tomorrow is always a better day and that’s what keeps me going.

MW: And your background and education?
MA: I was born in Uganda. My father was a diplomat, ambassador to Washington, so I actually started grade school in the US. I then grew up in Uganda and Tanzania and came back to the
US to go to college. I went to Syracuse where I studied economics. I later went back to school, the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia where I studied print journalism. I then worked at The Journal of Commerce, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. My favorite years in journalism, before The Black Star News was with The City Sun, a Black-oriented weekly newspaper in Brooklyn. When The City Sun folded, I drew up a business plan and sent it out to more than 50 wealthy Black folk. Many of them wrote back and said it was a great plan and ‘good luck.’ Fortunately, one couple sent me an envelope with a check. It was Camille and Bill Cosby–that’s how I launched The Black Star News in 1997.

MW: How long have you been living in Harlem?
MA: Apart from when I started school in Washington, D.C., I came back in 1980 and have been living here since then.

MW: How has your education and or work experience prepared you for being a publisher?
MA: I think the fact that I studied so many subjects gave me knowledge and interest in many different subjects; that’s the best preparation for publishing. I studied economics, history and political science in College before journalism. I also read newspapers and magazines from all over the world.

MW: How is the publishing business different here in this country from your native country?
MA: It’s very difficult to raise money for a new enterprise even here in the United Stats; in developing countries it’s almost impossible. Also, press freedom is lax in developing countries and often does not even exist, meaning journalists can be targeted for arrest or even killed.

MW: What is BSN? What is your mission? What are you trying to accomplish with BSN?
MA: The Black Star News offers a Pan African perspective —- a Black perspective to news and information. Often, so-called mainstream media do not have their priorities right when it comes to news that affects people of African ancestry. The Black Star News is our way of trying to level the playing field somewhat.

MW: Explain the name?
MA: It is a salute to the legacy and memory of Marcus Garvey; he was the greatest Pan African in history and inspired other great Pan Africans like Kwame Nkrumah

MW: How long has the paper been in business?
MA: Since 1997 and our website since 1999.

MW: Tell me about the genesis of the idea of BSN?
MA: After The City Sun went out of business I had decided that I was not going to return to the so-called mainstream media. I drew up a business plan the minute we were forced out of The City Sun’s offices by creditors.
MW: How did it come into being?
MA: I just drew up the business plan and started pitching it to potential investors.

MW: What was the biggest stumbling block you faced during this process?
MA: It’s a stumbling block we still have; the challenge of capital.

MW: The most pleasurable surprise you faced during the process?
MA: Not really a surprise, I always knew that if you have a good plan and that if you’re persistent, eventually your vision will be rewarded.

MW: What do you enjoy most about what you do?
MA: That I can actually make a living from doing the things I love the most — reading, writing, and delivering information.

MW: What do you consider the single most important achievement your newspaper has accomplished in today’s marketplace? In the lives of your readers?
MA: We have broken several major stories and exposed corruption and provided a forum that many African American readers would not have to tell their stories. One of the major stories we broke was in 2000 and involved corruption at Morgan Stanley, the giant investment bank. After that I was interviewed on CNN, and there were write ups about The Black Star News in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times magazine, The Daily News, The New York Post, Newsweek, Brill’s Content Magazine, and The New York Observer.

MW: The biggest challenge today?
MA: Raising more capital so we can promote the paper and increase staffing.

MW: If you had magical powers and could make BSN a human being, describe that human being….
MA: Milton Allimadi; compassionate and dedicated to justice.

MW: Finish this sentence: in 2013 BSN will be ……
MA: A major daily newspaper in addition to the leading African American website.

MW: What do you think of the future of publishing?
MA: It will be online and on other multi-media outlets. But decent print publications, maybe mostly magazines, will still exist. Very few newsprint newspapers if at all….

MW: How does BSN help the Harlem community?
MA: By letting Harlemites know that they have their own newspaper. And the sister publication Harlem Business News chronicles the story of Harlem’s businesses.

MW: What do you think of Barack Obama as the new President of the USA?
MA: In addition to being the first Black president, and showing all young Black folk that anything is attainable, he’s also the smartest and most competent of all the candidates that he ran against.

MW: What do you like doing in your free time?
MA: Watching CNN, and MSNBC and shows like Meet The Press, and Like It Is, or just going to a Barnes and Noble and reading a good book.

MW: What book are you reading now?
MA: The World Is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman

MW: Do you have a favorite personal quote?
MA: “Nothing Is Impossible.”

MW: What are your beliefs about life in one sentence?
MA: “We Must All Make The World A Better Place For Our Children.”

MW: What major mistake from your past you do not regret?
MA: I have no regrets; everything is a learning experience. Yet, my mother passed away from cancer last year and I miss her tremendously. I showed her much love but I don’t think I ever really told her I loved her. Also maybe I should have visited her more in London.

MW: What do you know for sure about life?
MA: Life is short; try to enjoy the company of all the people you love whenever you can.

MW: What do you consider your single most important personal achievement?
MA: Founding The Black Star News.

MW: Who do you admire most? Why?
MA: President Elect Barack Obama. He had a vision and then he devised a plan to bring that vision to fruition.

MW: Who is the biggest influence in your career?
MA: My father, now deceased, had great confidence in me and always told me I was a genius. In publishing, Andrew Cooper and the late publisher of The City Sun, was my mentor.

MW: What is your business philosophy?
MA: Focus on the things you know. I know media that’s why I’m in publishing.

MW: You have had a unique path through your career, what is the most important lesson you learned along this path?
MA: That if you want something very important done, if it’s a life and death type situation, make sure you do it yourself.

MW: What’s most important to you in life?
MA: The love of great friends and family.

MW: What’s the best feeling?
MA: When I know we are publishing a great story; an exclusive.

MW: The worst?
MA: People sometimes criticize me for not panicking. My thing is why stress over things you can’t control?

MW: How do you fuel your fire?
MA: The memory of mother, Alice Allimadi. Wanted to always do her proud and still do even though she’s no longer in this world.

MW: If you could meet one person dead or alive who would it be? Why?
MA: President Elect Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela. They both had dreams and convictions and both were vindicated.

MW: What’s your greatest asset?
MA: Patience.

MW: If you could live your life over what is one thing you would change?
MA: Not a single thing apart from spending more time with my late mother.

MW: What projects are you currently working on?
MA: I wrote 1 book: The Hearts of Darkness, How White Writers Created The Racist Image of Africa.
Additionally, I launched Harlem Business News in 2006 after I saw that businesses were moving aggressively into Harlem. With the new developments and modernization, we also wanted to examine how large businesses would be able to co-exist with traditional mom-and-pop establishments; whether a mutually beneficial relationship could evolve where the powerful corporations would also see the need for supporting African American enterprises. So far, with the increase in rents, the future seems dire for small businesses.

www.blackstarnews.com

aliyyah baylor owner of make my cake bakery

Profile of a Pastry Artist

Favorite desert at your bakery? The red and white
Favorite color: Cobalt blue {I won’t wear it though}
Favorite book: I like magazines, Town & Country
Favorite quote: “Common sense ain’t that common”
Favorite movie: GI Jane
Favorite smell: Coco Chanel
Favorite word: Wack
Favorite restaurant in Harlem: Ricardo’s
Favorite dish there: Steak & shrimp, garlic spinach with the potatoes
Favorite place to hangout in Harlem: O’s Bar & Lounge

MW: What do you love about Harlem?
AB: Harlem is my home! I’ve created my happiness here. Harlem has helped me get to be where I am – I exist because of Harlem!

MW: How long have you been making cakes?
AB: I’ve been doing this for about 20 years now. I’m going to be celebrating my 20th anniversary of making cakes in a few weeks.

MW: You look so young. You don’t look a day over 30.
AB: I’ll be 40 in March.

MW: So you were about 20 when you started?
AB: I started when I was 19.

MW: Tell me about the genesis of your cake baking career?
AB: I remember when I was 5 years old, actually it was for my 5th birthday — my mom handed me a book and asked me to pick out a picture of the type of cake I wanted for my birthday, and she made it and decorated it. I picked out a picture of a castle cake. Of course, it was like the biggest cake in the book. She made it. It was a big cake, we had cake for weeks. There were only two people at my party, me and my next-door neighbor. {laughs}I remember it well. I have pictures of that too. My mother made cakes for people. She was a decorator. She had a lot of clients. One of my fondest memories from my childhood was not being able to watch cartoons on Saturdays because I had to be in the kitchen helping her. I was actually being trained to do something.

MW: Did you want to have a career in baking as a child?
AB: At no point could anyone quote that I would be doing this. My friends would come over and I would be excited to go outside and hangout with them, my mother would have them in the kitchen showing them how to decorate flowers for a cake. I’d be like duh…

MW: So how did this become your life?
AB: I started college when I was 17, completely unprepared for the world. I stuck it out for two years, and, when I came home from school one summer, I stayed home. My mother stopped baking after 15 years to take on a corporate job, full-time. Mind you, at this point she had a client base for 15 years. Her clients were calling the house crying on the phone, begging–some said they would pay whatever. It was 90 degrees and I wanted to go outside – shoot, whatever! Then I got sucked in. From 19 years of age, it’s been nonstop! I remember the first cake I made for a client. I was on the phone with my mother, who was at her job, for three hours crying, because it didn’t look right. She had to walk me through it because I did not know what to do. It then became a building of clients: my mother’s old client-base and my new client-base. I was astounded that people would come to the house to pick up the cakes. I never – I hate to use the word—seriously, but I never took what my mother did as serious. I always viewed it as a hobby. But my client base grew crazy from there. I had Motown Records and the Apollo Theater as clients. I had people from Brooklyn and all over New York calling me and coming to my house — I wondered where did they got cakes before?. I remembered I took a job in a bank and I use to put my business cards in my teller window. I used to bring cakes to work all the time. I would be getting clients in the bank. There would be a long line and I would be running to the back to get the client a cake. (laughs) I would wrap the cake up in anything, a bag, a box, anything. The manager was a sweetheart – he never said anything about it.

MW: So, you stumbled into this. What gave you the motivation to continue and expand?
AB: You don’t get the confidence to do this until you get the feedback. Every cake order was a defining moment. My client base got so ridiculous that I had to turn down clients. I now had a lot of clients in the music industry and every cake I made for their party, I was at that party. Making cakes became fun. It was then that it became a no-brainer. I had to open up a store. I couldn’t do this in my kitchen anymore and I needed more help.

MW: So this fast growth of clients and demand led you to open up a store-front?
AB: The motivation for the first store was that I felt I owed it to my mother. My first store was on 110th Street. My mother and I are partners 50/50. My brothers came on board a bit later.

MW: How did you come up with the name for your business?
AB: That’s a funny story. I had business cards that said “Cakes by Aliyyah.” I really didn’t care about a name, it wasn’t a thought. I had a girlfriend that said you make great cakes and you have such a corny business card. She had an event and needed three cakes. She said she would design a logo for me. I said ok. She was insistent that I had to come to her house and see the design. I didn’t really care and told her to print it – whatever! She was insistent in my coming! So, I was on the phone with her getting her address and I couldn’t hear her good, I kept asking her to repeat her address and apartment number and she said the address and her apt number: 10 M like in make My Cake. I told her I liked that replace the cakes by aliyyah with that!

MW: How many years now have you had a store?
AB: 14 years and there are two stores. The one uptown on 139th Street is my mother’s and this one here on 116th Street it mine.

MW: What were some of the obstacles you faced in the process of trying to establish your business?
AB: Learning how to run a business, learning to write a business plan. Twenty years into this, (the past three years ) I’ve learned the most. Knowledge comes to you at different times in your life. It comes to you when you seek it. I am now really learning how to run a business.

MW: What was one of the most traumatic and defining moments in running your business?
AB: When I had to close my store on 110th Street — it was the best thing that ever happened to me, but the most traumatic also (when I was going through it). I couldn’t see past the closing of the store.

MW: Why did you have to close the store?
AB: They sold the building.

MW: How did you handle it?
AB: I gave those people grief; I fought them with all the fight in me. There was no animosity though — they had to respect my fight because I was right.

MW: What lessons did you learn from that ordeal?
AB: HAVE A VERY GOOD LAWYER! Maybe even two: a business lawyer and a real estate lawyer. Pay people for their services. I had a “friend” lawyer. Prepare your business for the following year with “what ifs” scenarios. Learn from the experience of others, read business magazines.

MW: You moved on, you have a new store now, what kept you going?
AB: Not being defeated. My competitive side came out. It took forever to open this store. I felt like I kept getting left hooks everywhere. Good lawyer! I felt like I took a business crash course that was expensive; cost me two years of time and money. Funny, my business does 10 times better here at this location than it did on 110th Street.

MW: What was one of the greatest surprises throughout your business experience?
AB: Besides my clients being happy, my staff! I feel a great sense of accomplishment with them. I feel that if they got a job today that paid them more money, they would stay here because of the environment I created. I have a young staff between the ages of 18 – 21yrs. When I listen to them reflect on the things I said to them in the past, I feel good. I can relate to them. They remind me of when I was young and didn’t know anything. I didn’t know about credit cards and how to save my money. It is an opportunity for me to teach them what I now know. To give them a jumpstart, I have one of my girls, who is in Albany reading Suzie Orman. — You never know who is going to walk through the door, but I try to hire people who are in college or a least have a high school diploma or GED. It says something about them. I want to instill different things in them. I am a boss, mentor, big sister, friend, sometimes an enemy, and then a friend again. A friend told me I’m baking more than cakes here.

MW: Tell me about the atmosphere you’ve created here for your clients?
AB: Comfort! I want my customers to be happy. I’m happy that they walk through the door. I choose my battles with them. {Regarding décor}There is a bit of old mixed in with the new here. I have a great respect for the old and I love the new. Everything here is a conversation piece, like my cakes. When you walk in here you see vintage – like my chandelier that is my prize in here! It is one of a kind. It is beautiful, yet it has cracks in it. It is a focus point and it says “Here I Am!” My chairs are modern. Everything has definition and character and it all comes together! It is all a reflection of me. You know this is my spot when I walk out. A lot of my clients know when they see me. I definitely got what I intended to do with the decorating. I want people to be very comfortable here without being too loungy.

MW: What challenges do you face today?
AB: Maintaining quality and consistency with products, the environment and client services. Coming up with different promotions and techniques to keep business coming, especially now since we’re in a recession. In this community, there are a lot of low and middle-income people.

MW: What are some of the promotions?
AB: I am going to have a “bake sale,” something like “buy one, get one-half off. I got that idea from Denny’s. I want to have a raffle in the store. I walked into a thrift store! the other day and they were having a raffle — you could win a $5 gift certificate in the store and I won too.

MW: What’s the greatest business advice you?
AB: Not to take anything for granted when your business appears to be running smoothly! Your presence must always be felt even when you are in your living room. You have to create a trusting staff. It’s a great feeling to trust your staff and know that they have the common sense to do what needs to be done. Your presence must always be felt, you become a magician.

MW: What’s your business philosophy?
AB: Be respectful! – You will have a happy staff and happy clients. You get what you give.

MW: What advice will you give to someone who is just starting out?
AB: You have to also be a consumer. Become your client. You will stay on top of yourself. You’ll see what no one else sees.

MW: How do you give back to the Harlem community?
AB: I have interns, I sponsor community events. The fact that I exist – that I give a product – that I have this establishment and not take my business elsewhere because someone else said my business should be elsewhere, I give back!

MW: What do you like to do in your free time?
AB: I am a sucker for comedy. I will hunt down a good comedy show. I am also a spa junky. If I had the time I would travel to different places just to eat. I watch these travel shows and I pay attention to what people eat and I write down the places that they go to. I tell myself, I’m going to go there. I’m putting that on my list of 40 new things to do for my 40th birthday.

MW: Your beliefs about life?
AB: everything in divine order. Sometimes we get off track – God will place us back when we are ready. I’ve experienced that first hand!

MW: Have you made any major mistakes that you do not regret?
AB: Uhmm… I don’t know if I have one of those? I do things and don’t think. I’ve made mistakes that I regret. Well, ok, I hired someone and signed a contract for decorating, I ended up firing the person and doing the work myself – just proving to myself that I could have done the job all along!

MW: What do you know for sure?
AB: Life is created happiness!

MW: Please explain?
AB: You have to create happiness, not seek it. It is always right in front of you. It’s like looking at an abstract painting, everyone sees something different.

MW: Name me one person, dead or alive, that you would like to meet?
AB: Suzie Orman.
MW: Why?
AB: She is the realist financial advisor that I can relate too. She talks to me like I’m two years. I understand the basics.

MW: What’s you greatest asset?
AB: My kids. They are my inspiration. They keep me going. A lot of ideas for my business are generated from them. I am a single mom.

MW: Finish this sentence, in 2020 Make My Cake will be…?
AB: The ultimate destination for your sweet-tooth!