Double Feature: The Man Behind the Blog

Hey, Sock Heads. It’s been a busy week for your boy NWSO. Believe it or not we’re less than 30 days away from the one-year anniversary of NakedWithSocksOn.com. I’m in the beginning stages of planning the bash for that sometime next month in NYC (sorry out of towners but I gotta keep the home court advantage) so be on the lookout for info on that. But I’m getting ahead of myself, this bonus Saturday post is to highlight a pair of NakedWithSocksOn.com interviews that were released earlier this week and I wanted to share with you guys.

The first is an article conducted by fellow writer/blogger  from She’s Gotta Have It, who got me to participate in panel series called BLCK. It was a healthy discussion on the experiences of Black men in the professional world and ways we can better network to build our net worth. I included the first half of the accompanying interview and links to the nifty photo shoot conducted by photographer Kenroy George.

The second is a video interview with my man Big Ced of the Industry Co-Sign. Ced braved the mean streets of Brooklyn and the impending rain to chop it up with me about the growth of the site and evolution of my career as a journalist. I generally hate being on camera but it was for a good cause—self-promotion/branding. LOL. To quote my man Ghostface, “Since the face been revealed, game got real.”

Thanx for rockin’ with me thus far. I look forward to celebrating the one-year anniversary with those that can make it out next month and continuing to provide thought provoking content for y’all. As always, hit me on the email if you have ideas, questions or want to submit a guest blog. For us, by us.

Sincerely yours,

NWSO

BLCK Feature?

Why do you think so many publications come to you to write for them??
I think it’s a mix. I come to them and they come to me. I’ve also been around for 10 years so I have a name in this industry. I also think that when you’re in the game for a long time, you tend to cross paths with other writers and editors. It’s about keeping relationships across the board.

You graduated from CUNY Hunter College with a degree in Media Studies and Creative Writing. When did you first say, “I want to be a writer?”?
I never actually said it. Whenever I wrote an essay in college, I would always get an A. Multiple choice [exams] were 50/50. By junior year, I kind of decided that I wanted to be a writer. I used to write music and poetry, and was wavering in what I wanted to do with my degree. When I graduated, I sent my resume out to a bunch of different magazines and record labels, and The Source happened to hit me back. My first piece was published in The Source while I was on staff with them.

You’ve written for so many publications for years. What made you decide to go and create your own through the medium of blogging? Why did you create NakedWithSocksOn.com??
With that, it’s kind of two-fold. I was at The Source for four years and I freelanced for three years after that. We started The Ave magazine and worked on that for four years. It kept me sharp through editing. At the end of it’s run, I was working at XXL and I didn’t have my own outlet. Usually, when you’re writing for someone else, you have to do what your editors tell you to do. So I just came home one day and decided to start a blog. I didn’t go into it with the idea of it becoming a relationship site. I just wanted to write what I felt. But I speak of different issues, not just sex and relationships. It might be scandalous at times but there is always a message.

As a Black journalist, do you write for a Black audience or all people??
My audience depends on whom I am writing for. If I’m writing for a Black or urban magazine then I write in that voice. You write according to the audience who will be reading your work. If I’m writing for Glamour magazine, then I’d have a different writing voice than if I were writing for The Source. But in terms of my blog, I like to keep it as what I feel is universal. It’s more personal—my thoughts on sex and relationships, which I feel is universal. But there will be times when it’s more of a Black thing, than it is an Asian thing or a White thing, just because of what the issue is that I’m talking about.

Who were your influences coming up as a journalist??
Tracii McGregor, Kris Ex, Aliya S. King. She [Aliya] inspired me to take my boss’ job at The Source. My boss had left and they were looking to replace her and I was her old assistant. Aliya was the one who had convinced me to apply for the position and I ended up taking it. At 24 I was head of a department for two years after that, and now she says that I inspired her to blog, so it’s kinda like we exchanged roles. CLICK HERE FOR MORE/FLICKS.