This Woman Works- A Chat With Jameelah

This Woman Works- A Chat With Jameelah

[Music] welcome to another episode of this woman works I am your host Mike Patton and on this episode we going to the ATL shouting no no I’m really not going to uh bring that back you know that’s like you know I’m saying for like 20 years but anyway um we are going to Atlanta for my next guest she is definitely someone that is known in the NBA and the WNBA streets that would be Miss Jamil Johnson how are you I doing well Mike how are you doing great doing great well we’re gonna get into your story your journey kind of Enlighten folks about you if they don’t know about you they will know about you after this uh but before we do that with every episode we open up with the black girl magic moment and this moment it’s a little bit more special because I’ve seen this person’s Journey now when I first met this person I knew her as a fan of the Indianapolis Colts now for those that aren’t aware I do have another podcast called Torn AFC South that talks about the Colts among other teams in AFC South so when I first met Megan Hall yes Megan Hall is the black girl magic moment for this episode when I first met Megan Hall I knew her as an Indianapolis Colts fan I did not know her as anything else but there was more to her than just being a Colts fan she actually um had aspirations about you know wanting to do things in sports and you can tell that she loved Sports and was willing to put in the work so she began writing noticed writing then she went through podcast and those different things was hosting the show putting together a show has her own imprint now called all about sports for those that don’t know you need to go follow that now uh she actually believed in her dream so much to actually be a a writer and want to follow sports that she went back to school went to full sale University while doing a day job that is is very much you know having a family at the same time at that that’s a lot to take on so she did that went back to school got graduated from Full Cale still writing still doing all those things and you know of course now she’s covering to Atlanta Dream she’s covering to Atlanta five I mean she’s writing for For the Win she’s a staff writer for For the Win oh and by the way she was doing this while you know I did like I mention having full-time job then she got you know for the win she’s a staff writer there writes on the WNBA writes on uh you know women’s cops basketball a lot of different things that she does but you also have to admire and respect the journey she believed in Her Dream she believed that she could do it she had people behind her that believed that she could do it and she went out there and executed and I have to kind of give you know I have to tip my hat show respect and show some love to Megan Hall she is the black girl magic moment because she truly saw something believed in it and she went out there and she made it happen she ain’t wait for anybody else she went and made it happen we appreciate you Megan we appreciate you you got anything you want to add um I’ve actually not known Megan as long as you have I just met her last year but when she came in to cover the dream she came in fully committed like fully committed wanted to know like the ins and outs how to navigate and everything and this I just admired just the work that she put in even before she got hired for for the win like she was putting in that work she was grinding she was covering the dream um we were sometimes it was just me and her in the press conference room like she was there she’s dedicated so she’s definitely from what I’ve seen she’s done all the work she continues to do the work she continues to put in the time and just show her dedication so I’m very very proud of where she’s gone and where she’s going definitely definitely and and by the way I just listened this morning she was on radio in Las Vegas ESPN Radio in Las Vegas talking about the WNBA this morning so yes that’s beautiful yeah she was dropping a ton of knowledge and you know I I got to show respect to to and props to her you know she’s living the dream that many people would love to be living right now I love it speaking of speaking of living the dream let’s talk about you nice transition now there was a uh there was a a dream you probably had at some point growing up I don’t know that what point that is but we’ll get to that later you know wanted to do what you currently do which for those that don’t know can you please tell everyone what you do yeah I feel like a lot of people don’t know um and honestly I do like a little bit of everything so I I have my own blog website um I also run my own YouTube um and then I do photography as well so I do a little bit of everything but mainly because I started off doing my own website um so I do run a website that covers the Hawks it’s atlhawks fans.com um and obviously I tweet on social media about the Hawks as well about just the NBA and Sports in general um but mainly I started off doing the blog and then it kind of just took off from there uh so the YouTube is where the money is I will say that but but it was fun to start off with the blog and like really writing is where like my passion is so so that’s how I got let me let me take my pen out real quick because you said you YouTube is where the money resides so let me write that down real quick all right but but you know kind of getting back kind of going all the way back to you growing up so where did you actually grow up so I’m actually originally from New Jersey um but I grew up in alfaretta Georgia which is like 30 40 minutes north of Atlanta um so that’s where I grew up my parents always told us my brother and I that we needed to claim New Jersey so I still claimed Jersey I’m still very much girl I’m a jersey Peach as they might say sometimes um but I grew up in alfaretta so Alfreda Atlanta and then I went to school here as well like I went to Spellman College so I just kind of stayed in Atlanta gotta gotcha so you know you gonna just stay claiming you you north south that’s what you’re gonna be saying north south I have to right so how was it uh kind of growing up you know in Alpharetta SL Atlanta uh and um you know kind of having a little bit of New Jersey but still but living in the South because I know a lot of people mov from New York New Jersey yeah down to the Atlanta so you know I’ve seen it over the years so how was that kind of transition one and how was it just growing up in the south in Atlanta compared to New Jersey yeah so I was super young when we came down here um so for me it was pretty seamless um except the part of like I felt more like I had more of a community in New Jersey just I mean I don’t know if that it might have been a tale of the times as well just neighborhoods looking out for each other but when we came down here it was a lot it was a lot different um so it was it was um a little difficult for my my parents to kind of adjust just because I mean like everybody says it’s a little slower paced it’s it the the the environment was different um and especially in alfaretta since it’s north of Atlanta it w there weren’t a lot of black people um so for me like growing up I didn’t really have like a whole bunch of black friends um and it was just it was different like for my parents I know kind of navigating that and and knowing kind of how to to to what to tell us and what to teach us and kind of getting us prepared because it was different than when we were up north I mean it really was gotcha I I I definitely understand I grew up in Nashville so and I grew up actually not in downtown Nashville I grew up like on the outskirts almost close to Antioch which for those in Nashville you know where Antioch is it’s kind of it’s actually on it’s actually going I24 towards uh towards Atlanta it’s not like way outside of Nashville it’s like literally a couple streets over and you’re in Antioch but um but yeah definitely that neighborhood at that point in time definitely wasn’t a lot of us out here it was more coming as I got older but at the beginning yeah it was different it was different definitely I understand I understand so um you know of course we all have dreams growing up we all want to be certain things I know with me I want to be an NFL football player you know I made out college and didn’t quite make it after that but yeah what did you originally want to be growing up because I I know it wasn’t you know you didn’t have this dream of I want to do this and have a website and you know so what did you originally dream dream about being growing up the funny thing is a lot of people I feel like don’t know this about me but I didn’t really get into sports until like adult years so growing up um my dad actually played he played in coach basketball my brother played and coached basketball and and played football and my mom ran track and I was the only one who wasn’t athletic I was of course I did not get that genan um I was in the music so I played the saxophone I was very much like musically inclined I like to like write poetry so I actually wanted to be a singer growing up to say I had the talent um not necessarily but that was one of the things that like as a kid I was like oh I could be a singer and I would write songs and I would do different things like that but it wasn’t I was never really serious about it so my parents didn’t think to put me in choir and you know chorus and all that stuff I just I was just kind of like I could do that but ultimately I didn’t know what I wanted to do as far as a job I thought hey being a singer might be fun but I didn’t know what I wanted to do as a job I liked writing I knew that was always a thing I enjoyed doing but I didn’t really know I didn’t know I I knew like a lot of my friends wanted to be doctors and lawyers and people threw all that out and I didn’t like I knew what I didn’t want to be and what I didn’t want to do but I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I’m still kind of like that like yeah I do Sports now but I’m still kind of like is this so it’s it’s just it’s one of those things where where as a child I just was kind of like oh maybe I can sing maybe I can write poetry or write songs and form a group or something like that that was kind of like my dream I guess job or something I would do all right all right would it be 678 or it would be 404 would that be the name of the group I’m trying to think 404 all right for those that don’t know those are area codes synonymous with the the area so you know but um definitely um now of course I I definitely understand where you’re going with that one because I would say probably later in my life is when I found out I liked other things outside of sports a little bit more terms of like writing poetry or doing short story series and all that stuff because I’ve probably written about six or seven short story series that probably a lot of people don’t know I do or have done not very cool so yeah I definitely understand that you know I can imagine you now sitting there at the The Poetry session you got a saxophone you know doing all that and then you know you come out with the little poetry session and then the stage I can imagine that very much [Laughter] like right right so you know of course uh we’re GNA learn more about uh your entrance in the media But first you of course we got to pay these bills on this woman works ebo beard butter and ebo beard washers were the best beard grooming products for in worldwide they help promote growth keep your beard moisturiz and soft and enhance your overall upkeep of your facial hair and with the new promo code MP asc10 you can get 10% off of these products just go to www.etsy.com shopo beard butter again that’s www.etsy.com shopo beard butter and again the promo code MP afc1 again MP afc1 where you can get 10% off any products except for Beard boxes so treat your beard better today by going to get this EO the ebo beard Butner and EO beard [Music] all right we are back on this woman works and of course every episode I always take this time to explain why I have a beard commercial on this woman works okay let me break it down now of course I know that women black women are guest on this show I know that I I’m aware but of course it’s gift time of course Father’s Day is getting ready to come on around the corner so you know hey beard bomm beard wash ebo beard ebo beard butter definitely something you can buy and plus also we know that a lot of times women are probably better at buying gifts for men and men are buying for women so hey there we go you said it not me yep yep I said it I said it but uh you know there we go and uh well I would say you know well we get into that another that’s another show for there’s a little there’s a little depth that goes into that but we ain’t gonna go into that on this episode to the depth or any of that on this episode we’ll we’ll leave that where it is but uh getting back to the show of course uh we got to talk about your entrance into media so how did that kind of how did that kind of passion get sparked for you um or when I should say so it’s kind of I’ll do the like abbreviated version so to explain how I got into media I need to explain how I got into sports um so like I said I wasn’t really into sports uh early I actually did write for my like I wrote for the Morehouse the maroon tiger uh their newspaper so I was into writing I was into journalism um but then I was writing about like campus events and just like local things I wasn’t writing about sports whatsoever um it wasn’t until I graduated I went abroad um I spent like a year in Spain and then when I was in Spain I kind of saw just like how they treated family of course I always love my family always you know put my family first but just a better understanding and appreciation of my family and when I came back instead of when my brother and dad were watching sports instead of being like ah there something else on I appreciated that they wanted to watch this so I started to watch with them because I wanted to spend time with them so when I got into sports that way and I was like oh this is actually kind of interesting and so like I would follow along I’d ask my dad questions um and then from there I don’t know why I just became like I don’t want to say obsessed but I I spent a lot of time just watching basketball I was just and like my dad he’s he was super into basketball super you know that was his thing that was his sport um so I wanted to kind of know like everything I could about it because of him um and he love to teach so when I started like looking into it and I got more interested in it I was like okay I could actually you know I like this like I like this a lot and so Twitter was kind of on the rise at the time um and so I just joined Twitter and I didn’t know like to me Twitter was weird like I’m like what am I gonna just what I’m doing like I don’t know what to talk about so I started tweeting about the Hawks and like there would be a game on and I’m like oh cool so like I tweet about the game just tweeting about the game just observations whatever and then there was another fan her name um was Melanie her name is Melanie she was tweeting about the game as well and so we were both tweeting we’re like super into the Hawks and Bob rathen who I don’t know if you’re aware but he does the play byplay on television for their broadcast he was following both of us and he just out of the blue suggested he was like why don’t you guys come up with a website or something and we were like okay CU he like you’re talking about the Hogs all the time anyway you might as well just put it on the website and I’m like okay why not so from there it just kind of like took off like I don’t even know even looking back on it now I it wasn’t something I ever planned on doing it wasn’t something that I like wanted to do it just something that just happened so I started you know we started on the website um Melanie was in college at the time I was done with college so I had more time to kind of like devote to it uh and then it just took off from there and so like from there it I gradually got into it like my brother had season tickets so I would go with him to a few games and it just so happened that there was an event like a member event that he couldn’t make it to my my dad and I went um and we met the pr guy uh and we talked so I’d already known Larry Drew who was the coach at the time I went to a community event that a lot of media didn’t cover and so I covered it I was the only media member there it was like a camp like a hawks camp and Larry Drew was there and I did like a 10 minute interview with him or something it was ridiculously long but it was a one-on-one and I did it on video and I was the only one there and so he recognized recognized me at the event and introduced me to their PR guy and that’s kind of just how it all started it just started from there like I got like one credential for one game and then just work my way up so that’s really how it all got started and I don’t even like I still think about it now I’m like I don’t even know how I got here like I know how I got but it’s just kind of like kind of happen to fall into it I don’t know it was just something that I enjoyed so much and I guess other people appreciated how I enjoyed it and so from there like my name kind of started to grow a little bit more gotcha gotcha to say the best plan are the most are the the unplanned ones right apparently so yeah definitely sounds like an adventure that is kind of extended and uh become something that you love and that’s a passion of yours and with that being said um you know how um what are some of the best moments you’ve had actually you know in media you know since you’ve kind of uh I guess like you said in your own words stumbled into this um what’s been some of the best moments much you’ve had um really for me like tops are like the moments where people tell me they like appreciate my work and they appreciate my coverage and then like the moments where my family will like see me at work or see me interviewing or see one of my videos or something like that and then they are they’re just in awe like my my parents like my mom my brother just like kind of those two because when I do what I do like if I always say if one person is impacted by it or enjoys it or it makes them smile or it makes them think then I’m good like I’m good like I’ve done more than what I thought I could do so for me when people appreciate my work that’s like to me that’s kind of still unbelievable like I still really appreciate that’s why like I’m always so appreciative when people share my stuff and like even photography like I I got into photography because I wanted to put my own picture on my website I didn’t want to use somebody else’s pictures and now people are like oh my God I love your pictures and I’m just like that even to me is just amazing because that also is something I didn’t plan like I didn’t plan on taking great pictures like I just want to take good pictures so I can use them if I write about a player or something like that so it’s just like those moments and then um there was one time I will say I don’t get like really like what’s the word um Shell Shocked I guess when it comes to like celebrities and all that stuff uh but my dad was a super big Nicks fan and he loved Melo Carmello Anthony he loved Melo uh and one game I actually was able to get him to meet him and to me like that’s one of like my Fondest Memories because that made my dad’s everything like he had the picture as his backdrop on his phone for like the longest so like because he was so like for me there was kind of it was kind of okay I’ve gotten back to where my dad who I put like up here when it comes to basketball and sports and all that is looking at me like with this proud lens and I’m able to like connect him with a player that he really likes or you know like somebody that he’s really enjoyed growing like you know growing to watch and all this other stuff so that’s why I said like the family part too so like when people come up to me and they appreciate my work that also like the family part like whenever my family’s super excited about something or even just go to a game like not that I get free tickets or anything but when I’m there and I can interact with them and I can maybe bring them down or something like that they enjoy that so like for me those are like two of the the best parts that I can think about awesome awesome so you know of course I can’t leave out that you do also cover the Atlanta Dream so you know that’s uh you know I I had planned to try to get down there to see the the Sparks versus the dream I not working out that I I’m going to be able to make it but um I definitely gotta give you props for that too you know it like you said sometimes it’s just you and Megan Hall there you know covering the games and that I know that’s not easy and then also you know being a black woman in sports and covering Sports I know that can be a lonely Place sometimes too so you know describe that you know covering the Atlanta Dream and how that’s kind of uh grown and and kind of allowed you a few different uh lenses to look through as well so I will preface this by saying this year I’m not covering them in person um only because like financially and last year I actually was hired by the team as like a contractor essentially to do um writing for their website so that was really different and cool for me but um so I just wanted to clarify that but I still obviously watch them like like I can’t get away from watching them um unless unless unless the TV doesn’t let you right unless they don’t want me the only way they can give me to know but um I do of course enjoy watch I just love I love watching the WNBA I love basketball so like why wouldn’t I love watching the WNBA but um as far as the dream I got into the dream I don’t even know because obviously I got into it after I started the Hawks coverage so I had already been covering the Hawks for a few years and I think somebody might have mentioned like oh why don’t you try covering the dream and I said okay and so like I applied and they um they essentially like accepted my credential application because I created like a section on my website to devote to them um and so when I was first covering it’s it’s different you can see like the change and this year especially totally different like totally people want to cover the the WNBA more like so now I’ve seen I’ve seen that like growth you can call it and I I’ve just seen the changes that have happen I’ve seen the dream play in three different Arenas now I can’t even remember like I’ve seen them play in so many different Arenas so just even seeing that change and like navigating that as like an independent media member is it is difficult at times but it’s it’s different and I appreciate the difference just because I’m able to learn about that as well so like I try not to compare a lot of times and I feel like we do that in general and I mean we as in fans we we’re like oh they don’t do this in the NBA why are they doing this in W like I try not to do that unless it’s on a topic that makes sense um so I do try to look at it in that lens but now I think that since more people have eyes on the w and more people are watching I feel like the landscape has changed completely when it comes to media and media coverage like last like last year and the year years before when it was like nobody in the press conference room and all that I feel like those years are gone now that’s what I feel um I don’t know if that’s for sure because I obviously haven’t gone this year but I’ve I’ve heard about people who have gone and so for me it’s just it’s refreshing to see that more people are interested um and I know when I would tweet about the games of course I had like people who were following me who are hawks fans who wanted to know about the other local team in the Atlanta area so like that I appreciate you know that people still wanted to hear about them um and even now so I still like I feel like not a lot of people are um like locally tweeting about what they’re doing or like sharing what they’re doing um but I feel like it’s getting there it’s it’s better than it used to be I will say that it’s better than it used to be um just because with everything more people are there more people are talking about it uh I will say though for Independent Media it can be tough just because it’s already tough for us to get there it’s already tough as far as money we don’t have the money um for us to get there then you know like oh we may not have like certain access to certain things or we might be trying to get so I do um I do think the W is trying to be better with that as a whole um and as far as like Independent Media is concerned I I do think that we are getting more access and they’re they’re giving us more access and that ultimately helps not only the media but the players so I do appreciate that yeah definitely uh the one thing about Independent Media which I definitely know about being but uh you know one thing about that is we always come through a different lens we always uh the one thing that that I think is different is we don’t come with maybe a story already ready we come with you know letting the story develop so that’s I think that’s probably I think the difference probably in that aspect because you have that already have stories in mind but they want to get a quote from this certain player but with us we’re like H let’s get this person that person and see that’s that’s actually a very good point because now I’m thinking it back to to like the stories I’ve written and it’s really been stuff where I’ve been talking to a player just like casually and you know he might he or she or they might say something that I’m like H and then and then like I allow them to keep talking and I’m like okay I’ll store that away for next time but it’s like or in the same conversation I kind of steer it towards what they just talked about because I’m like I have the time and that’s another thing because a lot of times people who aren’t independent they’re on deadline so they don’t really have the time they got they’re cool they got to keep it moving whereas I don’t necessarily have to be right where I need to be at a certain time so I have more time to allow players to talk to allow them to say you know whatever they want to say like they have that Comfort level and so I do feel like as Independent Media as you said like going into it not even thinking okay I need to get you know I need to talk about this and only this and that’s it it’s like it allows us to have that different perspective and allows us to be more open to hearing what else they have to talk about and a lot of times these players like to talk like they really do they like when they’re comfortable they like to talk like a lot of them do and so if you’re affording them that opportunity to just talk they’re G to appreciate it and they do enjoy it like yeah I know the media gets like this obviously kind of bad portrayal a lot of times but I wish we wouldn’t say it as like an all-encompassing because you have different types of Med like different types of media bring different types of things and situations and content that people enjoy so that’s just how I feel about it but yeah you’re right please say that again because Lord have mercy that that nothing works my nerves more than saying the media the media can you just say that Media or this not all media wait a minute I’m not like that you know it’s like you get a certain certain feeling about it when people say that you’re like they’re like oh no no no not you and I’m like but I’m technically media yeah just be specific please yeah it’s true be specific but we’re gonna take a quick commercial break and um I’m going to talk about uh NE up next we’re going to talk about you know kind of reaching back to those that are coming behind you and kind of maybe wanted to follow the same path that you’re on you know maybe some advice something like that but we’ll get into that more after the commercial break we’ll be right back a shift a shift is something that happens and changes the Dynamics and that’s what happened when Garrett Logistics was born after 10 years as a sales Pro in the logistics world of Sporting Goods John Garrett decided to Pivot to the world of freight and star a brokerage so you’re saying to yourself why trust Garrett Logistics well Garrett Logistics help improve overall workflow along with increased on time pickup and delivery percentages last minute loads multi- drop pickups and more are part of the services with guar Logistics they’re available Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. all times Central Standard Time so give them a ring at 6154 8484 that’s 6154 8484 or you can email them at John Garett logistics. or visit their website at Garrett logistics.com Garrett Logistics where the motto is it’s not just great to us it’s your [Music] business all right and we are back on this woman Works uh we got I got a few other things I wanted to ask you about as well and more importantly um you know helping those that are coming behind you now um plenty are May are or are or maybe I can talk one day but are or may be interested in the things that you do um so what is uh a pointer or maybe a bit of advice that you could offer uh to anyone that that may be thinking of maybe starting their own independent uh Media or you know website or anything of that nature um I would say give yourself Grace um and don’t think you’re above anything um as far as as coverage is concerned don’t think you’re above like a certain player a certain person a certain team a certain position within the team or anything like that um and give yourself Grace because it’s it can be frustrating at times I mean if you say you want to talk to a certain player you want to get a one-on-one and you can’t you’re going to have to find ways to be creative and like that’s another thing is just Innovation like if you can’t get what you need for this story how are you going to spin it like all I tend to think of a lot of different um situations and and such that if I you know can’t get this to complete my story what am I GNA do how am I gonna finish it what AM how am I gonna write this how am I G to do it so it’s just like just having your mind be open to all types of situations um as far as coverage is concerned as far as content is is concerned um don’t be afraid to like do things that people aren’t doing uh be creative um and it’s just like try things out too like I feel like especially like as Independent Media we’re able to to try different things and we’re able to be more creative when it comes to our content because we don’t have to necessarily quote unquote answer to somebody um obviously you don’t want to be offensive but I’m like let me put that out there because I know people will do things for cl out or something like that but I’m saying like if your approach is different if you’re asking different types of questions um if you’re asking in a different type of way just find a way to to put your own spin on things like show your own personality through your work like it’s okay to have a little bit of personality I know you don’t people oftentimes don’t want to let people in they don’t want people to know about their personal life or anything like that but you can have your own characteristics you your personality show through your work and I think a lot of people will start to like grow and like you as a content creator or just a reporter or a beat writer or blogger or anything like that and so it’s just don’t you know give your give yourself the grace to maybe not be the best or maybe fail sometimes or something like that because it happens it happens you take it you learn from it don’t let it beat you down just learn from it and keep it moving and don’t make the same mistake if it was a mistake or just just just learn from everything like there’s so much I’m still still learning I’ve been doing this for like 10 years and I’m still learning different things I’m still approaching situations differently because of how I learned it from somebody else or somebody suggested it and people give me feedback like just allow yourself Grace and don’t think you’re above any situation or any person or oh this person said I wrote this and they don’t like it I don’t care what they say sometimes yes but sometimes it’s good to get that feedback it’s it’s okay like people are reading your stuff they’re giving you Fe back take it with a grain of salt if you want to don’t take it at all but I personally I don’t mind it because to me it makes me better like if you’re G to tell me something I need to fix or oh you didn’t really like this or oh you think I should do this I’m gonna be like okay I’ll consider it like I think I think a lot of times we get so stuck in oh I don’t want and I’ve even had people like when I was covering because I cover the Skyhawks I cover the Hawks I cover the dream I’ve had people who are like oh how do you get to cover the Hawks like they they want to just jump right in and I’m like you got work that way yeah I’m like you gota you gotta work your way and a lot of times people especially like younger people I talk to they don’t want to do that like they don’t wanna they just want to start off like they want to say oh I want to interview Trey young like what like where are you coming from like it’s okay and I I appreciate that obviously have that as a goal but to come in thinking I want to interview Trey young and nobody else like like let’s not do that like let’s look at the whole roster let let’s look at the Skyhawks let’s look at different ways of breaking in like if I didn’t go the community route I wouldn’t be where I am now and no like I said no media was really at the community event so it’s it’s like something like that you have to look at okay how can I be different how can I approach this in a way especially if you’re not art if you don’t know anybody in it you’re not already in it you’re trying to work your way up like you’re trying to work your way into that that atmosphere then you just you got to be more willing to cover a community event even if nobody’s there even if it’s not even any players there or some just something like that and I try to tell people when they ask me because they ask me how I got into it I tell them that I tell them I start off doing community I start off doing this I start like and sometimes people will take it and I’m like oh that’s good that’s good thank you and sometimes people will be like oh that’s great and they won’t do anything with it and so yeah so I’m like it is what it is like that’s all you but I said what I could say like I If you want to try to just jump right in and interview the Superstar on the team okay you can go for it but I’m saying another way about going about it is this way and so that’s what I really like to tell people is just give yourself Grace like allow yourself to learn allow yourself to grow allow yourself to make mistakes um it’s okay to get no know a lot of time there have been numerous players who don’t want want to talk and they’ll be like no I don’t want to talk tonight and instead of making a funk out of it I’ll be like okay because I get it I mean sometimes I don’t want to talk either like I get it certain people and certain player you just got to learn to like just take everything and just like take situations and kind of analyze situation it’s really just a lot of just dealing with people and and learning people and really just talking to people like I’m not even much of a talker like I told you I’m not even a podcast person really I’m not much of a talk in this industry like you kind of have to like it and and that’s what I like about it too it gets me out of my comfort zone like you have to like talk you have to talk to people and and you know stop and say hello and a little conversation like you have to do certain things and that’s just like life though that’s really life and you’re right you’re right you could have fooled me you’re not a talker you could have fooled me but uh I’m just I’m just kidding but um let’s see one thing I I also want to ask is a black woman in the field and like I mentioned uh you know there’s not a ton of us in the field in terms of black people definitely not a ton of black women in the field so what are some of the challenges you’ve kind of faced in that you know aspect of being media and being a black woman in media it’s funny because I don’t it it could be a cross between like being a black woman and also being a woman but just like the intersexual uality intersectionality of it all it’s just it’s just um I mean there are times when people look at you and they’re like oh she got to be dating a player like what is that I don’t know what that even has to do with anything or like just different stereotypes about us and oh like we want the attention and all this other stuff like I’ve had to navigate that kind of stuff and I am not the I like to dress nice don’t get it twisted but I’m not the attention type person like whereas I want the camera on me I don’t like that I like to be behind the camera I like all that so it’s like different stereotypes that I’ve had to face over the years um just different ways of people like kind of approaching me and like like maybe not necessarily taking me as serious as they do other people and just it’s um it’s really interesting navigating uh especially like in Atlanta because you would think like Atlanta it’s a lot of a lot of black people um and you would think that would mean there’s a lot of black media but early on at least from my experience there weren’t a whole bunch of black women media members um especially like just in general just like wherever you would kind of go so for me to be one of like the only one like even something as small as like my hair like I’ve had people tell me that like players have commented on my hair or something like that and like you get all types of things that are different because they’re not used to seeing your type of of media around as much like they but you know now it’s much better like now because I was this is like 10 years in in the game for me but like now you see a lot more black female media members you see a lot of more a lot more different natural hairstyles and this and that like I’m I appreciate it now more because back when I was like early on and younger I did not see a whole bunch like I did not maybe Candice um Candace Butner she might have been like the only one who had like her natural curls that were similar to mine at the time and like even something that she would think is as small as that I didn’t know I didn’t feel as comfortable wearing my natural hair out versus wearing it straight and just you would think something like that is like trivial but for somebody who in that industry it it means like presentation means a lot and how you look and how people perceive you um so just as far as like navigating those Waters just as a black woman and being in media and also me being not even knowing that media was what I was going to do so I really didn’t really have much of a backing as to what should I look like where should I go what should I say what should I do so when I first started I mean I’m still quiet now but when I first started I was really just like kind of standing back just like letting other people ask questions kind of waiting just see how things were I I don’t think I really asked anything those first few years I don’t even remember because it was just everything I didn’t see a lot of black women a lot of women a lot of people who look like me so for me it was just kind of like let me just kind of like take it all in whereas now I feel like we do see more um but it’s still even getting used to just having black women in the space and in the area navigated it’s still it’s still fairly new and it’s still a lot of getting used to for a lot of people okay all right all right well you know hopefully you have enjoyed the show and enjoyed being on the show I should say um and yeah of course of course but you know we’re not to the end just yet um like at the end of the show I like to do a game called speedr to allow the viewers and listeners to get to know even more now to be honest to tell everyone she has no idea what these questions are jam has no idea when any these questions are so these answers are going to be straight off the top of her head so I’ve got 10 questions for you are you ready yeah let’s do it all right if you had a biopic made on you who would play you in a movie Dy that’s a good question I wouldn’t say Kiki pmer I mean we’re like the same age but like I don’t know just something about her that I like her energy she a Virgo like me I don’t know I don’t know all right had pick your favorite song right now what would it be oh my favorite song O can I just pick an artist that’s later okay song oh I’m trying to think what song I listen to a lot um well I know one song that you probably can’t avoid right now that everyone plays everywhere what you talking about Kindred no not K oh yeah that one that one’s everywhere too but uh Million Dollar Baby is everywhere too that song is everywhere oh yeah that’s not really on my list though no I’m just throwing songs out there I’ve been playing kindrick a lot they not like us but it’s only because of like the beat and I do like the song but it’s like I don’t want to say that one because I mean honestly most recently that’s probably one I’ve been like on a lot of oldies too though I’ve been like a lot of R&B oldies and stuff like that John B I was just listening to the other day so he he actually just performed that song again actually they don’t know and it sounded just like it look I know I was like this takes me all the way back like literally right I might have to chose I don’t know I might give John B the head do for that like he gets the what would you say is your favorite era of music oh 90s R&B okay between me it be ’90s R&B or Neo Soul era that that would be that would be a fight that would be a fight I’m not going to hold you that era of Atlanta Hip Hop from like the early 2000s only because I was in college at the time but like that like little John like all that little John Scrappy you got got everybody got you got uh that kind of era that and I’ve been on a beats too so I I obviously have like a very diverse kind of field of music that I appreciate but I will say afro beats has been like my most recent that I’ve been listening to a lot but um besides like 90s anything 90s and some old school Atlanta hip-hop okay what is your favorite movie of all time favorite movie Harlem Knights okay worst movie of all time oo I don’t know the name of it but it was Lindsay Lo and she was playing like an evil twin or something I don’t remember I just it was it was terrible the movie was so bad that’s like the only time I walked out of the theater for a movie I just remember it being Lindsay Lohan in it and it being a terrible movie I don’t remember the name of it or anything I think she was evil in it or something like that but I remember she been evil in a few movies like Mean Girls she’s been evil in that movie yeah I know but like mean girl about me girl I don’t remember the name you gonna have me looking it up because I don’t remember the name of it I just remember it was so bad and she was in it because I guess we thought it would be good because she was in it and it was just not like people were leaving the theater and I was one of them so anybody anybody knows the name of it like let me know because I can’t even remember I just blocked it out of my memory you favorite sports moment oo oo oh okay um dang I’m so so this is my thing I’m really bad at remembering like exact like games and times and everything like that but Jamal Crawford hit a like a game-winning three I was at that game he hit like a game-winning three oh in the playoffs was it the playoff yeah had been in the playoffs I don’t remember like I don’t remember the detail I just remember it was Jamal Crawford he hit a three it was to win the game and like the way everybody in the audience jumped up like that’s that was one of like the Highlight like the happiest I’ve ever been at a game like I can’t even remember I can’t remember the details it because I’m so bad with that kind of stuff but I just remember he hit a three and it was like a game-winning three like the very end of the game and we went crazy and that was probably like the best the best memory I have okay favorite ATL athlete of all time oh oh my gosh oh [Music] no oh told you I was coming with the questions now no and I’m like this is rabid fire and I can’t think quick enough for this that’s okay that’s all right we got time oh Sho we got Trey young we got Dom thinking like currently past basketball baseball football do got the C we do got the crime dog that did play and he did do that terrible baseball video can’t oh you remember the terrible baseball video that FR McGriff did about teaching people how to play baseball no oh you need to look that up that will have you crying loud laughing it was it was hilarious I’m sitting there I’m still I’m thinking about it now and I’m trying not to laugh right now so you know what okay so I might oh this is tough especially across the board but honestly honestly I feel like going with Angel Mowry okay all right yeah I’m go with Angel because like I think an angel and don’t get me wrong because I love me some D kimbe I love me some me I love me like don’t get it wrong like even Mike Vic like I across the board I like somebody from every league but it’s just something about when she was on the Atlanta Dream like that was that was Angel’s team and she would be balling like I just can’t I’m just thinking back to so many different times like that was yeah I’ll have to I’ll go with Angel for that one okay all right best best Food Spot in Atlanta Best Food Spot uhhuh I know you got one that you like oh that’s my spot I know hold on let me think me think let me think because I don’t really go out to eat a lot ah okay so say Jam’s kitchen you say Jam’s kitchen then I’ll be in the kitchen I do I’m try to think because I think I like I like True Food a lot but to me it’s not really like only to Atlanta there is a place called um ATL beastro it’s a vegan because I I eat vegan it’s actually a it’s a black own thank you it’s a blackowned vegan spot um like South like near the airport and I used to go there like religiously but it’s far from me so that’s why I really don’t go as much um but I would give them the nod yeah ATL be show okay now we do have a restaurant that is actually born born in Nashville that’s down there too it’s a slim and Huskies so I’ve heard of that yeah they actually are uh they actually started here in Nashville in North Nashville so they actually all three went to Tennessee State University oh that’s cool that’s very had black own pizza spot yeah and they do have vegan pizza by the way okay I will know that because I love finding out like blackowned any any spot especially because a lot more blackowned places are being sensitive to vegans and vegan op gotcha okay now biggest star in Atlanta in your opinion could be in sports could be in athletic it could be could be in in in movies anything like from Atlanta or just in Atlanta like in Atlanta like you think Atlanta you think this person I want to say Tyler Perry okay he wins he does have that big old lot out there I just feel like he’s like really made Atlanta his but if I want if I want to do Sports I will give Trey the the nod for sports okay young okay well you could you know maybe about 15 years ago you probably could say TI maybe yeah yeah yeah maybe maybe a little bit further back maybe like 20 years ago I don’t know I don’t know CH definitely and for those that those that yeah for those that had seen them now like okay I think people are still getting used to him having locks and not having you know people people still do the squint and look like is that who is that you know I was literally just listening to Ani the other day so like T was yeah he was up there not to say he wouldn’t still be but I think yeah I feel like more people would be like Tyler Per all right last one for you best vacation spot oo St Thomas ah okay haven’t made it there but I’ll make a note I’m a little biased because I do have family that lives there but I love I love it it’s just so relaxing obviously everybody talks about the water being beautiful yes we know that um home of Aaliyah Boston like it’s just they have so much going for them I mean they’re just but no it’s really it’s really a nice a nice Island it’s very comfortable very nice people everything so that would be my awesome yeah okay cool cool well we reached the end of the speed round we’ve reached the end of the show uh Jam I want to thank you for coming on the show uh if you can tell everyone they can find you on social media where they can find your website and again thank you for your time thank you thank you for having me again Mike this was fun even though I said I’m not much of a podcast person but this was fun and I appreciate you for inviting me so thank you so much um you can find me on social media I’m on Twitter I’m on Instagram J jnba that’s j m e e l a h j NBA it Rhymes so there we go there we go you know she has a future of you know she’s gonna mess around and drop a high 16 in a minute but uh but but uh of course you know I’m the host of the show uh Mike Patton this one was wor podcast you can find it on Spotify you can find it on YouTube as well trying to work on getting it everywhere else you know those places will cooperate with me but that’s another story for another day of course you can find me on the artist formly known as Twitter yes I say the artist formly known as Twitter to show props to one of the greatest artists of all time that would be prince who used to go by the artist forly known as Prince so you can find me on the artist for know Twitter at Mike Pat 82 that’s m i k p a t n82 you can find me on in Instagram and threads atthe that’s th not thoreen MP and again like I mention this woman Works Spotify original basically because that’s the only place it is right now and then you also you can find it on YouTube as well if you want to see the show visually I want to thank you all again for tuning in go ahead and subscribe to the mic pad Network which is where the show can be found also go ahead and subscribe on Spotify to this woman work works I want to thank you all for tuning in to this episode of this woman Works we’re out peace [Music] n [Music]

Jameelah joins the show! We talk about growing up, how she got into covering the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Dream and more!

#TrueToAtlanta #DoItForTheDream