Starting ’09 by Looking Back on a Great ‘08
2009 is primed to be a heck of a year for me. I’m already planning a trip to LA (which I will chronicle here) and I’ve laid the groundwork to be able to take advantage of just about any opportunity that comes my way. As longtime readers know, however, no year can officially start without a look back at the year that was. I accomplished a lot in 2008, here are three of the biggest highlights.
Beyond Race Magazine
During my seventh full year of magazine work I finally earned myself an editorial position and I did so with a publication that I truly believe in and that I’ve been with since its inception. As Urban Culture Editor of Beyond Race Magazine, a position I earned in mid-’08, I am able to both highlight the most recent work of the artists and celebs that are already in the limelight and provide a platform for the numerous talented emcees, singers, actors, actresses and personalities that are currently flying under the radar. I’ve always had a vision for what magazines should be like in the internet age and with this position at Beyond Race I’m finally able to being some of those ideas to life. For the upcoming Winter issue, which is due out in mid-January, I booked 14 stories, including both the front and back covers, and I wrote the back cover story myself (which is a fantastic read).
the Fairfield County Weekly
As a nearly lifelong resident of Fairfield County I’ve been reading the Weekly for seemingly ever. As soon as I graduated from college in 2000 I tried to get in with them, but no dice. Over the years I kept trying and just when I thought all hope was lost I received an email from their new Editor. He noted that he was a fan of Adam’s World and wanted to know if I could cover the local Hip-Hop scene for the paper. I jumped at the chance and my column, The B-Side, has been a huge success. The Christmas edition of The B-Side was syndicated across the entire state’s Weekly papers.
Whether it was being interviewed by Fairfield Magazine for my work in Hip-Hop, or sitting down with The New York Times, The Stamford Advocate and NY25’s Cool in Your Code for my work in blogging, my name ended up in a lot of prominent places in 2008. I also spoke at the AFA’s second annual Hip-Hop Summit, had a story linked to by The New York Times’ website, and was mocked by Gawker (hey, at least they know my name). I capped off the year by going back to Hofstra to speak to two media relations classes about how publicists can more effectively work with journalists.
All in all it was a really great 2008 and I know with continued hard work I’m going to build on all of this throughout 2009. Thank you all for your continued support and loyal readership, it means more to me than you can imagine.
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