aliya s. king’s true hip-hop stories
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Aliya S. King's True Hip-Hop Stories: That Time Faith Evans Had Faith In Me
Eleven years ago, in the summer of 2005, I was given an assignment: a cover story on Faith Evans. She had a new album dropping that had great buzz. She had also dropped a stunning amount of weight and the VIBE staff decided to bless her with another cover. I was thrilled. I had loved…
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Aliya S. King's True Hip-Hop Stories: That Time Ex-Drug Kingpin Frank Lucas Wanted To Marry Me
In 2007, I was asked to meet with ex-drug kingpin Frank Lucas as he interviewed writers to work with him on his memoir. His life story, American Gangster, starring Denzel Washington, had been released the previous year. While normally the book leads to the movie, Frank actually decided to do a book after the film.…
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Aliya S. King's True Hip-Hop Stories: That Time I Asked Ja Rule's Wife About His Affair With Karrine Steffans
In 2000, I wrote a cover story on Ja Rule for The Source. Ja Rule and his then-girlfriend Aisha, high school sweethearts who had already been together for ten years, lived about ten minutes away from me in Jersey so I was able to hang out at their home the day before we all left…
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Aliya S. King's True Hip-Hop Stories: That Time Sean "Puffy" Combs Made Me Hate Him
Each time I speak to journalism students or millennial up-and-coming writers, I’m always asked the same questions: Who has been your favorite celebrity to interview? And who has been your least favorite? My favorite celebrity interview is easy: Mariah Carey. In February 2005, I interviewed her over the course of two days in her NYC…
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Aliya S. King's True Hip-Hop Stories: That Time The Source Saved Me From Getting Shot
One of the magical things about The Source when I was there was the reaction from other people when they found out you worked there. I can’t imagine a media outlet you could work for today where you hand over your business card and people sincerely look like they’re about to faint. I didn’t have…
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Aliya S. King's True Hip-Hop Stories: That Time I Almost Worked For Blaze Magazine
Dear Aliya: I’m loving your stories about working in hip-hop journalism. The risks you took to get to where you wanted to be are really inspiring. Question: Are there career decisions you made where you still wonder if you made the right move? –Kim, from Somewhere Dear Kim: I’ve had more than just one moment…
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Aliya S. King's True Hip-Hop Stories: That Time I Lied My Way Into A Job With The Source
In the late ‘90s, I sat in the bookstore, flipping through magazines I could not afford to buy. I froze when I read the masthead of The Source. Marcus Reeves, who had graduated a few years before me at Rutgers University, was now the News Editor. I can’t even begin to explain what a big…
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Aliya S. King’s True Hip-Hop Stories: That Time Jay-Z Clowned Me For An Entire Summer
When I was working at The Source, I was freelancing on the side for a few mainstream publications. I couldn’t write for VIBE or XXL of course. But I would quietly write about rock bands for Seventeen and Teen People occasionally.I ended up writing regularly for Teen People and I became a go-to writer for…
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Aliya S. King's True Hip-Hop Stories: Lady Luck Speaks
When you’re 16 and signed to Def Jam and then dropped from the label while still a teenager—what happens next. Last week, I posted my first VSB story, on how I snuck into Teaneck High to cover rapper Lady Luck, who had been signed to Def Jam. I reached out to Luck this weekend to…
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Aliya S. King's True Hip-Hop Stories: That Time I Pretended To Be A High School Kid For A Story On Lady Luck
The year was 1999. I was hired as a Staff Reporter for The Source. (How I got on is a story of epic proportions for another day.) When I interviewed for the job with Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, the editor-in-chief, I came to him with a ton of ideas for stories and columns. One of the…
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