"Lip Service" For Shade 45 & Gza, Angela Yee
After serving as sassy co-hostess to Cipha Sounds' Sirius Satellite morning program, Brooklyn-born chatterbox Angela Yee is getting her own show on Shade 45, making her a Player to Watch in 2007.
Despite harboring longtime aspirations to write, when Angela Yee graduated from Wesleyan University she opted for the music industry, quickly becoming an assistant to the CEO of the Wu-Tang Corporation. That experience afforded Yee the opportunity to travel across the country and learn the ins and outs of the music business, while also forging valuable business connections.
"It was fun going on the road, but really exhausting. I'm glad I got to do it while I was younger, but now I want to be a little more stable. Plus I love doing interviews, letting my personality come through, [and] my days end at 12," Angela told SOHH.
After leaving her position at Wu-Tang, Yee continued working with GZA, managing his solo career, while also taking on roles in marketing and consulting. While she lacked radio experience, when the opportunity arose to audition for a role with Shade 45, Angela knew she could get the job done.
"I just had to try it," Yee said. "I've always been a talkative person, ever since I was young. I know a lot of people. Everybody calls me up about advice. I'm a big gossip, but not in a malicious way. I think it's a combination of having connections and knowing people and having a lot of different kinds of knowledge."
Still, Yee admits that as a woman without any previous radio airtime, winning over some proved to initially be a challenge.
"When I first started at work, they definitely were like 'How did she get this job?' My bosses even told me that's what they were thinking. When you're a woman, it's like 'Who did she have to sleep with to get this?'" Yee said. "But I have a lot of experience in the entertainment industry, I work really hard, I'm never late. I come to work early every day. If I wasn't taking my job seriously I could understand it. I've proven myself though, I worked hard and I'm definitely a whole lot better than I was when I first started."
While her 8 a.m.-12 p.m. work hours might seem enviable, Yee's responsibilities often begin hours before show time and extend long after she and Cipha are off the air. Each morning Yee rises at 6 to make sure she's prepared with the day's news and rumor report. She's also diligent when researching show guests, in order to make visitors feel comfortable while enduring her and Cipha's rigorous teasing.
"I find that if you know stuff about people they will be more comfortable answering anything that you want to talk about. They'll feel like, 'This person respects what I'm here for and knows what I've done and I'm about so they can ask me what they want to because they're not disrespecting me.'"
Even with all the preparation, there's always an occasional guest that can't take being the butt of Angie and Cipha's jokes.
"There's definitely been some people that have been mad at us afterward. We joke around a lot on our show. That's the whole theme, but we've had people just stop talking and walk out," Yee admits.
Despite harboring longtime aspirations to write, when Angela Yee graduated from Wesleyan University she opted for the music industry, quickly becoming an assistant to the CEO of the Wu-Tang Corporation. That experience afforded Yee the opportunity to travel across the country and learn the ins and outs of the music business, while also forging valuable business connections.
"It was fun going on the road, but really exhausting. I'm glad I got to do it while I was younger, but now I want to be a little more stable. Plus I love doing interviews, letting my personality come through, [and] my days end at 12," Angela told SOHH.
After leaving her position at Wu-Tang, Yee continued working with GZA, managing his solo career, while also taking on roles in marketing and consulting. While she lacked radio experience, when the opportunity arose to audition for a role with Shade 45, Angela knew she could get the job done.
"I just had to try it," Yee said. "I've always been a talkative person, ever since I was young. I know a lot of people. Everybody calls me up about advice. I'm a big gossip, but not in a malicious way. I think it's a combination of having connections and knowing people and having a lot of different kinds of knowledge."
Still, Yee admits that as a woman without any previous radio airtime, winning over some proved to initially be a challenge.
"When I first started at work, they definitely were like 'How did she get this job?' My bosses even told me that's what they were thinking. When you're a woman, it's like 'Who did she have to sleep with to get this?'" Yee said. "But I have a lot of experience in the entertainment industry, I work really hard, I'm never late. I come to work early every day. If I wasn't taking my job seriously I could understand it. I've proven myself though, I worked hard and I'm definitely a whole lot better than I was when I first started."
While her 8 a.m.-12 p.m. work hours might seem enviable, Yee's responsibilities often begin hours before show time and extend long after she and Cipha are off the air. Each morning Yee rises at 6 to make sure she's prepared with the day's news and rumor report. She's also diligent when researching show guests, in order to make visitors feel comfortable while enduring her and Cipha's rigorous teasing.
"I find that if you know stuff about people they will be more comfortable answering anything that you want to talk about. They'll feel like, 'This person respects what I'm here for and knows what I've done and I'm about so they can ask me what they want to because they're not disrespecting me.'"
Even with all the preparation, there's always an occasional guest that can't take being the butt of Angie and Cipha's jokes.
"There's definitely been some people that have been mad at us afterward. We joke around a lot on our show. That's the whole theme, but we've had people just stop talking and walk out," Yee admits.
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