Spotlight Moment: Mia Belle
Spotlight Moment
Mia Belle x AHUS
NEW YORK ISN’T A CITY YOU WOULD DESCRIBE AS EASY. THE FAST-PACED LIFESTYLE AND HUSTLER’s MENTALITY ISN’T SOMETHING YOU GRASP OVERNIGHT. IT TAKES TIME AND DEDICATION TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS IN THE BIG APPLE. I had a New York Minute with Mia Belle to learn how Haiti’s finest does it all.
THE NYC HUSTLER & BUSINESSWOMAN NOT ONLY runs THE RADIO GAME ON MONDAY NIGHTS (on New York’s Hot 97), SHE manages her own ONLINE ACCESSORY STORE (Hu$tle & Bling), WRITES ABOUT THE LATEST MUSIC & CULTURE NEWS, AND makes SURE SHE SPREADS NOTHING BUT PASSION WHILE DOING SO. HER AMBITION AND GO-GETTER SPIRIT ARE TRULY ADMIRABLE. HOWEVER, WE WANTed TO KNOW IF THIS POWERHOUSE WAS ALWAYS SO FILLED WITH so much hustle AND WHAT DID IT TAKE FOR HER TO GET to WHERE SHE IS NOW? FROM INTERNING at radio stations, TO GETTING HER FOOT IN THE DOOR, SHE SHARES WITH US MORE INTIMATE MOMENTS OF HER CAREER AND WHAT IT TOOK FOR HER TO be able to talk spicy to the tri-state area.
AHUS: YOU PLAYED MANY ROLES IN YOUR LIFE THAT BROUGHT YOU TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW, WHICH POSITION TAUGHT YOU most TO HAVE PATIENCE?
MIA: I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT MY TIME AS A FREELANCE WRITER IS WHAT HELPED BUILD A LOT OF MY PATIENCE. IN THE BEGINNING, I THOUGHT HAVING A PUBLISHED PIECE IN A POPULAR NEWS OUTLET (VIBE, COMPLEX, ETC.) WOULD SOMEHOW CATAPULT MY CAREER AS A WRITER, HELP ME “MAKE BANK,” AND PUSH MY BRAND. I WAS IN FOR A RUDE AWAKENING WHEN I REALIZED THAT THINGS WEREN’T GOING DOWN LIKE THAT. IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO GET A PITCH APPROVED, LET ALONE PUBLISHED, HOWEVER, ONCE I FOUND MY SCIENCE TO IT, I WAS ABLE TO GET MUCH WORK DONE, BUT IT TAUGHT ME HOW TO STRATEGIZE AND BE PATIENT!
AHUS: IN NEW YORK, WE ARE TAUGHT THAT ONLY HUSTLERS CAN SURVIVE AND YOU TALK ABOUT THE STRUGGLES OF THE HUSTLE, WHICH STRUGGLE DO YOU THINK SHOWCASED YOUR REAL TALENTS?
MIA: HMMM…THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION! I BELIEVE THE STRUGGLE THAT SHOWCASED MY REAL TALENTS WAS BEING MYSELF IN EVERY WAY, SHAPE, AND FORM. BELIEVE ME, IT’S A LOT HARDER THAN IT SOUNDS. IT’S SO EASY TO GET CAUGHT UP AND INSECURE, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT SOCIAL MEDIA IS SO PREVALENT BUT ONCE I REALIZED THAT MY quirky YET IDGAF ATTITUDE IS WHAT DREW PEOPLE CLOSER TO ME, I STARTED TRUSTING MY OWN JUDGMENT, AND REALLY EMBRACING MYSELF FOR WHO I AM.
AHUS: WE LIVE IN A FAST-PACED ERA AND IT SEEMS THAT EVERYONE IS AFRAID TO FAIL, WHAT ARE THREE THINGS YOU WOULD TELL YOURSELF IF YOU WERE TO FAIL?
MIA:
GIRL…IF YOU THINK YOU’RE AT YOUR LOWEST NOW, THE ONLY WAY LEFT TO GO IS UP…SO GET UP!
RELAX, IT’S NOT THAT SERIOUS.
AFTER EVERY ‘FAILURE’ COMES A WIN…BUT THAT’S ONLY IF YOU KEEP GOING
AHUS: WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER WHILE WORKING IN A CAREER SUCH AS YOURS?
MIA: THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT THE WORK NEVER STOPS. IF YOU WANT TO BE RESPECTED FOR YOUR WORK, ACQUIRE SOME SORT OF NOTORIETY, WEALTH, AND LEAVE A LASTING IMPRESSION ON YOUR AUDIENCE, YOU HAVE TO BE CONSISTENT, HUMBLE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY PAY IT FORWARD. THE PEOPLE I LOOK UP TO IN MY CAREER PATH ARE STILL ON TOP, BECAUSE THEY’RE STILL PUSHING OUT WORK!
AHUS: LASTLY, YOU ARE PROUD OF YOUR CULTURE AND ROOTS. AS A WOMEN OF COLOR AND A PROUD HAITIAN, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE AMAZING MOMENTS WITH OTHER WOC YOU CAN RECALL WHILE EMBRACING YOURSELF?
MIA: YASSSSSS !!!! I THANK GOD EVERY DAY FOR MAKING ME A BLACK WOMAN! I LOVE MY HAITIAN ROOTS/CULTURE, AND I CELEBRATE IT ALL THE TIME IN THE SIMPLEST WAYS. I’M CONSTANTLY SHARING AMAZING MOMENTS WITH WOMEN OF COLOR THROUGH MUSIC, CHILDHOOD STORIES, CULTURAL COMPARISONS/FRUSTRATIONS AND MORE. JUST THE OTHER DAY, I WAS IN THE STUDIO WITH SOME OF MY HAITIAN CO-WORKERS AND WE SPENT AN HOUR MIMICKING OUR FAMILY MEMBERS AND THE THINGS WE’D GET IN TROUBLE FOR AS KIDS BECAUSE IT WAS ALL SO FAMILIAR AND BROUGHT OUT A LOT OF LAUGHS.
YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST! EVEN SOME OF NYC’S FINEST RUNS THROUGH MOMENTS OF SELF-DOUBT AND EXPERIENCE STRUGGLE. FROM STRENGTHENING HER PEN GAME AT DIFFERENT PUBLICATIONS, TO BEING A PERSONALITY AT THE MECCA FOR HIP-HOP and R-N-B, AND CONTINUING TO SHINE IN SO MUCH MORE. LET HER STORY CONTINUE TO INSPIRE YOU AND PUSH YOU TO CONTINUE FORWARD. THIS HAS BEEN A SPOTLIGHT MOMENT FEATURING MIA BELLE.
You can find her published work here: www.miabellenyc.com & follow her Instagram journey here: www.instagram.com/miabellenyc/
Also, don’t forget to tune in Monday nights at 12 am — 5am at Hot 97!