This week’s featured media mogul in the making is content creator, creative consultant and journalist, Sadé Sanchez. The New Jersey native is makes up half of the budding podcast, The Lyrical Fix and creator of monthly open mic showcase Check It!. Get to know Sadé and her professional journey below.

You are a multi-talented individual dipping and dapping in a bunch of other expressive fields. So, what was it about journalism or media that piqued your interest?

“My mother and sister read to me a lot when I was younger and it formed a passion for writing short stories and poems. Then one day I didn’t want to just make up stories, I wanted to tell stories. I started writing about life experiences; mainly about my siblings and friends falling in love, their break ups, my father passing, and what we went through. 

I always knew in some capacity that I wanted to be involved with music and with artists I just never knew which route to take. Until I saw the movie, Brown Sugar. The movie sparked my interest in Artist Development, but it seemed easier to take the journalism route. 

While that movie is a love story between two people, it is a love story about Hip Hop. I refer to it in my Ode To Hip Hop. While I listen to other genres, I’m Hip Hop at the core. I can write, I like journal why not just do music journalism.” 

How did you get your start in the media field? Did you study communications in college? Internships? Hobby writing?

“I was a double major in English and Journalism during my brief stint at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. I took an elective, Music Journalism 101, and it opened my mind to ‘you know what I can actually do this’. My professor was a writer for a few magazines and blogs based out of the village in New York. He had interviews with Quest Love and a few other musicians and artists in the music business. He pushed me to interview the executive director, Daniel Gallant, at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, a place that I hold dear to my heart. From that point, I went on to start my own blog – Audio Fixation.” 

Tell us how you built up your platform. What’s your mission/goals? Who’s your audience?

“Building Audio Fixation was tough. 2DopeBoyz and Pigeon and Planes, amongst a few, were blogs I lived by and I would studied. While the blog didn’t take off, I made Audio Fixation my brand. The website stands as my portfolio, my Linktree.

During winter break in 2014, I took a public speaking class to work on giving myself a voice. There I met a producer from the radio station on campus. He asked me to be a guest on one of his shows. While it was tough for me to be able to censor myself, it was amazing to just sit there and talk about music. Then a few months later I got into “The Joe Budden Podcast“ (‘I’ll Name This Podcast Later’ at the time) and it made me think back to the radio show, ‘I can do that. I may not have the money for equipment but eventually I want to do that’. Years later, The Lyrical Fix came to fruition.

My main goal has always been to highlight and build a platform for artists. From the blog and my open mic series Check It!, to The Lyrical Fix Podcast and landing a job at We Are Jersey Magazine – it’s always been about the artists. I do prefer to be behind the scenes, but the podcast allows me to use my voice and feature artists with a therapeutic bonus added. Check It! will eventually lead to Jersey’s version of B.B. King’s / Nuyorican for underground artists, to be somewhere they got their start.

I know that being a creative is not easy and my mission is simply to help. Whether it be developing artists, highlighting them, or providing a stage and a mic, I just want to help get that art out in anyway I can.

Audience? It’s a broad audience. I want to cover a lot of ground. To be precise I would say creatives and music lovers. Millennials, in regard to generation. I do wish to get more casual fans. To educate them about the business, how tough it is to be a creative, and help them support their creative friends. Also, put them on to artists they never heard of.

The podcast is where my co-host Kid Pro and I get to reach out and highlight artists from around the country so it’s cool to have my Jersey audience catch on to an artist from Detroit, Baltimore, LA and vice versa.” 

So far throughout your career, what has been your proudest personal media moment?

“My proudest personal moment happens to not be in media, per se. My proudest moment in my career so far happens to be many little moments surrounding Check It!

I’ve been able to, unexpectedly, create a family of artists. It’s bringing them together that does it for me. Being in these rooms with them while they’re creating, whether solo or together, has been a blessing. Getting exclusives is a welcomed bonus but the fact that they met and networked at my show is a blessing. I provided that platform that got them together. Check It! has become more of a home than just a platform for some. My One Man Band, Droovy, has been getting gigs from other platforms from being the highlight of Check It! and it’s a beautiful thing. That’s success to me.” 

What advice would you give aspiring mediapreneurs looking to enter the field?

“While it is a cliche, I’ll say it anyway – never give up. Consistency and perseverance are so important in this industry. No matter your path or title, this industry will gobble you up if you let it. Even the underground can be vicious. It’s about making those hard decisions, sacrificing, working hard all while knowing your worth and standing your ground. People will try to throw dirt on your name – believe me, I know – but if you’re in it to win it… then win it. “

Stay connected with Sadé Sanchez by connecting with her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For the latest episode of The Lyrical Fix podcast click HERE or to follow the podcast’s official Instagram.

The Independent Entertainment Media Coalition is a 501(c)(7) non-profit organization dedicated to provided financial, educational, and professional resources for freelance media figures. Help in our efforts! To make a donation, please click HERE!