Meet So Sincere | Public Relations Specialist & Consultant (Music/Entertainment Industry-primarily in the Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Genres)

We had the good fortune of connecting with So Sincere and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi So, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
Working in the music industry can be very hard to navigate through sometimes and to be fully transparent my first few years I absolutely wanted to throw in the towel many times, but, when you love what you do quitting is never an option. If you can pivot well and be open to learning new things and can keep moving forward in whatever you do then you just keep going. It’s hard to explain but you find the will when you finally find the thing you were meant to do in life. I take it one goal at a time sometimes and other times when I am juggling 5 things at once and have to hit the goal at the same time with all 5 things I just find a way, and when I do, the feeling is like nothing else!
As I get older and look back at my 17 years in the music industry, I can reflect and tell others that if it really doesn’t make you happy, if you are financially draining yourself and you no longer can see the light even a pinhole at the end of the tunnel then maybe its time to do something else or again learn to pivot. For me personally, it feels like it is built into my DNA, I did step away from the music industry for 3 years after my first 10 years in the industry and I missed what I did every single day and when I got back into it, I felt whole again for the first time in those 3 years. It was a very eye opening moment so maybe don’t throw in the towel but take a break and reevaluate if what you’re doing is really what you want to be doing.
There will be really bad days, and I mean REALLY BAD days and somehow when you feel like you are built for your work, you find a way to get up and do whatever the day has in store for you. The teams I am a part of and my ability to help others really are big motivators for me on good days and bad days.
For each person in whatever they do the moments to keep going and give up are different but I just know what its like for me and my work.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I got to where I am today because I love what I do and had some of the most phenomenal people believe in me and give me opportunities. The road has been hard, almost impossible at times but I am here still standing. To overcome most challenges I am blessed enough to have a network of other professionals to mentor me and help me in times that I need it. I am very blessed that way, I didn’t do this alone. Some of the lessons I have learned long the way, most people are really out for self and that’s ok, you just have to learn to navigate the best way possible when having no choice but to deal with those kind of people. Unfortunately in my industry there are a lot of scam artists and vultures and it can be really difficult especially for new comers to deal with, but my advice is, always use your common sense and DO YOUR RESEARCH!! No matter how good something looks on the gram its only what they want you to see, dig deeper, do reference checks, Google is amazing and you can avoid a lot of headache for yourself. Also, there are times you have to take a leap of faith and sometimes you will fall on your face but you got to pick yourself back up, evaluate what you could have done better and try again. I also learned personal accountability, which is so key in my work as well as my life. I hold myself accountable for mistakes I make and I hold those around me accountable for things they do. Checks and balances. I don’t hide anything, I am extremely transparent….what you see is what you get with me. Love it or hate it, but its always been respected. People don’t have to like me, but I stand for something and they can not help but respect that. Also, my industry has changed so much especially with the explosion of technology, so I learned new skills and again that pivot I mentioned before is imperative. I learned that from LT-mOE and have implemented it as the world changes around me. My goal has always been to help. However that is, whatever that looks like, helping is just something I have to do. I cant save everyone and I wont even try but if someone needs help and reach’s out, I am there. It wasn’t about money for me when I started nor now, it was about being the best at what I do and building an incredible network, the money for what I do is a bonus. For me my journey has been very different and it has been personal every step of the way.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, it would depend on what city we are in I travel a lot, but my zip code where I lay my head primarily at the moment is North East Ohio so lets go to Cleveland. On the itinerary things we MUST do while they were visiting for the week: We for sure will go (probably several times during their visit) to 27 Club and Re: Bar, they each have their own vibe, amazing drinks, food and staff, Hit up a Browns Game (there is no bad seats in that stadium), would head to Canton-Akron area check out the Football Hall of Fame and then check out an Akron Aviators game (ABA) . Back in Cleveland and check out the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame depending on the current exhibit, definitely have to have tacos at Barrios (so good and you pick what you want), order some flowers at Cloud Florist (A 3rd generation owned male black owned florist), get some jet skis and go out on Lake Erie, Definitely have to go get some tattoos at Red Lion Tattoos, do some shopping at Layr, Next, Xhibition, and if we have to get some sneakers cleaned got to hit up Concession Stand. Take a drive and go check out Detroit and another day explore Columbus (both are 2 hours from Cleveland). and if we had time explore the country sides of Ohio, maybe even get over to Erie PA which is about an hour and a half from Cleveland.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have so many people that I have to shout-out, it took an army of support to get me where I am today. I want to thank music producer/Business Owner LT-mOE who I have worked with for going on 14 years, Shaun “Buck” Benjamins THANK YOU!. Wendy Day of the RapCoalition and Moneygraphics, these two women literally saved my life, I want to thank Brian “Essince” Collins of Royal Heir Entertainment and Matt Sims of StopBeefin Radio who I am forever grateful for, KurtCurt one of the best engineers on the planet and great human being!! Bigga Rankin and Kingpin aka Rapjuggernaut who helped launch my career to a different level so many years ago. Elora Mason one of the most incredible people and publicists ever. Mike Kjanski (MJK) since Day 1 has always been an inspiration to me. Rick Edwards and Rikers who have helped guide me through it all and held no punches. Mr & Mrs Miller and the Miller family (THANK YOU!) Rockett, Destanie, Sokoya, The Bnjmns, CL of Digiwaxx, Mr. Peter Parker, Saint James of SBR, The EST family, Rushdee, Rueben Wood, Pesh & the Livemixtapes family, Just Jay of The Hype Magazine, KD, DJ Ike GDa, Swick/Pat/John of IFC, Atmost Visuals, Kalam Ali, Kasim, Halim Rice, Darryl Sloan, Heat, Diana Schweinbeck, Proph The Problem & Jus Mic, Bully, Sarah Oak Kim, Zo, Cloud Florist, Ivy The Artist, Cam. THANK YOU ALL. Special thank you to anyone who ever took a chance on me, believed in me and if I missed your name you know it wasn’t intentional and I do appreciate you.
Thank you to the DJs, Producers, Engineers-you are forever appreciated by me!
Last but not least, HIp-Hop, you changed my life and I wouldn’t be here without you!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sosincerepr/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sosincere/

Image Credits
w/Scoochie Smith w/ Mook (photo by Chris Goody) w/ Elora Mason w/ MJK w/Jarvis “Juice” Landry (photo by The Bnjmns)