Shawn Setaro
[Radio personality, journalist, and now novelist Raqiyah Mays recently sat down with hip-hop personality and SOHH correspondent Shawn Setaro on his popular “The Cipher” podcast. Listen to the full interview and check out five gems Raqiyah dropped during the Q&A. Photo credit: Paola Kudacki]
On her boss while at Vibe, then-EIC Danyel Smith:
“Danyel is amazing. She is definitely one of my mentors. She was really just down to earth and open. I learned a lot from watching her, whether she knew it or not. A lot about journalism, a lot about not settling – from what makes a great story to great writing. She was about working to get the best, be the best and have the the best, and she felt you’re only as good as your last story.”
On meeting Andre 3000 for a magazine cover story:
“I remember going to his house in Atlanta. The house was just so empty. He had this music room and he had all these instruments in there. This was before he went hard into his acting career, and I remember him at the time saying, I want to focus on acting. You look at him today, and that’s exactly what he’s doing, playing Jimi Hendrix.”
On learning how to be a great radio personality:
“I sat Ed Lover down and I said, how do you make it in radio? I don’t think he even remembers this, but he said, speak your mind. A good radio personality tells their truth and they have an opinion.”
On her controversial remarks about interracial dating in 2004 that got her fired from Power 105:
“If I could have said it again, I would have said, there are some men of color who intentionally don’t date black women. They intentionally look them over. And the reality of the situation is that there are women of color out here who, when they see an inter-racial relationship, they look at the brother, and brothers will say that they feel the sister looking at them [critically].”
On being underestimated:
“For a large part of my career, I’ve been an underdog. I’ve had to continually prove myself and prove what I’m about. And it makes the success that comes after all the better.”
