Tallawah

OVERVIEW The Tallawah podcast is the product of many musings on the perception of success. How success is typically defined within societies can vary greatly from how an individual perceives success. Tallawah is a venture led by Latoya Wakefield (IG: @latoyawakefield) and Yanique Taylor (IG: @taylored.consulting), entrepreneurs pursuing their own version of success. As Jamaicans, Tallawah is a word used in our culture that means strength or fearlessness. The phrase, "wi likkle but wi tallawah" is used often to acknowledge our fellow Jamaicans locally and internationally who are achieving greatness, especially through their passions. This greatness across many domains is what we are featuring through Tallawah, with the goal to inspire others to seek out and achieve their own passion-fuelled success. We are seeking to help change lives one ear at a time (Shout out to Charles Hyatt, II for the tagline!) EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS * In describing herself, Minori says, “Minori Russell is a reasoned being. She is a sister, she’s a friend, she’s a musician like you said. She is this one big kaleidoscope of emotions and love and expression.” * “As long as I can remember, I’ve seen myself performing.” Minori credits her family, particularly her brothers as her inspiration for what she does as an artiste. * “Music for me is anything that is palatable to the ear,” shared Minori in describing her go-to musical genres which include, jazz, R&B, dancehall, reggae, and lately, Motown music as well. * Although in the industry for seven years now, being underestimated and overlooked are challenges that Minori faces as a young, female performer. * Minori blessed us with an exclusive spontaneous performance of her new song “Cocoa”. * She is dropping a single, “Red Pill”, on March 27, 2020, which is a collaboration with Rize Nation – Nattali Rize out of Australia (www.nattalirize.com [https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/new/www.nattalirize.com]) * To date, Minori’s achievements include performing and being a finalist on Magnum Kings and Queens, as well as serving as a writer for the Fi Wi Jamaica initiative (https://jis.gov.jm/fi-wi-jamaica-using-music-promote-positive-behaviour/ [https://jis.gov.jm/fi-wi-jamaica-using-music-promote-positive-behaviour/]). Minori was also a writer and performer for the Forbidden Fruit musical staged last year. * About her personal struggles, Minori shared that her greatest challenge has been maintaining her drive and passion for music after losing her mother, her Queen, Dawn Marie Hall, 4 years ago. She was initially driven to pursue music as a means of supporting her mother so she would not have to struggle in life anymore. * As an independent artiste, in a year, Minori hopes to be able to put on a show that she produces and promotes fully. “I feel me vibrating at a higher frequency.” * Her words of encouragement for those pursuing their dreams are, “Your biggest enemy is fear. Your second biggest enemy is self-doubt and thirdly, it is always good to have a dream but more importantly, you must have a vision.” RESOURCES IG: @minorimuzic Facebook: Minori Muzic YouTube: Minori Muzic BE A TALLAWAH TEAMMATE Thank you for listening! Feel free to email us at tallawahpod@gmail.com [tallawahpod@gmail.com] with your feedback or questions. We appreciate your support, so do let us know how we can ensure your Tallawah experience is “100”. If you know a Jamaican who is dominating, let us know and they may be our next guest! FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: @tallawahpodcast Facebook: Tallawah Podcast YouTube: Tallawah Podcast

OVERVIEW The Tallawah podcast is the product of many musings on the perception of success. How success is typically defined within societies can vary greatly from how an individual perceives success. Tallawah is a venture led by Latoya Wakefield (IG: @latoyawakefield) and Yanique Taylor (IG: @taylored.consulting), entrepreneurs pursuing their own version of success. As Jamaicans, Tallawah is a word used in our culture that means strength or fearlessness. The phrase, "wi likkle but wi tallawah" is used often to acknowledge our fellow Jamaicans locally and internationally who are achieving greatness, especially through their passions. This greatness across many domains is what we are featuring through Tallawah, with the goal to inspire others to seek out and achieve their own passion-fuelled success. We are seeking to help change lives one ear at a time (Shout out to Charles Hyatt, II for the tagline!) GUEST Shauntel Walters is a photographer, film producer and 3rd year anthropology student at the University of the West Indies. She is also a travel enthusiast. Her foundations in early personal development programmes, such as music, sports and activities within the creative industries, has led to her love for business and the arts, and one product of that, is Shauntel Media House, a company she started in 2018 that aims to offer professional film and photography services for brands through storytelling. When she is not glued to her screen editing, you can find her, cooking, learning new languages, or hanging out or chatting with family and friends. She is currently working on her 2nd short film. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS * Shauntel describes her company, Shauntel Media House, as a mixture of entrepreneurship and a passion for creativity. * Offering professional photography and filming services with a twist of storytelling, Shauntel Media House wants to offer brands the opportunity to tell stories for their products, magazines or anything similar. * As a formally registered business since 2018, Shauntel’s company has facilitated projects with influencers for their blogs and personal pages as well as released her first short film in January 2020, Caterpillar Heart (View on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB8Ctv5SJhg [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB8Ctv5SJhg]). * “Keeping that creative part of me ignited when I do my work in Shauntel Media House, whether it’s photography or film, is really important to me and Shauntel Media House has facilitated that really well.” * With no formal training in photography or filmmaking, Shauntel shares that she attracts clients by volunteering to offer some free work to help market her skills, especially if she wants to get a project in a genre that is not already a part of her portfolio. She also credits networking in helping to get her business out into the mainstream. * About what success means to her, “I would define success as achieving this acceptable satisfaction within yourself.” RESOURCES IG: @shauntelmediahouse Email: shauntel.walters1@gmail.com [shauntel.walters1@gmail.com] LinkedIn: https://jm.linkedin.com/in/shauntel-a-8a1679a5 [https://jm.linkedin.com/in/shauntel-a-8a1679a5] BE A TALLAWAH TEAMMATE Thank you for listening! Feel free to email us at tallawahpod@gmail.com [tallawahpod@gmail.com] with your feedback or questions. We appreciate your support, so do let us know how we can ensure your Tallawah experience is “100”. If you know a Jamaican who is dominating, let us know and they may be our next guest!

GUEST Kwame McPherson - authorpreneur, writer, book coach, poet and publisher The first Jamaican to be awarded The Bridport Prize writing bursary for flash fiction in 2020, Kwame MA McPherson has made a name for himself as a content creator and marketer, author and international speaker on the Science of Storytelling. During his more than eight years as an authorpreneur, Kwame has created content for articles, blogs and websites for a variety of clients including entrepreneurs, corporations and business owners. He has written a variety of manuscripts (fiction and non-fiction) and also coaches other writers and authors as well as provides ghost writing services. Kwame’s publications include several books and guides including, Deep Roots, Strong Tree, To Our Fallen and Service Please: 10 step guide to a successful restaurant. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS * Recently published his latest book, A Date with Depression: From Mental Uncertainty to Self-fulfillment, which examines his experiences battling depression. “Men on a whole, and me at the time, we are not taught to express our feelings or thoughts, the stress and the challenges that life has to offer.” * He mainly worked in the public sector throughout his career until he outgrew the 9-5 routine and delved into entrepreneurship. He is now fulfilled through his writing career. “I not only write for myself, but I help other people to write and publish. So, that is satisfying.” * He first started writing as a hobby, creating personalized poetry for persons to gift to loved ones, then expanded into longer form writing. He never envisioned at the time that writing would be a business for him. * “At the time you didn’t think of writing as being a career, as a business, especially back then. But now, since the evolution of the Internet, you can see how you can actually create something from it.” * “We are now living in an age of creation, so you can create anything that you’re passionate about because of the Internet.” * While still a part of the 9-5 work world, Kwame shared how he became stressed out and sick. He attributed this to the fact that he was still struggling to find and  settle on his passion. “It’s trying to get traction behind the passion and having people believe in you,” Kwame said about challenges faced in his journey as an entrepreneur. * In speaking about his passion for stories and storytelling, and how they fundamentally reflect how people live their lives every day, Kwame said he realized that his entire world was his market. “My life’s purpose is to touch as many people’s lives as I can through storytelling.” * Kwame discussed a new genre in storytelling called flash fiction, in which writers must tell a compact story using a finite number of words ranging from 100 – 5,000. * He encourages everyone to identify their passion and purpose and create for themselves. In light of the age we live in, Kwame believes success is what each person is willing to make it, as we can all define what we want to do and achieve in life on our own terms. RESOURCES Website: www.kwamemcpherson.com [http://www.kwamemcpherson.com/] Shop Window: www.lulu.com/spotlight/baobabtreebooks [http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/baobabtreebooks] Email: kwamemamcpherson@gmail.com [kwamemamcpherson@gmail.com] Twitter: @KwameMA YouTube: Kwame McPherson The Bridport Prize: www.bridportprize.org.uk [https://www.bridportprize.org.uk/news/bursary-update-the-14-recipients/]

GUEST Kesi Gardner, CEO - The Storyteller Agency An educator, marketing consultant and storyteller who is passionate about empowerment, Kesi believes in standing out above the noise. Her blog, www.kesigardner.com [http://www.kesigardner.com/], is hailed as one of the top marketing blogs in the Jamaica. She has a multi-faceted background including experience in the non-profit world, public relations, and marketing for more than 10 years and provides consulting services as Director of The Storyteller Agency [http://www.thestorytelleragency.co/] which focuses on public relations, content creation, marketing consultation and influencer marketing. Kesi is a commentator and has appeared on national television shows and periodicals including CVM’s In Live at 7 with Simon Crosskill, CVM-TV Sunrise, Global Voices.org, Caribbean Radio.com, Jamaica Observer’s Page 2, Buzz Caribbean, Caribbean Business Report and Philanthropy.com. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS * Kesi shares why she believes Jamaica is ten years behind in terms of how persons do not maximize the Internet and technology more to elevate business and access to better opportunities. She is a strong proponent of the digital nomad lifestyle. * She was always drawn to the creative arts and so decided to focus her educational journey in this area. This was fuelled particularly while living in New York where her mother received a great work opportunity with The United Nations resulting in the family moving from Jamaica. * In New York, Kesi attended The Dwight School on Central Park West, a prestigious private school. But after a year, she decided to leave and attend art school to pursue her true creative desires. * In discussing her decision to return to Jamaica, Kesi shares that she had a very brief stint at a local agency before deciding to pursue doing business on her terms. “I now have full control of everything creative that I do.” * “I’ve always said I want to be paid to be myself.” As a creative, through her agency she is able to focus on community level recognition/branding for herself, influencers and growing businesses. * The Storyteller Agency aims to create a buzz online, typically for less mainstream events. Their focus is to create experiential experiences to up-level interest and exposure within the digital space. * “For me achievement is being recognized in my community.” * Kesi, who has struggled with depression intermittently throughout her journey, credits therapy, meditation and consistently practicing gratitude as essential in keeping her grounded. * About success and finding your own path, Kesi states, “You need to find the empty spaces in the market that are not being utilized and that of course depends on your interest and what your niche is.” RESOURCES Email: hello@thestorytelleragency.co [hello@thestorytelleragency.co] Telephone: (876) 881-7830 Instagram: @thestoryteller.agency [http://thestoryteller.agency/] Facebook: kesigardner Websites: www.kesigardner.com [http://www.kesigardner.com/] and www.storytelleragency.co [http://www.storytelleragency.co/] BE A TALLAWAH TEAMMATE Thank you for listening! Feel free to email us at tallawahpod@gmail.com [tallawahpod@gmail.com] with your feedback or questions. We appreciate your support, so do let us know how we can ensure your Tallawah experience is “100”. If you know a Jamaican who is dominating, let us know and they may be our next guest! FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: @tallawahpodcast Facebook: Tallawah Podcast YouTube: Tallawah Podcast

GUEST Joel Dean, C.E.O. – Nobi Labs Services Limited A seasoned software architect and device magician, Joel Dean is Jamaica’s very own tech mogul-in-the-making. At 26 years old, he boasts over 10 years of experience building applications for iPhones, Android phones and computers. Joel has built several tech start-ups and lead Android development efforts, providing solutions even in the most remote areas of the world. He has managed one of the world’s largest data collection platforms, deployed to more than 50 countries, in 40 languages, for more than 1.5 million users. His expertise has impacted Google, Facebook, Apple, Red Cross, and the World Health Organization. Joel is a proud graduate of the Northern Caribbean University and the May Pen High and Preparatory Schools. His unique story of triumph over adversity, lead to a feature interview on the Jamaican talk show Profile, made popular by the late Ian Boyne. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS * Developed an app, during a competition sponsored by the World Bank and Jamaican Government, called the Pothole Positioning System which allows persons to use their smartphones to detect potholes while they are driving. * He calls himself the device magician because “I’m able to push these devices we use every day to the limit to do things that just seem magical”. * Inspired by his father who was always into maintenance and technical tasks. * Works extensively with several global companies such as GitHub, Google, Facebook and Twitter based on software he has built. * “Remote work is really changing the landscape of how talent distribution is able to provide skills and services for companies all over the world without worrying about language barriers, time zones and geographical differences.” * “There are persons in Canada that have offered me jobs, people in Germany that have offered me jobs as well and several others, but it’s just not my time as yet. Jamaica will always be my home even if I leave for a few years.” * About his initiative, “Code for a Cause” he says “I’m just breaking down how we can convert from consumers to producers.” This initiative helps to expose youth to the opportunities available through using technology creatively. * He encourages the local market to support local app developers through the provision of funding and using the applications developed. * About Jamaica and its development, “We have to take technology more seriously because technology has been one of the greatest catalyst for improving the quality of life for major cities across the world.” RESOURCES Email: joel@getnobi.com [joel@getnobi.com] Site: getnobi.com [http://getnobi.com/] Twitter: @sirjoeldean https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-dean-0b624537/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-dean-0b624537/] https://github.com/jd-alexander [https://github.com/jd-alexander] BE A TALLAWAH TEAMMATE Thank you for listening! Feel free to email us at tallawahpod@gmail.com [tallawahpod@gmail.com] with your feedback or questions. We appreciate your support, so do let us know how we can ensure your Tallawah experience is “100”. If you know a Jamaican who is dominating, let us know and they may be our next guest! FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: @tallawahpodcast Facebook: Tallawah Podcast YouTube: Tallawah Podcast