Alleyah is a London-based, young media entrepreneur who’s had many exciting roles from her work with PinkNews, to interviewing stars for Netflix, to her photography, and advocacy. She’s now delving into the music industry to use her skills and platform to increase opportunities for other creatives and musicians. She proves there’s nothing you can't do when you believe in yourself and put your mind to it! We thoroughly enjoyed our interview with Alleyah and felt inspired by what she’s built for herself and what her future will bring.
Interview conducted by VoiceBox's Lauren Louisha
Hey Alleyah, thank you for joining us today! We're really excited to hear more about your journey in the media and entertainment industry. Can you share how you got started and what inspired you to pursue this path?
Heya! Thank you so much for having me. So I would say my career journey really began when I was 7 years old when I got the opportunity to audition for a performance school. I had no previous training or lessons, just danced to music channels on the TV and rapped to 90s hip hop in the car (at far too young), but I somehow got in! One thing I have never doubted myself on is my natural ability to translate stories to groups of people through creating stuff. Like a lot of Gen Z artists, we all grew up on the first generation of YouTubers, Tumblr, etc and this is definitely where my video-editing and comedic style originates from. Music and fandom culture has also had a heavy influence on how I connected with others, growing up. I even had a fan account and a YouTube channel to practise ‘yapping’ and video editing, hahaha. That is so embarrassing to admit but it’s definitely part of my journey into the industry as I never would have been able to experience some of the blessings I’ve received today without them.
How do you think your time at performing arts school helps your current line of work?
Surprisingly, one of the most impactful things I learnt from going to a performing arts school was stage etiquette and patience. If you’ve ever been on set or performed on stage, you’ll know how strict dance teachers are about stage etiquette. The media and entertainment industry is a fast-paced environment, especially at premieres and events. Having the background knowledge of people’s roles on the team and understanding the pressure it takes to have the gig run smoothly means that there’s not an amount of stress on the job that I can’t handle.
Can you tell us a little bit about some of the most exciting things you’ve worked on so far?
I have to say, working at Glastonbury Festival this year was incredible. It was my first time going to a music festival- let alone getting the chance to interview and meet some amazingly talented creatives. A few of my friends performed too so it was great to get to go and support them. I’m nowhere near finished with this journey though, so I’m excited to see which new goal I’ll achieve next. To host at the BRITs one day would be insane.
What were some of your passions & skills that helped you break into the industry despite not having prior experience?
I believe that everyone has something to gain from hearing about another’s individuality, and I also love communicating through art. This seems silly to admit given what my job is now, but I used to struggle with severe social anxiety as a child and during some of my early teen years, I even had to go to school part-time because of it. I annotated songs and shared them with my close friends as a way of expressing myself which aided in me getting back on track with my education. Interviewing others is a blessing because I get to create and hold a space for people to pour their thoughts and feelings out to a beautiful audience and hopefully create relatability and community in some way. I have had a very, uncommon childhood and unique life experiences so far, and as isolating as those times may have seemed, I hope that sharing them on my platform will be a comfort and symbol of hope for others.
At such a young age, you’ve already made such headway in your career, if you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice what would it be?
Wow, that’s so kind of you to say, thank you! That is a really good question. I would tell little Alleyah to trust her gut. I shied away from standing out a lot because I felt the need to fit into moulds, so I never created. I think this held me back in the past, but letting go and taking that jump is always worth the experience and fortunately, it worked out for me.
I really loved going through your portfolios and reading all about your work and what inspires you. Your PinkNews job interview stood out to me, particularly the fact that you were the only one out of hundreds to ask for the brand’s colour code. What made you ask that?
Thank you! Hahaha yes, I thought this was so wild when I found out and honestly I took it as a compliment that they noted that! Without trying to sound “not like other girls” haha, I make an effort to annotate and pay attention to people’s uniqueness and individual qualities so that I can amplify them. I knew that if I wanted to get their attention and prove that I could empathise with the brand’s morals, I would need to reflect my knowledge back to them; and one of those ways was by turning my pitch graphics into the company’s branding hex colours. Fortunately, it was a design choice that certainly secured me in their minds and I am grateful for the talented producers I have had the pleasure of working alongside.
You’ve recently dove into the music industry as well! What drew you into it and do you have any upcoming plans you can tell us about?
Oh, I can’t wait to share the new exciting things I have coming up. Covering pop culture has been so much fun and almost everything I have done so far has been focused on platforming minority groups which has been an even bigger plus to the purpose of my work. Music however has always been my affinity so now is a great time to announce that a new project is on the way to increase more opportunities for other creatives and musicians! So if you’re an artist or creative wanting more eyes on your work, definitely stay tuned in.
Social media is constantly changing, with the endless amount of content being shared. How do you keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed by it all, and how do you avoid comparing yourself to other creatives?
Honestly, I think I’m still learning this. A friend of mine told me recently that you’re never going to create something truly “original” because everyone is influenced by something; so you may as well just start. He really changed my perception that day, so I use this as a mantra whenever I get overwhelmed or feel defeated by comparison on social media.
What advice would you give to aspiring creatives looking to build a presence on social media platforms?
Grab the camera, pick up a pen, send the email, just throw yourself into any opportunity possible and if there aren’t any in front of you, try to find ways to create them. The creative industry will always be competitive, even more so if you're from a minority group or low-income background, but the upside is that you're in control of your art. If you pour your energy into your projects, your passion will shine through and you never know who might discover your work in future.
You mentioned to us in our initial chat that, in order to be where you are now you had to overcome some life challenges along the way. How did you balance those obstacles whilst building your career?
Resilience. A lot of resilience. I think once I turned about 11, I realised that if I wanted opportunities and experiences that I didn’t have access to, I had to put in extra work to get there. When you’re independent, you have to get back up once you’ve been knocked down. Like, there’s literally no other option. I, unfortunately, was “knocked down” a few too many times at far too young, but the ugly silver lining is that I now know that quite literally nothing can deter me from achieving my goals if I am driven enough. I was also lucky enough to start my early years in an environment where I was encouraged to be myself, so this also strengthened my self-motivation.
It’s been a pleasure to interview you, Alleyah, as we wrap things up. What's been your favourite interview to conduct to date, and what made it stand out for you?
Oh wow…I have interviewed some really talented individuals and learnt so much from every one of them. I had an incredibly insightful conversation with McKinley Belcher III for Netflix to discuss his role in ‘Eric’ and I will forever carry with me how he complimented my questions at the end of the junket (twice?!). I was so nervous but I hope one day I get to interview him again and tell him how much confidence that interview gave me. But, I do think that I have so many more projects to come and goals to achieve that my “all-time favourite” is still yet to come.
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