This one's been a long time coming. We've been trying to get this on the calendar for what? Months?

Yeah, literally months.

But that's the problem when you try to get scheduled with somebody that's insanely busy and doing a ton of work. I remember one particular conversation which we'll get into, but Erikka J is, in my humble opinion, one of the elites in our business. She is crushing it on a daily, weekly, monthly basis and I, like, we've been trying to get this on the on the schedule for so long. So please join me in welcoming the amazing Erikka J. God, I'm like I've been so we're looking forward to this.

Likewise. Thank you for having me.

Thank you. I want there's so many places I want to start with you. Yeah, this this one you may not see coming. I remember our first in person conversation. Of course, I can't remember where it was. Right. You mentioned to me at some point that with all your accomplishments, with your incredible career, you occasionally have imposter syndrome. And that blew me away because what it told me, Erikka, was that if you got it at your stage, everybody's got it. There are times when none of us have the feeling that we really know what the hell we're doing.

Yeah. my God. What a fitting topic because literally like yesterday, I'm like, what am I doing? I'm not doing that great. yeah. Gosh, I don't know. think...Excuse me, for one, it's, whenever you want to do well at something and the sort of creative mind, the artist in you, you always want to do a little better. And externally, everybody just sees the highlight reels, of course, as we know, social media. Nobody really, at least a lot of us don't want to go online and cry.

Or even, you know, putting up the Facebook style, whoa is me. Like, you know, you don't, people don't do that publicly. So. And by the way, thank God. Yeah, really. And when people do, we kind of scroll past those usually, right? Like, yeah. So, I mean, the reality is that life is peaks and valleys, you know, so, and in your career is no different. So it's really easily, really easy when you're down in that valley to just look up at your peaks and you know, like, remember when I was there and you know, well, what's going on now? And you forget the cyclical nature of life and careers and you know, all that. So I think if you want to do well, you're going to deal with a little imposter syndrome and it's just about keeping it in check and being, trying to focus with a sense of gratitude for where you are, where you've been and for what's next. Yes, man. Yeah. Yes, man.

Yeah, the other thing that that struck me as exceptional about you and I just stumbled across this one day online clearly you had posted it but it was a music video and I was unaware of that side of you you were a budding pop star at one time. Right? that's an interesting word for me but yeah I guess. Well yeah, not pop music genre but in the generic sense.

Yeah.

Tell me about that.

You are a singer by background, correct? I am, yeah. So that was where I first used my voice was music. And then I discovered voiceover later. Yeah, I just, you know, I've been singing since church and little girl, you know, the classic story, blah, blah. And then, you know, I met a guy in college and I had kids and I stopped singing for like eight years and it was like, my life actually kind of went dark and I didn't realize it until I was out of it. And...

I was in Richmond where you are, you know, at the time and got back into like some of the open mic scene and started meeting people that made music like me. And I kind of just got back into that and really drove hard and kind of attacked it from a business perspective. And it was great, but it was exhausting and doesn't pay that. Great. It takes a long time to really get traction. And through that creative community that I had built, I discovered voiceover.

That kind of took over and it's more lucrative. So, I like that. So what was that moment like? Like, do you remember who, like how that conversation or is it not that granular for you? no, no, no, it is. Absolutely. I always talk about this, how crazy it was. It was a friend of mine. His name is Bam. He's a comedian and also actually works in some political circles in Richmond as well. Him and John Bibbs, who also is owns or has runs a private school in Richmond and is also a great musician, singer.

And they were talking about that they had did a voiceover at a studio. And I was like, well, what's that? You know, like so green, so green. I was just like, well, what is it? And they kind of said it. And I was just like, and I did the Google hustle and got online. And I was just like, this sounds interesting. What is voiceover? And that's how I started just learning a bunch of stuff and did a couple play to plays. I was working with a friend of mine who had just graduated from VCU's theater program and was running a musical for us.

And, she told, I was talking to her about it and she was like, yeah, you could go to this studio and they'll, you know, help you out, make a demo, which I did. I was one of those demo out the gate would not recommend, but I love them to death. They took care of me, walked me through the process. I just got off a session with them 30 minutes ago. So I work with them to this day. Yeah. I take a guess on who it was? Go for it. I bet you in your ear. It's in your ear. I love them so much. Paul and Kathy. man. They are my people.

Yeah, so I really kind of got my start between there and the P2P's. But that was kind of how I discovered it. And I had been, excuse me, in addition to doing my own music, I was in a corporate band, traveling most weekends to do, you know, the hoity -toity weddings and corporate parties and singing, doing four -hour sets and away from my kids. Yeah, so it was like being in the booth at home, you know, traveling, being away for 12 hours every weekend. And my kids were young at the time.

Voice over definitely kind of took over.

You started with local studios and pay to plays.

Yup.

The pay to plays were different back then. Right. I say back then even a decade ago they were huge.

Yeah. This was 2016 for me.

So yeah. So how do you how does how do things evolve from starting out with the local stuff and the P2P is into what you're doing now which is essentially slaying the industry. Yeah. Yeah man.

Gosh, even when you say it like that, I realize how short and long this has all been. I was kind of in that space of just P2P's couple local studios for God, probably until like right before the pandemic. So it was about four and a half, almost five years that I was really kind of in that vacuum. I just didn't know anybody. I didn't even know that there was a whole like industry and community and conferences and all that.

I had just kind of started to look around a little more because I was getting really discouraged, not really getting a lot of traction. And I actually found VO Atlanta. This was in 2019. So actually, it may be a little bit shorter, more like three and a half years. And I saw it online. And I'm just kind of skeptical because I'm like, I don't know. You I don't know if this is the right thing. And I watched the online version because it was only 100 bucks. I was like, I'll risk 100 bucks. I'll know about 500.

I saw a few people talk on panels online, but I specifically remember watching Jordan Reynolds. And I was just like, man, this is kind of, my interest was piqued. Then they had a summer intensive program back when Gerald was running VO Atlanta. And that was in Atlanta and I was here now, I was living here. So I was like, I'll go to that. And I took a class with Cliff Zellman and Kay Bess.

The third option was Joe Cipriano. And I was just like, I don't know which one to pick. And I mean, it's an impossible choice between those three.

Well, the good news is it's a no -lose situation.

Exactly. Right, right, right. I didn't even know who these people were.

…Choose between the Ferrari or the Rolls or the Bentley?

Exactly. Right, right. So went to that class. Cliff was great. Just kind of was like, look, you're great. You can do a future in this. And you have a future in this.

And know, Kay was just so like on the emotional level and I was just hooked, baby. I was reinvigorated and I was like, okay, maybe I can do this. So that was summer of 2019. So we all know what happened in March of 2020, about nine months later. Yes, we do. So at that point, everything went online and my world opened up. So I was in all the classes, all the industry pro workshops, all the everything. I was just like, I wanna meet everybody.

I was binging on Jamie Muffet's VO School podcast that I had never had time to listen to before. Now I did. So I was mopping the floors and listening to 10 episodes a day. And every time I heard a guest, I would connect with them on LinkedIn and Facebook. Wow. And I would say, you hey, I heard you on Jamie's podcast. I really thought it was cool when you said this, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And that's literally what I did. And that's why so many people know me, because I was like a maniac about meeting people.

There's a lesson there. is a lesson there. Right. Maniac about meeting people.

And the thing is that I know people say, you know, well, connecting with other talent doesn't make you money. Relationships make you money because I've been referred by other talent so many times. Anyway, so I know I'm rambling. There's probably more there, but I'm going to let you know. no, that's fine. So you begin to build these relationships within the business. Yeah.

How do you start to notice things transition after that in terms of actual work coming in? mentioned referrals. Yeah. But now you're working on a clearly a whole different level than you were even five years ago.

Yeah. Yeah. So one of the classes that I took through Atlanta VoiceOver Studio, adore them, love them so much. Heidi and Mike, baby. Hey, y 'all. I met with I did a class with Mark Gus of ACM. And he reached we had actually met, I think, at the SOVAS the year before.

in the BC times before COVID. And we had met in person, but he actually reached out after the workshop and was like, you hey, and it was sort of, you know, timing, aligning with preparation because black voices, especially black women were even in higher demand at that point. So I was an asset to the roster. So I started working with ACM and got some, you know, great campaigns through them. We did really great work for a while.

I got my first agent working with Portia Scott for a while by taking a class with Everett Oliver since moved on. now I took a class with Vince at DPN at one voice, which is here in a couple of weeks and kind of worked with him and found out that that was going to be a great relationship. JMC and Mary Lynn were kind of like, Hey, you know, you should check out Erikka Jay and that worked out and we ended up going to DPN. So.

Again, relationship building and just continuing to do the work. I take classes like a maniac. My husband was kind of like, you know, all right, you're going to stay up till 1 a every night, you know, taking classes on the West Coast. Like, come on, can I have my girl back? But yeah, that was it as I just really worked. I worked at relationships and I worked at getting better at the craft. And thankfully, it's paid off. Man.

If I could just like, I'm going to take that sound bite and I'm going to put it on a card, right? And just carry it around with me because it's the best advice I could give any voice actor. I worked hard at relationships and I worked hard at building and honing the craft.

That's really, that's the crux of everything you need to know about voiceover. That's it. Right there. So, you you jump ahead a couple of years and I'm sitting in the audience at the One Voice awards. And I think that year they renamed it the Erikka J awards because I like, don't know what kind of shoes you were wearing, but I'm pretty sure you watered the souls out walking up between the stage and your seat, the stage and your seat, the stage and your seat. That had to feel good. Had to be validating. Tell us about that first month, you know, the moment where you first like thought, you know what? I'm in the big leagues now.

Yeah. I had won a couple of SOVAS Awards by then and that was the coolest thing because that was like my first voiceover award. was like, my God, right? And I was pregnant that year. So that was 20, 20, I was very pregnant. So I remember the submission had come up for one voice and I was just like, all right, I think you can submit like a max of like eight. And I was like, this is 20, 22. So 21, I did a lot of work. And I'm like, well, why not? You know, just submit, submit a couple, whatever. And I'm like, what other category could I submit?

It's so nice that it's free to submit. I mean, you I understand why a place is charged. I'm not refuting, you know, or saying anything bad about that. But I was like, well, why not? You know, why not? And that's the sort of my stance with a lot of things. What do you have to lose? And then it was the voice of the year. And we talk about the imposter syndrome, right? And I'm just like, I don't think I should do that. I'm not at that level yet, you know, but the very last day, and I was actually prepping to leave for a trip to go to Mexico with my college friend because we had wouldn't want to reconnect. wow.

And I was like, let me just throw this together. So I had to do the whole compilation of a whole bunch of different pieces. And it was like down to the wire, I had to hurry up and finish. And I got it all together. And I submitted it and missus. All right, we'll see. And when I got nominated, I was like, I'm gonna try not to curse Paul, censoring myself like, crap. You don't have to censor anything here. Okay, I was like, shit, what I got nominated like. And that was just

You know, that was just cool. And then I saw the other things and I was like, holy shit, I got nominated for seven of the eight I submitted. What? Yeah. Yes, it was incredibly validating and people that talk shit about awards, just, there's nothing wrong with getting a little external validation. Like, let's be real, we all want it, we all need it. It feels good. Why not? You don't want to be over -reliant on it, but there's nothing wrong with it. So yeah. And then, and then I ended up bringing home three that year, including voice of the year. I was, was very proud.

Yeah, yeah. So now you're you're in the big leagues and does that…. did you find that since then it's in any way tamped down the imposter syndrome at all.

No. If anything you know honestly it can make it a little worse and that's why like I get like people at the very very tippy top you know like the 0 .1 % 0 .01 % because you're like. you know, was that my peak? Is this it? You know? Yeah, it doesn't get better, I don't think in any way. And that's why I say you just have to focus on what am I actively doing to get to the next step, particularly, you know, if summer slows down, you know, or your voice changes, you know, with age and pregnancy and things like that. Or, you know, just the flavor changes. We work in advertising and marketing, which is you know, trends change like underwear. So yeah, it's still tough.

Yeah. Well, since the pandemic, people aren't changing their underwear as often. Fair, fair. trends change even faster. You mentioned this a little bit before, but I want to get into it. From a white dude to a black woman. Yeah. Is there more opportunity now? And of course, we're not where we need to be for people of color and for women. But is there more opportunity now? You mentioned it went up during the pandemic. Has it stayed at that level? What's your perception?

You know, and that was actually something that fed my imposter syndrome for a while too. You know, it's like, is it just because I'm black? Do I sound black enough? Or is this a trend, like all the other advertising trends is gonna die down and then I'm not gonna be flavor of the month. And you know, maybe I'm not really like great. But I think.

I think it's better. do think there's still more room, particularly in some of the really male dominated genres like trailer and promo, sports in general, you know, all those even commercials, you know, a lot of them, it's still, it's evening out, but I do hear a lot of men and I'm like, I auditioned for that. They gave it to a man, you know, like, and I mean, which is cool, but yeah, I think it's better. There's still room to grow and

But I mean, think of how long we've lived in patriarchal societies, right?

So I mean, it's been a minute.

It's been a little while. So, you know, it takes us some more time to dig out. But yeah.

There are women like yourself and Jen Greenfield and others that are really pushing companies now to act like they're campaigning the companies themselves to actively consider women where they hadn't before. Companies like Home Depot and Lowe's and things that have been, you know, typically male dominated in their advertising and marketing. And now that it feels like that's just starting to shift a little bit. So I think that's I think that's positive.

Yeah. If when I have to give credit is because I was very proud of Peterbilt. I was shocked when I booked that. Nice. Trucking. You know, like my uncle was a trucker and I was like, y 'all sure y 'all want me? I would gladly do it, but. so I have to give them props for that. was like a new product line they were opening and they picked a black woman of voices. So I was proud.

That's fantastic.

Yeah.

Well, so kudos to Peterbilt. Standing ovation. If you were to look back at the Richmond days, the pay to play days, the person that you were then and the voice actor that you were then from this vantage point, what would you tell them?

For one, train.

Train, train, train, train, train. Do not worry about the notoriety and the popularity and the demo. know, like demo is a demonstration of your ability. That's what demo is short for, demonstration. And if you cannot recreate what you have on your demo at the drop of a dime, you're not ready to make and you are doing yourself and your pockets a disservice by doing it just to like, you know, trying to hurry up and get something out the door. I frequently say this too about the agent thing. Like getting an agent is fantastic. I love my agents. I love my representatives. I love that they give me access to higher quality, higher echelon tier work. But... they have to have a product to be able to market you in the marketplace. And if your product is not ready yet, you're doing yourself a disservice by pursuing that avenue. And I always say this very carefully, because I don't want to sound like I'm discrediting their value at all. But essentially, if you look at it like how companies do, having an agent is outsourcing your sales team. Interesting. That's my perspective. So companies, when they have sales agents, they have somebody that's out there going out

helping to sell the product. If you are not in a place where you're able to even really sell the product on your own yet, why would you go outsource your sales, you know, to a larger and higher tier market? So having people see success as I got an agent. No, the success is that you have a product that's ready for an agent. And they have to, you know, see that it's worth their time, that they're going to make money off of your product.

Yeah, I just, totally get the whole, it feels great I have an agent, but just focus more on being a great actor, on booking on your own, on knowing that you have a solid product and that agent will come the right agent for you.

If you can think of one, looking back over the last eight or 10 years, do you have one biggest a-ha? And if you don't, that's fine.

You can't spend your weight at the top.

You tried?

I did. Because thankfully, like I was in the place where, you know, working corporate and doing voiceover, which I've talked about very publicly, you know, I had access to two pools and I was really able to do a lot of reinvesting of what I made into the business.

So I've got mics that are still in the box. You know, I've got interfaces. haven't touched. I'm really not proud of this. I'm an Amazon junkie that's recovering, you know, so like I tend to like,…

Let me write down your Facebook marketplace page.

My God. you know, yeah, just really making sure that you are focusing on one thing at a time.

I have a tendency to, I swear I'm undiagnosed ADD, so it's like, know, commercial class, promo class, a trailer class, I gotta take this and this this this. And the more that you can be like, okay, right now I'm focusing on promo. And let me get to that point where I am, you know, solid there, got a great demo, next. Now let's focus on this next thing. For instance, when going to One Voice, I signed up for a bunch of the, not next session, sorry, they're not branded that there, the workshops, the paid workshops.

But they are all, except for one, video game focused. Interesting. So that is my focus for that conference. And I'm really trying to be better about that. So that is like my aha is that really trying to do everything is not the most sane way to succeed. Really trying to focus. rather than why. Exactly. Thank you. You said it way more succinctly than I did.

That's a miracle because I'm one of the most. verbose people you'll ever meet in your life. It's not like you like to talk. You mentioned your family. Yeah. So your latest youngin is two years old now or three?

She’ll be two in November.

She'll two in November. Y

eah, so she is 21 months today and raising

And is her name Voiceover Artist of the Year?

I know, right? She was with me on stage.

God. Yeah, that's right.

My snow baby. Snow is her nickname because it's her initials, it's S -N -O.

You mentioned a few coaches and I want to dig into them in no particular order. Let's start with Kay Bess. What's the one thing that you learned best or deepest from Kay?

She's one of the people I'm going to her workshop because I haven't coached with her in a while. Kaye has that like actor's Meisner background. like digging deeper than the voice is what I get from Kaye. It's more of like the actor, the true actor. I adore her. Yeah. Cool.

Next up, Cliff Zellman, the king of automotive.

Cliff, automotive. I'm gonna kick myself, because I know I'm gonna remember something he said to me after this. But he's just, I think nuance would maybe be a good word, because when he taught me the difference between national and tier three, you know, and that was something that I learned from him quickly, how even in the same genre of VO, there can be nuances that really separate the subgenres.

And then finally, one of our mutually favorite people, Everett Oliver.

Everett. Everett is all about having fun. Having a time. like in personality and in coaching, you know, like just let loose, let it go, you know, like have, have relax and just have fun and you'll naturally do something funny if because, know, be who you are.

Yeah, that's Everett. I couldn't agree more. Yeah. Be who you are. And the other thing I got from Everett was essentially what you said, but in my term, it's play. had a sticky note up here on one of my monitors for years until literally the adhesive wore off. It just said play and that was a note from Everett. Just play man. Yep. Yeah.

So I'm glad we got this on the books. I'm glad we had got a chance to catch up and I, you know, I wish you all the best. I'm glad I'll get to see you and thanks for spending time with us today.

Absolutely Paul. I love what you do. Because of you, I read Go for No. after you talked about that at MAVO, I did. I love what you're doing here too. So I appreciate you inviting me to be on.

Erikka J, it's always a pleasure. Thanks for being with us today.

Likewise. Thanks, Paul.