Phind out Phriday: Behind 3 Great Men is 1 Great Woman Named LT of Tabb Management


There’s the man who makes the music and there is the woman behind the music. There’s the man who plays the music and there’s the woman behind the turntables. There’s the comedic man filming an online show and there is the woman behind the camera. So who’s the woman? Latiaynna Tabb, better known as LT. And what does she do? Just about everything.  What is she passionate about doing?  Philadelphia entertainers, a musician, S.K., a DJ, DJ Ricochet, and a comedian, Evan Polk.
I met LT a few months back when I scheduled an interview through her for DJ Ricochet. I met her again when I attended the concert she organized what was a great concert for S.K. at Love Park this past summer. It didn’t take me long to see that while she was helping these other entrepreneurs she was an entrepreneur in her own right, making her own path and building her own name. And trust me she is building her own name, she didn’t look for any of her clients, they all came to her.  
So as usual I contacted LT, this time not about one of her clients, but about her, and extended a super hopeful offer for an interview.  And as hoped, the invitation was met with a yes. So here’s what I phound out about LT.

Phreedum: How did you get started as a publicist and manager?
LT: I started in the fall of 2010. One of my clients was a friend before a client, and that’s S.K. We were hanging out and he was talking about what it is he wants to do and where he’s trying  to go. He asked me if I would help him and I was more than willing to help him succeed. That’s what friends do.  Initially he was just looking for help, any type of help I could offer. So I just started to help him and that help  transformed into me being his publicist and manager. As I “helped” S.K. I just realized I was good at it. I didn’t go to school for business or marketing or anything closely related to the two.  Other people saw that I was good at this as well and my second client, DJ Ricochet approached me in June 2011 about working with him, and then more recently a third client, comedian Evan Polk also asked me to do the same for him.
Phreedum: So you were just trying to help and you had three people in less than a year ask you to help build and manage their brand?
LT: Yes. I mean I bought a few books on a music  management and marketing but that’s about it. Oh, and experience. Experience a long the way has been a pretty good teacher too.
Phreedum: Tell us who you are in  5 words?
LT: Determined, ambitious, creative, compassionate, open-minded
Phreedum: As you reflect on what you have accomplished so far as a publicist and manager, what would you consider a highlight?
LT: This past fall one of my clients, S.K. gave a two hour concert in LOVE park. Shortly after his concert he released his second mixtape of the year, Smoking Mirrors.  I was listening to the second mix tape in its entirety while driving to school in Delaware and I was just like “Oh My God, we did it.” So I think it’s just been seeing some great progress with clients, seeing hard work pay off, and receiving great feedback.The Love Park show got a lot of positive feedback.
Phreedum: I’m sure it is great to see hard work pay off. So you must have a lot going on between managing three people and working on a second degree. What challenges have you incurred since you started as a publicist/manager?
LT: There have been two things that have been the most challenging for me.  The first has been balance. Trying to balance school work, all three client’s lives, and my own life can sometimes be a lot. There was one time I went away to Vegas for a vacation and then I came back  and it was like what was I thinking. The work didn’t go anywhere, just me. So yeah, balance can be a challenge.
Phreedum: Sounds like it. You mentioned there were two challenges, what’s the other one?    
LT: Being respected in this industry as a female. I’ve had a few encounters where I am certain had I been a guy things would not have had to go down the way they did. I think in some respects I have to work a little harder so I am taken seriously and respected for what I do.
Phreedum: What is your greatest resource?
LT: Okay, it may sound weird, but Google. It’s a life saver.Their email system, google docs, the calendar. It’s just really helpful in helping me to stay organized and sane. It’s like a free persona assistant.  Shout out to google.
Phreedum:  How does your work change the lives of others?
LT: I like to think that it shows people they can do it, whatever“it” is.  If you don’t know how, just start and you will figure it out. Start researching. I recommend google.
We laugh.
LT: But seriously, ask questions, be curious, and just go for it.  I hope that the work I am doing with my clients really shows people that you can do it. I’m doing it and I have the privilege of helping three people do it.
Phreedum: What’s the best part about being an entrepreneur in Philly?
LT: I think that as I have gotten older I have really seen and been able to utilize a lot of the resources we have here. Philly is full of so many driven and talented people here and opportunities to connect with those people. It makes me sad people don’t take advantage of all the city offers.
Phreedum: Who do you look to for inspiration?
LT: Zora Neal Hurston. I read her biography my senior year in undergrad and she was just a rebel. She was so determined as anthropologist and a writer. She was very much a “This is what I’m gonna do andI’m doing it my way”  kind of person. And she was good at what she did. She’s a woman after my own heart.
Phreedum: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received while doing this work?
LT: Well, it wasn’t so much advice as much as an interaction that really changed the way I thought about the work. I was at an event once and a guy asked me what I did and I said I was a publicist.  So he asked if my artist had an EPK. And I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant.
Phreedum: What does it mean?
LT: Electronic Press Kit. I realized if you are going to claim a title you better make sure you know all that comes with it. That encounter just had me go home and make sure I had an EPK for my clients. It also just made me make sure I stay current and I’m doing as much as is humanly possible when it comes to being a solid publicist/manager.  So basically don’t have a title and not know about the role. If you fulfill the role people will see it and give you the title.
 Phreedum: Okay, last question. If being a publicist/manager was a restaurant, which restaurant would it be and why?
LT: Hands down Landmark Americana.  I love that place. The food is good,fulfilling and tasty.  They have something going on every night. They don’t just cater to one type of interest, but offer a variety of things for everyone, and the opportunity to try and do something new or different. I work with a variety of clients, a musician, an DJ, and a comedian and they are very different and they speak to different people’sinterests.







No comments: