Angela Yee (born January 3, 1976) is an American radio personality. She is currently the host of syndicated radio show Way Up. She hosted the nationally syndicated morning show The Breakfast Club along with DJ Envy and Charlamagne tha God.[1] She is on the Board of Governors of the We Are Family Foundation[2] and a board member of the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies. She is also the first-ever ambassador for the New York Public Library system.[3][4] Since 2019, she has served as the BSE Global Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement Ambassador.[5]

Angela Yee
Yee in 2018
Born (1976-01-03) January 3, 1976 (age 48)
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
EducationWesleyan University
Career
ShowWay Up with Angela Yee (Host)
StationPower 105.1
Time slot10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
StyleRadio presenter
CountryUnited States
Previous show(s)The Morning After
Lip Service
Websitewww.teamyee.tv

Early life and education edit

Angela Yee was born to a Chinese father and an Afro-Montserratian mother and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn, in New York City.[6] She attended Poly Prep in New York, entering through Prep for Prep.[6][7] When her family moved to South Orange, New Jersey, Yee transferred to Columbia High School.[8][9] For her collegiate career, she attended Wesleyan University, majoring in English and graduating in 1997.[10] She pursued employment in marketing and music after completing her studies.

Career edit

Early career edit

Yee garnered an internship with Wu-Tang Management to assist the CEO, Divine.[11] Yee was lip-syncing the intro on the Wu-Tang Clan's “Reunited” music video.[12] She also wrote all the skits on GZA's third studio album Beneath the Surface.

She then worked for Paul Rosenberg and Eminem's clothing company Shady Limited and saw an opportunity at Sirius Satellite Radio's marketing department. She asked Rosenberg if he could get her an interview because he had the connections through Shade 45. Rosenberg then said to her, "Well, you know what, they're looking for a female on the morning show, why don't you try it out and see if it works for you?"[13]

Radio edit

 
Yee in 2013

She hosted Lip Service and The Morning After with Angela Yee on Eminem's radio station, Shade 45, at Sirius Satellite Radio.[14][15] She started her radio career at Sirius in 2005 as the co-host for The Cipha Sounds Effect. When Cipha Sounds left Sirius in July 2008, Yee took over the hosting duties full-time and the show was renamed the Shade 45 Morning Show Starring Angela Yee, and finally the name changed to The Morning After with Angela Yee.

In December 2010, Yee left Shade 45 and began hosting The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1, alongside DJ Envy and Charlamagne tha God. The show is known for being candid and asking tough questions to artists.

Weekends with the Breakfast Club launched in March 2013 and was nationally syndicated in over 50 markets.[16][17]

The Breakfast Club's weekday show began national syndication in August 2013 and was featured in major American cities including New York City, Miami, Seattle, New Orleans, Houston, Detroit until the show's end in August 2022

In 2019, Yee was bestowed with the Gracie Award, a national radio honor from the Alliance for Women in Media, for her work on The Breakfast Club.[18]

In August 2020, Yee and her Breakfast Club co-hosts, DJ Envy and Charlamagne Tha God, were inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.[19]

Television edit

Yee worked as a correspondent for MTV2's Sucker Free.[20] She was a featured cast member on the 2013 VH1 reality show The Gossip Game. The show spotlighted seven New York women in the radio and blogging industry. The Breakfast Club show debuted on Revolt on March 31, 2014. On March 21, 2020, Yee was featured on BET's Being series in the episode titled "Being: Angela Yee", a look into her daily life.[21]

Other endeavors edit

Yee managed recording artists GZA, Jay Electronica, and most notably, 360, who propelled her management skills to the spotlight. She helped facilitate Jay Electronica's deal with Jay Z's Roc Nation.[22] In 2016, Yee opened the fourth branch[23] of her juice bar chain, Juices for Life, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, around the corner from her home.[24] Her business partners are DJ Envy,[25] one of her two co-hosts on The Breakfast Club, and Styles P.[26] In 2017, Yee partnered with Simon and Schuster/Atria Books to start a book club, called Kickin' It From the Stoop, to promote reading and literature.[27] In 2018, Yee became the first-ever ambassador for the New York Public Library system.[28][29] In January 2020, Yee hosted the Giving Gracefully Awards, an awards night that honors philanthropy among Olympic athletes and public figures.

Philanthropy edit

Yee is involved with a variety of philanthropic efforts. Beginning in 2013, Yee became involved with Dress for Success, an organization that provides disadvantaged women with professional attire as well as career development skills and support.[30] Also in 2013, Yee posed for a breast cancer awareness campaign created by the organization Hairless 4 Her Awareness.[31] In 2013, Yee became involved with Coats for Kids, an organization dedicated to bringing winter coats to children in need. In 2015, Yee hosted the 33rd Annual Coat for Kids Fundraiser and in subsequent years was present to hand-deliver coats and take photos with children and their families. Additionally in 2015, Yee served as host of the second annual Children Making Strides Against Childhood Cancer event.[32] In December 2018, she teamed up with the National Black Justice Coalition to bring awareness to World AIDS Day.[33] Also in 2018, Yee began hosting Run With Yee, a monthly 5K run in New York's Prospect Park, with the goal of promoting healthy lifestyles.[34]

In June 2022, Yee founded her own non-profit organization, Well Road, which is primarily focused on wellness and literacy.[35]

Awards and honors edit

  • MIW Airblazer Award (2020)[36]
  • Gracie Award (2020)[37]
  • Gracie Award (2019)[38]
  • Vice Chancellor's Achievement Award, bestowed by the American Foundation for the University of West Indies (AFUWI)[39]
  • In 2018, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio declared August 28 as Angela Yee Day.[40][41]
  • In 2018, the New York Public Library named Yee as their first-ever ambassador.[42][43]
  • WEEN Mission Award (2014)[44]
  • Shirley Chisolm Woman of Distinction Award[45]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Baker, Soren (March 26, 2014). "Angela Yee Discusses Declining Hot 97 Job & "The Breakfast Club Show" On REVOLT". Hip Hop DX. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  2. ^ "Our Story".
  3. ^ "The Library Welcomes Angela Yee as an NYPL Ambassador".
  4. ^ "Angela Yee Speaks Out on Library Workers Day: Librarians Changed My Life".
  5. ^ "Angela Yee Becomes First-ever BSE Global Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement Ambassador – BSE Global". January 14, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "I Got A Story To Tell: Angela Yee Got the Juice". Brooklyn Magazine. April 3, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  7. ^ "Angela Yee '97 : TEDxWesleyanU". tedxwesleyanu.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018.
  8. ^ Brown, Preezy (January 18, 2023). "Angela Yee Recalls Being "Good Friends" With Lauryn Hill In High School". VIBE.com. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  9. ^ "Angela Yee on Instagram: "#tbt Columbia HS with @jayesquire and @jenniferwilliams. I miss that jacket 😫"". Instagram. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  10. ^ magazine.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2014/12/10/radios-breakfast-club-angela-yee-97-serves-it-hot/
  11. ^ "Get To Know Angela Yee". TeamYee.tv. January 10, 2013. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  12. ^ Wu-Tang Clan: Reunited 1998 Cast
  13. ^ "Angela Yee Exclusive Interview With WMDSF Magazine "Must See"". NvisionChannel – via YouTube.[dead YouTube link]
  14. ^ "Eminem's Uncut Hip-Hop Channel – Hip-Hop/R&B – Music – Shade 45 – SiriusXM Satellite Radio – SiriusXM 2011". Archived from the original on November 3, 2005.
  15. ^ "Lip Service!". VIBE. September 8, 2010. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  16. ^ "Premiere Networks Launches "Weekends with The Breakfast Club" Nationwide". March 28, 2013. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  17. ^ "Weekends with The Breakfast Club". March 26, 2013. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  18. ^ "2019 Gracie Winners". April 16, 2019.
  19. ^ ""The Breakfast Club" inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame". August 17, 2020.
  20. ^ "Sucker Free Exclusive: DJ Drama On His Relationship With The Aphilliates | Video". MTV. October 5, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  21. ^ "Being". BET.
  22. ^ Marlowe, Scott (September 23, 2013). "'Mass Appeal' Features Angela Yee". TeamYee.tv. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  23. ^ "#JuicesForLife: Breakfast Club co-host Angela Yee opens Brooklyn juice bar". NBC News. July 5, 2017.
  24. ^ La Gorce, Tammy (October 18, 2019). "How Angela Yee, Hip-Hop Radio Host, Spends Her Sundays". The New York Times.
  25. ^ "Angela Yee & DJ Envy Talk Helping Make Brooklyn Healthier | New York's Power 105.1 FM".
  26. ^ "Angela Yee & DJ Envy Talk Helping Make Brooklyn Healthier | New York's Power 105.1 FM".
  27. ^ "Hamilton Prize Committee Member Bios, Admission - Wesleyan University".
  28. ^ "The Library Welcomes Angela Yee as an NYPL Ambassador".
  29. ^ "Angela Yee Speaks Out on Library Workers Day: Librarians Changed My Life".
  30. ^ "Radio Star Angela Yee Covers Dopeness Magazine with Love (Cover Story 2013)".
  31. ^ "Vixen".
  32. ^ "CHARITY EVENTS | Dash Events". dashevents.org. Archived from the original on April 1, 2016.
  33. ^ "December 2018 – Center for Nonprofit Advancement". January 28, 2019.
  34. ^ "Run with Yee with Angela Yee". Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  35. ^ "'Breakfast Club' Co-Host Angela Yee's Black-Owned Health and Nutrition Businesses Serve Up Community Support". Entrepreneur. June 27, 2022.
  36. ^ "Angela Yee Selected as 2020 MIW Airblazer Award Recipient". September 2, 2020.
  37. ^ "2020 Gracie Winners". May 13, 2020.
  38. ^ "Angela Yee and Loni Love shine at the Gracie Awards". May 22, 2019.
  39. ^ "Jamaica Observer Limited".
  40. ^ "Angela Yee Day | New York's Power 105.1 FM".
  41. ^ "August 28th Declared 'Angela Yee Day' in New York City". August 31, 2018.
  42. ^ "The Library Welcomes Angela Yee as an NYPL Ambassador".
  43. ^ "Angela Yee Speaks Out on Library Workers Day: Librarians Changed My Life".
  44. ^ "Influential Media Personality Angela Yee Is Launching Her Own New On-Air Show -- "Way Up with Angela Yee"". Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  45. ^ "Radio Personality and Entrepreneur Angela Yee Named Ambassador for the New York Public Library".

External links edit