On episode 3 of the Black Tech Green Money podcast, host Will Lucas sits down with media maven Karen Civil to discuss the Black opportunity in technology and how our people should not only be the influencers within the field, but also the masterminds behind the way we continue to use technology to connect the masses.
Karen Civil first gained attention in 2010 after helping create and manage weezythanxyou.com, a website that allowed rapper Lil Wayne to connect with his fans through a series of published letters while he was incarcerated at Rikers Island. Since then, she’s turned her passion and knowledge of marketing and branding into her dream job and uses her platform to help others live life “the Civil way.”
Her love for the Internet and hip-hop has allowed her to serve as the link between music and tech through her work with artists such as Nipsey Hussle, Nicki Minaj, Russ, Quavo, and many more.
“They’re all Picassos, I’m just helping them paint the picture…helping the world see the picture and get their vision,” Civil says when asked how she’s able to work as a mediator between hip-hop artists and the tech world.
She thanks the Internet for allowing her the opportunity to connect with people outside of her environment and notes, “the Internet got me when I didn’t necessarily have people that did.”
For Civil, she truly found her footing in the tech and music space during her early years working with Dipset. It was during her time working with rapper/producer and Diplomats Records A&R Duke the God that she realized this would be her career path.
“When I got to work with Duke the God, that was when I understood what A&R admin, marketing, branding, etc. really was,” Civil tells the Black Tech Green Money Podcast. “Working with Dipset really showed me every source of different things that we now have titles for like Social Media and Marketing Manager.”
And when it comes to the current status of her own brand, Karen Civil says she is “stepping into a person who knows her purpose and understands her platform and tries to use it correctly as possible by being authentic.”
Check out this episode and subscribe to the Black Tech Green Money podcast on iTunes and Spotify.
