Today we’d like to introduce you to Jelisa Floyd.
Hi Jelisa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I began with an interest in film and photography as early as 6 years old. I remember my favorite movie as a child wasn’t a cartoon, it wasn’t a kids fairytale, it was Malcolm X by Spike Lee. My mother was a thespian in highs cool and a pretty well renowned one as well. She is the most awarded stage high school actress that Kashmere High School has ever had. My grandmother had to clear out a room in her childhood house so that she could store all her trophies and awards. My grandmother was also into the arts herself. She made it a point to introduce my mother to literature and stage plays when she was a child and ghat of course carried over into her youth and adulthood. My mother introduces art to me at a VERY young age. It was a natural as breathing. We still have conversations about new talent, writers and directors past and present. It;s just apart of us. When I entered high school , I immediately made it clear to my guidance counselors that I needed to be in TV production classes. I knew that those courses would allow me access to cameras, mixing boards and other visual editing equipment. With that, I was able to teach myself how to use cameras and editing programs. Once I graduated high school, I was trying to figure out how to involve myself in the arts and make a living. I was a t a crossroads because I didn’t know what to do or which way to go. I eventually came across the blogging Internet forums. This was about 2007-2008. I graduated in 2006. The internet was just starting to take form and shape itself into what it is today. There wasn’t very many websites formatted in the way that my mind wanted to express content. There are today, I know for sure I was ahead of my time. I always have been. I started to network, and I came across like minded individuals who wanted to engage with content the same way I did. So the idea I came up with was to fill a void that had been missing in media in Houston. I created “Clutch City Magazine” which catered to the entire culture of Houston from music, film, stage, history, community and politics. Through that platform I have been involved in community efforts, helping artists and brands establish partnerships and deals, managed talent and sharpened my expertise in marketing and brand management. I ended up dissolving the online magazine and committing to marketing and booking full time. Fast forward to present day, I am currently establishing my new podcast which will follow the same format as my previous media venture but on a broader scale and not being so region specific. The podcast is called “Negus Ruin Everything” which is obviously a play on words that not only pays homage to blackness but also formulates an oxymoronic undertone with the title as it is a fact that we as a culture move and cultivate all things. I;m in the process of interviewing some and editing footage from interviews with film makers, actors and other entertainment figures. I can’t wait until the world lays their eyes and ears on this. I plan to put the audio on all streaming platforms that hold podcasting space. I’m excited.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I can’t say that I’ve had much trouble in my journey other than what I’ve put on myself. I am pretty good a gauging peo[pe and their energy. It doesn’t take me long to understand that a person doesn’t belong around me. So I don’t have trouble there, sometimes life just sneaks up on me. For instance, I had a pretty successful business from 2020-2023. I had an electronic sales and repair shop. We were doing pretty well and then the summer of 2023 things started to just fall apart randomly. I had to close the shop and move in with a relative from my townhome. I then had to get a job, which I end up losing in the summer of 2024 and end up having to take a much lower paying job. I lost my vehicle and was on the bus, I almost got robbed on the metro rail more than once. It was hell. Then I formulated a plan, I really always had the same plan I just doubled down on making sure I could carry it out. I sacrificed even more than I had at first. It was so hard. Some days I wasn’t even eating until I got to work, my coworkers were like a little family, they always cooked or brought food to the overnight crew and thank God for small things because that’s the only way I was eating half the time. 2025 came and I was on my way, I quit that job and got two more that are decent in pay. I’m still employed at those places but things are coming back together on the entrepreneurial side. I may be able to let these jobs go in a couple months, we’ll see. But I have definitely come a long way. I thank God for my parents and my ability to see things through.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Well as I stated previously, I am firmly embedded in the marketing industry. I got that from my days as an online magazine owner. Also being a videographer and editor is something that I taught myself as well. I don’t have anyone helping me film or edit for my podcast as I don’t really need it. I’m sure I will when the load becomes heavier but I prefer to do it myself. I had taken some time away from that aspect of things as well and got back into it in 2022. I had done some events and paid some people to edit footage and it just didn’t come out the way I envisioned. So I started messing around with programs and got what I was looking for. I fell into it pretty heavy during that period and here we are. Now I’m in the podcast arena. I also do visuals for music videos and commercials if needed by clients. I’m aiming to step into the film industry full time pretty soon.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I want to share my art and my love for the arts. I hope your readers can resonate with me in that way. I hope I can show them a new way to receive content and to move towards meaningful content again. I think the world is guzzling garbage now days and we are becoming socially sick from it. We need to get back to maintaining meaningful conversations and interactions again. When we (millennials) were younger, art was a Segway into meaningful interaction and experiences. I want us to get back to that
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/negusruineverythingpodcast?igsh=MWh4dWpxaHA4Z3VtaA==&utm_source=ig_contact_invite
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BNhY1s9ti/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theredlabel_NRE
