Issa Rae Says Having Multiple Streams of Income Is the Key to Success

Actress, writer, and producer Issa Rae says the key to success is having multiple streams of income, in a recent interview with Billboard.

The interview delves into Rae’s newest venture, a recording company called Raedio, that she and her business partner Benoni Tagoe launched in October. Tagoe describes it as an audio content company comprising publishing, live events, music supervision, a music library, and a label that’s a joint venture with Atlantic Records.

“I always say that I model myself after Diddy, Ellen, and Oprah: Oprah for being able to diversify her businesses and being a major influencer in that way; Ellen for being able to make a business out of being herself; and Diddy for his business acumen in expanding beyond hip-hop. I’ve looked to them in terms of ways to make my own imprint,” Rae says.

During the interview Rae was asked where she got her business acumen from; the Insecure actress responded by saying “it comes from being on the internet. When I just wanted to put out some s**t that I had written, and then being forced to market it and then build a team around it and then having ideas about promoting it.”

“Even from a young age, my mom used to call me bossy. Only now do I realize that I wanted to be that,” she continued. “I wanted to be a boss because, why the f**k not? I liked feeling like I was working or in business. I liked feeling like a leader. And it is not always fun, by any means, but there’s an element of accomplishment that I feel in executing projects.”

Along with the record label, Rae has also recently partnered with Los Angeles-based creatives on a coffee shop in Inglewood and invested in a streaming analytics business, according to Moguldom. “South L.A. is my home and joining Ajay and Yonnie as owners of this community-driven endeavor is a dream come true,” she said about the coffee shop. “Hilltop’s mission to uplift our communities through food and fellowship falls right in line with my passions and I’m proud to highlight and amplify such a meaningful business.”