We had the good fortune of connecting with Keoni G. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Keoni, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factors behind the success of my brand is consistency and authenticity, with consistency holding the most weight. Regardless of what endeavor you choose to pursue, consistency is vital to your overall success. Every journey is equipped with ups & downs, however, you can push through those difficult days by remaining consistent in your craft. I truly believe that “repetition is the mother of learning”. It is important for me to remain authentic when distributing content because I never want to compromise my morals and values as an individual.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My brand is Key to the City Media, where our mission is to become one of the premiere voices for black culture by controlling our own narrative through the production of various forms of digital content. Our flagship platform is ‘Key to the City Podcast’, where we honor those, both locally and nationwide, who go against the grain to chase their dreams or spread their message. Key to the City serves as an advocate for the community of creatives, artists, entrepreneurs, community activists, and many others. In short, we aim to celebrate those that are making a positive impact within the community and understand that we all possess responsibility in pushing the culture forward.

I am most proud of our consistency and persistence as we approach our 5th year anniversary in Summer 2024. We were recognized as the “Best Podcast in Jackson, MS” in 2020 and we have expanded our platform to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex as of 2022.

Key to the City Media was established to protect and control the narrative of the black community. Oftentimes, we are misrepresented in media and allow “others” to speak on our behalf, and not to our benefit. We represent the “underdogs” in every aspect of life. We highlight those that are often overlooked until they reach a certain level of success.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Sunday – “Neo Soul” at Lava Cantina OR “Sundays at Sambuca”

Monday – The Star at the Ford Center

Tuesday – Grandscape

Wednesday – The Candle Room

Thursday – Louie Louie’s Dueling Piano Bar

Friday – Vinetti’s

Saturday – Deep Ellum

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have two shoutouts that I would like dedicate to two individuals for mentorship and encouragement. I created the Key to the City platform during one of the most difficult periods in my life. I was desperately searching for a creative outlet to maintain a healthy mind frame. Earl Wilkerson, a good friend of mine, was already engaged in his own platform and he mentored me during the creative process of establishing my own. He was always there to answer any questions and continued to motivate me during any bouts with doubt. The second individual I would like to recognize is Demarco Hodges. As I previously stated, this was difficult period in my life and I was experiencing hardships in every aspect of life. From the kindness of his heart, Mr. Hodges invested $200 to help me get things off the ground. I’ll never forget it.

Website: www.keytothecityapparel.com

Instagram: @key2thecitypodcast

Facebook: @key2thecitypod

Youtube: www.youtube.com/keytothecitypodcast

Image Credits
Key to the City Media

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