Meet Andrea Payne: Freelance Journalist & Photographer

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

Hi Andrea, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
My favorite quote is “Nothing comes to a sleeper but a dream.” I am not sure who originally made this remark to give credit to, however, after hearing it from a few mentors and advisors, it has been planted in my brain as a means to continue to work hard and achieve even the things that seem to be the most difficult in life. We all have our days where we would like to take a day or two off and just relax, but this quote is something I have placed on my vision board for encouragement and a way to feel motivated about new opportunities with every new day that is presented to me. As much as these words could be taken hypothetically, they could also be taken literal. If you continue to sleep and not work for the things you want in life, you will only continue to dream of them. I hope more and more people understand this affirmation and use it for their many successes.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Currently, I am a freelance journalist and musical manager. I love writing, filming, editing, photographing, and videographing compelling stories for others to read or watch. During my undergraduate studies, toward my senior year, I was required to choose a topic to write stories and film about and I chose music since it is something I am passionate about. Within the past two years, I have gotten more into telling stories about upcoming music artists and began interviewing others to write stories or film short documentaries or profiles. After many friends and mentors enjoying the work I was able to put together and encouraging me to further my stories, I began doing what I love full time. The process has definitely not always been easy when considering the closed doors I have experienced, being told “no,” artists who did not give me the chance, or not receiving responses from individuals I have reached out to for a story. This was the drive to dig deeper to reach out to others and not feel so defeated. Within the past year and a half alone, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been able to film with singers, songwriters, DJs, producers, club promoters, and more. It has always been a good vibe and I have been able to learn so much about others through conducting interviews and forming close friendships. Along the way, I have learned networking has been one of the most important things to help me along the way and to never decline when an artist recommends speaking to someone to further understand something that may not have been made clear. With this being said, I would love others to know I take my craft seriously and always looking for others to meet and interview for my stories. I hope this article brings in likeminded individuals who will be willing to work together to have pieces published in the future.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Houston is a very diverse city with lots of culture, food and music. If my best friend is in town, we definitely have to eat at Pappadeaux first. It may sound cliché but Pappadeaux is one of the best seafood restaurants in town and that can’t be debated. I also like to go to Midtown or Uptown to the different bars or lounges that are in the area. I always have to be surrounded around a solid vibe with good music and better food. I also like to go-kart with friends or do Top Golf so we can compete with one another.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a huge shoutout to J’ray and J’ray Worldwide. J’ray has always been such an inspirational person to be around since our first meet. I continue to pray for his success musically and spiritually. J’ray Worldwide is the group who manages J’ray alongside me. Since our introduction, these guys have become friends who have turned into family. I love and admire the vibes of these guys and know we will take off to the world soon. I would also like to shoutout my close friend who is also more like family to me named Uvie. We completed our undergraduate degrees together and she has been the light to keep me motivated to continue to reach for things that are not the easiest to achieve. Despite her travels back home to Nigeria for the year, we still speak as if we see one another daily and my love for her as a sister is unmatched. Uvie is one of the best foreign correspondent journalists I have been able to meet and her passion for others and her country is amazing! My last shoutout is for Marphy Jay. By far, Marphy has been a phenomenal upcoming producer who is more than serious about his craft. Not only does Marphy Jay produce Afrobeats, but he also dapples into hip-hop, trap, R&B, rap, and the like. He is also an astounding photographer, videographer, graphic designer, and almost anything else you can think of. I truly appreciate the work he composed with J’ray and SP Juice on High Notes the EP and how he is always more than willing to produce something for J’ray. J’ray, Uvie, and Marphy Jay definitely deserve much more recognition, but I appreciate having such wholesome people in my life and look forward to our lifelong achievements together!

Website: https://spark.adobe.com/page/FyNblLa8PLhmt/
Instagram: _dreatheslayer
Twitter: _DreaTheSlayer
Facebook: Andrea Payne
Youtube: Andrea Payne