RESPECT. Interview: ‘First Family of Hip Hop’– LeA Robinson

This week we have answers from LeA Robinson in our interviews with the cast of Bravo‘s new reality show First Family of Hip Hop.

The first thing we always want to know has to do with the history behind the show. We asked if she would be looking back at her family’s history or if her focus would be more on the present and the future with her current endeavors. LeA said that, “I think that you can never go forward in life without knowing where you’ve come from so I will always look back especially when I’m looking to see how much I’ve grown since embarking on this journey”.

After we had started watching the series, we had noticed that there were some differing ideas between the family members on how the label should be run. We asked if she personally looked to any influences outside of the family when it came to her own opinions. “I just love and will always do good and fair business. I don’t run my company and team looking at anyone else’s system because not everything that has worked for one person will work for another. I’m never afraid to ask questions to the people that have done the things that I want to do, but I don’t ever want to follow someone else’s blueprint when everyone’s story and struggles aren’t meant to be the same,” was her answer for us.

Filming a series like this can no doubt get rough. We asked LeA what the most difficult part of filming had been for her. She replied that it was “Opening up and being vulnerable. I’m a very private person that is so used to handling things when I want to handle them and the show didn’t really allow me to do that. In a way it worked in my favor because it allowed me to handle things when they happened and not run or procrastinate from them”. We also asked if there had been anything filmed that she might not have wanted the audience to see. “In all honesty, the viewers will see life while watching our show. Sometimes there are things that happen that you don’t want to happen but are out of your control and everything isn’t pretty. We’re not trying to showcase perfection…that doesn’t exist. So no, I don’t take back anything and whatever the people see, is what they’ll see”.

When asked about what effect she thought the series might give the label in the attention it is shown, she said that, “I just want the world to hear something new to their ears by listening to my music and also having my families story told. I want my grandmother to get the recognition that she truly deserves and I want to let my generation know what the true start of hip hop was”. In addition, LeA said that “Filming the show just makes me want to do even more. On and off the screen,” when we asked what became of her convictions throughout the filming of the series.

Our final question for LeA was on if the series had turned out to be a bonding experience for her and her family or if it was more of an experiment in testing the limits of her patience. Her reply was the candid, “A little bit of both (laughs) I think everyone’s patience was tested throughout this process at some point. I will say this show has made me a lot closer with my brother and doing this show has made me see that I have a voice (outside of singing) that is worth listening to”.

Be sure to come back and check out more interviews with the cast of First Family of Hip Hop. In the meantime, you can catch up with the series on Bravo.