Variety Magazine describes Angela Yee as โone of the mediaโs best-known multi-hyphenates.โ True to form, the award-winning media personality co-hosted the popular nationally-syndicated radio show, The Breakfast Club, hosts her own Lip Service podcast, just launched her own nationally-syndicated radio show, โWay Up With Angela Yee,โ owns several businesses, and is a philanthropist and community leader...And sheโs just getting started.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to a Black mother and Chinese father, Angela was always extremely ambitious and studious. โGrowing up, I spent the majority of my free time writing short, fictional stories and reading every novel I could get my hands on,โ she recalls. Her love for writing continued through college where she earned a degree in English from Wesleyan University. After graduating, Yee utilized the relationships she built through internships at MTV, TVT Records and Wu-Tang Management to become assistant to the CEO of Wu-Tang Corporation in Detroit. She realized she had a knack for marketing and eventually transitioned to working for music legend Nile Rodgersโ Sumthing Else distribution label as well as various clothing brands, including the launch of Eminemโs line Shady LTD. โI was fortunate to work at companies associated with music icons early in my career,โ Yee says.
Angelaโs early music connections ultimately led her to SiriusXM Satellite Radio where she launched a successful radio career serving as co-host on Shade 45โs Cipha Sounds Effect morning show and her own radio shows, Lip Service and The Morning After with Angela Yee. She quickly developed a name for herself as a burgeoning media star by interviewing top entertainersโNicki Minaj, Chris Rock, 50 Cent, and moreโand providing a platform for unsigned artists, like then- emerging Drake, Machine Gun Kelly, and Big Krit, with her segment โDonโt Quit Your Day Job.โ Yeeโs talent and work ethic did not go unnoticed, and after six years at SiriusXM, she was fielding job offers from radio stations all across the country. She took a risk and accepted a position at the underdog station in radioโs number one market, New York Cityโs Power 105.1.
Power 105โs The Breakfast Club morning show was formed in December 2010 with Angela, DJ Envy, and Charlamagne Tha God. After only two years, the show became nationally syndicated in over 100 markets. Avid listeners of the show anticipate Angelaโs regular โRumor Report,โ โAsk Yee,โ and โFront Page Newsโ segments. The Breakfast Clubโs undeniable impact on the culture has garnered the trio a number of accolades: Radio Hall of Fame inductee in 2020, an Ambies nomination for Best Comedy Podcast in 2021, the iHeartRadio Urban Personality of the Year award in 2017, the NYS Broadcasters Association Outstanding On-Air Broadcast Personality or Team award in 2014, and the number one radio program in The Sourceโs Power 30 issue for 5 years in a row.
Angela Yee has officially launched โWay Up with Angela Yee,โ a nationally syndicated radio program that puts the former Breakfast Club co-host in the driverโs seat. The show kicks off on an upbeat vibe with listeners calling in to โShine a Light on โEm,โ acknowledging a person who has performed a positive act. Yee is already renowned for having the inside track on celebrity news and current events and will be branding her โYeeTEAโ rumor segments as well as her โUnder the Radarโ segment focusing on important news stories impacting our community that may have been overlooked. As a serial entrepreneur, Angelaโs weekly โWealth Wednesdayโ will highlight stories and information of economic empowerment, ownership, building your brand, and investing. On the side of familiarity, Yee is also bringing her popular weekly relationship podcast โLip Service" to the airwaves as well as incorporating her advice segment โAsk YEEโ into the show daily.
In addition to appearing as herself on 3 episodes of the hit Fox television series Empire, Angela also expanded her media presence by launching her own podcast Angela Yeeโs Lip Service, where she and her girlfriends discuss intimacy, sex and relationships with the hottest stars in hip-hop and R&B. Previous guests include Lizzo, City Girls, Nick Cannon, Saweetie, Miguel, Issa Rae and Cardi B, among others. In 2019, Yee partnered with Live Nation on the nationwide Lip Service Live tour.
As her media persona continued to rise, Angelaโs entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and in 2016 she partnered with Styles P (of the legendary hip-hop group The Lox) to open a juice bar, Juices For Life BK, in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Once she saw how beneficial the business was for the community, she launched a line of organic pressed juices called Drink Fresh Juice to provide broader access to healthier options. Her other entrepreneurial ventures include a black-owned coffee company Coffee Uplifts People (C.U.P.) with a brick-and-mortar location slated to open summer 2021, a return to Detroit with the launch of her own hair shop Private Label, corporate sponsorships with Rocket Mortgage and other apps, and various real estate investments.
Giving back to the community remains the core of all Angelaโs business endeavors. Her dedication to providing information and access to nutrition, financial literacy, education, and culture is reflected in her philanthropic associations. Sheโs the first ever Global Ambassador for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement for Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment (BSE) and the New York Public Library. She sits on numerous boards including: American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI), Nile Rodgersโ We Are Family Foundation, the Fund for NYC Housing Authority, and The Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute. Additionally, she has channeled her early love for reading into the Angela Yeeโs Book Club literacy initiative to encourage her followers to read more and to support authors with unique stories to tell. In 2018, the New York City mayor officially designated August 28th as Angela Yee Day.
Angela has received two prestigious Gracie awards, one for National Radio Host/Personality and another for her Lip Service podcast. Her other awards include Spirit of Detroit, WEEN Mission, the Shirley Chisholm Woman of Distinction, Vice-Chancellorโs Achievement award for AFUWI, the Airblazer award from the Mentoring & Inspiring Women in Radio Group, and Talentmasters Morning Show Bootcamp.
Angela Yee has her finger on the pulse of hip-hop, culture and business. She is indeed a multi-hyphenate in every sense, and her two-decade career has solidified her as this generationโs โgo-toโ media personality.