The Business of Reality TV: Mona Scott-Young Talks Entertainment Savvy and Brand Transition

Since her resurgence in 2010 with VH1’s hit “Love & Hip Hop,” Mona Scott-Young has reigned as an entrepreneur and hip hop mogul. The show, which featured emotionally unpredictable and unstable cast members wandering through New York’s hip hop scene, sought to shed light on an industry that was unfamiliar to the masses. The weekly series has since expanded Mona’s empire to additional properties such as “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” and her newest addition, VH1’s “The Gossip Game.”

Like any other entrepreneur, she has faced trials (the loss of her former Violator business partner Chris Lighty) and triumphs (Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta soaring as one of the top rated reality television shows in history). The hip hop mogul also recently expanded into the consumer products industry with her flavored “MYX Moscato,” as well as preparing for her upcoming reality show on BRAVO.

In this exclusive BlackEnterprise.com interview, Scott-Young gets “real” about the negative criticism that she’s received on her portrayal of African Americans on television, challenges that she’s faced as a businesswoman in the music industry, how she manages work-life balance, and her new VH1 series “The Gossip Game.”

BlackEnterprise.com: Tell us about your journey. What made you decide to transition from the music industry to television?

It was a desire for personal growth. I’ve always wanted to move into television. I did a show several years ago on UPN with Missy Elliott called ‘Road to Stardom.’ I loved the process. I love having an idea, rolling up my sleeves and bringing all the elements together and then seeing it on screen. When I transitioned to Monami Entertainment (her company), I always aspired to really get my wheels and dig my heels into television. Love and Hip Hop happened to be a big

one. It resonated and connected with the audience and it took off and I’ve continued to develop shows. That for me was a personal passion but also part of the business model that I wanted for Monami.

You have faced a lot of criticism for your portrayal of African Americans on television, more specifically women. What is your response to the backlash?

I keep it honest with myself first and foremost. I don’t want to say that I fancy myself as a documentarian. The reality is, I’m not making up this stuff. I’m not scripting this stuff. I’m not sitting here making up this stuff that degrade, that denigrate, that bring down the women in our culture. I am simply turning a camera on their lives and depicting what is actually going on. If those cameras went off this stuff would still continue to go on. So what are we saying exactly, that these people don’t exist? That their stories don’t deserve to be told? That we should just sweep it under a rug and act like we don’t know that this stuff is happening?

It’s so funny because so many people say th

at they don’t watch the show. But the numbers speak for themselves. I think the reason that these shows connect is because people see a little bit of themselves in it. They see a little bit of the people that they know — their family members, the people that are in there lives because these are real people, and these are things that are really going on.

I don’t judge these women — that’s not what I’m here to do. I give them an opportunity to tell their stories. Maybe starting in hip hop shed light on a world that was foreign to so many people. But there is nobody that has really navigated that world that can say that these things don’t actually happen. We may not want to talk about it, we may not want to admit it, we may not want to shine a light on it, but it is definitely here.

What lessons have you learned in your 20 years in the entertainment industry?

Never get complacent. Never rest on your laurels. There is always someone right on your heels. So for me, it’s about personally challenging myself at all times. Always testing what I’m made of. Always wanting to see what levels I can aspire to. What projects I can conquer, what else I can do. That’s always been for me a driving force in the way that I’ve lived my life and how I’ve run my businesses.

You branched off on your own to start Monami Entertainment. What level of preparation did that take?

One of the more exhilarating things for me was stepping out into business for myself. I had been partners for many years with the late Chris Lighty over at Violator. And then I decided that there were other things that I wanted to do so I branched out and did Monami. The thing that I knew for a fact was what I was capable of. I knew that success or failure, I could always rely on me to see me through.

So, I think one of the things that I always advocate for is self confidence. Part of that self confidence is knowing your business, educating yourself, getting the information that you need under your belt, making sure that you’re as good as you possibly can be at

what you endeavor to take on. Because if you don’t succeed as you set out to, it won’t be because you didn’t do your best and try to put your best foot forward. If I fall short, I did my best.

How have you been able to balance your work and family life?

My family is fully integrated into everything I do. My husband is running the warehouses, picking up cases of MYX and dropping them off at accounts. I get tweets from my 9 year old daughter, going “Mommy I want to talk. Are you in a meeting?” They understand the nature of what I do because it’s such a major part of our lives. They are all amazingly accommodating to that, so when it’s time for me to put everything down and focus on my family, that’s what I owe them as well.

We’re a team, we work on this together. My husband is an integral part of my success because he completely holds our family down in a way that frees me up and allows me to do what I’m doing. For me, it’s a work in progress. I haven’t mastered it yet, I don’t have it all figured out. But we’re all in this together making it work.

How has the [entertainment] industry changed since you first got in the game?

The industry has evolved drastically. I’ve watched technology and the music industry change. I think that there’s a different hustle now. When I was coming up, there was a culture. People had these things that they wanted to do, they worked together, they came together and made it happen. We were on the cusp of an emerging genre with hip hop so it was a different

time. Now, there are so many changes it’s a lot more competitive. I don’t think people are as passionate. I think there’s a different level of enthusiasm for the business. The changes in business because of technology have made things come differently to people, maybe a bit easier. I just think it’s a different hustle.

What makes The Gossip Game any different from your other reality shows?

Overall, I think this will inform. I don’t think people know what’s going on in the media world. People don’t necessarily know how media people navigate this, how you get your information, how it is to get scooped, how the different mediums interact within the space. How the emerging technologies have changed the way you not only get your news, but report on the news. I think that the access that social media and digital media has given to the average audience has impacted the media business. They are not the only source or the “go to” source. Seeing the way these women balance family, life and the way they interact in their social circles, I think these things will be interesting and relatable.