Interview by Priya Pansuria
The twenty-eight year old Indian beauty Sowmya Krishnamurthy moved to New York back in 2006 right after graduating from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Over the past few years she has written for some of the most popular magazines including Vibe, Rolling Stone, XXL, amongst others and was a cast member on MTV’s Hip-Hop Point of View. Sowmya’s vast and growing experience in journalism has allowed her to build her strong and respectable opinions on Hip-Hop.
What made you want to get into journalism?
I was always a really good writer. Even in like third grade, I remember reading book reports in front of the entire school. I loved to read. I was in Advanced English classes ever since I was very young. In high school I was a student writer for our local newspaper and I even wrote for our campus newspaper when I got to college. As someone who has always been obsessed with Hip-Hop, it just felt right to write about it.
What made you get into Hip-Hop?
To me probably one of the most influential periods, I would say definitely was the whole Puffy era starting from that “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” [track] with Ma$e and that whole No Way Out album. Everything he was doing with the Bad Boy movement resonated with me. I wanted to be a part of Hip-Hop. I wanted to do something. That was the watershed moment for me––when Puffy did that.
Check the rest of the interview out after the jump!
[expand title=”More” swaptitle=”Less” trigpos=”below”]You write for NY Magazine, Rolling Stone, MTV.com, XXL, The Source, Village Voice amongst other publications. How did all of that get started?
Originally, you know I would do a piece here or there for Vibe. I think Vibe was one of my first major bylines. I did a lot of stuff with Vibe. From there it was kind of snowball effect. Once you get your first couple of bylines it’s easier to pitch. It’s easier to get your next opportunities. I research the outlets, I se what I can contribute and I pitch.
How do you ensure that you vary your content across all of those outlets?
I thin the most important thing is to read the outlet. if you want to write for an outlet you need to read it, understand its voice, the content it’s creating. as a journalist you can see what your strong suit is. for me, i’m strong in doing interviews. knowing where you’re pitching is important. knowing your style and voice and understanding where that fits.
How did you become a part of Hip-Hop Point of View?
That was just the casting. I heard through a friend that MTV was looking for talking heads and experts in Hip-Hop. I sent my material through a friend, and they sent it to the power heads. It was all through standard casting. [There were] several rounds of casting, it was a typical casting where they see how you look, see how you speak and decide if they like what you’re doing or not.
Can we expect another season of Hip-Hop Point of View?
I don’t think so. I think for now it’s not something that’s going to happen. For all of us, and especially for me being it was my first time on camera, it was an exciting experience. As a show and entity I think for right now the one season was what it was.
What was it like working along side the rest of the cast members? Had you worked with any of them before?
I’ve known Charlamagne personally for a few years. But with everyone else it was a new experience. It felt very comfortable working alongside the rest of that cast. I don’t know if that translated on camera. Even though the show took five people in disparate fields, it was very comfortable. It was conversational, it was good. The casting directors did a good job mixing people. Everyone wanted to be there, everyone was contributing, everyone did well.
You do a lot of writing, what would your ultimate goal with that be?
I think for me right now, I’m really kind of focusing more on being on camera, like broadcasting journalism. I think writing is always going to be a part of me. Graduating to cover stories and writing bigger, in-depth stories for like GQ would be great. But essentially being on camera and writing a book down the line is where my head is it.
People are always saying the print world is dying, especially when referring to magazines. Being someone who writes for many publications that still publish in print, what are your views on that?
I don’t think print is dying per se. I think people in the print world are figuring out how to balance print and digital. I think some publications are doing better at balancing the two. I think the ones who survive are the ones who master that what works on the internet won’t work in print. I think print is where long-form journalism should live, whereas more quicker content should be on the internet. I think also for the reader, with twitter, tumblr and blogs, readers look for quicker pieces to grab on the internet. But I don’t want to see long-form journalism go away.
So where do you see the magazine industry in the next five or so years?
I think we’re going to see more changes. I think that, you know, some magazines are going to move into a quarterly format instead of having twelve issues a year. You’re going to see more of a deviation to what’s online. And at the end of the day, good content is good content. Interesting articles and unique articles are key. You can’t do the same thing over and over and over. You can’t do you were doing in the 90s and expect to excel in 2012. It’s about differentiation and putting out good content. There are good writers out there. I would like to see them have a platform whether it be in digital or print.
Growing up with you wanting to write about Hip-Hop, what was it like hearing the nay-sayers, especially your own family?
I was lucky in that, my family was laissez-faire when it came to my career. I was valedictorian, I got straight As, I went to University of Michigan’s business school. On paper I was like a nerd.
It’s funny to see my family and friends be super supportive, especially being on TV. It might be a sign of the changing times, I don’t know. People have often been perplexed but also have been largely supportive.
You moved out to New York on your own, supporting yourself. How did you make that happen right out of college?
I moved out after graduation. I interned here in New York at American Express and Bad Boy. So once I gradated and moved here, I ended up working at the William Morris agency and that was my first job straight out of college.
Which up and coming artists are you supporting right now?
I wouldn’t call him up and coming, but I’m a little obsessed with The Weeknd. I like that kid Joey Bada$$. I like Action Bronson. To be completely honest, I listen to Frank Ocean a lot. He’s not up and coming at all, but I still listen to Channel Orange a lot. I am interested in seeing what happens with the Chicago moment. Someone like me, being from the midwest, I’d like to see what manifests with that. Is it like a flash in the pan or is it something tangible in regards to Hip-Hop content?
Which album are you looking forward to and why?
I’m definitely interested in seeing what The Weeknd’s first major label release looks like. He’s releasing his mixtapes as a trilogy but it’ll be interesting to see what his work looks like after he releases that. And honestly the new Drake. I know he’s working on it but whenever that comes out that’d be great.
What was the best album that dropped this year, in your opinion?
Frank Ocean, Channel Orange. Hands down. He’s someone who’s career I’ve been watching for a while. Even his live shows successively get better. Every time I see him I can see his growth in his artistry. I think he’s someone we’re going to hear from for quite some time.
