Zenobia Simmons
Journalist, Business Owner
Zenobia Simmons is a "Jill of All Trades"
and a complete hip-hop, renaissance woman. A Midwestern girl,
born and raised in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, Zenobia attended the
University of Maryland and the Fashion Institute of Design
and Merchandising. Graduating with a BA in Fine Art and a
penchant for fashion, she immediately started work as a fashion
designer, creating looks for influential West Coast rap groups
Cypress Hill and Freestyle Fellowship.
Although her fashion design skills were
in high demand, Zenobia's impressive writing skills pulled
her into the world of music journalism, and she made the jump
from fashion to writing. Starting out as an Editorial Assistant
at Rap Sheet, she quickly moved up the ranks to become a world-renowned
journalist with monthly columns in Rappages, URB, WARP (Japan),
and frequently contributed to VIBE magazine. Ms. Simmons also
worked as the West Coast Editor at One Nut Network and broke
the controversial "Gay Rapper" story, and wrote
multi-platinum recording artist, D'Angelo's first cover story!
She also did a stint as Lifestyle Editor forSisters In Style,
with publishing magistrate, Cynthia Horner. Her first works
of poetry were published in the critically acclaimed book,
Girl Power, and her poems have received endorsements from
Melissa Ehthridge and Oprah Winfrey.
With a constant appetite to conquer higher
ground, Zenobia decided to try her hand as a publicist. She
founded her own publicity company, Grylz on Wilcox, and concentrated
on exposing and enhancing the careers of popular East Coast
artists on the West Coast. The Grylz on Wilcox were responsible
for the first LA visits of some of hip hop's most incredible
artists, including Black Moon, Jeru the Damaja, Craig Mack,
and the Notorious B. I. G. She has also worked on innovative
publicity campaigns for Ice Cube, powerhouse group the West
Side Connection, and "Friday," the motion picture.
Her love of music and her skills as a DJ
pulled her in yet another direction and she decided to try
her hand in radio. Zenobia landed at KKBT 92.3 The Beat in
Los Angeles, where she played an astronomical role in developing
the Mix Masters Show with Julio G. She produced, programmed,
and co-hosted the show from 1994-1998. Under Zenobia's tutelage,
The Mixmaster's received countless GAVIN nominations for Mix
Show of the Year and On Air Personalities of the Year.
In 1997, her connections at the Beat allowed
her to breathe life into a project she had dreamed about for
a long time… the herstorical Rhino Records 3-CD Box Set,
Fat Beats & Bra Straps. Zenobia was A&R, Executive
Producer, plus wrote and assigned liner notes for the project,
which featured some of the nation's most prolific female MCs.
The first project of it's kind, this comprehensive collection
featured classics, new MCs, and posse cuts by some of hip
hop's pioneers, Roxanne Shante, the Real Roxanne, Bahammadiha,
Jazzy Joyce, and Heather B.
Opportunity knocked again, and this time
it led Ms. Simmons to New York City. She moved to accept the
position of Vice President of Publicity at Penalty Recordings.
She was responsible for breaking the Capone-N-Norega's gold
debut album, "The War Report". Under Ms. Simmons
press panache, the group appeared in every form of print,
electronic, national and local media from the USA to the UK.
She also broke Noreaga's platinum solo album, N.O.R.E., and
got Noreaga and Penalty their first full coverage on MTV,
plus a number of other instrumental covers including The Source,
while introducing Norega to the world.
Zenobia, cultivating all of her many interests
while remaining very busy is co-host of the revolutionary
on line women's show, Queendom on the Pseudo network. A sex
columnist for Urban Box Offices' new women's' web site, womanhood.
Com, and she is currently working on a screenplay about women
in the music industry called, B.B.C. She has also formed her
own management company, Zenobs Music Management, and is handling
the careers of the Arsonists, on Matador Records, T-Love on
Atralwerks/Virgin, and Ness, the former lead singer of the
Barrio Boys.
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