I.
BBE History
1. Who are the founders of BBE?
The husband and wife duo, Patrick (BigBoi’00) and Yolanda (1st
Lady)
2.
Do
you consider yourselves BBW’s or BHM’s
Yes, both of us
3.
Have
you been a BBW or BHM all of your life
All our lives
4.
Where
were you raised and what was your family life like
Patrick,-Gary,
IN; only child; had best of both worlds, mom/grandparents
Yolanda- Blytheville, AR- oldest of 4 children; large maternal family
unit; had best of both worlds also
5.
How did
your company get started
B.B.E. started because after attending various
other BBW events, we felt the need to provide BBW events to the urban
community.
6.
Where did
your company name come from
The company was named after Patrick and was actually derived from his
on-line name PBigBoi’00.
7.
How big
is your staff
Can you believe it, only 6 people. We also have
a VIP advisory committee of 10 people.
8.
What are
the different departments in your company, who are the department heads
and what do they do
-Monthly BBW/BHM dance parties- BigBoi’00/ 1st
Lady
-Public Relations- Deborah (DIVA)- PR/AR
Manager
-Security- Andrew (Ebony Knight)- head of
security for all BBE events
-Charter members/VIPS-Jackie (Babyface Carmela)
President of the VIPS; organize all of the volunteer needed help
for monthly dance parties
-B.B.E.Records-BigBoi’00-CEO, Executive
Producer
II.
PARTY
PROMOTION
1.
When did
the BBW/BHM party scene begin in Chicago
The scene actually goes back to the late 80’s
early 90’s. We started attended BBW/BHM parties in the
Midwest about 7 years ago
2.
When and
where was your first party and was it a major success
First party was May 18,
2000-
Park Inn Conference Center in Harvey, IL; No it was not. Only 15 people
attended the first party. 10 of those people were family.
3.
How are
the events now
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!1
4.
Who is
your house D.J.
None other than D.J. James E. from In The
Basement Productions
5.
What’s
the key to throwing a slamin party. What makes BBE party better than
the rest
The answer to this question is easy. Our
crowd is what makes our parties the HOTTEST in the Chi. Our crowd
is friendly, outgoing and just plain OFF THE CHAIN. D.J. James
E. keeps the music HOT. It’s a great atmosphere to get your party
on anyway you choose. We promote lots of participation and interaction.
6.
Do you
have any major events or bashes coming up in the near future
We have monthly BBW/BHM dance parties every 3rd
Friday of the month. Yes, we are going to have 2 bashes this year.
Sept. 3,4,5 and Dec. 31-Jan. 1,2. For more
information, visit our website.
III.
1st
LADY DESIGNS
1.
Where did
the clothing line name come from
When I design garments or make an outfit for
someone, they look and feel so good about themselves, it gives me a
feeling that the individual feels like they are royalty. So 1st
Lady just fit
2.
How long
have you been designing clothes
Professionally, for about 3 years.
3.
What type
of clothing do you produce
Just about anything that someone wants. My
website shows, casual, sport, evening, sleepwear, and something for the
kids.
If you can dream it up……We can hook it up…….
4.
What
makes your clothing company different from others
My motto says it all…….(Plus size fashions at
regular size prices)
5.
Does your
company promote fashion shows, where and when
Only on a small level. At the annual
anniversary, pajama, and New Years Eve parties. One of 1st
Lady Design’s goals for
2004 is to promote and produce a BBW/BHM fashion show on a larger
scale. And to continue to make the brand better known to the BBW/BHM
community.
IV.
BBE
RECORDS
1.
What type
of music does your label produce
Our primary genre at B.B.E. Records is Hip-Hop and R&B. However, due to
the varied musical backgrounds
of our production team, it’s not uncommon for other musical styles and
elements to come into play.
2.
Tell us
something about each of your recording artists, groups, and producers
B.B.E. Records uses a team approach to
production. Patrick, BigBoi’00 serves as Executive Producer as well as
an artist on the label. B.B.E. records currently works with several
artists and or groups. EarCandy, (Miles, Passion, Brain and Unspoken)
do neo-soul and spoken word. Asad, is an associate R&B producer and
vocalist. Da Fam, consist of Ms. BMW, InfaMiss, Ms. Kitty, Nawledge and
BigBoi’00. And is definitely Hip-Hop and R&B with a serious adult edge.
DIVA, is a spoken word artist. All members have input and make artistic
contributions to the records that we make.
3.
Honestly,
which artist or group is really hot right now? Who’s in the forefront?
Who is the best musician
All of our acts are Hot and because we appeal
to such a large range of musical tastes, everyone shine in their own
area. EarCandy is definitely emerging as one of the premier spoken
word/neo-soul groups in the Chi. Da Fam has Ms. BMW in the “Hot Seat”
right now because so many people are loving her sexy, rap style. And
Asad is heating things up as one of the few real R&B crooners in the
Chi. All of these things come together to make B.B.E Records the label
to watch. We are definitely a “Small Independent Label with Major Label
Attitude.”
4.
What is
the hottest single your company has produced
We actually have a couple of really hot singles. Ms. BMW featuring
InfaMiss on “Big Girls Don’t Cry”. Asad brings
the
heat on “Ghetto Tango”- a steppers cut. EarCandy is moving quite a few
units of their single “Bronzeville”
featuring
Passion. Diva has a hot spoken word joint in “Can I” to be featured on
her Maxi-Single, to be released in
June
2004.
5.
Name the
top 3 records that you would want the clubs and radio stations to play
1)
“GRIZZMATIZED”- a new joint featuring Ms. BMW
2)
“Ghetto Tango” – featuring Asad
3)
“The BigBoi’00 Bounce Remix”- this joint was written for
the B.B.W. party community
V.
WEBSITE
1.
Who
designed your website and when did it first get published
Our website was built by Jim @ Risque Web
Designs. And has been published since Jan. 04. We also have a yahoo
group since 2000.
2.
How are
your models selected for your site
We try to take pics of all garments designed
and made for people. No special criteria needed.
3.
The
pajama party looked like it was a lot of fun, will you continue to post
more pics
Yes
4.
Are you
getting positive feedback from online viewers worldwide
Yes
VI.
BBE’S
OPINIONS
1.
What kind
of overall response do you get from the BBW/BHM
Chicago community
Generally, the response is very positive. Our events and products are
very well received. However, we are always
on
a mission to reach a larger audience.
2.
Is your
company growing rapidly
Yes
3.
Being
that your company has more than one entity, what areas are you more
satisfied with and what areas could use improvement
B.B.E. is a company committed to excellence. We strive to make a
positive impact on the markets that we serve.
We
are constantly striving to improve and provide better events, clothing
and music to our audience. All the while
continuing
to improve that it’s cool to be “LARGE and IN CHARGE”.
4.
Give us
one word that best describes your company
Can’t sum it up in one word. How about 3 “BIG
TYME FUN”
5.
What can
WWW.Largeincharge.com readers do
to help support your company
We are honored to be featured in your magazine. It’s really great to
see people showing love to the B.B.W.
community.
We would appreciate if your readers would check out the web site, join
our yahoo group and just tell
everyone
they know about B.B.E. and what we do. And most definitely, a road trip
to the Chi to experience B.B.E.
in
real life. Only then will they know why “Ain’t No Party Like… A
BigBoi’00 Party……..”
6.
What
advice do you have for inspiring entrepreneurs in this “Big World”
Don’t give up on your dreams. Stay steadfast
and unmovable. Stay true to your cause……….
7.
Are there
any other size positive companies that you admire
We admire any organization that is sincerely committed to serving and
representing the BBW/BHM community in a
positive
light. We are all family.
8.
What are
the future goals for each of our company’s department and what is the
overall goal
Our general goal for the future is to create a network of BBW/BHM
oriented companies from clothing, travel and
entertainment
to insurance and healthcare providers. Over 75% of our society is
overweight. So in the days of the
Atkins
Diet, senseless Gastric By-pass operations, the world needs to remember
“That Thin Maybe In, But FAT is
Still
Where It’s AT”.
So there
you have it!
This dedication is about asking readers to understand how
much hard work goes into pleasing “a satisfied customer”. When people
party, they want to be entertained, be in a friendly crowd, hear good
music, be comfortable, have a nice strong drink (just slipped that in
because I hate when clubs try to hit you with the watered down
drinks)…basically you wanna have a good time! In reality, party
promoters work hard to create a safe and entertaining environment.
Clothing designers work hard to produce wears that are fashionable,
affordable, available, and comfortable. We all have heard the stories
about “the Music Business” so we can imagine the pressures of running a
Record Label and lastly this Web Business is No Joke! (Im learning first
hand…) A lot of time and energy goes into web promotion. Smash all of
this together like Fat Gumbo and BigBoi00Ent gets Madd Love, Extra
Props, and Much Respect. Big shout outs to the Entire Crew and
affiliates who supports BigBoi’s mission.
To the
Bronx
, NYC surrounding areas, and LargeInCharge readers world wide….Check
their website, buy something, and plan a trip to visit Chi-Town.
Ps…..to
check out Jay's past interviews, click on Back Issues
