Meet Phron Freeman | Radio Producer, Marketing Strategist and Audio/Video Editor and Creator.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Phron Freeman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Phron, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
The single most important decision I made that contributed to your success was… deciding to go back to school at the age of 39 years old to show my son something positive so he wouldn’t get trapped into the things that was going on in the streets of Chicago.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets me apart from others is my overall life experience. Growing up with and around people who had vast musical talents, influenced me to take interest in being a recording artist at a young age. Seeing my brother get shot in the head slightly changed my path and led me to the streets. Being in the streets was not at all a tragedy, it actually led me to meeting a few celebrities who gave me some valuable advice and/or an experience. I learned how to operate music and video equipment and software by watching, asking questions and helping with production in my friends recording studio. My mom was into fashion and shows but by the time I got interested in it, Hip Hop had taken over the fashion industry and became a very easy market to explore… but marketing was always the key. Even though I wasn’t looking for attention, I seem to get it all the time. I stayed to myself and maybe that’s why I got it but I also wasn’t afraid to do and try different things and explore different ideas. My personal activities and projects is what landed the jobs with the major companies, yes the college I attended got me recognized but my spirituality, personality and projects got me where I needed to be. The Journey wasn’t easy at all, considering I was still living in the projects gangbanging and selling drugs, not to mention my own people tried to kidnap me and kill me. I made it out by the grace of god but the problems had only began. Working for or being a part of any industry and trying to achieve success is difficult if you think different, look different and act different than your peers. For Instance, a very attractive young lady worked at the radio station where I worked and she was the nicest sweet person you could meet but most of the female employees didn’t talk to her or acknowledge her in the studio even after she entered and spoke to everyone. At station events, the staff that the employees from the Promotions Dept. liked got t-shirts, free tickets and other perks while the others were left out or a manager would enter the studio and only speak to people she liked. There was and still is a lot of prejudice in all industries but the key to all success is to stay humble and show humility, keep positive energy even when you’re in a negative environment, pray and work on your craft whatever it may be.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my friend was visiting the area and I wanted to show them the best time ever, the first thing I would do is take the them straight to the hood to Uncle Remus on the westside of Chicago where I’m from. 2nd, I would give them a tour of the city and where all are urban high rises and ghettos use be. 3rd, I would show them where a lot of major movies and TV shows were filmed in our city. 4th, I would take them to our famous Maxwell St. polish stand and then shoot up the lake front to show the beautiful lake front view of the city and last, head up the gold coast and the Magnificent Mile and visit some of our fine eatery’s.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to send a special thanks to my grandma Pinkie O’tey whos no longer with us and my aunt Pearlie O’tey for raising me, giving me unconditional love, support and helping me through a lot of trials and tribulations throughout my life. Shout out to my adopted family from the A.B.L.A projects who protected me and gave me valuable lessons that kept me alive in the streets of Chicago. I also would like to thank Ms. Hope Daniels and Mr. Zarr for helping me make the right decisions for my education and navigate through college. Shout out to Vy, Cheli and Michael for giving me the opportunity to work for UMGD, the #1 record label in the world, crating a new branch specifically for me and keeping me on the team even though my manager at the radio station was doing everything in his power to sabotage my job. The last shout out goes to two very special people who pave the way, Jay Allen and AC Green for giving me the opportunity to produce “The Tom Joyner Morning Show” which was the number one morning show at that time and “The AC Green Show” on several radio platforms.

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