What does it profit a woman to gain fame and absolutely lose her soul? This is a question I so often ask when casting the latest music video, magazine layout, or TV/Film project. The glamour of the Hip Hop lifestyle is one of the most hynotic hypes to date. So much so that the women that show up to my castings, the very women that will get chosen to help keep this craze going… want in on this fantasy. They want in so badly that they come prepared to be misused and objectified, rather than to do a respectable job and receive a pay check.

My agency Ethnicity Models has created a name for itself because of the cultural array of women on my roster and mostly because of my inability to compromise. I have learned the universal truism of setting a personal standard much to the surprise of the present day ‘video vixen’ ( a title I personally despise) and the opposite ideology of the famed vixen, Karrine Steffans who cited her formula as ‘going the extra mile; doing what others refused to do’. I encourage the talented women that I cast to fearlessly say, no. To know when something’s uncomfortable and out of their character. I also encourage them to chase dreams, and not opportunity and to know that what has been deemed ‘their path’ is indeed theirs…without compromise. With this mindset there are no industry victims like those who have become famous for their personal self-destructive choices rather than for the quality of their beauty and talent.

My hope for the future of Hip Hop is that women take charge and revamp their position in this grand scheme by getting back to the
beauty and respect of things and away from the sickness of wanting to be famous by any means necessary; in an instant. I want to see hopefuls ‘go the extra mile’ as exceptional human beings and not as tools eager to be used. I want them to know that
fame should be a result of a memorable presence on the stages of media-not a gimmick of self-disrespect.

Decide ladies, why you wanna be famous and more importantly, what do you wanna be famous for?

As for me, I will continue on my journey to encourage self love and Love My Ethnicity!

LaShawnna Stanley
Founder, Ethnicity Models

Check out this exclusive clip from the second installment to BET’s coveted Hip Hop Vs. America series!