A Moment With The SBTV Girls

I met SBTV’s self proclaimed Tribal Princess, Urban Pocahontas and Biker Chick to get the low down on SBTV.

SBTV is the UK’s leading online youth broadcaster, set up by boy wonder Jamal Edwards.

Having just finished a massive five part series ‘Inside SBTV from Bedroom to Boardroom’ on Channel4 following the team day in day out, interviewing stars like Kelly Rowland, and more recently travelling to South Africa to meet Richard Branson I had to meet three of the girls who help make the machine tick! After all………… “behind every great man”

Cha Cha Cha and Lilly Lovelett bring you A Moment with……

What music are you listening to at the moment?

Natalia: Alexisonfire (R.I.P. I’m still mourning them).

Georgia: New Drake, SBTRK, Ed Sheeran, anything from Jamie XX, new Black Keys and the usual Jimi Hendrix, a bunch of mowtown / souly vibes and a tonne of random mixtapes I haven’t made up my mind about yet.

Lily: I’m into underground and alternative Hip Hop. I’m listening to people like Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Children Of The Night, World’s Fair, Main Attrakionz, Danny Brown, A$AP Rocky and Spaceghostpurrp.

Georgia- Presenter

When you’re not working on SBTV, what are you doing?

Natalia: Trying to steal puppies.

Georgia: I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.

Lily: Going to live shows, hanging out with friends, my baby sister and brothers and my dog, reading and exploring the city.

What is your biggest vice?

Natalia: Tiramisu.

Georgia: Probs Gossip Girl. Or cheesecake. I also pretend to be half a vegetarian but love a cheeky Peperami.

Lily: Shoes.

Natalia- Dep Editor

Last time you cried?

Natalia: When my dog died, very sad.

Georgia: I just came back from South Africa, where I was in Nelson Mandela’s house with no sleep feeling very emotional!

Lily: My mum’s been ill so that’s been the cause of a few tears.

When was the last time you were embarrassed?

Natalia: Twitter embarrasses me daily.

Georgia: I cringe myself at least once an hour but have to let that shizzle go.

Lily: I don’t embarrass easily. Probably the last time I nearly fell over. Ankles like Bambi plus a love of high heels can be dangerous.

Lily- Editor

What do you Love?

Natalia: Animals, even pigeons.

Georgia: Dancing.

Lily: I love music, fashion, books, traveling, adventures, photography, fashion, lots of things.

What’s your most treasured possession?

Natalia: My Macbook.

Georgia: I’ve got a great oversized gold and pink mexican hat that I spent all my food money on at Big Chill a few years ago. Maybe that?

Lily: My library but that’s not one possession. I get attached to things pretty easily and most of my clothes have nicknames but my most treasured possession is probably the watch my step dad gave me for my 21st.

Describe your style?

Natalia: My housemates say I dress like an urban Pocahontas.

Georgia: Natalia christened me a tribal princess. Someone else said I dressed like Oprah on crack?! Make of that what you will.

Lily: Lance at SB calls me Biker chick, I wear a lot of black and leather. I’m a fiend for 90s fashion and can usually be found in a cropped tee and leggings. My style icon is Slick Rick but I don’t have the cash for jewellery like his.

Heals or trainers?

Natalia: Trainers.

Georgia: Trainers.

Lily: Heels. But for work I tend to look like I’m trying too hard in heels so I’ll wear trainers or boots.

Georgia and Natalia

Make up or no make up?

Natalia: Make up.

Georgia: A smidge at least.

Lily: Make up so I still look like a girl, even in boys clothes.

Must have item in your bag?

Natalia: Blackberry.

Georgia: Headphones.

Lily: Headphones. Without them I’m lost. Keys are pretty useful too. They open doors.

What is it like being a girl working on SBTV and peoples attitudes to you working in music in general?

Natalia: We’re all female bosses, no sexism, none.

Georgia: I had to hold my ground for a bit lady wise before Sas, Lil and Nat joined but the SB boys have always been pretty cash to be honest.

Lily: I like the Marilyn Monroe quote: “I don’t mind living in a man’s world as long as I can be a woman in it.” The guys at SB are much less sexist than other guys I’ve worked with. Women are treated differently in the hip hop industry but it’s usually a positive. As long as you don’t mind brushing off the come-ons. I get interviews I wouldn’t get if I was a guy and people seem to open up more to me as a female.

Anyone famously just ignored you/and or chatted you up?!

Natalia: That would be telling.

Georgia: Erm maybe I’m terrible at reading signals.

Lily: One of my favourite rappers said he was going to kidnap me. The occasional artist will chat you up but it depends on the situation, most artists are very professional. I haven’t been ignored but I’ve done interviews when I could tell the artist would rather be elsewhere.

From left to right: Georgia, Natalia, Lily.

Best and worst things about the job?

Natalia: Working evening events means I don’t see my friends as much as I’d like to, but at the same time the events are probably the best thing about my job (free canapes).

Georgia: Meeting and grilling interesting people, being creative and getting up to a variety of stuff. No day is ever the same. Sometimes politics is long though.

Lily: Meeting my icons is the best thing about the job. I’ve interviewed several artists now, that I grew up listening to, some I even had posters of, and it’s amazing to share a moment with someone whose music you admire. The worst thing is the long hours; interviews can take place 7 hours later than the time they were scheduled for. Sometimes they don’t even happen and you’ve wasted hours researching.

Personal highlight so far?

Natalia: Our website launch, free beer and Nandos.

Georgia: Seeing the Channel 4 series come about from first taster tape to 5 part series was pretty good. On a personal level going to South Africa to interview Richard Branson and the work we’ve done with the Bullitts has been really fun.

Lily: There are far too many! Being called ‘Boo’ by Ghostface makes me feel pretty special though. A lot of the highlights come from moments within the team, like in-jokes, etc. The trips I’ve been on through SB have also been great highlights in particular the week I spent in New York and interviewing Mobb Deep in their studio in Queens.

If you weren’t working on SBTV what would you be doing?

Natalia: Running a petting zoo.

Georgia: Probably dancing and eating cheesecake.

Lily: I probably would have found a way to write about music but on a much smaller scale. Probably doing freelance writing for music websites, definitely not having an editors role and conducting such big interviews.

Rudest person you’ve met?

Natalia: David Stewart (Eurythmics).

Georgia: A certain America rapper was not in the mood for an interview.

Lily: He wasn’t rude but Method Man was the least friendly interviewee of mine. He seemed untrustworthy, like he assumed I was going to put words in his mouth. Eventually he warmed to me but I was already disappointed by that point. Before that he was one of my favorite artists.

From left to right: Georgia, Natalia, Lily.

Nicest person you’ve met?

Natalia: Dallas Green.

Georgia: My team mates. And my first ever interviewee for SB, Kelly Rowland.

Lily: It’s between Raekwon and GZA. Most of the people I interview are nice but these two were the only ones that checked I had asked all my questions. Rae let me ask one more despite the manager and PR saying my time was up. GZA gave me his contact details in case I had anything extra to ask. Very humble, intelligent guys, and two of my favourites in Wu Tang but Ski Beatz, Just Blaze, Pete Rock and Bone Thugs all deserve a special mention.

From left to right: Georgia, Lily, Natalia.