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

Hi Lionel, how do you think about risk?
Risk played a major part in my life and career. It was a risk to jump on a platform that can often be filled with extreme negativity that can often consume people if you’re not careful. When I started my YouTube journey I had to have thick skin and learn to block out the negativity. With me being able to not zone into those things, it was a huge reward on the other end for me and my family. Approaching 90 million views in less than 3 years is more than I could have ever imagined happening for me, until I took that risk and decided to go for it. Even doing my first video I was a little bit skeptical, but I kept pressing forward and my following just starting growing from 0 to currently 353,000 followers on YouTube.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Man it’s so many things I am proud of and excited for. Some people dread each day and that’s unfortunate to me. However I was one of those people back in the day. Now, I wake up everyday to new and exciting opportunities so much so that my head spins and have to take it all in. I got the chance to work with Papoose, Ja Rule and Krayzie Bone literally just weeks apart. I just had a huge billboard up in Times Square NYC. I have a record charting on top of Billboard right now featuring E.D.I. Mean from Tupac’s group The Outlawz. I developed a reality show concept about 2 years ago and I shot a little unfinished pilot and pretty much left it alone once Covid hit. Then I got the opportunity to meet with some top Hollywood producers that have produced major shows, and I just signed a deal a few days ago to have my reality show produced with them, and I’ll also be a producer for the show as well. I’m super hyped to bring something new and fresh to television. What I’ve learned along the way is to never stop hustling, the worse thing somebody can tell you is no, and once you’re ok with the no, get back up and go harder. Also never look at others success with disdain, use it as motivation. You don’t know their story or what they had to do to get there. It’s so much hard work in the entertainment industry! I literally cut a full album for a film/tv project in less than a week, and that pressure was no joke. But if you want whatever bad enough, you gotta put in the work. As a YouTuber that’s hard work as well, you gotta keep people engaged and make them want to come back, subscribe, share all of that.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Fun? What’s that? I’m a bit of a workaholic lol. But I’d want to take them to South Beach to hang out, sip drinks and enjoy a good meal. Then definitely Ybor City in Tampa. It’s an entire vibe there on the weekends. So many spots to have fun in, maybe bar hop, hit the Improv and take in the sights. Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My mother was my rock and my inspiration. I lost her to Covid-19 back in July 2020. She always motivated me to go hard, and always told me to not become the same people I get paid to talk about. It completely caught me off guard because at the time, I didn’t see myself doing anything besides Youtube. She must’ve had a vision from God, because now I’m a Billboard charting rap artist, and a producer for an upcoming car reality show debuting on a major television network. My stepfather as well, has been super supportive and also one of biggest fans on YouTube and in life. He nicknamed me “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” because he knows how I hard I go to constantly enhance my brand. My publicist Jeannette Malave has been a huge part of my musical success and an amazing A&R for all of my songs. She really puts a lot of time and effort into my growth into my music and business career. Shout out to All Of Em!

Website: https://thelionelbshow.com

Instagram: https://Instagram.com/officiallionelb

Twitter: https://Twitter.com/officiallionelb

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/officiallionelb

YouTube: https://youtube.com/lionelbshow

Image Credits
Image credits: Lionel Barnes Jr. @prettyboi.xlb White tracksuit by: Orignal Threadz Apparel @originalthreadzapparel

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