Meet Paula Campbell | Singer, Author & Actress

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

Hi Paula, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
My career has taught me so much! One of the most important factors it has taught me is that, it’s always business, never personal. At least for others it’s considered “simply business.” So you have to conduct yourself accordingly. The entertainment industry brings many friends. But friends don’t dictate a business partnership. We have weigh the pros and cons to make the best decisions for us, no matter who we work with. My career has taught me to ask the hard questions in the beginning so I don’t have to assume. Consistency is key to becoming successful. Authenticity can’t be duplicated. Stay true to you and your craft. Above all, my career has taught me that everyday is another opportunity to be better. So give it all you got every chance you get.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am Paula Campbell, different from anyone else. My sound is different, a unique street soul tone that I like to call the sugar sound. It’s gritty but sweet. It’s honesty, sincerity and vulnerability. I’m most proud that God gives me to will to keep going and that I still have a fanbase that continues to support me. It’s been damn hard getting to the point in my career where I am. I didn’t have the gift of social media when I started so there was lots of ground work. I started my career as an independent artist. I would often be the only singer on a hiphop bill with artist like T.I, Kanye West and others. I would carry my posters around in my car with a staple gun and put them up all around the city, sometimes alone. I was a full time student, with a full time job, a teenage mother and I still managed to get to the studio to create. Sometimes certain aspects of my life was neglected. I was at a space where didn’t quite understand priority and happiness over “getting to the money.” But life taught me many hard lessons, as it teaches us all. And still you learn to keep going. It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, getting up is the only option that will ensure success.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
For breakfast we’d have pancakes at Southern Art. They burn the edges of the pancakes and that’s my favorite. She’d stay in a Wow suite at The W Hotel – Midtown. We’d check out Centennial park and do the Martin Luther King tour. For lunch we’d do something simple like Einstein’s because I love their apple pie moonshine. Next we walk and talk through Botanical Garden. Phipps Plaza and visit Rachel at Gucci, because my best friend loves shopping and she’s expensive. A quick shower and change and then we’d catch an evening show and dinner at The City Winery. She’d be DONE for the rest of weekend.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have to shout out the entire city of Baltimore. I grew up on of the most drug infested, highest murder rates, highest teen pregnancy and drop out rated area. My neighborhood was even one of the highest HIV infected areas in Baltimore City. “The Wire” couldn’t describe my upbringing but I survived. I would be NOTHING without the support of a community that heard a little girl sing, named her ‘Sparkle,” and told her she was better than her surroundings. Baltimore City, we dat! I would not be alive without the teachers who refused to let me come into their classrooms with my pants sagging and cursing as if I didn’t have a vast vocabulary or acting less than everything that I was… My favorite teachers, Colonel Spencer Key, Jewel Chern R.I.H, Murial Fitzgerald, Carolyn Starks, and Helen Hunter Madry, I thank you. Thank God for Frederick Douglass High School #450. The man that started building my fanbase at the age of 13, Anthony Jeter. All The DJ’s who broke my first record starting with DJ Rod Lee. Greg Baker for showing me the value of marketing, for investing time, talent and money into the beginnings of my success. Kawan Prather for signing me to Sony and believing I was great without the support of your then partners. You are forever my brother! And last but not least my DADDY! Paul Campbell, thank you for teaching me that hard work still requires endurance, that I have to believe in myself and invest in myself if I want anyone to help. Thank you for teaching me that authenticity is my asset. I am still learning how to extend some couth when telling like it is. But life is a process. I am blessed that each of you took hold of me and poured into me at least a little of the goodness and the light you had to give. #Grateful. Paula C;)

Website: Iampaulacampbell.com
Instagram: PaulaCampbell
Twitter: PaulaCampbell
Facebook: IamPaulaCampbell
Youtube: PaulaCampbellTV
Other: Instagram.com/TheParlorbrand

Image Credits
Jay Hardman Photos, and Papi Picasso photography