Variety Magazine describes Angela Yee as “one of the media’s best-known multi-hyphenates.” True to form, the award-winning media personality co-hosted the popular nationally-syndicated radio show, The Breakfast Club, hosts her own Lip Service podcast, just launched her own nationally-syndicated radio show, ‘Way Up With Angela Yee,’ owns several businesses, and is a philanthropist and community leader...And she’s just getting started.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to a Black mother and Chinese father, Angela was always extremely ambitious and studious. “Growing up, I spent the majority of my free time writing short, fictional stories and reading every novel I could get my hands on,” she recalls. Her love for writing continued through college where she earned a degree in English from Wesleyan University. After graduating, Yee utilized the relationships she built through internships at MTV, TVT Records and Wu-Tang Management to become assistant to the CEO of Wu-Tang Corporation in Detroit. She realized she had a knack for marketing and eventually transitioned to working for music legend Nile Rodgers’ Sumthing Else distribution label as well as various clothing brands, including the launch of Eminem’s line Shady LTD. “I was fortunate to work at companies associated with music icons early in my career,” Yee says.
Angela’s early music connections ultimately led her to SiriusXM Satellite Radio where she launched a successful radio career serving as co-host on Shade 45’s Cipha Sounds Effect morning show and her own radio shows, Lip Service and The Morning After with Angela Yee. She quickly developed a name for herself as a burgeoning media star by interviewing top entertainers—Nicki Minaj, Chris Rock, 50 Cent, and more—and providing a platform for unsigned artists, like then- emerging Drake, Machine Gun Kelly, and Big Krit, with her segment ‘Don’t Quit Your Day Job.’ Yee’s talent and work ethic did not go unnoticed, and after six years at SiriusXM, she was fielding job offers from radio stations all across the country. She took a risk and accepted a position at the underdog station in radio’s number one market, New York City’s Power 105.1.
Power 105’s The Breakfast Club morning show was formed in December 2010 with Angela, DJ Envy, and Charlamagne Tha God. After only two years, the show became nationally syndicated in over 100 markets. Avid listeners of the show anticipate Angela’s regular ‘Rumor Report,’ ‘Ask Yee,’ and ‘Front Page News’ segments. The Breakfast Club’s undeniable impact on the culture has garnered the trio a number of accolades: Radio Hall of Fame inductee in 2020, an Ambies nomination for Best Comedy Podcast in 2021, the iHeartRadio Urban Personality of the Year award in 2017, the NYS Broadcasters Association Outstanding On-Air Broadcast Personality or Team award in 2014, and the number one radio program in The Source’s Power 30 issue for 5 years in a row.
Angela Yee has officially launched “Way Up with Angela Yee,” a nationally syndicated radio program that puts the former Breakfast Club co-host in the driver’s seat. The show kicks off on an upbeat vibe with listeners calling in to “Shine a Light on ‘Em,” acknowledging a person who has performed a positive act. Yee is already renowned for having the inside track on celebrity news and current events and will be branding her “YeeTEA” rumor segments as well as her “Under the Radar” segment focusing on important news stories impacting our community that may have been overlooked. As a serial entrepreneur, Angela’s weekly “Wealth Wednesday” will highlight stories and information of economic empowerment, ownership, building your brand, and investing. On the side of familiarity, Yee is also bringing her popular weekly relationship podcast “Lip Service" to the airwaves as well as incorporating her advice segment “Ask YEE” into the show daily.
In addition to appearing as herself on 3 episodes of the hit Fox television series Empire, Angela also expanded her media presence by launching her own podcast Angela Yee’s Lip Service, where she and her girlfriends discuss intimacy, sex and relationships with the hottest stars in hip-hop and R&B. Previous guests include Lizzo, City Girls, Nick Cannon, Saweetie, Miguel, Issa Rae and Cardi B, among others. In 2019, Yee partnered with Live Nation on the nationwide Lip Service Live tour.
As her media persona continued to rise, Angela’s entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and in 2016 she partnered with Styles P (of the legendary hip-hop group The Lox) to open a juice bar, Juices For Life BK, in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Once she saw how beneficial the business was for the community, she launched a line of organic pressed juices called Drink Fresh Juice to provide broader access to healthier options. Her other entrepreneurial ventures include a black-owned coffee company Coffee Uplifts People (C.U.P.) with a brick-and-mortar location slated to open summer 2021, a return to Detroit with the launch of her own hair shop Private Label, corporate sponsorships with Rocket Mortgage and other apps, and various real estate investments.
Giving back to the community remains the core of all Angela’s business endeavors. Her dedication to providing information and access to nutrition, financial literacy, education, and culture is reflected in her philanthropic associations. She’s the first ever Global Ambassador for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement for Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment (BSE) and the New York Public Library. She sits on numerous boards including: American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI), Nile Rodgers’ We Are Family Foundation, the Fund for NYC Housing Authority, and The Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute. Additionally, she has channeled her early love for reading into the Angela Yee’s Book Club literacy initiative to encourage her followers to read more and to support authors with unique stories to tell. In 2018, the New York City mayor officially designated August 28th as Angela Yee Day.
Angela has received two prestigious Gracie awards, one for National Radio Host/Personality and another for her Lip Service podcast. Her other awards include Spirit of Detroit, WEEN Mission, the Shirley Chisholm Woman of Distinction, Vice-Chancellor’s Achievement award for AFUWI, the Airblazer award from the Mentoring & Inspiring Women in Radio Group, and Talentmasters Morning Show Bootcamp.
Angela Yee has her finger on the pulse of hip-hop, culture and business. She is indeed a multi-hyphenate in every sense, and her two-decade career has solidified her as this generation’s “go-to” media personality.