About: The Creator
Born in the early 80's, Kemi grew up in a quiet rural neighbourhood of Farnborough in the borough of Hampshire to loving parents her Dominican-born Mother and father from Nigeria. Kemi's dreams of become a Journalist didn't emerge until later on in her life, however her love for English was always apparent. She found her passion for writing at the age of 10, often writing lengthy fairytales embracing the ability to express her vivid imagination through descriptive stories. She wrote an exceptional narrative piece for her 11+ English entrance exam, gaining her a place at Saint Nicholas School – one of the UK's independent private all girls schools in the mid 90's. Her parents were most proud. She almost attended the prestigious Farnborough Hill Girls Convent School, Saint Nicholas' schools nearby rivals - where Weakest Link host and fellow Broadcast Journalist Ann Robinson schooled. Prior to beginning her secondary education, her family, two brothers, mother and father often visited the US. Her father is her academic mentor and role model. He qualified as a Doctor of Science, working as a Scientist specialising in Pharmaceutical Science, & further Chemistry. With her father's line of work Kemi and her family were lucky enough to travel with her father for business conferences, seminars, and conventions across the US almost every year. When her eldest brother passed his GCSE's – as a gift, Kemi and her siblings went to Disneyland, Orlando Florida for the first time, and literally fell in love with America. Her brother now a native of America moved permanently in 1997. Whilst choosing her options in Year 9 at school, Kemi relished learning Latin as a language, and at this point in her life steered towards becoming a Lawyer at the age of 14. Leaving school with a strong educational foundation and prestigious academic ability, Kemi had a deep interest for English Literature, creative writing, poetry, and Shakespeare novels such as Hamlet and Macbeth. She gained eight excellent GCSE grades, her highest grade being in French, and went on to college to study English Literature, Performing Arts and Media Studies. Excelling with her A-Levels at Sixth form, Kemi gained a place at Brunel University, Middlesex in 2000 to study American Studies & History. During her Bachelors Degree course at Brunel, she travelled to Towson State University in Maryland for her final year to research her dissertation project, 'Representations of black males in Film from the 1960's to present day.' Studying in the US for such a long period of time enhanced and secured Kemi's goal of immigrating and she began to work towards this, even more. She graduated in the summer of 2003 with a Bachelors Honours Degree in American Studies and History, having passed modules on American Sociology, Literature, History, Music, and Politics. Armed with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of American culture as a whole, her aim was to apply this to her future career by essentially working for a US company. In 2003, Kemi also self taught herself Web Design HTML and CSS with the rise in popularity of the Worldwide Web. She went on to join MySpace during its peak, and set about networking and conversating with MySpace users about everything and anything from future goals to life experiences. Many commented on how someone could find the time to care about people's lives and offer advice or sometimes just a listening ear. She aimed to inspire and share ideas. Kemi accumalated over 50,000 friends on MySpace single handedly. Following the birth of her daughter Aaliyah in 2004, and after struggling to obtain US employment with a Degree but little experience, she decided it would be beneficial to undertake a post graduate Masters Degree in International Journalism attending City University London, one of the best universities for Journalism, second to Cardiff University. Delving heavily into Journalism, she successfully completed modules on - International News, Writing & Reporting, Internet Media, Journalism & Society, Print Production, and Health Journalism. She specialized in Health Journalism with an immense passion for cosmetic surgery, fitness & nutrition, psychology and investigative journalism. She wrote her final thesis on 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Side of Breast Augmentation.' Kemi graduated with a Masters Degree in 2009..
Kemi is an editorial pro and a dedicated career driven self starter, with a humble yet hardworking approach to her profession. She is now a qualified Journalist, with over 5 years mastered experience within the field of Editorial, Print, and Online Publishing industry, epitomizing commitment and drive. Highly proficient in all areas relating to the Media and Communications sector she gained experience by interning with a number of publications including FHM Magazine and Flavour Magazine where she was given the opportunity to interview US celebrities such as Toni Braxton, Jagged Edge, Pitbull, Akon, Donnell Jones and Bruno Mars. Also 'BoomKack!' Celebrity Choreographer Laurianne Gibson, Aloe Blacc, US Actors Danny Glover, US Actors Omari Hardwick and Cory Hardrict, and MTV Reality Star Tila Tequila. Kemi narrowly missed out on exclusive interviews with rappers Ice Cube & Fat Joe in 2011 although Atlantic and Sony Records apologised for their overly busy schedules, Kemi is certainly holding them to those opportunities! At present, she is also the Associate Editor at iCandy Online, which represents a new perspective on traditional men's publications in the growing world of online media. Kemi also works as a Fashion Columnist for MTV UK's The Wrap Up. Expanding on her love for blogging, social online media, traffic driving and SEO strategies which is a key factor within the field of online journalism at present, Kemi finally created a blog in 2011 www.kemi-online.com, inspired by bloggers such as Perez Hilton and Necole Bitchie. It took her a while to release her own site due to researching similar existing sites, she wanted to be unique in her own right and generate fans, in showcasing her writing skills and express admirable creativity. Her website titled Barbie World – is quite simple girly news with an urban touch to appeal and inspire women. It focuses largely on fashion and beauty. Kemi has created a popular portal highlighting her conversational writing style, web design skills and credibility as a Journalist. Her tutors at university always found her writing style to be intensely academic, but with her blog she displays versatility in the form of her light talking-with-girlfriend styles of writing. Barbie World has gained thousands of subscribers, and generated over 375,000 page views in its first year. Kemi aims to hit half a million page views by the end of summer 2012. Through her profession, networking, and social marketing, Kemi has gained over 100,000 followers on Twitter, focusing solely on tweeting funny or inspirational quotes, and personalized exclusive Entertainment news. At the end of 2011 Kemi joined the US WorldStarHiphop team - an American Hip-hop video website which was created in 2005, and generates a staggering 1.1 million viewing visitors every day. Kemi acts as a Model's representative where she manages and recruits models for video and photo shoots, often arranging shoots in an around the West Hollywood, Los Angeles, and Palm Springs area. She writes storyboards for the music video filmed in the US, secures shoot locations and stylist bookings, whilst liaising with celebrities management and directors. The US Hip-hop industry is literally booming, and Kemi is grateful for the opportunity with such an influentially powerful company. Kemi is still in the process of immigrating to California, to work for WorldStar which would give her the chance to travel from state to state to represent WorldStar on set to oversee the shoots she organises. She aims to continue working for WorldStar and obtain a Section Editor position with Vibe, Essence, Ebony or King Magazine. Kemi is also a contributing writer for Vibe Magazine's female orientated site Vibe Vixen. In the near future she intends to pursue a PhD at the University of California Davis Campus, in Relationship Psychology and graduate with a Doctorate. The future looks bright, Kemi has never given up on what is and has always been known as a competitive hard-to-break-into industry. 'I will always remain humble and aim to inspire my readers, fans and followers. It is so touching that, young aspiring journalists often contact me, and tell me that I am their role model. This means the absolute world, and it is important to me that I have encouraged young girls to chase their dreams, and motivate them to stay positive. If you follow your heart, and follow your passion, the world is yours to discover, when it comes to your career goals. Do not let others discourage you from your dreams, or tell you that you won't make it. Never give up, work hard for what you enjoy and it will certainly pay off, someone will notice your determination and appreciate your abilities, and believe in you just as much as I do. xoxo'
