Episode #61: Getting To Know Black Women In Toys and Entertainment with Taura Stinson
Listen Now
Tap Play Below or Listen On iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts
In celebration of Black History Month, The Toy Coach presents a mini-series: Getting To Know Black Women In Toys and Entertainment. In this mini-series, The Toy Coach asks four interviewees the same 10 questions, in an effort to celebrate their career achievements in toys and entertainment, connect on a personal level, reminisce about toys from their childhood, and share their valuable life lessons.
The women highlighted in this series include a SAG award winner, a Golden Globe nominee, a well-known industry veteran, and a history making inventor. Throughout this mini-series you’ll notice similar themes of persistence, resilience, and patience as these incredible black women share their achievements and what it took to get there.
For today’s bonus episode, our guest is Taura Stinson, a vocalist, producer, composter, and award-winning songwriter and author. Taura joins The Toy Coach on the podcast today to answer 10 questions and we dive into an honest conversation about what it means to hide in your own skin to succeed, and why representation matters.
-
Check out Taura’s website by clicking here.
Follow Taura on Instagram.
-
Azhelle 00:00
You are listening to Making It in The Toy Industry, Episode Number 61.
Intro/Outro + Jingle 00:07
Welcome to Making It in The Toy Industry, podcast for inventors and entrepreneurs like you. And now your host Azhelle Wade
Azhelle 00:18
Azhelle Wade here and welcome to a bonus episode of Making It in The Toy Industry. This podcast is brought to you by thetoycoach.com. Right now you might be wondering why there's an extra episode waiting for you when you know a week hasn't passed yet since the last MIDI episode. Well, here's why. In celebration of Black History Month, I decided to put together a bonus miniseries featuring four incredible black women in toys and entertainment. In this miniseries, I asked each interviewee the same 10 questions and received answers that made me laugh, brought tears to my eyes and at times even gave me goosebumps. Throughout this last week of Black History Month, I'll be releasing four new bonus episodes highlighting these incredible black women in our industry. Now I was really selective with my 10 interview questions, because the goal for me is twofold to share the career achievements of these incredible women and also to share a bit of their personal life and perspectives. with you the listeners of this podcast. All very toy people it's time to meet some SAG Award winning Golden Globe nominated history making powerhouses in the toy and entertainment industries. Right now. Let's dive in. Our guest today is Taura Stinson. Taura is a Los Angeles based multi hyphenated visionary. She's a vocalist, producer, composer and award winning songwriter and author. Her credits include the blockbuster animated film Rio, two where she served as a lyricist. She also penned a song for legendary rock star Steven Tyler for epic Beyonce's first animated feature. Most notably, Taura also won Critics Choice Award for Best Song in documentary for her work on the film step and was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award alongside Mary J. Blige and Raphael Saadiq for the film mudbound. Throughout the span of her impressive career, Taura has written songs for artists including Usher, Destiny's Child, Jennifer Hudson, and kelise, among others, as a vocalist Taura has recorded and arranged for a myriad of artists, including Jessie J's massive hit Bang Bang, Tori Kelly, Ariana Grande and the iconic Stevie Wonder. Taura is also an independent author and literary publisher, her first book 100 things every black girl should know it for girls 10 to 100 received the in the margins award for at risk youth. Let's meet Taura toy people. Well, Taura, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for coming here. You are one of our black women in toys and entertainment. Are you ready to get started?
Taura 03:17
I am I am.
Azhelle 03:19
Okay, let's do this. Question number one. How long have you been in the toy and entertainment industry? You're in entertainment? Correct?
Taura 03:27
Yes. I'm in entertainment. And I'm just like, getting my feet wet and toys. So
Azhelle 03:31
Oh, so you're coming into toys too
Taura 03:33
I yeah, I have a game that I'm developing. So
Azhelle 03:36
okay.
Taura 03:37
Yes. Yeah. And some other things I can't really talk about right now. But yeah, but yeah, I'll let you know as soon as I can.
Azhelle 03:47
So how long have you been in entertainment?
Taura 03:50
Uh, since I was like, I'm not going to tell you how old I am. Because that's not fair. But that was 19 or 20. And so that's been a while.
Azhelle 04:00
Okay.
Taura 04:03
several years. Just maybe like five or six? Oh, no, but really, since I was 19 years old, I started to write songs much earlier when I was like eight or nine years old. And then professionally when I was 19 or 20. Yeah. So about that long.
Azhelle 04:22
And where do you work right now and what do you do?
Taura 04:26
Okay, so I'm a songwriter, author. I live and work from home as the rest of the world mostly. Now, but I live in the loss and I live in Los Angeles County. And I yeah, so I'm a songwriter, an author of the books 100 things every black girl should know. Girls ten to 100 and 100 ways to love yourself inside now. I am Oh, and I just produced my first short film. So I'm adding producer to that list.
Azhelle 05:00
What's it called?
Taura 05:01
It's called 1973.
Azhelle 05:04
1973.
Taura 05:05
Yes, yes, yes, yes. Cool. And it's a music. It's a music centric film. Is it? Yeah. So it's going to premiere online this month Black History Month is basically a love letter to black love.
Azhelle 05:20
Wow, you sound like you have a dream job slash life because you're doing a lot of different things a lot of freelance, but what do you love most about your job?
Taura 05:31
Oh, I you know, what I love is that I, you know, I can really look back as a child and remember writing, you know, like writing in my little composition notebook and, and watching those dreams. Like basically, I wanted to be a writer than I thought I would be a journalist. My father was obsessed with the news. So we would watch like, I was I didn't have a bedtime, really as a child, which is probably why I have insomnia. But I
Azhelle 06:01
say what story here so story,
Taura 06:02
bedtime, we stay up. We watched them rather, you know? And I'm like, Well, why aren't there any ladies like that can tell us what's going on with the world. My my dad's like, Well, you know, maybe that that's going to be you. And so that puts on my mind and I'm like, I'm going to be a newscaster. And my mom is super creative. And, and I watched her like, just kind of like she was a hairstylist for the most of her life. And she's right now she's she's, she's on to like baking and sewing. Um, so yeah, I just saw the creative juices flowing. And I'm like, wait, I don't have to work for anyone, especially when I joined a journalist camp like a summer camp. And I'm like, wait, so I'm not writing this. I'll just be reading it though. Thank you, you know, write a lot of bad news involved. So then switch the just there was a switch in my mind, like, well, maybe I'll be a poet. But I always knew I'd be a writer so that but my favorite thing about my job is that I I know that this was what I was supposed to do. And I'm living by my gifts. And I think a lot of people would be a lot more happy. If they did the same.
Azhelle 07:13
I got goose bumps bumps several times while you were talking. That's why I love it. I love I feel very connected to that story. It's great.
Taura 07:22
Oh, thank you.
Azhelle 07:23
Oh, who in your family is most surprised or entertained by what you do for a living?
Taura 07:30
You know? That's so funny because it's, I have my family is rooted and Birmingham, Alabama and Oakland, California. So the ones in Oakland are pretty much you know, they're there. They're usually like my dad and my mom, my siblings, they kind of you know, we visit each other they know what's going on. But my family in Alabama, they're usually like now what is it you doing now? Baby? Do you know who Emma Stone is? You know, that kind of thing that you know, that kind of thing is is very cool. I love when like my aunts and uncles they you know, they're very surprised. And even my mom, my mom has this like this scream that she does that every time I do something and anybody who's listening who knows her. She's like, like, very excited. And you know, what's funny is the kids the kids are so funny, like my little cousins or who I call my my nieces and nephews. They're like, what I remember once my cousin Mariah when she was little. So her mom showed my aunt showed her a picture of me in a magazine and she goes, is she Michael Jackson?
Azhelle 08:48
The only black famous person? Oh, that's so crazy.
Taura 08:54
Is she Michael Jackson. And that was just her word for like, famous Like
Azhelle 08:57
what? famous black person?
Taura 09:03
That is just like little stuff like this.
Azhelle 09:05
Oh, you Okay, question number five. I'm pretty sure we're gonna live on this one for a while we're gonna be here for a while. What do you view is your biggest achievement in the entertainment industry?
Taura 09:20
No, I mean, it's not really a long answer. It's just really being able to be in it this long. You know, I have been writing, you know, since I was 19. And I am in my learning and, but just being able to, just to say, okay, I've been doing this for this long and I'm still in it. I've seen people that have, you know, like, what happened to that person, you know, that I knew in the 90s or what happened to that person that had this hit song or that wrote this song. And oftentimes, you know, it's it's just in this note Not to discredit your talent. This is a tough industry, you know. So just to be able to ride the waves and the ups and downs, I'm just really proud of that. To be able to say I wrote the song was for men and black men and black soundtrack it was Destiny's Child first ever release. And I co wrote that song. And that was so many years ago and, and also, like, kind of piqued my interest about writing for TV and film. I'm like, Wait a second. You know, I love this. I love being able to write on soundtracks and tell stories. And then I started to do like, films here and there. So I just, I love to write for films because it gives me the opportunity to, and for TV, it gives me an opportunity to explore so many different narratives and characters, and I'm not stuck to one genre. I hate the idea of drawing genres, by the way. Yeah. Yeah. You know, just just, you know, like, it's r&b, and it's like, urban and, or it's alternative, but, you know, we are complex beings, and we have different feelings every day and, and different vibes that that we are attracted to. And there's not one for me, you know, I don't know one person who's just like, Oh, yeah, I listen to hip hop all day, right? No, we need to, you know, sometimes, and even if that's what you listen to imagine, being exposed to other kinds of music. And so I just love to be able to do that like to be able to write a rap one day, which I really did, you know, to write, to write raps, and to write operas. So yeah,
Azhelle 11:39
you're taking my a little bit off topic now that I kind of went ask question five, a two, I'm thinking about you writing music. And I think about when I listen to music, and how it triggers usually a really strong memory related to when I heard that song, but you as a writer, do your memories trigger back to the writing of the song, like maybe the first time you nailed the hook? Or maybe the first time? You know, like, what does it trigger for you? And you hear these songs?
Taura 12:05
Sometimes? I mean, sometimes it doesn't. And sometimes I'm just like, Ah, you know, it's one thing to do the business side of it, and to be a black woman and doing what I do, there's the memories, honestly, aren't always the best. You know, there's, it's also like, wow, you know, thinking about how much the industry has changed since then I'm also very proud of working in diversity and inclusion. As a part of my life's work. I, I've been overlooked so many times, just for being a black woman to be black and a woman and entertainment sometimes, you know, they just skip over you. And, and I, and part of what my life's work is to, is to reach back and pull people forward to run beside me or ahead of me, you know, so, yeah, those are, like, Are my biggest achievements. Sorry to go off topic? Because now you, thank you.
Azhelle 13:01
So the next question is actually kind of going to go off of the last one, tell me a little bit about what it took to get to where you are today to get those achievements to be a successful black woman in the entertainment industry.
Taura 13:15
hm, hard work. Or, you know, some people always say, like, like, when something happens, you know, like, even yesterday, like this morning, you wake up, you hear like, oh, her, she's this new artist who's just, you know, who's gonna, everybody's gonna know, like, we've been listening to she performed at the Super Bowl yesterday. But she's, you know, we've been hearing her music forever. And before she was even her, she was this other artist named Gabby, I forget her last name. But she, she, her her record didn't do well. And so she basically she removed her identity to be able to be accepted. And now she's performed at performing at the at the Super Bowl, and everybody's interested in who she is. And that's kind of like, every woman's story. But something but oftentimes people don't get the set. When I say every woman, I mean black woman and a woman of color, and the music and entertainment industry, and I'm imagining toys as well,
Azhelle 14:14
gosh, wait, you know what? You just read it? Yes, this? Ah, yeah. So when I started the toy coach, why do you think I called myself the toy coach? It wasn't because it wasn't to be that like a coach. It was literally because I knew I needed an identity other than my own for a while to connect with before they knew who I was. And I used to not put my face on anything. And there were there were people that followed my account that work with my friends, that that thought that I was just an industry publication. And then when they found out it was me, they totally treated the post differently. But they were like, Oh, this is a Azhelle. I had no idea. I totally did the same thing. Oh, that's so sad and crazy
Taura 15:03
Sad and crazy. That's. It's really sad and crazy. Oh, yeah, I can totally see that.
Azhelle 15:09
And now I'm wondering if she's feeling the same thing because now what happens is you get this name so she's her. Yeah, does at some point she she say, Okay actually I'm Gabriella. You know, or or is it? How do you translate?
Taura 15:21
I don't know. It's so everyone knows I think that and people start to go back and now her her Gabby Gabriella catalog is probably getting lots of listens. And unfortunately, that's just how it is. In my own life. I I remember having a record deal. And I was like, okay, but I'm going to be or not going to be Taura. What might it Yeah, yeah. And that's what I was like, or a with another last name from another life. But why? Yeah, I just, yeah, it's this pretty much hiding in your own skin.
Azhelle 15:55
And why does that work deep? Like, why did you think aura What did it help?
Taura 15:59
Why did that idea crazy enough? It was like this crazy dope, project that, but it was pre hey, yeah. But it was produced by Andre 3000. And Kanye West and come and Raphael Saadiq who is like my, one of my primary co writers. And he it was the three of them. And they're all like, left of center. And and the label was kind of like, yeah, we kind of thought, you know, this is a little weird. We don't really get this. And then a couple years later, they're like, Oh, my God, what's that one song you did with Andre 3000? Because it sounds you know, sometimes we we always have to show. They have to it's like proof of concept. They want to see that it works before they support you.
Azhelle 16:45
Yes.Oh my gosh.Yes. Yeah. I'm so much truth.
Taura 16:49
Yeah,
Azhelle 16:50
You're giving me flashbacks.
Taura 16:52
Oh, yeah. But the thing is, the good thing about right now is that some of the power is like, and let's not be ridiculous, because they're inching us off. Yeah, yeah, no, but some of the power is in our hands. And so we can say, okay, no, this is what this is, you don't need a proof of concept. Because I'm teaching, I'm coaching these different designers and developers. And we are a network that stands behind each other, you know. And so in the same with music is like flipping the music industry on its back. And I know, they're like, Oh, my God, what's going on? But you know, all these people, there's so many new r&b or just music artists that are amazing and creating their own platforms. And I think that's just the answer. how, you know, not that you asked me that, but to move forward and make make change and affect change in our industry.
Azhelle 17:49
Oh, wow, that question got deep, real quick.
Taura 17:54
Yeah, yes. Good.
Azhelle 17:55
Oh, no, what happened? Quite Next question. When you were growing up, did you feel like you were represented by the toys that you played with?
Taura 18:06
Of course not, you know, of course, love is kind of like, I just bought my niece a doll recently. And she has like hips, a little FUPA and a big Afro, I would have never, uh, probably would not even known how to react to that as a child. You know, just like, because everything I had, and I got everything I wanted, like, Christmas and stuff like that, that when I look back at it, they were crazy. They just like, my mom would buy a box that was fit like, I don't know, probably like a huge box. That's like, three feet tall, three feet square. And just filled with dolls and toys. And oh, yeah, these dolls, I would say out of like the 20 that I may have gotten. It would be like, maybe one doll that had like hair that was painted on. And the eyes that were scary. And you I'm like, I don't even want this
Azhelle 19:06
black doll.
Taura 19:07
Yes, that was a black doll. And so she wasn't she was scary. She was a little bit like a bald headed brown Chucky, you know. And so you didn't want that. You want it. You want it. You know, you're the dolls that you could dress up like Barbies. Like, why why aren't we? Yeah, and so I didn't have that. And then also, you know, being from Alabama. I was born in Alabama and lived in Oakland. From the time I was three, but I would go back to Alabama. And it was like, it was a thing like my, my cousins would. They're very sarcastic and they're like, Well, here comes Malibu Barbie, you know? And that's all like, when I used to bother me, but when I think about it, it was just what we what we were exposed to You know, it was kind of like we had, we had nothing, I'm telling you, the and then when the cabbage patch dolls came out, I remember, I had a birthday party and everybody brought their Cabbage Patch dolls. And that was like a part of the thing. And I took a picture. And there were all these Cabbage Patch dolls. And it was like, maybe take a picture with maybe 12 dots. There was one black one. Oh, wow. So that gives you an idea about what was going on. You know, in those times, it was it was not represented, or later on, especially when I was doing research my book 100 things every black girl should though. I was just dug into the Dr. Kenneth and Mamie Clark experiment where black kids were given black and white dolls and you choose, you know which one is ailing or beautiful to you. And it has a lot to do with the identity identity crisis that a lot of black women face today. Because especially my age, because all the dolls had long hair. All the dolls dolls had, you know, either white or tan skin. And there's so there's so much of that residual effect being just passed on.
Azhelle 21:17
But why is it so important for black culture and faces to be represented in toys, specifically, or just an entertainment?
Taura 21:25
Just because representation matters. And I know that's like become cliche these days. But it really does, you know, for the little girls watching a US have a black vice president right now that matters, you know that she's Indian. And she's all these things that that covers a lot of ground for a lot of inspiration. Growing up. I remember like watching friends and thinking, I wonder why there's no black people on this show. You know, and like they don't have any black friends. Are they racist? Listen, I don't know what their stance was. But me as a young black woman watching in real time, it didn't. It didn't sit sit easily with me. And so just to be able to see the black Renaissance and so to speak happening right now is amazing is beautiful to see every time I see Beyonce, just running the world and whichever way possible that she decides to do that day. I love it. I love seeing Rihanna, like the idea that Do you know how many makeup brands are going to be birthed from the idea that Rihanna like became hugely successful with like Fenty and then you have, then we have all these like, we have Viola Davis, like being this beautiful lawyer that's running things on like, how to get get away with murder, and then then being this like iconic blue singer. Yeah, that wasn't widely celebrated and killing it, you know. So having all of these is so much different than Holly Halle Berry winning for monsters ball, which she completely deserved. But that gives you an idea of what representation how representation has grown. No, it has grown tremendously even the fact that I was nominated for an Oscar for for
Azhelle 23:23
I like I even mentioned this in your achievements section, okay.
Taura 23:28
It is not it's not you know, it's just like it's par for the course it's a it's, it's a it's something that I'm really proud of. But even I love that I one of the in the margins award for at risk youth from librarians around the country for my book, that's an achievement, that's something you know, and to be able to reach people. And even Yes, an Oscar nomination is a is definitely an achievement. But I look at it through the lens of like, whoever is writing, like, like Gabby, who's now like, nominated for a Golden Globe. And it's just amazing to see. And that's why representation matters. It really matters that we have all this programming and all these new dolls and all these new independent creators. But that's the reason why it's important representation is.
Azhelle 24:19
So I agree there are so many new dolls and things today around celebrating black features and people tell me which that you've seen you would have loved to have growing up
Taura 24:32
Black Panther. Just imagine that being the Superman and yeah, think about that, like in the crack era, East Oakland.
Azhelle 24:42
Oh, that's a good point.
Taura 24:44
You know what I meant? I mean, like, at that point, what Superman wasn't just the only one. And, you know, and they're, you know, Spider Man, what if they saw themselves as the the heros
Azhelle 24:59
hero Yeah,
Taura 25:01
that Black Panther was and, and the same goes just for their app back then there were so many there was there was it was that the era of the token black. So you see like, oh, there's designing women, there's that black guy. And then there's, uh, you know, different movies and there's that one black girl, but but to have a black ensemble cast would have been something that I would have loved to see, to have seen or to be able to see. I'm just, you know, just the accessibility, like accessible black culture and people of color. Because I was raised largely in the community of Hispanic, Asians and black and in representation for them was representation for me. So if I didn't see it, we didn't see it. Right, you know, so we were just looking through a lens that was cloudy white. And, and, and honestly, I'm sorry, but that's just that's just what it was. And so it was harder for us to find our place. And now I'm just so happy that that that those norms are being flipped on their backs.
Azhelle 26:09
Sorry, you give me goosebumps, this whole conversation. So good. I mean, it's sad that it's, it's so good. You know, it's sad, but true, but it's changing.
Taura 26:21
I do have to say something one thing. It's changing, but it will only continue to change if we push it forward. If we if we sit back and we think oh, it's changing great. We have to get our feet dirty. We have to roll up our sleeves and do the work. Just like you know how we met and women and toys like I signed up like how diversity inclusion signed me up for that, you know what, where, however, we can make a difference, a difference, we have to take the time needed. You know, I don't know if it's an hour for you a week or just commit to it an hour for you know, people listening, if you're going to commit 20 hours a year, do it for the good of forward movement, and culture.
Azhelle 27:05
Yes. But my final question for you is this if you could travel back in time to when you first began your entertainment career? What piece of advice would you give yourself?
Taura 27:15
ownership is everything ownership is the ship that you set sail on, and you're in the sunset of your life? And so that that's just one of the things I would I would highly recommend, especially now with with the guards are changing. There's so many other ways that there's licensing and sinks available to so many songwriters and and songwriters, producers, toy makers, you know, just hold on. Just like Hold on. Don't Don't give yourself away, that leads me to the piece of advice is to know the business. And I did pretty good at this, like I obsessed over, you know, books and entertainment books and things like that. So knowing the business. And my other piece of advice is to just explore more have fun travel, like go to different parts of the world instead of just like when Google came out. I was like, I'm such an urban disrespect. I'm like, oh, Google Earth. Yeah, we go.
Azhelle 28:14
That is how we found our apartment, actually.
Taura 28:17
Oh, that's like an amazing thing about amazing. But back then, you know, when I first started just to be able to say you know what I want to write I love like French subtitle films. Well, I should go in and meet with those people in France and write for them, you know, just like thinking of ways to make what you do work for you. There's so many, the United States is not the end all be all get out there and see what the rest of the world has. That's I would have definitely told my 19 year old self that
Azhelle 28:46
Taura, this is a great conversation. Thank you so much.
Taura 28:50
Thank you for having me. And cudlles to you for just having this platform for everyone. And it's just as beautiful. And I salute you.
Azhelle 29:00
Thank you. Is there anything you want to share where people could find you or anything you want to share about your venture into the toy industry?
Taura 29:07
Um, I can't share that yet. Because all I can say is that I do plan. It is a game. And of course it's, it has to I'm creating it. So it is built on writing and just being a writer, and it will launch this holiday season.
Azhelle 29:28
All right. It's exciting to hear it. Well. Thank you so much for being on the show. I'm gonna link to the public links. You have a website, right?
Taura 29:35
Yes. taurastinson.com That's t a u r a s t i n s o n
Azhelle 29:41
Okay, we'll link to that in the show notes. Thanks again for coming on the show.
Taura 29:44
Thank you. Thank you for having me. Have a great rest of your day.
Azhelle 29:48
Well, toy people. There you have it. I hope you enjoyed today's bonus episode and that you learn something from our guests, you can head over to thetoycoach.com forward slash podcast For more on today's episode, there you can read the show notes grab all of the links mentioned in the episode today, as well as learn more about today's guest. I know there are a ton of podcasts out there so it means the world to me that you tune into this one. Until next time, I'll see you later toy people.
Intro/Outro + Jingle 30:22
Thanks for listening to Making It in The Toy Industry podcast with Azhelle Wade, head over to thetoycoach.com For more information, tips and advice
-
🎓Learn more about how you can develop and pitch your toy idea with Toy Creators Academy® by clicking here to visit toycreatorsacademy.com and join the waitlist.