30
Alexia D. McKay Haylee Bell Sylvia Leaks
Zoë Lourey-Christianson Kylii Clay Mia Hollie Deanna Kenner Mariyah Rajshahiwala Sylah Ferguson Damonya Jones Chalise Thomas
Tyla Anne Harris Dezarae Blossomgame Angel Neal Debrica Clyburn Alexia D. McKay & Mariyah Rajshahiwala
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8 10
Editor’s Note
Behind The Scenes: Cover Shoot
On The Go 12 14 18 20 21 22
A Look At Toxic Relationships Dual-preneur: When Passion Collides With Purpose Words From A Lonely Millennial Stepping Up Your Side Hustle Creating A Fresh Budget
Keep Travel Spending In Check
On The Rise 23
Buying Back The Block
25
Fresh Look At Racism
28
The Resilience of Black Women
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30
Royal Woman 30
Fresh Start On Self, Faith, Career and School: Tyla Anne Harris
Royal Men 42 44 48 50
“Sky’s The Limit” Mind, Body, Evolving
A Fresh Start For Myjhan Wheeler
The Modern Day Renaissance Man
14
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50
L
ast year, we made it a point to reset ourselves and refocus. But
we still have a lot of 2021 to go and this year, we’re just craving for a FRESH START! And after the kind of year we just had, I think it’s appropriate to say we can all use one. Whether that’s in our personal lives, professional or our mental, we all deserve to a new start and a new chapter. And despite the hardships of 2020 (COVID, racial/political unrest, unemployment)- on top of our previous adulting stresses, we’re lucky to still be here. Our cover feature, Tyla Anne Harris, shares how she had a fresh start in literally all aspects of life- from school to her growing acting career. Her entire vibe was a breath of fresh air. Shooting her really put us in the spring vibes (can’t you tell by the cover?) Meantime, it’s also a fresh start on traveling and finances. Our passports are itching, and our air miles are scratching. With more and more people getting vaccinated, many of us are looking forward to making up for lost vacay time and reuniting with loved ones and turning up with friends. But we also want to make sure we’re smart about our spending, especially if you’re the person who is just getting their savings back on track. Also, two words for Royal Men- HIDDEN JEWELS. Among our Royal Men featured are two Chi-town creatives, including one whose persona reminds us of a character from a favorite 90’s Black romance movie. Where are you making your fresh start? Is it in your family? Your friendships? Your relationship? Your job? Your business? Wherever it is, I hope you make it a good one.
Alexia McKay Founder, RoyalTee Enterprises Publisher and Editor in Chief, RoyalTee Magazine For booking and other inquiries contact editor@royalteemagazine.com
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Photography by Will Evans Makeup by Patricia Voss Location The Snaphouse; Ybor City, Tampa,FL
Cover shoot vibes..
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A Special Thank You To Our Sponsors!
#OnTheGo
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Words From A Lonely Millennial…
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#OnTheGo
Stepping Up Your Side Hustle T
Social Media Personality
If you don’t know where to start, RoyalTee has you covered.
Start A Small Business
he year is nearly halfway over, but it is never too late to get your side hustle game up! Side hustles are a great way to accomplish your professional goals, whether you want to close a work-related chapter in your life, or simply earn some extra cash.
Freelancing is the umbrella term used for any work one does as a self-employed worker. Some of the most popular and highest paying freelance positions include graphic designer, tutor, marketing specialist, editor, and virtual assistant. Freelance work is also a great form of professional development for those who can’t find a job in their industry, but still want to continue to build their skills and stay fresh.
Oh so you thought some people are just posting content and creating viral videos for free? Well in the beginning perhaps but becoming a social media influencer has become a big deal in recent years. Find your niche, use what you know already and create content that people can both enjoy and learn something new from. Virtual workshops have also become popular. Plus, make money at the same time.
The great thing about living in this techy age is that you don’t need to own a brick-and-mortar to start a small business. Cooking, making jewelry, or doing hair can be a business! This is an excellent option for those who want to set aside time to do something they love but still need extra money in their pockets.
Trading In the boom of digital economy, trading has now become more affordable and accessible for the masses. There are so many ways to begin to make daily income in the stock, cryptocurrency, and foreign exchange markets. If you are unsure of where to start Black Forex and Stock Traders Academy has a specialized 1 week fast-start bootcamp designed to provide both education and hands-on experience for beginning traders and investors that does NOT disappoint. Check out Black Forex and the Stock Traders private Facebook community to learn more.
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To be successful, your budget should reflect your income and spending, but also your desires and need to live a balanced life. Learn to build a budget with these tips from the financial experts at First Boulevard, a Black-owned digital bank with a mission to close wealth gaps and build generational wealth:
Start by gathering all income you receive on a monthly basis. This should include regular income like paychecks, as well as variable income like money from babysitting or driving for a ride-share company. Next, outline your expenses, or the things you spend your money on each month. To get a more accurate idea, look at your bank or credit card statements. This includes recurring expenses like your rent or mortgage, utilities, car payments and subscriptions, as well as variable expenses that may change from month to month like entertainment and dining out. Look for trends in your variable expenses. Be sure to include everything in your outline, including trips to the hair salon, shopping and other treats.
Break down your expenses by categorizing them as essential or non-essential. Essentials include things you need to survive, like your mortgage or rent, utilities, groceries and medical needs. Non-essentials include the things you don’t necessarily need to survive, but provide you with comforts like cable, gym memberships, dry cleaning or trips to the spa. Non-essentials also include savings and any debts you may have. Create your budget by listing your essential expenses first. Your debts, like student loans or car loan payments, may not be essential for you to survive, but they are high-priority expenses that need to be paid. Put these at the top of your non-essential expenses list.
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Then list other non-essential expenses based on their level of importance to you. For example, if health and wellness are important to you, your gym membership may be higher on your list of non-essential expenses than buying new clothes. Keep listing your expenses until the total equals all of your income for the month. Using all of your income is called zero-based budgeting, and helps make sure every dollar of your income is accounted for in your budget.
When creating a monthly budget, it may be tempting to try and restructure everything to meet your financial goals faster. While this can fast-track your way toward a goal, it can cause you to lose sight of the person who has to do the work to stick with the budget. Instead of creating a bare bones budget where you limit yourself, plan to allow yourself at least a couple of times per week to indulge in small treats.
Once you’ve gathered all of your financial information, it’s time to choose a way to manage and track your budget. If you’re old school, you may want to use the pencil and paper approach. Or you can start with pen and paper then transfer that information to a budgeting app. By writing it out first, you’re more likely to catch mistakes or omissions. If you’re a little more tech savvy, there are some convenient and affordable apps and websites available to help. The key to creating a realistic budget is balancing the needs of your finances with your personal needs. Find more practical advice and tools for managing your money at bankblvd.com.
Rather than selecting your dates first and finding a destination that works for your selected date range, choose a destination then see what accommodations are available. After selecting your lodging, check the dates to determine when it’s available or most affordable and plan your trip accordingly. If flying to your destination is necessary and you’re not on a tight schedule, being flexible with the time of day you fly, the number of stops or having a longer layover can translate to a more affordable price. Generally, flying earlier in the week or later in the day is less expensive than flying closer to the weekend or taking the first flight out. Whether you simply place a deposit at the time of booking and pay the rest upon arrival or split the total cost into monthly payments, this type of option can provide an added level of flexibility when budgeting for and planning your trip. There are discounts to be found if you choose to stay for longer than just a few nights. Some vacation rental hosts offer discounts for new listings or week- or month-long stays. Check community calendars to find events while you’ll be in town and consider options like museums, art galleries or national parks, which are often free to the public or offer discounted admission on certain days or at specific times each day. One of the best ways to get to know a city is to walk everywhere, but that isn’t feasible in all cities and locations. Rather than renting a car or using ride-sharing services, look for public transportation options such as buses or subways that are more cost-effective when possible.
SOURCE: Family Features
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SOURCE: Family Features
Buying Back The Block Lanre Ajakaiye is a real estate developer and investor who is the mastermind behind the largest Black-owned real estate project in the state of Rhode Island. His project, 25 Bough Street, will be a 15,000 square feet state-of-the-art center of excellence in the heart of Providence that will feature 3-D Black history exhibits, a new-age financial literacy and career center, a world-class multi-purpose function hall, innovative co-working entrepreneurial spaces, and more. The 25 Bough street development may be Lanre’s biggest project yet. He is set to turn a 15,800-square-foot, blighted building into an affirming mixed-use facility powering the community. His project specifically addresses gaps offering financial literacy education, STEAM education, and Augmented, Mixed and Virtual reality to an underserved population in a city, which are over 73% communities of color. Beyond this, the project will have a multi-purpose function hall and his state’s first interactive, immersive cultural experience museum. The museum looks to leverage technologies like Microsoft Mesh and holo lenses. To more about the development, visit 25Bough.com. SOURCE: Black News
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Season
4 premieres May 23
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#OnTheRise
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#OnTheRise
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#RoyalWomen
Is a Royal Woman and and is nowhere near slowing down. BY ALEXIA D. MCKAY PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEZARAE BLOSSOMGAME STYLING BY ANGEL NEAL MAKEUP BY DEBRICA CLYBURN LOCATION : PHOTOGRAPHY BAE STUDIOS; ATLANTA, GA. Spring 2021|30| royalteemagazine.com
#RoyalWomen
Dress: Assos Design Earrings:Shop Disrupshion
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Tyla Anne Harris is a Royal Woman On the Rise and On The Go and is nowhere near slowing down. “I'm a student at Georgia State. My major is political science. My minor is real estate, and I have a concentration in international law,” the 20-year-old shares at the beginning of our Zoom chat in early January, four days into a FRESH new year to be exact. Her mustard yellow head wrap gave us neo-soul feels, which she later carries into our cover shoot in March. At that time of our virtual meeting, Tyla was in New York wrapping up the second season of ABC’s For Life. The drama series is the brainchild of Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson of Power (whom she says is cool and sweet to work with), and Hank Steinberg. The show is about a man who started practicing law while in prison for a crime he did not commit. While litigating cases for other inmates, he’s also working to overturn his own life sentence. For Life is inspired by the real-life of lawyer Isaac Wright Jr. who Tyla currently interns with. Like the main character, she helps Wright’s law office organize and view current cases of inmates and help them get fair sentences. Her character is Jasmine Wallace, the daughter of main character Aaron Wallace. Tyla describes Jasmine as a “daddy’s girl” and very “familyoriented.” But like herself, her character is young and still developing. After all, she’s only 20! It’s the period of time that Chaka Khan describes as “riding wild horses” and hoping “you didn’t go over a cliff.” But Harris is nowhere near the edge of any cliff. If anything, she’s just starting to climb it. Whether it’s in class or in front of the camera, Tyla is a Royal Woman who prefers to let her work do the talking. As the saying goes, “Don’t talk about it, be about it!’ It’s a lesson that was taught to her by her mother, Andrene Ward-Hammond, who is also an actress and who also gave her the acting bug.
You’ll see Ward-Hammond’s name in television series such as Showtime’s Your Honor, HBO’s Lovecraft Country, Being Mary Jane and movies like Loving, Just Mercy, and The Hate You Give. Growing up, mommy-daughter dates would include theater classes and weeknight improv shows. Ward-Hammond taught her daughter that it’s not enough to want something but prove it. Kudos to all the parents who lead by example like this. Tyla carries that legacy today as a role model, a title that she doesn’t take lightly and one that reminds her stay grounded. #humbleness Tyla lets faith determine her moves and her
FRESH START. Quarantine was her time to recharge, refocus and refresh. She spent a lot of time outside, exploring different parks and trails, playing tennis and keeping her body moving as she described it. “I felt like it was just a moment of the world telling me to slow down,” she says about the lockdown during our Zoom call. “And, you know, I feel like everyone felt like it was like, OK, let's put capitalism on hold and just focus on ourselves or health, or, you know, our well being.” By the time we met up in Atlanta to shoot, Tyla was on break from filming, in school and interning with Wright. “What are you getting your makeup done for,” one of her friends asked her, while she was in the makeup chair. “I just felt like getting it done,” she replied softly, smiling, never hinting it was for a magazine to keep the element of surprise. The sounds of Solange, Tyler, The Creator and Masego on our Spotify list flooded the studio. Her peace sign and side smile became a signature pose and carefree vibe we could all relate to this spring and beyond from this chilled, spirited, soulful and talented Royal Woman.
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#RoyalWomen
Shorts: Valentino Top: Collective The Label Jewelry: Betsey Johnson
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“It always reminds me to stay grounded. Because I'm not only setting a standard for myself. Also, just being a young Black girl in general. We were not allowed certain images on media and we're just now getting these images to be able to look up to so it's the idea that, ‘OK, you're stepping into this role. You have a responsibility to make that image what you want it to be.’ And as excellent as you'd like it.”
“I think pressure makes a diamond. So, if I feel no pressure, that's when I get scared. Like ‘OK, are you taking it as serious as you should be taking it.’ But it's always good to get those butterflies in your stomach like, ‘OK, do the right thing.’ Checking myself, making sure I look good.”
“I'm very faith based. Whether it's acting or law, or real estate, whatever God wants me to do, that's where I'm gonna flow.”
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Pants: Asos Design Blazer: Shop Valid Jewelry: Shop Disrupshion
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“I think pressure makes a diamond.
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#RoyalWomen
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“I think three things, right. I think roller skating, because that's what I got back into during the pandemic and trying to do all these crazy things. But it really reminds me to stay in the present moment and feel everything within my body and make sure that I'm grounded within myself. I think of growing into being a young woman because I just turned 20. People always say you're 20 some things get crazy or whatever. That's when you have all these new experiences. So, I'm definitely finding myself as stepping into an independent role of crafting who I want to be for the rest of my life. Lots of pressure, but it's a fresh start. And then I also I think of my career because although I have been doing this for a while now. I've been acting my whole life but doing it professionally for four or five years. I think now with this show (For Life), as big as this show is, I'm getting in front of a different type of audience, a wider type of audience and I'm allowing myself to show who I am and reveal myself to people. So, it's like, ‘OK, now is the time for you to craft yourself into being the person you want to be.”
“People always say you're 20 some things get crazy or whatever. That's when you have all these new experiences. So, I'm definitely finding myself as stepping into an independent role of crafting who I want to be for the rest of my life. Lots of pressure, but it's a fresh start.” Spring 2021|39| royalteemagazine.com
#RoyalWomen
“My foundation. It’s not that I could lose royalty if I didn't have that foundation. But I had a very amazing foundation growing up; coming from family to teachers to everyone just very much so poured into me and saw qualities in myself that I couldn't see growing up as a teenager, as a child. So, I think that's a part of what makes me royal, is the fact that people were pouring into me. When you have a community that's pouring into a child, that child is going to be destined for greatness. So, I think I'm just blessed in that manner.”
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#RoyalMen
BY KYLII CLAY
o be only 21 years-old, Elijah Rutland has quite the list of accomplishments. The Florida A&M University senior was a finalist for the Beats HBCU program. NBA players wore his Black-history Beats design for the All-Star game, which put the Macon, Ga., native in the national spotlight. He’s also a recipient of the ADDY awards, the world’s largest advertising competition and the successful owner of a shoe customization business And once he graduates, he’ll have a job waiting for him at Warner Brothers studios. Not bad for a 21 year-old. Under all the accolades and animation, one begs the question: Who is Elijah Rutland?
A lot of what I’ve been able to do is because of FAMU. Just relationships that I’ve been able to grow. The illustration I was able to do for the NBA was because I was an HBCU student. From the first time I came to campus, I was at orientation and I had a jacket on that I had painted. The orientation leaders were just hyping it up so much. They had just met me, and they were posting it all on their Instagram stories. The whole time (at FAMU) has been an extension of that. Whether its random students or classmates or alumni. Just because I go to FAMU and along with my work, it's like a perfect combination.
A lot of what I’ve been able to do is because of FAMU. Just relationships that I’ve been able to grow. The illustration I was able to do for the NBA was because I was an HBCU student. From the first time I came to campus, I was at orientation and I had a jacket on that I had painted. (cont’d on next page) Spring 2021|42| royalteemagazine.com
The orientation leaders were just hyping it up so much. They had just met me, and they were posting it all on their Instagram stories. The whole time (at FAMU) has been an extension of that. Whether its random students or classmates or alumni. Just because I go to FAMU and along with my work, it's like a perfect combination.
The first time I was at Warner Brothers…I was like, why did they pick me? You know there were people there from SCAD, CalArts, UCLA, all the “top” schools in those categories. I was the only Black male there and the only person from an HBCU. But over time I was able to meet older Black professionals and I explained how I was feeling. The main thing they told me that stuck with me was, ‘you are where you are for a reason. If you weren’t supposed to be here, then you wouldn’t be.’ You don’t get to those types of positions by accident. Talking to older people or people with experience, that really helped.
I'm gonna focus on my collection of personal work and independent projects. Once I graduate in the fall, I have a full-time position at Warner Brother’s Animation as a background painter.
Elijah Rutland is always on the grind. He puts in the work behind the scenes out of passion, not praise.
My ultimate goal is to be an independent artist and designer. I’ll have my own work, whether that be illustrations, paintings, whatever. And I'll be able to do collaboration projects with different companies.
: I really want to do a collaboration shoe with Nike, Adidas, really any shoe company. I’ll say Nike is probably the main one. The key is, I just want to be an independent artist. I’ll be able to work on my own time, with my own thoughts and ideas.
FAMU Jordan 4 created by Elijah Rutland for film director, Rob Hardy.
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