LEVEL UP ISSUE
LEVEL UP ISSUE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CONTRIBUTORS
PHOTOGRAPHY
MALCOLM ANDERSON ARNYA T.M. DAVIS SHERRIELL DEDEAUX (BLACK LITERARY WEEKEND ESSAY WINNER) FRANCHESKA “FANCY” FELDER URSULA MERSEL TAHYIRA SAVANNA VINCE SMITH DELILAH WILLAMS
ARTWORK OBIE COLEMAN TONY C GREEN ARTWORK
DELILAH PEACH PHOTOGRAPHY KENO DAVIS BOBBY MAYO PHOTOGRAPHY T. CHICK MCCLURE ZACHARY STAINES
MARKETING JARMEL ROBERSON, VP OF MARKETING SHANICE ASHBY
COVER SHOOT LOCATION MCCOUGHTRY'S ICE CREAM SHOP
ANGEL'S EDITORIAL MAKEUP” MUA INDIA MORTON OF FACE2FACE
LAYOUT DESIGN
COVER SHOOT TRAVEL SPONSOR KIINGS WORLD TRAVELS AMBASSADOR MORTGAGE, LLC
SABRYIA REESE, IMAGE MATTERS, LLC
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LEVEL UP ISSUE
F R O M T H E ED I T O R Greetings y'all, When creating the last issue, I realized I no longer wanted to share sad stories with you all and that I wanted to write of happier experiences instead. That of course meant I had to experience them of course, so that is what I have personally been working on. Fortunately, in a twist of events, business has really picked up in the last few months, and I officially feel like a businesswoman who runs a business.
Photography by Delilah Peach Photography. In almost nine years, I've never felt that before. It's an amazing but scary as hell feeling. I am constantly struggling to make the right decisions and battling myself, because with great power comes responsibilities. It requires more leadership, and leadership requires interaction.... with people, delivering on your word, and being responsible... for other people. I'm thrilled to have grown my core team from just Jarmel (our VP of marketing) and myself to now include two others (Arnya T.M. Davis, our admin and my personal brand manager
and Delilah Williams our creative director and photojournalist), but we've undergone and are undergoing many changes.
And at the same time, with the passing of Nipsey Hussle and truly learning of his legacy, when I look at the fact that I am now able to add paid additional team members, who are in fact Black women, I feel really proud. I can look at where SwagHer Magazine and I have been and better visualize where and how far we can go. I've gone from waking up at the crack of dawn to write and publish posts on free McDonald's wifi wherever I may be at the time, to writing in the homes and hotel rooms of strangers, to grow houses, to extended stays with my kids, to the houses of relatives, to my own house (rented, of course, but still just as treasured in my eyes, because it's home).
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LEVEL UP ISSUE
WOM AN HOOD GOES ON AFTER A POSI
IVE
DIAGNOSIS with Thamicha Isaac PHOTOGRAPHY BY DELILAH PEACH PHOTOGRAPHY
Being HIV positive doesn’t have a look! In 2019, you can be on retroviral medication, eat healthy, show no signs or symptoms and look as radiant as the sun.
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LEVEL UP ISSUE
THE MAN THE MYTH & THE LEGEND NIPSEY HUSSLE By Vince Smith 29 | SWAGHER MAGAZINE
LEVEL UP ISSUE
With his longtime girlfriend Lauren London to his immediate left, Nipsey Hussle looked poised and confident. Wearing a black tuxedo, Hussle was dressed to impress on the red carpet at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. As a correspondent from the show "Extra" approached him, it seemed like she could feel the special connection between Nipsey Hussle and Lauren London. "Nipsey, I love the two of you together. You guys look like you're on top of a wedding cake," the female correspondent stated. "Okay, we'll take that," Nipsey said with a smile in response to the statement. Hussle was humbled and inspired by the Grammy nomination for his debut album "Victory Lap". Though it was an honor in reference to the academy nominating his body of work, Hussle felt he didn’t need awards to validate him, but it was nice to be acknowledged. He was initially made aware of the nomination while in the gym working out with his music engineer. While on Twitter, the music engineer noticed the confirmation of the Grammy nod as he began to jump up and down. It was at that moment Nipsey realized he’d transformed from a mixtape artist to a Grammy nominated artist. In the end, the award for Best Rap Album went to Cardi B. Win or lose Hussle had already planned on continuing his grind by shooting a music video the very next day. Nipsey took pleasure in the fact his hard work and dedication brought him to the point of being nominated for a Grammy. However he wasn't satisfied as his goal was to continue to grow as an artist and entrepreneur. Born Ermias Asghedom on August 15, 1985, he was raised in the Crenshaw neighborhood of South Los Angeles. His mother, Angelique Smith, is a native of Los Angeles, and his father Dawit Ashgedom is of Eritrean descent. Eritrea is a country in East Africa. Nipsey Hussle popped up on the music scene in 2005 with his first mixtape titled Slauson Boy Volume 1. In his first on-camera interview, Hussle made it clear that he was dedicated to making an impact in the music industry, but he was also seeking business opportunities. Hussle often talked about re-investing his earnings from music and expanding his brand. "I want to invest in real estate. Acquire some assets to take care of my family," Hussle stated. Nipsey Hussle released two mixtapes in 2008 and a third mixtape in 2009. He went on to do collaborations with Drake and Snoop Dogg. In 2010, Hussle was rewarded for his constant grind by earning a spot on the XXL Magazine cover. He was ranked as one of its annual "Freshman Top Ten." Other notables for the 2010 class include Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean, and J. Cole. Motivated from the recognition, Hussle released mixtapes in 2011 and 2012. Then in 2013, Hussle used his entrepreneurial mind. In October of 2013, Nipsey Hussle released his mixtape titled Crenshaw. This mixtape release wasn't a normal release. Only 1,000 copies of Crenshaw were manufactured. In addition to the limited number of copies being printed, hard copies of Crenshaw were priced at $100 apiece. The bulky price tag included a few incentives. The purchaser received the music, signed photograph, a personal phone call from Hussle, and an invite to his studio. Jay-Z purchased 100 copies of the hundred dollar mixtape. 30 | SWAGHER MAGAZINE
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Getting to know Ashlee Akins of OWN’s "Ready to Love" Interview by Arnya T.M. Davis
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KENO DAVIS
Ashlee Akins was one of the contestants in OWN’s Ready to Love a dating show where singles meet other eligible singles in hopes to find a mate suitable to spend the rest of their lives with. The show showcased women and men of different ages, different backgrounds, and different personalities. Weekly, either the guys decided who left the pool of ladies, or the ladies decided who to let go from the pool of men. The show is much like life in that way. In the end, three couples were actually left standing. Of one of the couples was Ashlee Akins.
We first interviewed Ashlee on our IG live, just before the airing of the season finale and the reunion. We then caught up with the Ready to Love fan favorite after the show went off for the season. Here’s a nice mash up for you all to get better acquainted with her. Arnya: What is your definition of love? Ashlee: A never ending vacation with your best friend and lover –a forever… Arnya: Ready to Love, What were you thinking? Ashlee: I am an extrovert, so jump, just do it! You are dating, and it’s not working. Arnya: What was the interview process like? Ashlee: Answering the casting call, which was something I discovered online, a phone interview, submission of videos, friends completing interviews, Skype interviews, 8-hour interviews, tests, having to meet with a psychologist, IQ tests- lots of things.
Arnya: When did you become serious about the process on Ready to Love? Ashlee: I was serious from the beginning. Firstly, I was single, and I knew it was time to seek additional help. I had finally come to the conclusion that I was the problem. I noticed that the issues and hurdles in my life were a result of Ashlee and no one else. So I began to search and began pray more to get the toxic people and things out of my life. This took time, but people were dropping like flies. Then, there it was. I was alone, but this time I was full of Ashlee, engulfed in my fabulousness and ready for love, because now I am together.
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Arnya: It doesn’t seem like they were showing your personality much in the beginning. Do you agree? Ashlee: Well, yeah I was sitting back and feeling the room out to see what I was working with. I wanted to take it easy, before turning up. I wanted to get a feel. Arnya: What was your experience with the women? Were they competitive? Being the youngest of the bunch, how did you feel? Was it genuine? Ashlee: From the first day, everyone was nice, but we all were trying to figure one another out. We all found something nice to say about one another though it was agreed that we didn’t think we all would get alone as well as we did.
LEVEL UP ISSUE
FIRST OF ALL, WE ARE NOT COMPARING
OURSELVES TO MEN. I WOULD NEVER GO TO
YOUR BOSS AT YOUR JOB AND SAY,
‘HEY, DON’T GIVE TIM A RAISE.’ I WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO YOU. SO I FEEL
LIKE RESPECT THE WOMEN. IF WE ARE
ASKING FOR A RAISE, RESPECT THAT,
BECAUSE I WOULD WANT THE SAME THING
FOR YOU AND YOUR JOB.
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While the WNBA players do just about the same things as NBA players, the women are not publicized and promoted like the men of the NBA, allowing them the reach and accessibility to a wider fan base, including those who may not be so much into sports but other causes and campaigns, like myself. So upon learning that I would be speaking on a platform with WNBA Atlanta Dreams team member, Angel McCoughtry, I was very intrigued. It’s not often that I meet women athletes, and it hit me that while their careers and lives are much like other women, their paths are not as similar. Aside from playing in the WNBA and oversees basketball, Angel McCoughtry is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (London 2012, Rio 2016), the owner of McCoughtry’s Ice Cream Shop, as well as a singer, content creator, and she is stepping into film. Due to social media and gossip and entertainment outlets, we can gather and (unsafely) assume much about the male athletes, but as I mentioned above it’s not as common for the women. Therefore, I was excited about learning more about the business of sports from the perspective of a woman, as well as a little about what their lives are like. And of course, being that athletes possess a winning mentality, I wanted to tap into the brain of Angel McCoughtry and see what nuggets I could find there to pass on to others who are looking to level up and maintain their winning mindset in this season.
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3
WAYS TO SET BOUNDARIES
AUTHOR ANIKA
L E V 2 0 E 1 9 L U P
INSTAGRAM: @AUTHORANIKAENNETT TWITTER: @AENNETT_HERR
PHOTO BY: IAM KIRAGU
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