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Angie Martinez on the golf course. PHOTO BY BRITTANY ORTIZ

Angie Martinez is more than a media mogul; she is a rap culture pillar. After earning the title of “The Voice of New York” during her long-term tenures at Hot 97 and Power 105.1 radio stations, the Brooklyn native has added many other titles under her crown: artist, New York Times bestselling author and podcaster (she launched IRL in 2022, where she has candid discussions with notable guests including Usher, Lauren London and Mary J. Blige). Now, she’s adding director to the list. Here, Martinez speaks about going behind the camera for fellow rap veteran DJ Clark Kent’s upcoming documentary.

Martinez on set of the upcoming documentary on DJ Clark Kent with executive producer and Kent’s wife, Kesha Franklin PHOTO BY: DAVID TOOLAN

Walk me through your initial conversation with DJ Clark Kent about this documentary.

DJ Clark Kent and [his wife] Kesha are real-life friends of mine. [They] were having dinner with me and my husband. They came to the house after and they showed us a sizzle. Kesha had an idea of how she wanted to do this doc, and they were early in the process, but they hadn’t really framed out what it would look like. So we had a really dope, meaningful conversation about creatively, what his documentary should look like, and the conversation never stopped. It’s my genuine belief that his story deserves to be told with love and care. And the thing that I love about him so much is that he’s such a purist. The man has operated through four decades, four different eras of the culture, and at a high level. But he’s always operated with so much authenticity and purpose. Our culture has become this very transactional experience for people. Sure, he’s a great businessman, but he’s really driven by art and culture. And there’s not that many stories that are rooted in that anymore. His DNA is splattered throughout the culture in a way that deserves to be explored, not just for the purpose of telling his story, but for the purpose of learning and making sure that we are all operating in a way that preserves the culture so honorably.

With media in general, we're slowly losing the storytelling and the archive, especially with our culture. It's important to ensure that people like Clark’s stories are documented.

There's so much that he has had a hand in that people don't really know. And he's not really a brat. Listen, if you ask him who's the best DJ in the world, he's going to say he is. He's very confident about his ability, but he doesn't go around accepting a bunch of awards just to accept them. He doesn't go around screaming, ‘I had a part of that’ or slapping his name on things that maybe he influenced him, or maybe he helped somebody. He walked [people] in a room, which has happened a lot. It's funny, because I'm a friend, and I feel that way about him. But when we started the process of the documentary and putting people in the chair, I'm blown away by all of the stories that people have shared. And so I'm learning as we go, which is dope. Because I thought I knew a lot.

With your interview process, you're directing conversations as well, but how did it feel to translate that to the big picture for the first time?

I have been wanting to make this transition in my career. I knew at some point that I wanted to create, write, direct, do all those things. I spent a lot of time during COVID-19 writing. I have scripts that are done that I'm now trying to get to come to fruition and lots of studying on what it would take to be the director that I want to be. But not at any point that I think I wanted to direct a documentary or anything that was unscripted.

I've been working for the past couple of years towards a leg of my career where I could direct some scripted projects, which I still see for the future for me. And I still have things on the slate planned for that, but unscripted just fell in my lap. And it really is about storytelling. Even when I was talking to Clark and Keisha about this documentary, it's like, do you see it? Do you have a vision for it? Do you believe you can get it across the finish line? I saw it. I knew what needed to be done.

Of course, you have to leave room for the magic to unfold, which it did. But it's really just about storytelling and grabbing hold of the reins and not being afraid to call the shots on stuff. If you look at my podcast, we call it a podcast. It's a show. We have a full production team. We have a full crew. Brittany, who produces my podcast, she's producing a television show, and we're doing it together. So we're producing, directing, doing all of that for just for IRL. Some might think that's not a full show.

So that was actually a great transition into doing the doc too. Because our Rolodex is thick now with shooters and lighting people and sound people. And it's fun to learn new shit. I'm not afraid to say, Do I know? Do I fully understand every element of directing at this point? I'm learning some of it as I go. I think I have a natural ability for storytelling and a natural ability to get things done. But I do hit bumps in the road, and so I'm not afraid to say, ‘I don't know how to do this.’ And find somebody who can answer the questions and find somebody that could help me. I do have a long list of resources and I use them when I need to. You can learn a lot on the internet for anything. So the moral of the story is if you're capable of something, don't let the tiny logistics get in your way of getting it done, because you can figure that shit out.

Martinez interviewing director Ryan Coogler. PHOTO BY: EVAN PIERCE

Part of the reason why I think you've become so successful is because you do want to learn, and you've adapted so seamlessly with the times going from radio to podcasting, and all of the other moves that you've done in between. Talk to me about where you envision IRL growing.

When we first launched, I had a very clear vision of what I thought it would be. I think I'm figuring it out as I go with that. I started the podcast because I just had this yearning to want to talk about more personal things and tell stories from that perspective of other people's lives and other people's lessons.

I always want to learn. So you just start with that. I know I want to talk about these things. I know I want to talk about life and death. I want to talk about love and what that really means, and I want to talk about heartbreak and what that really means. And I didn't have all the answers, but when you have something that's strong at the root, you feel that you have a vision for it, and you just go and figure everything else out.

Even with the pod, we're still figuring out logistics of that world and how we make it make sense. How do we monetize it to make enough sense for how much effort it takes to create it? So we're still learning that world, but I make that from the heart. It is a passion project. I do look at it as an offering. I never looked at the pod. I'm not in the pod business for money, even though money's cool. But you could feel the difference. We all want to make the bread, but that's not how I start. What do I have to say? What do I want to share? What could be meaningful to people? And then you start there.

And so I'm still figuring out the other parts of it, how to make it all make sense. But at the root of it is pure, and that's all I want to do now. Sh-t that's rooted in something real, not just an end goal, not just a transactional thing. I don't want to make it sound like I don't care about money or anything like that. We all do. And I like to be successful too, but if I'm gonna spend my days and my time and hours of my life that is so fragile, to work on something, it has to have meaning. You have to enjoy it, and it has to have meaning, and you have to have it start with that, and then you work out the business after.

I learned that you’ve become a really dope golfer. How did you fall into that?

I’m the golf lady. I love it. One of my girlfriends invited me out, and I was like, ‘I don’t golf.’ I wound up taking a couple of lessons, and then once I hit a really good ball, I’ve been lost ever since then. I always tell people it’s like a walking meditation to golf by myself. You’re outside. It’s beautiful. Your thoughts are clear. You cannot multitask when you’re golfing. I try to go as much as I can. I’ve had some amazing experiences, met great people and traveled to see all these different golf courses around the world. I’m always trying to recruit people to the golf world. I’ve been trying to find a bunch of golf fits that I like. And that’s the thing because golf clothes are not cute. Sometimes I leave the golf course and I’ll catch a reflection of myself, and I’m like, ‘Is this what I want to look like in the world?’ Malbon makes a lot of super-cute outfits. Kith and TaylorMade did these clubs and they’re so beautiful. Behind the scenes of Martinez’s documentary on DJ Clark Kent. It’s so weird that I care about this now. They’re sending me a putter. These are the things that get me excited. (laughs) My husband’s so tired of me: ‘Oh, God, she’s talking about golf again.’

Behind the scenes of Martinez’s documentary on DJ Clark Kent. PHOTO BY DAVID TOOLAN

“WHAT ARE YOU ROOTED IN? WHAT IS THE THING THAT, WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE GETTING UP OUT OF BED, IS GOING TO GET YOU UP?” –ANGIE MARTINEZ

You got a Walk of Fame star, that's a big deal.

It's such a big deal. That's one of those acknowledgments that you're like, 'Huh?' I didn't dream of getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I didn't even know that that was on the menu. I didn't know that was the thing I should want. I didn't even know that that was something that could potentially happen for me. So I didn't know to want it. But then when it came I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? This is amazing.’ So that'll be really fun. We've been joking about how we're gonna get lawn chairs and do my podcast from the star outside.

That would be a fun episode, actually.

Wouldn't it be fun? I mean, how cool is that? I'm not a big awards girl. I never wanted to get awards. People give them to me. I don't operate for those things, but when they happen, it's always lovely and always very humbling and really nice. But this one especially would be really big.

When I spoke to Clark Kent a few months ago, he told me the biggest lesson he learned about making this documentary with you is: “Don’t let the thing you fell in love with go.”

I love that you highlighted that because, aside from my friendship with Clark, it’s probably what drew me so much to want to even direct this project. We are similar creatures. People just hop on to something because they think there’s a quick end goal or a quick check. Great, go get it. But what are you rooted in? What is the thing that, when you don’t feel like getting up out of bed, is going to get you up? In the same way he cares about the material on a sneaker and about giving feedback to artists about their rap lyrics, I care about making people feel seen and helping people present the truth of themselves. So, authentic, honest storytelling, that all gets my juices going.