She has a lot of Team Minaj soldiers, and they ride for her. She's genuinely about her fans; she just makes sure that she answers questions, and plays around with them.
— Karen Civil
I believe in the power of play.
I wanted to focus on creating a solid foundation, creating my blueprint, and understanding who I was. You can get distracted easily, and people take you off course with just a compliment. I wanted the focus to be on Karen Civil the businessperson, not what I wore, not what I looked like.
I wasn't the biggest hip-hop fan, because I had to listen to whatever my parents listened to, so growing up, it was a lot of Dolly Parton, Elvis, and Whitney Houston. When they finally put a TV in my room and I got to listen to MTV Jams I was like: 'Here I am!'
The world is your stage. Make your mark.
I come from a great home and fully supportive family that helped to nurture my dreams. A lot of people don't have those same things in their household.
When I had dial-up, my mom got me a phone so I wouldn't tie up the phone. She used to really pick up the phone, push some buttons, and hang it up so the connection could mess up. Now, it's a joke with her, like, 'Look, the Internet's 24/7. I have WiFi now.'
Everything is a learning lesson, good and bad, so I am happy with the way things are, and I learned from everything negative. I am in a great space now, so I wouldn't change a thing!
As an Elizabeth native, I believe it is my duty to give back to my community. Our youth is our future, and it truly takes a village to raise a child.
We now live in an era where everybody is rich, and for some reason, everybody has a $20K bag. It is great to have those things, but I want the people who follow me to feel inspired and not jealous. Once you figure out your overall message, then you can push forward.
It's a feeling I can't describe, to see my work in action. The best is when an artist is appreciative.
Now, I'm not 100% there, but every day I wake up, I'm happy being me, and I just feel fulfilled.
Nobody is going to love and honor your dreams like yourself. It's really not looking for someone to be your superhero but for us to save ourselves and to really understand that. I've been at the lowest of lowest of my life, and it took that for me to realize that I want to do better and to be better.
A lot of times, you see everyone's highlight reels because of social media. You don't know the work that went into getting to that point. This is something that's going to take time, hard work, and you have to be dedicated towards your craft.
You don't know what's going to happen to you in the next hour. So you just live your life, live to the best of your potential, and just be happy.
People see your life on social media, and they say, 'Oh my gosh, it's perfect,' and I'm like, 'No, every day, it's not even just a struggle: it's something new, and it's a new challenge to make sure that I'm mentally stable and healthy and that I'm okay.' It was just great to finally get it out and talk about it.
Being in this business and surviving day-to-day can be a constant struggle. It's about learning how to be your own super hero, put on your own cape, and be a well-rounded individual.
Me myself, I wanna wear sweats with my Jordans one day or a dress with my Jeffrey Campbell.
Coming from a Haitian-American home, I thought it was necessary to give back to the country in which my parents were raised. That is why I believe in Project PlayWorld's efforts to to provide secure playing spaces for the children of Haiti with the Live Civil Playground.
People will find any reason not to give you credit for your success because, in their mind, your success is their failure.
Don't let the insecurities of others dull your sparkle. Shine like the star you are born to be.
Chances have been taken, opportunities granted, and because of such, I find myself in a position where some of my biggest dreams are in arm's reach.
Social media can help or hurt you. People are more into other people's lives than their own. Everyone sees everyone else's success online, and we allow it to magnify our own failure.
Anywhere I go, if I go out, I have to keep my phone out. I don't try to be rude. If I turn it around, I have to check it every 5 minutes.
Nothing is ever quick. You have to grow an audience, keep them engaged, give them a reason to keep coming back so it will never be an overnight success. Have patience!
I am not quick to call someone a friend. It is OK to have acquaintances and be associates. We make these words sound bad, but it is about understanding everyone's place in your life. I have a great group of people around me. I value them more than anything.
I am big on not pushing anything that I wouldn't do or use. I understand my brand, vision, and the story I want to tell. I am not into taking short-cuts like tummy teas or waist trainers. I want my brand to be a lifestyle and very premium but, at the same time, relatable.
I did the 'right' thing and got a corporate job on Wall Street. That did not last long. I felt like I was throwing all my years of hard work and relationship-building down the toilet. I eventually quit, went and bought a camera, and built a website. That was the birth of KarenCivil.com.
I love my religion, I love everything about it, but at the same time, I love my career, and I want to do it with the same love and compassion.
Be You, Live Civil was a tour that I started, and it's just always something that I've been to myself. 'Be you, live civil' is like 'live my life.' That was my short version of saying to live my life.
No one is going to break me. No one is going to stop me. No one is going to remove a vision that I see for myself and the love that's in my heart.
I don't have family in this business. I had two parents that loved me, that worked 24-7, and this is what instilled hard work in me. So you hear the stories about my upbringing, my religion.
People go to their jobs and hate it every day, but they have great ideas. Put that same time and effort into something you love - it really starts with being honest with yourself.
When I started my career, I never looked at myself as one to be inspirational, but as I continued to grow, I've met so many different people who ask, 'How do you do it? You make it look easy.' But it's not easy. I have certain tricks and tips I use every day that have been working for me.
Nicki Minaj is one of those rare artists who get the social aspect of their career. She interacts with her fans. She replies to them. She gets them information first.
Unfortunately, Haiti does not have many safe environments for children to play and express themselves.
With Drake, I was a big fan of 'Degrassi.'
Never stray from life's purpose. Refrain from counting someone else's blessings instead of your own.
Society sets us up to be everything but ourselves, but I want to take a moment and say to people, love yourself. Find your purpose. You are unique, and that makes you great. I pursued my dreams. You can do it, too.
I took business and economics courses. More than anything, I learned the proper steps and the things that need to be outlined. You have to keep your books: how much money you made, how much money you're spending, what you profited, and what you're gonna need for expenses.
I just tell myself I gotta get up at 8 A.M. I don't even use an alarm clock.
I want children to know that they can create the life they dream of despite the odds that are against them.
Do you want to be the girl that's envied, or do you want to be the girl that inspires you? Most people don't know that I am super shy and timid, but online people think I have a big personality. Make sure whatever you do has an overall message and has value.
I have my own marketing company, Always Civil, where I help artists create their online identity. I have worked with Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Mary J. Blige, Pusha T - the list goes on.
I admired and wanted to be a lot like Angie Martinez. As I got older, I realized that I had a soft monotone voice and that being a DJ may not be the career for me. However, I was so in love and infatuated with hip-hop that I still wanted to be a part and give back the community, so I decided to carve my own path and make my own lane.
I give people on my team the opportunity to excel as well, and I think that's what continues to keep me ahead. I may not be able to show or do an interview; I give them the opportunity to run the show, and that has been working.
I've made social mistakes. We've all made our mistakes and tried things we kind of wish we didn't, but we plan around it. Things happen in situations that are unique and different, and no one is perfect.
The blueprint, for me, was having an understanding of self because this business will try to make you somebody other than yourself or make you change with the times. A lot of times, people will want you to do everything for free, work for free, to be down to do this after you paid your dues.
For me, for a very long time, I was in denial because when you say you're sad or you're overwhelmed, we consider it whining or complaining. People say, 'Count your blessings,' and it's like, 'Yeah, I am, but I'm still sad. Something is wrong with me.' I had to acknowledge it.
What are you doing to magnify and grow your business? What are you doing for yourself? You have to self-motivate. I had to learn a million things on Google until I was able to meet people who I could partner with for help.
