CEO & Multimedia Content Producer Kenneth Louis Massey Interviews with Los Angeles Based Magazine, ShoutOut LA 

SHOUTOUT LA: Meet Kenneth “The Phenomenal Hawk” Massey | Multimedia Creative Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kenneth “The Phenomenal Hawk” Massey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kenneth “The Phenomenal Hawk”, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?

Having a legacy to pass to my family has been in my thoughts most of my life. While working for other people, I also desired creative freedom to produce based on my dreams and visions. I wondered, how can I create enough resources to provide for me, my family, and five generations to come; while having creative freedom in all areas? So, three years ago, I wrote a list of my goals and one of them was to register my businesses as an LLC. I had it in my mind that I was capable of having a legitimate business of my own because I’ve seen it done by others. But I think in the back of my head I didn’t believe I could do it and I was blocking myself from taking the leap towards that specific goal. I would look around everywhere in the city of LA and get inspired by how many businesses have been established and all of them were receiving business from customers. Even the street vendors had legitimate businesses. I decided to stop getting in my own way and waiting for the time to be perfect for me to start a legitimate business. I gave myself a week to get my business started. I researched what I would need to start my business and gathered all that I needed to make it happen. Then in July I officially registered The Phenomenal Hawk Company LLC with the California Secretary of the State.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I engaged in my creative career in elementary school after a class lesson that required me to write poetry. A moment that is forever imprinted in my thoughts. The emotion that came over me after finishing that assignment was the beginning of something special. I couldn’t explain that emotion back then, but now I know that emotion was ecstasy. Then entering middle school, I got another dose of that ecstasy feeling from an art class. I enjoyed drawing and according to others, I was good at it! To me it was God delivering talents that I would need, appreciate, and use. One of the most exciting deliveries was the ability to play the piano by ear which also entered my life in middle school. I guess you can say that the ecstasy feeling for creative arts became an addiction to me and I wanted to discover what other creative works would give me the same feeling I got from poetry, drawing, and piano playing. So, I sought out dance, recording arts, music production, audio engineering, graphic design, film, photography, and directing. All which give me ecstasy!

Now, being given all these talents, I’ve been faced with what title describes what I do for a living. In Los Angeles one of the first questions I encounter from people I first meet is, “What do you do for a living?”. It’s hard for me to be asked that question from people without feeling pressured to give a specific career niche or say I’m whatever work is successful at the time I’m asked. If they see me in the studio on my Instagram, I’m an audio engineer or music producer. If I’m on IMDB for directing a music video or reality TV series, then I’m given the title director. I also filmed that video they saw. Now they are calling me a cinematographer. They hear a song I recorded on Spotify, and I get, “He a rapper”. I send out a philosophical tweet and I’m said to be a philosopher. Even after all the schooling to enhance all my God given talents and skills, I felt society wanted me to focus on one niche. In a 2018 interview with Charlemagne Tha God, Kanye West said, “Some people have to do things just to prove that they can be done”. I want to prove that I don’t have to either be a producer, or director, photographer, writer, etc. I collectively do all of these labels. So, I started my own legitimate business where I can create whatever I want, when I want, and how I want as a solution to overcoming the challenge of being forced into a career niche. We’ll see how it will go from here. Maybe I’ll be called a CEO or maybe I’ll be called a creative artist.

Whenever I am given or attracted to new talents, I’ve learned to study them thoroughly and figure out the purpose for me having them. I believe they are valuable gifts that can be utilized to help me, my family, and other people in many ways. Knowing how impactful talents are and how I desire them to help, building a strong focus on my creative career was necessary. Surprisingly, having this focus and desire to use my talents on a grand scale came with a lot of sacrifices. Sacrifices that I’ve learned are important for my growth. One being, I should be open to sharing what I know with others and help others reach their goals before I reached mine. At first, I thought I had to keep all I know to myself. I used to think people only wanted me to help them to use me only for their gain and take my ideas. Don’t get me wrong, there are people who take advantage of others. Those few bad experiences hardened my desire to be of service to others and I took that as a sign for me to stop helping others instead of taking it as an important growth lesson. A lesson of unwavering faith. Now I think differently and have reopened my desire to share information and to help others reach their goals. I’ve learned there is a divine purpose for everything.

I have been given many opportunities that have helped me build a great portfolio. A portfolio that I’m proud of. It consists of many projects I’ve produced for respectful clients. Whether I’m paid or unpaid, each one I work on is important and gets approached as if it’s worth millions of dollars. All of them have helped me to evolve creatively and advance in how I use the tools required for my talents. They’ve been preparing me my whole life to produce better works of art. I have an idea that I know once executed precisely will impact the world for generations to come. I’ve been planning and building on it since I moved to Los Angeles. Given so many talents and now owning my own company, I’m fortunate to have creative opportunities that help fund my project idea and my business. I have a series on Instagram called Boss Advice where I state, “If you’re going to create a project, do it right. You may get the urge to release something before it’s actually finished in order to keep up with others in your field. If it’s not the highest quality you can get based on what you know it should be, have patience until you know it’s done right”. I pride myself on taking my own advice. I am being patient with my creative process and working on delivering the highest quality production I can for the world.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

I have a lot of favorite places I like to go in Los Angeles. Places that have left a great impression on me. I’m proud that I discovered them since I’ve been here. My first go to breakfast spot I recommend is Victory Caffe in Van Nuys. The vegan breakfast burrito is a masterpiece. A good afternoon experience would be to visit the Grammy Museum in DTLA. The place has great music history that will surprise people who’ve never been. For a great lunch I love going on Ventura BLVD to visit O’cado restaurant. I love walking on Hollywood BLVD too. There are a tremendous amount of entertainment and food spots to choose from. While in Hollywood I would encourage people to go to Mama Shelter rooftop restaurant and bar and Dream Hotel Highlight Room. The food, drinks, and service at these places are awesome. They have great music playing too. People have to make their way to Beverly Hills for some good shopping and a bite to eat as well. Try the Tiffanys Blue Box Cafe for a nice dinner. A wonderful place I discovered was a great spot for live music and dancing was The Study on Hollywood BLVD. Before the pandemic it was an event there called After Church LA. I think the event is still going on every week at a new location in DTLA. If you are in the mood for a concert, see what’s playing at the Hollywood Bowl.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

I dedicate this shoutout to Jakulve, Makhail, Kenny, Kavion, Nehemiah, Kelsea, and the one who recommended me to be recognized, my biggest supporter, a contributor to my success, my beautiful girlfriend Lynette Miller. I give this dedication to them because they have been a major factor for my success. I would also like to dedicate this shoutout to The Los Angeles Film & Recording School staff and Critical Thinkers Society staff members who were patient with me and who always encouraged me to persevere. You guys have my back and I really appreciate it.

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