‘The Gossip Game’ Sharon Carpenter and Vivian Billings on women covering hip-hop

theGRIO VIDEO - Hip-hop is still a boys club and for aspiring journalists that want to cover the 30 year old culture that are women, it can be difficult at times...

Hip-hop is still a boys’ club, and for aspiring female journalists looking to cover the 30-plus year-old culture, it can be difficult at times.

Vivian Billings, a blogger and cast member of Vh1’s The Gossip Game, believes it’s all about how you represent yourself in a professional setting.

“I carry myself with a lot of respect,” said Billings.

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Carrying yourself with respect doesn’t stop with Billings. The “NYC Gossip Girl” keeps the right peers around her who are of high character.

Billings went on to elaborate: “I try to keep my circle tight… If I feel like you’re a certain way then I keep myself away from that because you know the term, birds of a feather flock together. It’s all about perception.”

Sharon Carpenter, best known for her time as a correspondent for BET News and current reporter at Global Grind, has dealt with men hitting on her while out in the field.

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“A lot of the time guys will approach you in a professional way and then when you start talking about business, you then realize they have ulterior motives,” said Carpenter. “Which is upsetting. I’ve certainly missed out on  opportunities because these men wanted more than a professional relationship.”

Check out what else The Gossip Game cast members had to say and let us know what you think in the comments below.

Check out Kyle’s musical coverage on theGrio music page, and follow Kyle on Twitter at@HarveyWins.

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