I majored in Television, Radio & Film in the S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University. I did overnights at the campus station Z-89 plus the Saturday night hip-hop show & Asst. Promotions Director.
A summer internship at Capitol Records in Atlanta changed my life and I knew I wanted to work in the music industry! Â After graduation, I moved back to Atlanta & interned at Sony before landing my first full time job as Promotions Director at LaFace Records!
While at LaFace, I did promotion & then marketing for groups like OutKast, Usher, TLC, Toni Braxton, & more. When LaFace was sold, I moved to NYC  to work with L.A. Reid at Arista Records.  I’ve been VP & Sr VP at Columbia with Donnie Ienner & Exec VP at Universal Motown with Sylvia Rhone. While in NY, I co-founded R&B Live NY (2007), which was one of the premiere music industry events for 2 years.
In 2009, due to personal reasons, I walked away from my EVP post at Universal Motown & moved home to Atlanta. I started doing independent marketing for artists, produced ATL Live on the Park for 10 years & wrote my first book called The Hip-Hop Professional, A Woman’s Guide to Climbing the Ladder of Success in the Entertainment Business. That lead me to speaking at colleges, music conferences & more.
I founded The Hip-Hop Professional Foundation (HHPF) that focused on homelessness & youth empowerment. I began to question my life, all of the recent pressures & why I hadn’t dealt with my father’s suicide. In 2015, I went through a depression (high-functioning) & contemplated suicide.  I got help & started a powerful movement called Silence the Shame. Many celebrities & musicians have supported our efforts over the past 3 years. May 5th is now National Silence the Shame Day & our hashtag is one of the most commonly used hashtags in the US for communities of color. I also rebranded the foundation as Silence the Shame, Inc. where I am the Executive Director & a paid public speaker sharing my journey of emotional health & wellness.
To support our 501c3 organization, visit www.SilenceTheShame.com to donate or text the word SILENCE to 707070 or to book me to speak to your company, organization or panel, email SD@ShantiDas.biz.