Shequeta began her career in entertainment as a College Representative for Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella Records while attending North Carolina State University. In addition to working towards her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Business Management, Shequeta spent most of her undergraduate years setting up listening parties, autograph signings, and doing local promotions for Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella artists such as DMX, Eve, Dru Hill, Slick Rick, Jay-Z, Ludacris and LL Cool J. Upon graduation, when faced with the decision to move to New York to continue a career in the recording industry or pursue her newfound love of screenwriting, Shequeta decided to give screenwriting a shot. A year later, she was a finalist in the “Sundance Filmmaker’s Lab” with her very first screenplay.
Over the next three years, Shequeta would write numerous screenplays and teleplays, some of them placing in programs such as “Nickelodeon,” “AFI Directing Workshop for Women” and “Tribeca All Access.” Eager to learn about the film industry as a whole, Shequeta went to work on scripted television shows like the CW hit Everybody Hates Chris as well as reality shows VH1’s Flavor of Love and The Surreal Life. From these experiences, Shequeta learned a lot about scripted and unscripted television – so much so that she created her own reality show, The Ultimatum, which she optioned to the same production company behind the hit show The Apprentice.
Most recently, Shequeta wrote, directed and produced the short film The J.H. Gunn Project, which was featured in numerous film festivals around the world. After receiving offers from distributors, Shequeta decided not to sell the rights in an effort to present the film to a larger demographic via the Internet. Currently, Shequeta works as a Sales and Marketing Executive for one of the largest Fortune 500 companies in the world. In addition to this, she’s prepping Rayven Choi Films’ first feature film, Rock The Mic, with Teyana Taylor (Madea’s Big Happy Family) and Romeo Miller (Jumping the Broom), attached to star. She is also working on an urban graphic novel, Fatal Familia that is in the same vein as The Godfather.
Shequeta will be available for questions live on the Black Girl Nerds podcast Sunday night at 7pm EST. Be sure to tune in!
