Live Session: Gloria F. Goldwater author of ‘SuperFly—My Untold Story Of Hip Hop’

The Blond Socialite Of Hip Hop

Writes Tell-All Book

“SuperFly—My Untold Story Of Hip Hop”

The fabric of Hip-Hop has been woven with thread from so many regions of the world as it is presented to us today however, without trying to sound Biblical, “in the beginning” Hip-Hop was a fairly closed society. Let me correct that, Hip-Hop was shunned and ostracized by the main stream music industry until SOMEBODY got wise and decided to get involved and make $$$. On the media side of things, very few outlets gave space or credence to the genre. One such outlet was Superfly Magazine which hit the stands in 1991 and the status of Hip-Hop began to change in mainstream media and the industry overall and Gloria F. Goldwater a blonde NY Socialite was one of the forces behind the change.

The Hype Magazine Editor-in-Chief, Jerry Doby spoke with Gloria for an exclusive conversation in which she shared her love for Hip-Hop, how she even FOUND IT and WHY she decided to champion the genre and its major founding players with what, in its short run on newsstands, became THE Hip-Hop publication and helped lay the foundation for other outlets to follow.

Her story is amazing, her love for Hip-Hop is inspiring and her dedication to her family led her to make one of the hardest business decisions she had ever had to make…shuttering the doors of Superfly Magazine. She has penned a non-fiction book called “Superfly, My Untold Story of Hip Hop” and gives the readers an inside look at the Hip-Hop community from a unique and brilliant perspective. Check out our exclusive conversation with Gloria after the jump.

Background

Gloria F. Goldwater, New York City socialite who was married to the creator of Archie Comics, the late John Goldwater, has stories to tell. This quirky blond, who was then the head of the women’s Anti-Defamation League (ADL), secretly loved hip hop music! As a result, Gloria decided to launch a hip hop influenced magazine called SuperFly Magazine with the help of her husband who had national and international distribution via Archie Comics.

Now, Goldwater has written a tell-all book about her challenging experiences: SuperFly, My Untold Story of Hip Hop. Her story of hip hop and of SuperFly Magazine is laid out in great detail in the new book from Gloria Goldwater.

Goldwater tells the story of how she went from coordinating big ADL events for Barbara Streisand to meeting with Senator Ted Kennedy and The Pope to name a few. She also recounts later meeting with Kool Moe Dee,Public Enemy, Chubb Rock, LL Cool J and hanging out at a party with Big Daddy Kane where Oprah Winfrey was also in attendance!

“I approached my husband and told him I wanted to start a magazine,” she said. “When I told him I wanted to do a hip hop magazine, I made sure he knew that I needed his support, because I knew there was a need for a hip hop magazine. I love the music and I knew the only one who could help me was him.”

SuperFly Magazine’s premiere issue hit the stands in February of 1991 and in no time, Gloria F. Goldwater became a staple of the music industry, interviewing all of the hip hop stars, from Big Daddy Kane to Masta Aceand from Queen Latifah to YoYo.

For the name of her new magazine, Goldwater took inspiration from one of the larger than life images of the 1970’s super hip film images—Super Fly.

“I wanted to have a name that was easily related to hip hop,” she said. “The movie Super Fly was so powerful because of the music in the soundtrack. I knew that hip hop was the same as the soundtrack for the lives of many young people, so the name made sense for the magazine. The soundtrack of Super Fly was larger than the motion picture and I saw that hip hop was becoming larger than any other musical art form.”

In SuperFly, My Untold Story of Hip Hop, Goldwater details her trials and tribulations, her good times and bad times during the era of running SuperFly Magazine.

The book delivers stories of working with emerging superstars, who would regularly stop by the magazine’s office to be interviewed and to hang out.

In addition, the book details the business venture, but also outlines the personal trials of Goldwater, who lost her first husband after discontinuing the magazine. The magazine also lays out the clear purpose and mission ofSuperFly Magazine.

SuperFly, My Untold Story of Hip Hop reveals the stories of hip hop and hip hop artists who were making the world pay close attention to their music and their movement. Gloria F. Goldwater and SuperFly Magazine were there, and now those stories are being told. SuperFly, My Untold Story of Hip Hop also features pictures of some of the original SuperFly Magazines and rare photos of hip hop artists in the early days of their careers.

SuperFly, My Untold Story of Hip Hop is published by SuperFly Publishing Company. Log onto www.superfly-hiphopuntoldstory.com.

About Gloria F. Goldwater

Gloria F. Goldwater is a socialite who was married to the creator of Archie Comics John Goldwater. At the time, she was head of the Women’s Anti-Defamation League. In 1991, she started the hip hop influenced magazineSuperFly Magazine. Now, she has written a book about her challenging experiences: SuperFly, My Untold Story of Hip Hop. She is currently happily married to Dr. Lewis Weintraub and living in Los Angeles.

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