‘Alright, So… Boom!’ Tameka Foster Reflects on Her Career and Styling Ms. Lauryn Hill

If
a
story
starts
with
“Alright,
so
boom,”
you
know
it’s
about
to
be
a
good
one.

Source:
Courtesy
/
iONEDigital

That’s
the
vibe
of
our
brand-new
podcast
of
the
same
name,
hosted
by
Nzinga
Imani,
Rae
Holliday
and
Janeé
Bolden.
Digging
into
the
origin
stories
of
celebs
is
kind
of
our
thing,
and
every
week,
we’ll
go
into
all
the
behind-the-scenes
details
about
your
faves.

This
week,
we’re
talking
to
celebrity
stylist
Tameka
Foster.
The

entrepreneur
and
mom
of
five
—who’s
pulled
together
iconic
looks
for
megastars
like
ex-husband
Usher,
Patti
LaBelle,
Toni
Braxton
and
more—reflects
on
her
career
and
recalls
the
moment
she
got
her
big
break
from
none
other
than
Ms.
Lauryn
Hill
on
this
episode
of

Alright,
So…
Boom!

She
ran
into
Lauryn
Hill
and
got
the
opportunity
of
a
lifetime

Before
Foster
ascended
as
a
celebrity
stylist
who
has
dressed
Jay-Z,
Ciara,
Aaliyah
and
more,
she
was
a
student
at
the
Fashion
Institute
of
Design
&
Merchandising
in
Los
Angeles.

Early
in
her
career,
she
styled
her
first
music
video
“This
Lil’
Game
We
Play”
with
Subway
and
702,
but
got
her
big
break
during
a
chance
encounter
with
the
legendary
Lauryn
Hill.
Foster
recalls
running
into
the
“Ex-Factor”
artist
in
a
hotel
elevator
in
Los
Angeles.
This
was
during
the
“heavy,
heavy
Fugees
days,”
she
says.

Foster
gave
her
elevator
pitch
and
handed
Hill
her
card.
The
next
day,
she
got
a
call.
Hill
needed
help
getting
ready
for
the
VMAs.
It
was
a
fashion
emergency.
“And
that
was
it.
They
dropped
the
ball.
I
picked
up
the
ball
and
dribbled
that
thing.
It
changed
my
life.”

Foster
was
locked
in
after
that.
She
styled
the
Fugees’
“Ready
or
Not”
music
video
and
went
on
to
style
the
cover
of

The
Miseducation
of
Lauryn
Hill
and
the
music
videos
from
that
album,
she
says.
“It
was
a
beautiful
time
in
my
life.
I
worked
with
Lauryn
for
like
a
decade.
That
was
a
beautiful
experience
working
with
her.
I
learned
a
lot
from
Lauryn.”

Wendy
Williams
booted
her
from
her
radio
show
live
on
air

When
Foster
married
Usher
in
2007,
their
relationship
came
under
intense
media
scrutiny.
Among
her
harshest
critics
was
Wendy
Williams.
There’s
a
reason
why
Wendy
singled
her
out,
Foster
explains.

The
two
had
met
at
a
Fashion
Week
party
at
the
Gansevoort
Hotel
in
New
York.
Wendy
invited
the
celebrity
stylist
to
come
on
her
radio
show,
but
Foster
admits
that
she
wasn’t
prepared
for
what
Wendy
had
in
store.

“I
didn’t
realize
she
was
a
shock
jock
and
that
she
was
super
salacious.
I
heard
of
her
but
I
didn’t
know
her
style.
I
learned!
…
She
ambushed
me
with
questions
that
were
none
of
my
business
…
things
that
even
if
I
did
know
the
answers,
I
wasn’t
prepared
to
answer.
These
were
my
current
clients
…
I’m
not
that
kind
of
person.
So
she
kicked
me
out—on
air
…
and
she
talked
about
me
for
five
years
after
that
…
So
then
once
I
started
dating
my
former
husband
(Usher),
that
was
just
open
season.”