Abiola Abrams

ABIOLA ABRAMS of Tough Love on VH1 is a TV personality, filmmaker and author who gives motivational talks. Abiola's debut novel Dare (Simon & Schuster) is the wild adventure of two women learning to live by their own gutsy rules. Currently she is a creative producer and host of the Planet Abiola Show for TV One's blackplanet, the largest African American community on the web. For the past two years 28 million viewers have tuned in to watch Abiola on BET: interviewing filmmakers on her show The Best Shorts, as an outspoken, recurring community panelist on My Two Cents, and hosting specials such as All Access. 

As an art filmmaker Abiola Abrams’ short films and docs investigate themes of gender, race and empowerment. Her directing work includes Knives in My Throat about a spoken word poet dealing with bipolar disorder, Ophelia's Opera a short narrative about coping with domestic violence, and Afrodite Superstar, acclaimed feminist erotica. The goal of Abiola's work is to use pop culture entertainment to create uncommon inspiration: culturally, politically, emotionally and sexually. Her advice column runs in the weekly urban tabloid Rolling Out. Abiola has BA from Sarah Lawrence and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts.  She is an opinionated tastemaker, cheerleader, hip hop feminist, cultural critic and all around TV big mouth. 

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Former Producing Host of HBO's interstitial politically incorrect talk show Chat Zone and syndicated NBC hip hop news show The Source: All Access, Abiola's writing is featured in current anthology A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer by Eve Ensler alongside the writings of Maya Angelou, Edward Albee and Alice Walker.  Her writing is also featured in critically acclaimed new anthologies Behind the Bedroom Door by Paula Derrow (Self Magazine) and Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia by Ellen Sussman, and last year she was the keynote speaker for Black History Month at New York University.

Where I grew up

New York City

Places I've lived

New York City; Los Angeles; Guyana

Companies I've worked for

BET, blackplanet, HBO, NBC, VH1; BET J's The Best Shorts Film Showcase & Competition; VH1's Tough Love Reality Show; Dare by Abiola Abrams on Simon and Schuster Pocket Books; HBO's The Buzz and Chat Zone; NBC's The Source: All Access Hip Hop News