Angela Yee's Love For Cars Is More Than Lip Service

Radio Host Jams In A BMW X6M To A Dancehall Playlist

It’s hard to keep up with Angela Yee.

Yee’s podcast Lip Service has been going strong for nearly 300 episodes. She and her co-hosts dive into intimate conversations about sex and relationships with guests that have included Megan Thee Stallion, Issa Rae, and Chelsea Handler. She has co-hosted the syndicated radio show the Breakfast Club on Power 105.1FM for ten years, and has been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. Her new TV show Established with Angela Yee airs weekly on Fox Soul.

Yee is an an entrepreneur, who co-owns a coffee business, Coffee Uplifts People , that’s focused on voter awareness and suppression. She participated in a billboard campaign to get out the vote with Ciroc Vodka in Atlanta, Baltimore and Detroit. She co-owns a Bed Stuy juice bar Juices for Life, and has launched a product Drink Fresh Juice available in supermarkets.

She divides her time between Brooklyn and Detroit, where she owns real estate and will open a store later in the year. She has been awarded as the “Shirley Chlsholm Woman of Distinction,” and named as an Ambassador for the New York Public Library. Yee says she loves to drive. As a native New Yorker who lives in Brooklyn, her car is an escape for her. Yee hops in her black BMW X6M and pulls up her dancehall playlist, and hits the Jersey Turnpike.

How were cars a part of your upbringing?

My dad used to always have the most embarrassing cars growing up. I remember that the first car we had was this Duster. It was powder blue. It was so old you could feel the floor from inside the car. My mom hated driving. She would only move the car, because we have alternate side parking in Brooklyn. She would have to go move the car and it was so hard to find a parking spot sometimes you would have to park like eight blocks away. But she wouldn't drive anywhere else. She wouldn't drive on the highway, she wouldn't drive on the street; she only would move the car. My dad would do all the driving and he was a very aggressive driver.

Then we upgraded and got a yellow Monte Carlo, equally embarrassing. I used to be like, “don’t drop me off in front.” When I was in 10th grade, we moved to Jersey and in Jersey, you really have to drive everywhere. We moved to South Orange, and you can't really get around without a car. So my mom started having to drive a little bit more, but she just still doesn't drive that much, like she won't drive on the highway. She won't drive to the city. She'll drive like to the mall in Jersey and that's about it. And even that's a stretch.

Probably the only reason I got my license when I was 17 was because I lived in Jersey and it was part of school, you took driver’s ed. I think if I wasn't living in Jersey, that would have never happened. When I first got my license, I definitely had a bunch of accidents. I just wasn't that great of a driver. My best friend from high school and I, they used to call us “Thelma and Louise” because we used to get in so many car accidents. It was really bad. She totaled her car like a month after she got it, and I was there with her. We ended up having to go to the hospital. We were all okay.

What did you learn to drive in?

My parents bought a Camry and it was brand new still. I was only 15, and I stole the car and went driving and crashed it twice. I put it back in the driveway and didn't say anything. Then I just heard my dad screaming later that night when he came home. He went in the driveway and so the car was crashed on the front end and in the back.

What was the first car that you actually had of your own?

I had a 1987 BMW over and it would always break down, because it was old. My grandfather gave my mom the money and she got the car for me. It was a beautiful car, if it was in good condition, but it would always break down. So that didn't work out too well. And then after I graduated from college, my mother gave me her Camry. I was so grateful to have it. I didn’t have to pay insurance because it was under her name. I lived in Jersey City when I graduated from college. So I had to take the PATH train all the time so it was just nice to have a car.

What was the first car like you bought yourself?

A BMW X3. I loved that car. It was really nice. It was like a fun car to drive. And it felt, you know, it's cute. It was sporty.

What are you driving now?

I have a BMW X6M. That's probably the nicest car I've ever had. I’ve had an X6 since the year they came out. I just ended up getting the X6M, because the dealer was like, you need it. You can't get the regular X6, you’re Angela Yee. He really talked me into it and hyped me up. So then I just said, okay. I drive to work every day, or I used to before the pandemic. I do think it's important for me to have a nice car to drive in because I do spend a lot of time in my car. Because I can afford to do it, it's just nice to have something that you're comfortable in. I always do a three year lease and then get a new car every three years.

That's fun. What does your space feel like in your X6?

I love my car. I have a red interior. I have a black car. This is the first time I've done a black car. I've always had l silver or white because it doesn’t look as dirty. I'm not big on going to the carwash. I love having a good sound system. Some people might feel like it's impractical. Like why do you even need that car in the city? But I enjoy it. Listen sometimes I like to just go for a drive. When I go visit my parents they still live in Jersey, I break the speed limit real quick, just because I can.

“When I’m in the mood, I like some slow jams”

What do you listen to while you're in the car?

Dancehall. I have like 1000 dancehall playlists. And then I would say the second thing, I really like to listen to when I'm in the mood, I like some slow jams.

What's your favorite road to drive on?

I find myself on the turnpike a lot. I like any place that doesn't have too much traffic. Traffic is a killer. I hate driving on the Cross Bronx. When I'm on the turnpike normally, and it's like a nice smooth ride, I don't mind that at all.

If we were in regular times, do you travel a lot?

I travel all the time. Obviously, not as much now, but I've been in Detroit a couple of times, just because of the store opening. I went there because I'm working on a documentary. My friend Jennifer is on the show “Basketball Wives,” but we actually went to high school together. Some guy she was dating like scammed her and stole her Range Rover and he's actually from Detroit. So we interviewed his aunt and uncle about how he scammed them too, and how he scammed his own father as well.

When it all happened to her, she was embarrassed. But all these people started messaging her like,” Oh, my God, this guy did it to me too.” The police are really slow on things like this. So hopefully, doing this will bring more attention to it and warn some other people. She was a little nervous and I wanted to help her.

Angela drives the dressed up version of this BMW X6, the X6M.

What is your dream destination?

I’ve always wanted to go to Thailand. Thai food is like on my list of favorite foods after Caribbean food. I love Jamaica, that's one of my favorite places to go to. I love Bermuda. My mom’s from Monserrat. But I do want to start exploring more outside of my comfort zone.

Do you think that one day we should give up our cars?

I think cars will have to evolve like they have been, so it's not as harmful to the environment. And I think that is something that people are more aware of. I don't know if we will ever give up cars, because that might be kind of difficult. You see how much more cost effective it is when you're not having to buy gas. You know, electric cars might really be what the wave is going to be.

Do you see yourself in an electric car for your next lease?

I would. That'd be nice. And even like a hybrid, you know? I remember the time when everybody had Hummers and thought those were the cars but I just remember how much people had issues with that because it was so terrible for the environment. It is something we have to be more conscious of, even carmakers have to be more conscious of it. There should be incentives for these dealers. Because financially they're going to need that and then they just have to look good enough for people to say, okay, that's cool. If you have family, it has to just work out so that it makes sense. My brother has an electric car and he loves it.

What are you doing when you’re sitting in traffic?

I would say 70% of the time, I'm on the phone trying to catch up on things that I couldn't do in the house. Sometimes I just need a break, and I'm like, I'm just gonna listen to some music. And that's it. It is really just those two things. I do feel like I sometimes I'm on the phone the whole entire time.