Awakened Convos: LyNea Bell Chats Talent Agency, Creation of Search Engine

By LaTanya Scott / March 28, 2021 / CREATIVES IN ACTION / 0 Comments

After twelve months in development, African American entrepreneur LyNea “LB” Bell recently announced the launch of GOTCONN.com a privacy-based search engine. In celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, Bell, hosted a private virtual unveiling of the search engine on the popular and fast-growing App “Clubhouse.” Guests were invited to test GOTCONN and were wowed by its speed, accuracy and functionality. The search engine also received high approval ratings amongst users during the beta testing phases.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Ms. Bell where she chatted more on her agency, as well as the search engine.

Watch the interview above or read it below.

La’Tanya: This is LyNea Bell, and she is the CEO of Bell Hall Talent Agency. She has also just released a search engine that we will be talking about in just a bit. I like how we can call you L.B. because everyone calls me L.T. I would love for our viewers/readers to get to know you. One thing that I do know is that you like Kenny Latimore just like me.

L.B: He is one of my clients. I am talent agent, and I own a talent agency. We are a full- service talent agency, BH Talent (Bell Hall Talent, Inc.), full services, commercials, tv, film, music, writers, directors, producers…we have them all. Kenny Latimore, I have been blessed to be working with him the last couple of years.

La’Tanya: I am never star struck but I love his song, “For You.”

L.B: I told him that when I do tie the knot, you will have to sing for me. I have been blessed to work with a lot of amazing talent or a lot of amazing people, but I will not call him a talent because Kenny is a friend. I am honored that he saw something in me and said yes…he just renewed with me for another year, and I am so excited about that (L.T. congratulates her) the agency is doing great!

We have phenomenal clients, when you see who it is that we represent you will be like, what!

La’Tanya: I was checking out your Instagram page and I definitely see you. I then noticed that one of your clients was Kenny Latimore, I was just crying to his song “For You” the other day. He does not age, I need whatever it is that he has.

L.B: No, he does not, he is priceless. He is an anointed man, just a good-hearted person and no, he does not age. He just got married, I am so happy, so super shout out. You should have seen me the first time that someone introduced me to Kenny to represent him, you talk about nervous, because I grew up listening to him and I was like, are you serious? Okay…hold up (she demonstrates that she needed to get herself together). I asked him what is not happening that he would like to see happen, and he liked my spirit and decided to sign with me. I was like, Kenny Latimore, Oh my God…yay!

La’Tanya: This right here is a blessing for me, to meet someone of your caliber, your skills and expertise, that is a blessing. Thank you for everything that you do, and for keeping everything going.

La’Tanya: Can you tell us a little bit about you, I do know that you are from Seattle, can you tell us more about yourself?

L.B: It is correct that I am from Seattle and I am also a triplet and I love my womb mates. McClain (her brother who lives in Southern California, near their mother), is 2 minutes older than me, I am the middle child and then there is DeShae who is a chef in Seattle, he is 6 minutes younger…he is the runt of the guys, he did not want to come out, he wanted to bake a little more (L. Scott laughs) and there is nothing wrong with that.

La’Tanya: So, you are the middle child like me.

L.B: Yes, so you know what that is like to be in the middle. That 2 minutes, my twin, my womb mate, the older one, always wants to remind me that he is older than me, and I am always like, bruh, we were born on the same day and it is just 2 minutes, and he will say, it does not matter, I have to come first, you have to respect me, we are the same age, and we celebrate on the same day…the same time frame, there is no clock on that thought process.

La’Tanya: But in his mind, he is older…it does not matter what time, he is older (laughter).

L.B: I will be like, okay, that’s fine…I just know the order (they both laugh).

La’Tanya: There were some things about you that I was reading about, but I want to make sure that have my facts straight, did your mom appear on the Steve Harvey Show?

L.B: She did, and I bawled like a baby.

La’Tanya: Tell us a little bit about that, as I was reading the story, it made me want to cry, my mother has a disability as well and I would love to hear things from your perspective.

L.B: It is a beautiful story. At 2 ½ years-old, my mom was shot. It was a love triangle, and as a result she is a quadriplegic, according to what the doctors said, but my mom decided because she is a strong woman, that we were not allowed to say the word can’t, I mean she raised triplets all by herself. She left Washington, took us, and moved to California, and became an actress, got her bachelor’s degree, and this is why she was on the Steve Harvey Show.

She ran for governor while she was in Seattle, Washington, she lived her life. She has more shoes than I do, she’s married. We grew up washing clothes at 5, and in our house, can’t was not a word. You may need some assistance, but you will never say can’t because she beat the odds. She did rehabilitation, she drove cars…she drove us around, and all we did was to pick her up, get her in and get her out. She had a system, and she had 3 little helpers. We grew up with this independence, you could do whatever you wanted to do, and do not let what happens to you be your excuse, so you stand in that.

That was the strength that I got from her, and then looking at her situation, I could never cry. I had 2 legs, I could walk…there was nothing wrong with me, and she would always be like what is your excuse (she says laughing) and then scene. So you had to say, you know what…there are no excuses and you had to move.

La’Tanya: Is that something that you live by now, no excuse?

L.B: Yes, I am not a victim. At one point, I tried to be a victim because things have happened, I have been involved in car accidents, things happened, and then I had to look at my mom…I do not have any excuse. So, you have to find that inner strength, and say you know what, I have been called to do something, let me stand in that.

My mother wanted us to see that she could have crawled up into a ball, and just been passive, a victim to her circumstances, but she turned it around, because she refused to be anybody’s victim, and I am going to do what I need to do. Fun story, as an agent I met one of the producers of the Steve Harvey Show, I sent out her story to Steve Harvey and Oprah Winfrey, because I told my mother that I was going to get her in Oprah. The Steve Harvey Show responded, and they said that they loved her story and so they flew us out to Chicago.

She had written a book already, and there were some people that wanted to create a script, and make a movie out of it as well, and that is something that will probably happen.

La’Tanya: I want to see it when it comes out (as she raises her hand).

L.B: She wanted Vivica A. Fox to play her at one point, and some other people. Vivica Fox is one of her favorites.

La’Tanya: Hey, mama gets to choose, mama gets to choose (laughter), that is amazing.

L.B: For me it was emotional because of the fact that I was there…I was told that I was there when she was shot. So, having images of what that was, saying that it was going to be okay, and then turning that around to see that oh my God, it was okay, do you know what I mean, so it is life lessons that you are going to have to work through in order to get through, and so here we are.

La’Tanya: That is something that I am still working through as far as saying that it is going to be okay.

L.B: You have to know that it is going to be okay because again, it is about moving through that emotional handicap thought process, I could never call my mother handicap, her attitude is like…I wish that somebody would. She would say disability or maybe that there are certain things that I may need help with, or assistance with, but she did not want to be labeled by any debilitating terms.

She was very strong, and we were scared of her (L. Scott laughs while stating that she is still scared of her mother even though she is a grown woman), she would have the whole neighborhood on her side. If we even looked at her wrong, it was like after I get done with you, mind you she did spank us, and with those arms, she had those biceps (laughter), and you could not go anywhere.

La’Tanya: Oh yeah, don’t you move (they both laugh).

L.B: We were grounded for being grounded; she was real about it. But what I can say is that it has been a fun journey, it has been pretty interesting looking back.

La’Tanya: It is really a beautiful thing for you to still use the things that she instilled in you to make you into the person that you are, that is a beautiful thing.

L.B: I grew up with it, I had no other choice, it does not work any other way.

La’Tanya: So, according to the things that I have read about you, you know Tyler Perry and Kenny Latimore?

L.B: Yes, I did get to meet Tyler Perry, several of our clients have worked on his projects. Anthony Lewis, he worked on of the Madea plays and while we were there, we took a picture, so that was pretty cool.

La’Tanya: Have you ever seen the musical, ‘Hamilton’?

L.B: Yes, I watched it three times.

La’Tanya: Oh great! I love Hamilton, I listen to the music all the time, when Aaron Burr (most recently played by the actor Leslie Odom Jr.) sings the song. “The Room Where it Happens,” you have to be in the room in order to understand what’s going on, and when the general is talking to Hamilton, telling him that you have to tell your story. What will your story be, and right now in this moment and with everything that you have gone through, and no matter what you are doing in the future, you are telling your story, and do not let anyone else tell your story. That was one of the things that I wanted to mention to our viewers/readers before you came on, I wanted them to hear you tell your story because you are so awesome.

L.B: I agree with that, you have to be the one to tell your story, and that is when you are ready to stand in your calling. Recently, I have been having memory uploads, the Lord has just been causing me to deal with so many things that I compartmentalized, and now they are coming to the forefront, because it is easy especially when we are in pain or dealing with adversity to say that I am just going to chuck that, or to not want to face it, but those are the stories that people have to hear, that they have to want to be able to connect with you. I plan on being an attorney very soon that is what I thought that I was doing coming around with the agency because my partner is an attorney, and that was a childhood dream of mine.

The Lord was like, no, we have some unfinished business to deal with. I gave you this vision in 2006 and we are going to do that, and then we will circle back around. I was like, oh okay.

La’Tanya: You have to listen to God.

L.B: You have to listen and stand in what you have been called to do, and not just what you thought that you wanted to do. Your calling is global, that is something that is for everyone and not just for yourself, that is what we are here for to give to others, how may I serve you…I am serving some knowledge, I am making sure that we are protected and safe.

My grandson, we have not yet talked about the engine, but he has used it and he has been like, thank you gammy, he is 12. He said that it was so much better than the non-private people because it gives me so much information, current information, I love it. He was looking up a math problem and he was able to get his answer, it’s real he says (they both laugh), instead of other examples where you are not able to find the true information.

I believe in standing in your calling, and standing to tell that story, because you have to go through something in order to know something.

La’Tanya: You recently released a search engine, ‘GOTCONN’ and something that I took from it is that this will be something that will be very beneficial to one of my friends (L.B. smiles) who does not have any social media, he does not like to look anything up because he does not like the “trolls”

L.B: Cyber bullying is what we say.

La’Tanya: Yes. So, I need a vacation and I am deciding whether I want to go on a cruise, or do I want to go to Mexico, and then I realize that I need to get back to work, and then you open up your email, and all you see is information about cruises or everything concerning vacations, and it does that every time.

If you enter in your information on a website, you will see that they already have your information and with GOTCONN, it protects your information, and it protects what you search, and it does not cyber bully.

Can you tell us more about that and also, what was the significance of it being launched on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

L.B: Because we were in Black History Month, this WAS Black History, not to add color but we are going to add color. I am the first woman (by the way, I did not find this out until after the fact). We were in Beta stage and I looked up, how many other African Americans have created search engines. There were men, but there were no women that had ever launched a search engine. So for dedication and for the sake of history, it was important to launch it on Dr. King’s celebration day. It was not his actual birthday; it was the month that we celebrate it. I wanted that to go down in history because that is something that has been pioneered and we stood in what we have done.

Dr. King had a dream, he had a vision, that was something that was God inspired as well and so all those things connected to me and I wanted that portion to especially be for the month of February. Now, as we move on to women doing their thing, that is a whole other portion of that, but as we look at what we continue to do in this movement, that is why it was so important for me.

La’Tanya: Fantastic, so how did you feel when you found out that you were the first woman?

L.B: I was in denial. I was like wait, what? I just thought no that cannot be…seriously? Then, it was exciting to say that I am coming into a space that is dominated by men and yes, we have a voice, and we want to see that. so for me I thought that it was pretty cool. A lot of people thought okay, it does not matter what color you are, it does not matter if you are a woman, and actually…it does. Right now we are at a place where we are just so tired of the trolls, we are tired of the cyber bullying. Somebody said, I want to do something different, I want to stand out and be the first in something. There are a lot of firsts in our history, especially in our culture, where the story has been told years later but they triumph through and I was willing to stand in for that, because it has not begun but it going to begin.

We just re-launched our infomercial, there are so many things that are coming, and we already know that they are going to be like what…wait why is she telling the truth? It is time to tell the truth. There are so many people that are not educated, I will not say educated, but they do not realize that they are tired of being tired of the trolls (L. Scott is in full agreement), it is true they are tired of being trolled, they are tired of being tired of these things and we are forced to believe that we have to accept those things because we did not understand or recognize that there some available solutions.

So, we offered a solution, you do not have to deal with stuff anymore, you can do this instead. How many of our older people are frustrated, you mentioned your friend who does not have social media, he does not have all of those things for that very reason. When can your smart phone decide to tell you that this is what you have to have? It is like having a vehicle, everyone wants to have a self-driving car…right, I will not go into any names because I do not want them coming for me. But if you get a self-driving car do you want the car to provide the directions and you drive it, or do you want to get in that self-driving car and let it drive you to all the places that you did not instruct it to go?

I do not know about you; I may want the self-driving car, but I am going to drive and tell it where I want it to go (L. Scott shares this same sentiment). It is not going to tell me, no we are not going to go over there, we are going to go here instead and as a matter of fact, we are going to put you here too. That is what’s happening, they are giving you those ads, forcing you into this “sale” and it is all about the profile. To know that someone is profiling me, that is a stalker, that is cyber bullying, when is it okay to bully in public.

La’Tanya: It is never okay, and a lot of people do not understand that that is why when I read this, I decided that I was going to start sharing this information with some people; especially my friend. Because they will go into incognito mode and they still get their information…and then I get a text about what google changed. I do not know what to tell them other than to get off the computer.

L.B: We have made clear that we are using nothing of that name that you just mentioned, nothing…no A.W.S. (Amazon Web Services), nothing and we are creating our own space. We just got our analytics up; we just got a bunch of different things because we do not need your information to be successful. We do not need to pin you, we do not need your IP address, we do not need any of that information to be successful, because that has been the question, how do you guys make money.

So, you mean that we have to profile you, and get all of your information to make money, is that what you are telling me? I am just going to say it, that is slavery. It is a contract that I am not going to agree to.

La’Tanya: Absolutely, yes! Your passion for this is phenomenal. That is something that our viewers need to see. That is something that the folks that go to GOTCONN need to see. I also need for them to understand that you just gave a great description of it, so that is awesome.

So, you are a “serial entrepreneur” a leader, the first woman to create a search engine, first Black woman to create a search engine, mother, grandmother, with over 17,000 followers on Instagram, and if you are not following her on Instagram then you are missing out, because her Facebook page is funny and her Instagram page is informal, and you want to visit her Instagram page so that you can see everything that she does. She is also the CEO and founder of BH (Bell Hall) Talent, can you tell us more about that, why did you get started, and what were some of the challenges that you faced, and what are some of the challenges that you still face today?

L.B: Well as I mentioned, my mom has all of these accolades, she was a writer, producer, singer, actress…all that, so we grew up in the industry. So, we were always around it, and I dated a Hip-Hop artist for about 10 years, and he was in the industry. So I have always been around this…I used to be a Hip-Hop artist myself (L. Scott encourages her to drop a couple of bars), no sorry, that was in another life (they both laugh). I wish that I could bring Lady of Rage in because she is one of my clients. I love her, she is good people…all of our clients are just good people.

My youngest brother, my mother had one more child, paralyzed and she went full term, and he is musically gifted and is an artist as well. He had a manager that saw me and was like, oh she is smart. I had just had a car accident, I was hurt, torn shoulder, herniated disks…it was bad, and I was in a lot of pain.

My youngest brother, my mother had one more child, paralyzed and she went full term, and he is musically gifted and is an artist as well. He had a manager that saw me and was like, oh she is smart. I had just had a car accident, I was hurt, torn shoulder, herniated disks…it was bad, and I was in a lot of pain.

We put on a birthday/viewing party for Angell Conwell and Bentley Kyle Evans for ‘Family Time’ when my brother’s manager and I started to partner up to do a venture, and everybody kept saying are you running this, did you put this on, and I said no I am just here helping, and they thought that I was running the whole thing. I was blessed to meet Shelia Legette who I did not know at the time was V.P. of talent at Media Artists Group, she said, you need to be my partner. So, that is how I got the title of “talent agent” I never worked in a mailroom, Shelia was my mentor, she was like a sister, she was all those things, I love her, and we talk still to this day.

I was there for 3 years because there was a difference of opinion with the owner at the time on something as we were building this comedy division, I left there 3 years later and I went to…which I love…90210, which is Theo Caesar, love him that is my bro, and he let me be me, from there Tim Hall, who was his partner said I like her, you need your own agency, and that is how Bell Hall Talent started. I have been blessed to have clients that have followed me along the journey, because they believed in me.

I keep telling them that you guys have not seen nothing yet, what I would like to add to that is just because you are helping people you do not have to stop from being you. I would tell people to do you, be you and shine, but I was not shining in my lane as well, because I was concerned with being in conflict or in competition with my talent or with my clients. The thing is, it is not competition, it is not any of those things and I can still do what I do, and still serve and do what I have been called to do as well. Once I got through that, thank you Covid-19…no thank you Covid-19, everything has been a blessing.

We launched on Clubhouse on Martin Luther King. I had Torrei Hart come in, Kenny Latimore, Joe Torry, Lady of Rage popped in, and they all came in to say we love what you are doing, and we believe in it. I have cried, that is what I have done because of the support. It is a blessing to be a blessing, and then to have those blessings come back to you ten-fold.

La’Tanya: People need people, and you have the people, you are somebody’s person and vice versa, and for that support to continue to be there, that is just going to amplify the amount of people that are coming your way. You are an inspiration to me, and I am going to do my best not to get emotional. The reason why I say that is because I conduct these interviews for Purposely Awakened, and I read about people, and get a little bit of information about their life, and I talk to them about their life, and what it is that they are doing and then that is the end of the interview.

But for me to read about your mother, and all that she has done for you and your siblings (L. Scott becomes a little emotional and L.B. supports her through it), my mom is the strongest person in this whole entire world, mentally, physically, spiritually. She has Multiple Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis, Congestive Heart failure and all these other things, when I was 9 years old, my father drowned, my mother then became a single parent to my brother and me.

She remarried and then had my little sister, which made me the middle child, and you are also the middle child (L.B. laughs). Not too long after she gave birth, she was diagnosed, and she went from being an independent person to a dependent one, and regardless of everything, she is a fighter, she is strong, and she is always talking to me about how you cannot say you can’t because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Reference to Philippians 4:13), and she continues to do that, and for me to talk to you and to see what you came from, what you have gone through, it is a revelation to me to believe that everything is going to be okay. That is powerful for me, this was something that I needed.

I did not go to church this morning, but I did watch on tv and I was listening to what the pastor who was talking, said about this, and I was feeling like…oh okay whatever…I am going to do my best keep it going and to not be upset with the way that my life is, and how I do not know where my life is going…you know having my pity party, and not having anyone to tell my pity party to. So, of course it is overwhelming on the inside. I was getting ready for this interview and I was just hoping that this interview would go well, that my life would go well, and just feeling like I need a sign…I need a sign that will motivate me to continue doing what I am doing to be better, and talking with you is like, you are a phenomenal female, you are a trendsetter, you are just amazing. I am not able to explain what this is.

L.B: Things happen on purpose; this is on purpose. Let me tell you something. I often say, God got jokes. So, in doing all of this, Covid-19 happens, 8 months I am by myself because my son left to live with his father. So, it is just me the bible, and God. I asked what is it that you want me to do, and He was like I already know what I called you to do, do you know that in this journey, I started a ministry? We are Monday thru Friday; we are in Clubhouse and we are 7 people strong, and we call it Amens, where they have all said amen and it is about the personal relationship.

So, even hearing you, this was supposed to happen. Things happen on purpose, and timing is everything. We were supposed to talk, I am feeling your spirit, I am feeling His spirit in us right connecting us for a season like this, and that was what was supposed to happen. I am in awe right now. I was nervous, concerned about the talking points.

La’Tanya: I do my interviews differently. I want to have a conversation. I do not want it to be just questions and answers.

L.B: That is what is needed in this world, you took off the mask of people, and you let them get to see the heart. They get to see their hearts, they get to be connected, ‘Got Connections’ is what we call it in our ministry group because we are spiritually connecting. I thank you for that, and I see you… and you continue to do that because if you had not, I would not be here with you, so I thank you.

La’Tanya: I would like to be sure to stay connected.

L.B: I will give you my contact information and you can call me, and now you are my sister. That’s just what it is going to be.

La’Tanya: Thank you. Before we go is there anything else that you would like to share?

L.B: I thank you for being the woman of God that you are. I thank you for seeing me, because I do see you, so that is what I would like the viewers/listeners/readers to know, and for you to personally know that I see you, and that just means that we are connected. I am blessed to be here, and you took the nervousness away, and you made it so comfortable for me that I am like, okay, this was cool (L. Scott smiles), I am excited, and I will walk away feeling like this was amazing. So, thank you and to everybody that is listening or reading, the people that are tuned in to you…she is amazing, so you guys give her mad love, give her some mad shoutouts, and I say just continue to do you, continue to be you; and just shine. That is it, do not listen to any negative naysayers.

If I continued to listen to naysayers, 90% of the things that I am doing would not be done.

La’Tanya: Thank you. Was there anything else that you needed to cover that I did not ask you about?

L.B: No, but I did want to ask when your birthday is?

La’Tanya: It’s in November, so I am a Scorpio.

L.B: Oh, okay…my mother is also a Scorpio, so you are strong automatically.

La’Tanya: God definitely does have a sense of humor.

L.B: Yes, it is like I said He got jokes.

La’Tanya: I was thinking about the story of Abraham and Sarah and God told them that even in their old age that they were going to have a child. Sarah was eavesdropping on their conversation and when she heard God say that to Abraham, she laughed. God was like, what did you say? You think that I will not bless you, and then boom she was pregnant.

L.B: That part!

La’Tanya: When I read the bible, I put it in a way so that I can understand it. Sarah was questioning God.

L.B: Yeah, He was like, oh so you are calling me out, let me show you something…boom! You know what, I do that in my agency when people do not think that I can do certain things, and I will be like oh really, you have messed around and said the wrong thing…boom, now what (L. Scott laughs).

La’Tanya: This was great, and it was something that needed to happen, and I am so glad L.B. that you were able to meet with me to not only tell me a little bit about you, about your organizations, and the things that you are doing, but to also help me personally realize that things are going to be okay. I thank you and also everybody make sure that you follow her, let everyone know how they can do that.

L.B: I just need to say this, last week in our walking and talking group, again it is about the ministry, we ask you to move for 30 minutes, and I am unable to recall the topic of discussion for this particular day but one of the members, talked about “G.P.S”, which stands for Gods Purpose Succeeds, let Him be your GPS, because the plans that He has for you will always succeed.

For everyone that is listening you can follow me @iamlyneabell, and if you just GOTCONN it, my son says get connected, GOTCONN it, if you search LyNea Bell, then all of my social media platforms will populate.

La’Tanya: She is everywhere, and this is somebody that you all need to connect with. She is the one to watch in entertainment and in everything that she is doing. On that note, I am going to wish you well, and I going to stay in touch.

L.B: Absolutely, I am so excited!

La’Tanya: Thank you and remember guys, G.P.S.

L.B: God’s Purpose Succeeds.