Filmmaker Michael J. Payton grew up in Oakland, with short stints in Pittsburg and Richmond, but it was the Bay that gave him his sense of independence and the confidence to trust his vision. Since age 11, he’s known exactly what he wanted to do.
“I saw hip-hop and the media industry as a way to get out,” Payton says. “I saw people who looked like me, came from neighborhoods like mine and spoke like me. They were making millions of dollars and speaking truth to power.”
While studying TV and radio broadcasting at San Francisco State University, Payton earned a scholarship from the Shawn Carter Foundation. The relief of having his tuition covered allowed him to fully focus on his creative pursuits. That scholarship did more than fund his education, it opened doors and built a network of support that continues to shape his career.
“The Shawn Carter Foundation isn’t just giving young people scholarships,” Payton says. “They’re teaching financial literacy, taking kids out of the hood and letting them see what life is like beyond their neighborhood.”
In 2017 Payton was selected as a California Capital Fellow, committing to a year of public service under then-Gov. Jerry Brown. The experience provided him a firsthand look at how public policy decisions are made and how resources get distributed. One highlight was helping the City of Stockton secure millions of dollars in funding for AmeriCorps volunteer initiatives.
“Being a fellow taught me how decisions get made and how resources get allocated,” Payton recalls. “I’m always trying to advance a conversation about the broader issues that affect my community.”
After completing the fellowship, Payton moved to New York to attend NYU, where he earned a master’s in media, culture and communication in 2020. His time there accelerated his path as a filmmaker. While living in New York, he created an unauthorized YouTube documentary on Murder Inc., the label behind artists like Ja Rule, Ashanti and Lloyd. The project quietly gained traction, enough to catch the attention of Irv Gotti, the label’s co-founder.
One day, Payton received a direct message from Gotti on Instagram. The record executive had watched the film and wanted Payton to direct the official story. That message led to The Murder Inc Story, a five-part documentary series on BET chronicling the label’s rise, fall and resilience during a federal investigation.
Directing the series delivered a full-circle moment: interviewing Jay-Z, whose foundation helped Payton attend college years earlier. During their conversation, Payton shared that he had been a Shawn Carter Foundation scholarship recipient. Jay-Z immediately called his mother, Dr. Gloria Carter, co-founder of the foundation, to connect with one of its success stories in real time.
“Michael is a direct representation of everything the foundation stands for,” says Dania Diaz, executive director of the Shawn Carter Foundation. “His professionalism, his compassion, his drive to empower his community—that’s exactly what we hope to cultivate.”
Looking ahead, Payton is developing a documentary on Soul Beat, the former Bay Area TV station that amplified Black culture in the ’80s and ’90s. He hopes to preserve its legacy while continuing to tell stories that challenge injustice and celebrate creativity born from struggle.
“Entertainment is great,” he says. “But at what point are we going to start using these platforms to push back on the harm being done to our communities?” From an East Bay kid with a camera to a filmmaker interviewing icons, Payton’s path mirrors the Bay’s self-made spirit—resourceful, political and proud. As he turns his lens toward projects like Soul Beat, he’s not just telling stories from the Bay, he’s preserving its legacy and proving those voices still matter far beyond it.
