Free From Envy....

Or shall I say, Free to Envy?

Just wanted to take the time to show my appreciation for Joe @ UrbanRadioNation. You be on it. :D Your latest blog about DJ Envy leaving Hot 97 got me thinking....

Do you ever truly think about how social networking has impacted us? Think about it. I used to constantly refresh my computer screen over on UrbanInsite, RRonline & AllAccess, anxiously awaiting all the news about new hires, promotions, relocations, station promotions & firings. Today, it aint even necessary to go the news for the news. Envy announced on Twitter that he's leaving Hot 97. Crazy.

So, you know me. After I heard the news, I went fishing. Although Envy really isn't considered a major player on Hot, I still couldn't help but to wonder why he would walk away. You see, people love being associated with Hot 97. Hot 97 is synonymous with Hip Hop. Hell, just being an intern at Hot can potentially boost you to the next level. (ask Tracy Cloherty) So why would Envy walk away? Especially since he was getting paid a full time salary to work in a part time capacity. (don't ask me how I know)

Word on the street is that DJ Envy will go over to Power 105.1 as the new afternoon host. This is what I heard YESTERDAY. And then, whattya know....this morning, Free tweets (there goes that Twitter again) that today will be her last day. (thanks for the tip MSW) My prediction: Mahlika will move to mornings to replace Free...and Envy will take afternoons.


Radio is truly getting more and more interesting by the minute. Sidebar - They called DJ Envy -DJ Envy for a reason. He's a DJ. A freaking DJ. You know....one of those dudes who spins in a club? Don't get me wrong.....he is definitely one of the sweetest guys I know. He's a father, a loving husband and a serious hustler. He has lots and lots of money. He owns his own home, drives nice car(s) and isn't anywhere near thugdom. Just a sweetiepie. But radio personality - he is not. I won't list the reasons now. I'm off to a damn doctor's appointment. Never made it to my 10.00 an hour interview....because I got bad news from the OB GYN yesterday. I will spare you the details...but I have officially worried myself into a medical condition that may require surgery. (fuckin' great)

The bullshit never, ever ends and I'm starting to find it funny. I have to laugh to keep from crying.

Good luck Envy. I aint hatin' on ya.

PS- I e-mailed Cadillac Jack (the PD) about 6 times over the past 1.5 years...and I never got a reply. Even with all of my experience. Comedy.



EDITED TO ADD - 7 seconds after I submitted this blog, my friend e-mailed me to tell me that Envy is the new afternoon host at Power. Malikka Mahlette (sp?) is moving to mornings to replace Free. wow.

DL Hughley FINALLY Says Something Hilarious!

Taken from RadioInfo.Com

The comedian took on the “Kiss 98.7” morning role only this Summer. But just about 10 days ago (November 19) he dropped in on the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show, hinting that while Tom may be “getting paid” to work, D.L. isn’t. Hughley jokes that he’s been doing a movie to make money, because radio wasn’t paying him. Last week he was on vacation from WRKS, with Boyz II Men hosting. But he’s back today – and this T-R-I Newsletter suspects the folks at WRKS owner Emmis will be listening extra-hard to see just what he says on the air.

Oh-No-he-didn't

This C list, UNFUNNY negro was HANDED a morning show on a platinum platter - with NO radio experience - in the # 1 RADIO MARKET - and he's over there on the TJMS talking smack about not getting paid? Whoooooo Lawdy. I can GUARANTEE that his salary is more than what most EXPERIENCED personalities are getting paid now days and his ungrateful azz is on a syndicated radio program trying to be slick at the mouth?? Wow. Furthermore, has he been in the seat 6 months yet? Has he shown and proven himself to be a force to be reckoned with in NY morning radio and therefore is DESERVING of a big fat pay increase?

Just imagine for a split second what would happen to my black azz if I got on a national stage talking crap about my employer and my pay scale. I would have been standing on the unemployment line like THAT SAME DAY.

I can't help but wonder about how hard DL works prior to each airshift. Does he come in an hour or two early to prep? Does he pick up a newspaper to see what's going on in that big ole' city of New York? Does he bring fresh, innovative ideas to the table? Does he personally answer text messages & e-mails from listeners? Does he have a facebook or twitter page? Does he blog? Does he upload a few video every now and then to YouTube in a effort to generate a little interest about himself, his co- hosts or the radio station even? Does he know when ratings are published and is he eager to find out how he's doing so that he can make improvements where necessary? Does he even KNOW what PPM is? Does he make a conscious effort to do something that his competition Steve Harvey CAN'T do....which is BE LOCAL? Does he meet with the PD for aircheck sessions on a weekly basis? Does this negro know ANYTHING about doing a compelling morning show?

Probably not. Just give him a couple of millions of dollars for basically SUCKING. That's all.

Emmis Communications - -I truly believe you guys deserve each other. This is what y'all get for hiring this fool. I hope he continues on this rampage...and I hope it spills over onto the WRKS airwaves.


PS- My production friend tells me that when Boys II Men sat in last week, it wasn't even live. The whole thing was prerecorded. They sat there for a few days, talked about having Spam for Thanksgiving and played Boys II Men songs all morning. THIS is what radio has turned into. Amazing.

PPS- I'm going for an interview tomorrow for a job that pays $10.00 an hour. Reminder: I used to make $4,000 every two weeks. Wish me luck.

What Charlamagne Tha God Won't/Can't Tell You....

I wrote the following the same evening I heard about the Beanie Sigel interview:

"Dear Charlamagne:

I like you. I've never met you..but I like you. I didn't listen to your show regularly, but I know enough about you to like you. I admire you for being a personality who thinks OUTSIDE the box. I view you as being controversial...but not in a forced kind of way. You're a little obnoxious, but I still like you. Why? Because you ENGAGE the listener. You get it. You HAVE to give the listener a little more than the temperature and a liner in order to compete.

I checked on your well being regularly because knowing your R Kelly's boyfriend aka your former boss, the way that I do, I found it hard to believe that everything was honky dory every morning when you got off the air. In fact, after this 30 minute interview with Beans, I thought I heard ERCS screaming in his office all the way on the west coast."

On or around September 9th, about a month or so BEFORE Charlemagne was terminated at THE BEAT in Philly, I blogged the following:

Charlamagne Tha God has been doing exceptionally well @ 100.3 in Philly. A part of me can't help to wonder if Elroy is in his office pulling his hair out. (figuratively speaking, that is) Elroy likes manufactured, feel good, corny azz radio personalities that he can control. (hence the Miss Jones' firing) Tha God doesn't seem like "that dude". Elroy also will secretly wish death to anyone who says anything negative about his boyfriend, R Kelly. This will be interesting to watch. *sidebar* - Elroy...you can kiss my ass too. I'm thinking about writing a book about what a fraud you are.

You see, I knew Elroy wouldn't be able to last long. I.KNEW.IT.

C Tha God was not your typical radio personality. He was different. He knows and truly understands the importance of utilizing technology as it relates to keeping the listener ENGAGED. Even when I'm sure Elroy didn't exactly get it...and his bosses boss didn't understand....CHARLAMAGNE got it. In the few months that he graced the Philly airwaves, he made a TREMENDOUS connection with his listeners...and he did this not only through the traditional airwaves...but through the use of YouTube & Twitter. In fact, he was so good at it....until he easily drew attention and quickly gained notoriety among a ton of popular blogs and various print publications. He became popular really quick. Charlamagne knew how to push the envelope. He was the type of radio cat that you may talk trash about because of his on air persona....but you couldn't stop listening. He was good. He was DAMN good. So while the internets was buzzing about C's firing, assuming that Beanie Sigel had something to do with it, I knew in my heart what really happened. Since the radio world refuses to say anything anti-Elroy, I'll go ahead and break it down. Elroy is a bitch. He couldn't control C...and so C had to go. I am so serious. By the way, did he try to change your name when he first hired you like he did to "Beyonce Foxx" & "S Dot Carter" back in Chicago a few years ago? (more true examples of the Smith dictatorship)

If you're reading this and you are a part of the radio industry - - you already know. Stop fooling yourself. Elroy is a serious, SERIOUS media whore and a control freak. He would give up BOTH of his kidneys at the opportunity to be on the cover of somebody's industry trade. When celebrities come to the station and you would prepare to take a picture with them, he would literally jump in front of you and destroy the whole moment. By the time you get off the air, that picture is already on the homepage of Urban Insite & All Access. Always trying to steal the little bit of spotlight. He suffers from a condition called, Jackass-itis. Don't believe me? Watch this vid:






(*I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth*) Brand new morning show @ The Beat...and Elroy couldn't even let poor Charlamagne do a little intro video for the listeners alone.

And so....as I watched Charlamagne quickly grow....I knew that it wouldn't last. I too was independent and creative...and I didn't last either. I remember asking Elroy if I could incorporate certain elements into my show...and he downright refused. Why? I may have turned into a Charlamagne...that's why. Miss Jones didn't last 5 minutes with Elroy either. And if C expects to get another radio job, his best bet is to maintain his composure, refrain from bitch slapping Elroy and bow out and exit gracefully....which he did. Good for you.

Listen up Program Directors out there. You really need to stop resisting creative radio personalities. Try to learn about this little phenomenon called social networking and it's impact on the radio experience. Stop trying to tell artists how to paint. You will lose.

When Will This Shit End?????

I honestly didn't want this blog to be a continuous whine-fest...so I've been avoiding it. I do have a couple of things to get off my chest...so here we go.

I didn't want to come in here. My situation hasn't changed....and I simply don't know what to do. I really think I'm suffering from depression. I have all the signs. I don't sleep. I've gained weight. I cry uncontrollably. I don't drink...but I think I may raid my mother's liquor closet to ease my non stop pain. I actually didn't pay my rent last month. I told my landlord that I need to use my security deposit for rent. He was very understanding. I actually had to call the corporate office of my part time gig and DEMAND that they send my check. Only God knows why they had decided to withhold my check.

I want to move to a smaller apartment...but I'm afraid that I my part time gig could dissolve at any moment...and then I'd REALLY be up shit's creek.

I spent 5 years strengthening my credit...and now it's about to be fucked up again before I'm literally living off my credit cards...and I can't afford to pay them.

I received an e-mail yesterday:

Dear XXX,

Thank you for taking the time to apply and/or interview with Sirius XM Radio back in March 2009. We regret to inform you that the Receptionist position for which you applied is now filled.

Sirius XM's staffing needs continuously change. We will retain your information in our recruitment database so please continue to look through our open positions for future opportunities.

Due to the large volume of candidates we receive, we will be unable to personally respond to replies to this email. If you would like to check your status for any other position you have applied for, feel free to visit our careers page at http://careers.xmradio.com.

We appreciate your interest in Sirius XM and wish you continued success in your professional endeavors.

Sincerely,

Sirius XM Radio Recruitment Department

I'm thinking about sending them an e-mail back.

Dear XM:

So nice of you to e-mail me about the position that I applied for back in March 2009.

Fuck You.

Sincerely,

The Radio Chick.

Radio colleague Mark Raymond passed away recently. I never met him...buy my heart literally broke when I learned of the news. I read the following on another industry blog and I felt compelled to share:

"...I think Mark Raymond died of a Broken Heart, not by some fine chick from Alabama where he was living and was once the PD of a Huntsville Urban AC , but by the business of radio that he spent most of his life in.

I remember a few years ago Mark wrote something about him getting out the business for ever and how he was frustrated by aolt of the things that were going on and shortly after that he got the PD position in Huntville.

I worked with Mark at the first station I ever worked and he and Chris Turner were PD and Assistant PD and they gave me my first fulltime job in radio at WGIV Charlotte. We were a struggling AM at that time and we were trying to stay afloat while the new FM at that time WPEG was emerging.

Mark, who was from Trenton, NJ and me from Philly were good friends and we both had big dreams of working in big markets, making alot of money and enjoy the life of radio business that we both loved. We often debated over who was the better station WBLS or WDAS. With Mark living in Trenton he heard both stations while I was very partial toward WDAS FM.
Mark left the station to be PD at WERD in Jacksonville, with Chris Turner and they wanted me to come, but I had a new born daughter and didnt want to move at time. I loss track of Mark for a few years and then he called me after hearing me somewhere in he told me that he was out of the radio business and working for Circuit City in the Winston Salem area. He later got back in the business that he loved, radio.

Mark, like me and others have spent almost our entire lives doing this radio thing in small towns like Winston-Salem, Sumter, Huntsville and other towns paying the socalled dues and dreaming of bigger markets and bigger things.

Mark never made it to WBLS like he always talked about but he did what he loved. He was a good kat who was serious about the business and I hope he was fullfilled.
I worked with some good kats and Mark was one of the good ones, and I just wanted to say that cause I havent seen anyone comment on him. Even though he wasnt one of those so called bigtime over hyped PDs or syndicated hotshot, I know he was a real black radio guy who worked in the trenches for little money , little hype, and he deserves his due."

RIP Mark. I honestly know how you felt. God give me strength.

KISS FM in NYC Makes Another WTF Decision

click to enlarge

Just in case you can't read the small print, it says:

Raqiyah Mays

has just been fired from 98.7 Kiss FM's "DL Hughley Morning Show." Why? I was given a reason, but still not 100 percent sure...

Gosh Raqiyah. I know I've scolded you in the past on this blog for being a dummy....but I never wanted you to lose your job. You'll bounce back, I'm sure.

They could have at least let the coffin get cold. My gawd.

They aint waste NO TIME getting your azz off the website. Those bastards. On another note, what the FUCK is Kiss FM doing? Really. The only female that worked from sun up til sun down is gone? Who's gonna work weekends now? Who's gonna do free endorsements and $75 station appearances? Who's gonna wash the windows now? Ladies and gentlemen, KISS FM is about to self destruct in 3......2......

Urban Radio Nation Wins BLOG ENTRY OF THE YEAR....

URN wins. You were SO ON POINT with your latest blog entry, I felt compelled to share it with the world. If your post were a sermon in church, I'd have the holy ghost. In fact, I was in the middle of writing my next blog when I decided to check you out. You messed me up. I lost my train of thought and everything.

WBLS, New York's Urban AC Radio Continues it's Search for Wendy Williams' Replacement

Is 107.5 WBLS running a contest that never ends? A better question might be what's the point of all of this?

So far WBLS listeners have heard on the air the last six weeks: Jeff Foxx, Osei the Dark Secret, Chubb Rock, Adimu and this week the afternoon airwaves are being graced by Egypt Sherrod. Oh and let me mention the leading vote getter is none other than Salt N' Pepa. Hey it's what the people want...

Maybe a name from the past such as this famous New York disc jockey might be on the air next week. Well that's what they use to call them.

Which one of those two men pictured here am I talking about? It has to be Ken 'Spider' Webb, (on the left) the former morning man on WBLS and 98.7 Kiss FM, who currently host mornings on Soul Town on Sirius XM radio. Not likely... The other guy of course is Frankie Crocker, who unfortunately died in 2000 and is credited with coining the phrase and the format known as Urban Contemporary in the late 1970's. However today we call it Urban "Adult" Contemporary.

Now if Frankie was still alive he'd probably die all over again and spin in his grave over what the format has evolved into. I turn on Urban AC radio nowadays and I almost have to scream at what I'm listening to. I always thought contemporary means modern and current. (Think of furniture. Urban AC radio is like a combination of Early American, Colonial and Pennsylvania Dutch.)

I'm sure that relatively "new", "cool", and "hip" was the essence of the format when Frankie developed it. Frankie Crocker received a lot of industry buzz for incorporating a mass appeal format. He was crazy enough to put Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" in rotation at the station. Of course that would only work in NYC, but at the time Sinatra's song was "current." So that type of out of the box programming with a strong roster of talent led to WBLS soaring to the #1 spot in New York until 'KTU and Kiss FM came along.

But now we have an over researched format that continues to push music from the likes of Luther Vandross, Patti LaBelle, Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, Sade, and most recently, thankfully Maxwell. All in all there's nothing wrong with these artists, but the continuous dose of this ballad laden music is monotonous. Meanwhile we see the rise of the Rhythmic AC format, also known as "MoViN" in various cities around the country. That format has seemed to tap into something that can be regionalized to the taste of the audience.

For my money I need a jock who shares his musical taste with me as the listener. The same corporate playlist emailed to program directors all over the country each week has taken a toll on radio listeners. I say leave the programming to the on-air personality. That of course is heresy. But if music radio wants to get out of it's dwindling and eroding listener base; then a return of the local DJ who is allowed to share his musical taste with his or her listeners is the way to go.


For the most part WBLS does a more than average job of staying out of the Urban AC programming rut and they sound like "New York." WHUR does a good job also for what they are- "Sounds like Washington." But in all honesty I still appreciate Donnie Simpson at WPGC, who programs his show with such songs as Kool Moe Dee - How Ya Like Me Now, Maxwell - Pretty Wings, Jay-Z - Run This Town (w/ Rihanna & Kanye West), Mary Mary - God In Me, Anita Baker - Sweet Love. It works for me and many other Washington area listeners. I would love to hear Donnie on an Urban AC station.

Now WBLS just remember you're not a reality TV show, a talk/celebrity gossip show, or a refuge for Old School Hip Hop artists. You're "in a class by itself", a radio station that plays music. Maybe the contest will continue until they find a radio personality that can get more votes than Salt N' Pepa...

Egypt's Got Next

Wow.

Skip & Co have finally decided to let REAL radio talent take a stab at "auditioning" for Wendy's spot next week. Hip, hip, hooray. Maybe I do have a chance after all. Nah....who am I kidding. I don't quite understand the game of charades that they're playing. I'm sure they already know who they're gonna hire already.

Even in my darkest hour, I still can be happy for women in radio who continue to prosper. Knock 'em out the box babygirl.