Unfortunate that you feel that way. I remember when the Radio Station went urban and I was the only white person on the air with Cliff Winston (RIP) our amazing morning guy John Monds afternoon Frankie Ross Lisa Canning at night! Mike Stratford was our PD And had a heart of gold – still does! Harold Austin was our music director another amazing talent.
Kevin Slow Jammin James and Dominique DiPrima were brought on. I was blessed to be there from 89 to 98 and saw my way through many genre changes from Rock with a Beat (We called it the rainbow coalition because we had a racial mix of on air talent – Black white Latino) The ratings did not support the format which is sadly often the case – ratings equal revenue dollars and if the money ain’t coming in they change the format! We then became FM 92 and we’re an awesome urban Radio Station .
But again the ratings did not support the format and we moved in the direction of hip-hop and from the best program director in the country Keith Naftaly. I was blessed to work with him twice first when he hired me into the hip-hop world in the late 80s and KMEL in San Francisco another incredible hip-hop Radio Station on the west coast. Keith’s knowledge of the music and his acceptance of all races was never in question.
The powerhouse that b
ecame 92.3 the Beat – the number one Radio Station in Southern California – was for a reason a group of extremely talented people focused on the same goals working with the community and creating great summer jam concerts! The beauty of radio is that so many people would listen enjoy the music and enjoy the talent and not even know what they look like.
Unfortunately for some, when they found out that that person didn’t “look” how they assumed or wanted them to look they were disappointed. Most of the time I did not experience that to be the case people were able to look past the color lines which is really what we were all about in the 90s accepting people based on their talent and not the color of their skin.
Learning to except “the other side” whatever that may be as part of our process involving as humans the other lesson learned is you can’t demand respect rather command it by your actions/behavior. Speaking of behavior, I remember the LA EQ very well – I went to the studio and found the building open and empty – music log on the floor and you had rolled out!
Kevin Ross’ Responce:
Its not unfortunate that I felt that way, that’s the way it was. Glad you were there to see so many genres and changes with the formats, that’s the problem, black jocks were/are not afforded that opportunity. Also I would never abandon a studio, I saw you go into the studio as i exited the bathroom and I knew you had it from there. I saw you but you didn’t see me. Not sure how the log was on the floor.
It’s always easier to see these situations from the side of “advantage.” Funny how it was about the color of your skin when it came to the music (Black artists) but not how that music was represented or presented. Why is it that every culture on the planet can be proud of their heritage and claim ownership of their culture EXCEPT Black people who are expected to share it with the world (not a problem) and only the rest of the world can profit from it … (enormous problem).
I always had a great respect for your talent and even I was stunned that you were not black when I met you. You may have thought they didn’t have an issue with it but that’s because they didn’t tell you that. Black listeners might have been upset because they may have… felt betrayed?
