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10 Questions with ... DJ Meddi Medici
August 4, 2015
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1) What was your path to becoming where and what you are now?
As a child, I started off writing poetry in class around the third grade. Those poems became raps. Before I entered high school I had already been offered my first record deal with an independent record label out of New York. By the age 15, I was working in a recording studio, doing music production and recording sessions for other local artists. I used to call in on the BJ Murphy Breakfast Brother morning show in Charlotte and freestyle. When I graduated high school, BJ offered me a production assistant job to produce jingles, bits and parodies. A few years later, Al Payne hired me to do my first full-time night show in Wilmington, NC. The next year, I was hired by Chuck Johnson, PD for WRSV/Rocky Mount-Greenville. I left Rocky Mount and was hired by Boogie-D to do middays in St. Louis at WHHL. I left St. Louis to become APD and do nights in Tupelo/Starkville, MS, hired by DJ-RAX/Rockey Love/Rick Stevens. I left Mississippi to come back home as the PD of WGIV and afternoon drive of WGIV, hired by Steve Hegwood.
2) Since you are an on-air PD, remove your programming hat and share with me how important an air personality is to the success of a station.
A station has to have a voice. Radio is the communication medium that can be updated and report at the spur of the moment. But you have to have a voice/personality who can report the current events as they occur.
3) What is your personal goal?
I used to want to run for president, but ultimately my goal to be the biggest positive influence on American culture as I can possibly be.
4) How do you work with your air personalities?
I believe in accepting people for who they are. Once you accept them for who they are, then you can learn how to manage their personalities.
5) When you are not working and listening to radio what are your expectations as a listener?
I expect for a song to grab me within the first 10 seconds. I expect on-air personalities to pull in my interest within the first 10 seconds. Otherwise, I'm turning the station.
6) Are there parallels between sport and radio?
There are always parallels between organizations. Every position has an influence on the success of the team. You have to hire the best person for each position from top to bottom.
7) Do you find value in people who work behind the scenes?
Absolutely, I find value in people who love working behind the scenes. They make it their passion and for that reason, they work towards perfection. My current Production Dir., DJ Rashaun Dolla Green, is also our morning show producer, I offered him a weekend shift and he declined. Most people would jump at the opportunity to be on-air, but he loved producing and being behind the scenes. We have an intern named Krystal Choice and she initially thought she wanted to be on-air, but now has found a love for doing production behind the scenes. I hate it when salespeople or people in promotions departments take jobs in those departments knowing that their true desire is to be on-air. In my opinion, they will never commit themselves to the position that they accepted because they will always be waiting for an opportunity to move to a different department.
8) What's the funniest experience that ever happened to you in radio?
There are too many to tell just one. I used to do a show feature called "Late Night Confessions." That was always interesting. People called up and confessed things like having sex in church, etc. Radio is theatre of the mind, you can use it to paint pictures that the listening audience will find interesting enough to tune in on a regular basis.
9) So what is it about your job and your city that you like so much?
I was born and raised in Charlotte. Therefore I have an emotional attachment to the city. I will always understand Charlotteans better than someone who wasn't born and raised here.
10) Could you share some of your mentors and those who you admire?
I would consider every manager that hired me a genius in some way. BJ Murphy brought me in the game, Boogie D and Al Payne are kings at putting on-air promotions together (learned from Brian Douglas), and Steve Hegwood is living his dream and pushing the agenda that he believes in.
Bonus Questions
Could you tell me something about yourself that others would be surprised to know?
I farm. In my backyard I grow cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, corn, peppers, cantaloupe, watermelons, salad greens, squash, strawberries, carrots, and I'm attempting to grow fruit trees including apples, oranges, limes and bananas
What are your weaknesses and how do you try and overcome them?
I will never tell the weaknesses, but I do believe in hiring people around me who excel in the areas where I am weak.
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