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10 Questions with ... Royce Stevenson
March 24, 2020
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
- Jan. 2006 – Dec. 2007 – KSJM/Wichita
- Jan. 2008 – Present – KDGS/Wichita
1. What got you into radio?
I have always loved music and listening to radio. What really got me was when I was in high school. I saved up the money to by some turntables and stated mixing records. In 1996, I was on vacation with my mom visiting family in Houston. We were on the highway listening to 97.9 The Box. This was when The Mad Hatta was doing afternoons. They had a segment called "Freestyle Fridays". People would call up and freestyle live on the radio! I had never heard anything like it. Plus, I was into hip-hop and listening to a hip-hop station blew my mind, because we didn't have one in Wichita. I also got to hear a live mixshow during the 5pm hour and they were playing Outkast - Elevators. Blew my mind because they were playing it before the single had been released! They had all the promo copies! From that day on I wanted to be in radio and have a live mixshow on a station in Wichita.
2. What did you dream of becoming when you were a kid?
I wanted to be an astronaut. I loved science and anything that had to do with outer space and the planets. In my teenage years, I started really getting into music. I also knew I wanted to work in the music or radio industry. For a long time I wanted to me the person who mixed and mastered songs. I also wanted to create and make documentaries.
3. You're not only an APD/MD/Imaging Dir./air personality but you are also a very talented photographer. How long before we see an exhibit in Wichita?
I would love to have an exhibition of my photography. I still use a film and darkroom. It is almost a form of meditation for me. I love going out and exploring and finding interesting things to take photos of. Sometimes I might not process the film for months, so when I finally do it is like seeing it again with fresh eyes. I have had people ask about a photography exhibition and when the time is right it will happen. I want to get a great body of work together. If that takes 20 years, then that is what it will take. I would also like to make photobooks that cover different themes and places over time. But I could see a full exhibition in the next couple of years.
4. Think back to your early impressions of being in a radio station for the first time. What surprised you about the experience?
When I listened to the radio I had a vision of a DJ in a dark room in the top of a building talking into a microphone and having his voice be heard for miles. It was kind of this romantic vision I had. But the first studio I ever visited was a small hole in the wall space with old equipment. I think what also surprised me was seeing a jock in the studio. I used to watch the California aircheck videos with Domino and so many talented radio jocks. How they got phone calls and edited them was amazing to see.
5. Hip Hop fan or aficionado?
Both. I consider myself so lucky to be raised during the time I was. I was in middle school during the early 1990’s right as hip-hop was starting to explode. But it was still underground. So it was cool to be around that scene. Especially in a place like Wichita, Kansas. It was like we had our own tribe. I was the kid who was breakdancing and DJing at all the parties. Great times.
6. What would you like to see more of in Hip Hop for 2020? What would you like to see less of?
Whoa! This might take a while. Hip Hop is in an interesting place right now. If you were to ask a person who is 50, 40, 30, 20 and 13 what is hip hop they might all give you a different answer. You see certain artists that are put under the hip hop umbrella but aren’t really hip hop at all. I would love to see hip hop culture pulled back a bit not as mainstream. Let hip hop culture be HIP HOP culture, not pop culture. But, I don’t see that happening. I would love to see New York City being a major factor in hip hop again. The city still is, but not on the level that it used to be. At least not in middle America.
7. If you weren't in radio, what do you think you'd be doing professionally?
Working for a record label or streaming service. Marketing for artists or brands is something I would love to do as well. Of course, be a photographer or a documentary film maker.
8. What artists are you expecting big things from in 2020?
Expect Roddy Rich to blow up this year. I think Doja Cat, Tyla Yaweh and NLE Choppa will have huge years as well. With YouTube now being counted on the Billboard 200 so many artists are going to come up! Youngboy Never Broke Again has HUGE YouTube numbers so I can see him all over the Billboard 200 this year. He is going to have a monster 2020!
9. If you could be on any TV reality show or game show, which would you want to be on?
Anything reality TV show that gives a free home makeover. Who wouldn’t want that?
10. If you had to eat one type of meal every day for a month, what would it be?
I could eat Thai every day! Love it!
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