10 Questions with ... Marcus Chapman

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I started collecting music when I was four years old and collecting heavily when I was about 13. I started doing music research when I was 17 in my second semester of college at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL. At the end of my second year I got approved to do my own show on the student-operated campus radio station and did my first show in the beginning of my third year. The station was called WKDI, and you had to have a cable hooked up to your radio to hear it. Unfortunately for me and the other students who were there, the cable hook up also made it easier to hear the Chicago stations, so not too many people paid attention to WKDI regardless of how much promotion I did for my shows. The three years I spent on college radio playing whatever music I wanted to play, but without much of an audience, showed me that just because you're on the radio doesn't automatically mean you're a radio star, and I wanted to be a star. That experience shaped my drive and my approach toward everything I did once I got in professional radio. I worked at WGCI/Chicago, WTLC/Indianapolis, and KKDA alias K104/Dallas-Ft. Worth. Then I worked at WGCI again while working for Mediabase at the same time. I joined WGCI again for a third time before relocating to Atlanta. I made several appearances on WVEE aka V103/Atlanta, but I never officially joined their staff because CBS Radio shut down all the hiring they were going to do when the economy went bad in 2008. I ended up out of the business altogether until I relocated back to Dallas again in late 2012. I joined Radio One and worked at KBFB (97.9 The Beat) and later KSOC (Boom 94.5). I was on both stations at the same time for a while. While I was in Dallas, I authored two music guides; the first of which led to me contributing to episodes of TV One's Unsung and Unsung Hollywood. I relocated back home to Chicago in May of 2017.

1) What's the best gig you ever had in this business?

It depends on how you look at it. From an overall happiness perspective, I'd have to say the first time I worked at WGCI/Chicago when it was South Michigan Ave. That was a special place to be, and most people who worked there would probably tell you the same thing. I started there in August, 1995 as a studio assistant pulling carts and taking requests. By the time I left at the end of September 1999, I was hosting the two hottest shows on the station. I'm very proud of what I was able to accomplish in that era because every year I made more progress towards becoming what I knew I could be. I was the youngest person at the station.

Unlike most of my contemporaries at the time, I didn't go to a broadcast school, so I really had to focus on developing my skills because the competition was no joke! They had three studios: WGCI, WGCI-A and a third studio that was rarely used. I would make copies of the station liners and borrow CD singles from the MD, Don E. Cologne (still the best MD I ever worked with). I used to take all that into the third studio and practice like I was on the air. I would do the same talk breaks over and over again, sometimes 20 or 25 times in a row, until I felt I'd done my best, and even then, I'd try them in different ways. I kept making new tapes every month until management thought I was good enough to at least audition to be on the air staff. After I passed the audition I spent about nine months on the staff without a particular shift; mainly working overnights on Holidays.

By March 1997 I had my own weekend overnight show on Friday nights/Saturday mornings called "The Afterset." I approached it with the same type of energy you would expect from an afternoon show, and it gave me the chance to develop my skills on a regular basis. 1997 was also the year that I started using the clip of Eartha Kitt saying "Marcus darling" from Eddie Murphy's movie Boomerang. It got to a point where listeners would even call the station competing with each other to see who could say my name like Eartha Kitt did in the movie.

I also started putting my initials in front of my name around that time. Even though it's a little longer, "MC Marcus Chapman" was easier for people to remember than "Marcus Chapman" and it sounded cooler. Plus "MC" was connected to hip-hop. Not only was that the music of the streets, by 1998 hip-hop became the top selling genre in music, so adding MC to my name subconsciously made me associated with everything that was hot. Today we'd call that branding, but at the time I was just trying to become known on a station with giant air personalities.

Even with all of that, it took me until summer 1998 before I became what I'd consider to be a good on-air personality, and by October '98 I finally got on in prime time, which was a Saturday night 6-10p show with a partner named Dr. Luv. In the overall scheme of radio, a Saturday night show isn't that big of a deal, but in Chicago during the late '90s it was huge. That show led to me being one of the hosts of what became the hottest party in the city for the hip, young, mainly African-American crowd.

As great as it was to be heard on WGCI every Saturday night, having an outlet to meet the audience after we got off the air was a whole different level. The money I made hosting the event every week helped me move into my first apartment just south of downtown. Chicago is known for having a great downtown area, and I was able to both feel the energy of it, and see it outside of my window every day. The combination of the Saturday night show, hosting the best weekly party in the city, the people I met at those parties, and having my own place with a view of Sears Tower made 1999 the year I became a star and the best year of my life. That year alone was like a movie for me. I was checking out a lot of classic rock from the late '60s and '70s at the time. Not just listening to the music, but also reading books about artists such as Led Zeppelin, the Doors, Steely Dan, and Kiss. Some of the things I experienced in 1999 weren't too far off from some of the things I read about happening to the bands in those books: limo rides, being on stage on the mic every Saturday night in front of big crowds, and pulling some of the baddest chicks in the Chicagoland area. All of that was happening in '99.

By July of that year I started hosting a new Friday night mix show along with the Saturday night show, so that made things even better. I was like a young radio rock star, and before I knew it I was up for my first full-time radio job at WTLC/Indianapolis. I flew there to audition on August 29th and did my first show as their nightly 6-10 host on September 30th.TLC was owned by Emmis at the time, and they had these state-of-the-art studios both upstairs and downstairs in downtown Indy on what they called "The Circle."

The downstairs studios were called the "showcase studios," and we usually worked in them a few days a week. People could literally watch you from outside while you were doing your show, or you could invite them inside and put them on the air. I remember being on New Year's Eve of '99 while the city was having a big event outside and some chick lifted her shirt up and flashed her breasts at me while I was editing a phone call. It was kind of a fitting way to end that year after everything else that happened.

So, to answer your original question, when I think about everything. overall my best gig was WGCI from 1995 through 1999, particularly 1999, but I had my greatest success in 2000. I had a #1 weekday show on WTLC, and at the same time I was being considered for other jobs in DC, Miami, Philly, New York, and a couple of different cities in North Carolina; all within a span of about eight months. By the end of 2000, I ended up being hired by K104 in Dallas. It was a pretty exciting time to be in radio.

2) Where do you see the radio going?

That's a hard question for me to answer, and honestly, I've never been big on trying to predict where things will go because, so many factors can change the way things work out. I remember being in a meeting where one of the top radio executives in the business said research showed that in five years, there would no longer be a need for markets to have more than one Urban station. That meeting took place 10 years ago and most markets that have Urban stations still have at least two of them. In fact, some have even more now than they did in 2007. How much longer will that last? I don't know, but I know there are still a lot of people who want to be in this business. Whether they get the opportunities to do so will remain to be seen since the jobs aren't around like they used to be.

3) Who were some of your mentors?

I don't know if "mentors" would be the right word for me, but I definitely had people who helped me with particular things in my career, and people who were major influences on who I became as both an air personality and a music historian. On the radio side I'd have to point out several people I worked with in my early years at WGCI. The late Lon Dyson, who was WGCI President Marv Dyson's younger brother, schooled me on the lifestyle of a radio personality with the stories he used to tell me when I was an intern for WGCI-A, which played R&B from the 1960s and '70s at that time in the '90s. Sean Ross was the PD of the station, and he was very helpful even after he no longer worked there. Rick Party invited me to hang out in the studio after I graduated from college in 1995, and that led to me eventually getting hired by Elroy Smith.

Armando Rivera trained me on how to run the board when I interned in summer '94 and again in '95. Don E. Cologne, who I mentioned before, was certainly helpful. Dr. Luv was a major help in terms of adjusting to the radio lifestyle from a social standpoint; especially when it came to hosting events in the clubs. The late Doug Banks showed me that you should never assume someone knows who you are; regardless of how popular you become. Crazy Howard McGee emphasized the importance of running a tight board and being prepared. Al Greer was the one who gave me the clips of Eartha Kitt saying "Marcus darling" and Lela Rochon saying "Marcus ... spend the night with me" that I used to market myself for years. Jacquie Haselrig emphasized the importance of pronouncing words and letters correctly. I've heard some people on the radio who sounded like they needed to go back to English class, and you weren't going to talk like that if you learned under Jacquie!

Glenn Cosby saw my potential early on, and he actually put me on WGCI-A for a while in late '96 and early '97 when he was programming it. That was a controversial move because I was only 23 and the station was staffed by serious veterans. Lon Dyson told me that one of them said, "The kid is good, but they should let the pros work!" Hearing "the kid is good" let me know I was moving in the right direction. The late Shannon Dell showed me the importance of adjusting to the different ways that different personalities worked in the studio. Irene Mojica showed me how to go through newspapers to find content that could be used on the air, which still comes into play now when I go through websites. There were so many great people there -- Ramonski Luv, Steve Miggedy Maestro, Joe Soto, Jimmi Jam, First Lady, all of them.

Aside from WGCI in the '90s I also have to mention Harry Lyles, who was consulting WTLC in 2000. Harry has always been very encouraging over the years. I also have to mention Dana Hall who worked at Billboard Airplay Monitor in that era. I used to call her every few weeks to find out what new jobs were opening up around the country.

Outside of radio I'd say my biggest influences are my all-time favorite band Parliament-Funkadelic, led of course by George Clinton. Their concepts and albums definitely helped shape my way of thinking. James Brown is a major influence for his sheer determination, work ethic, and strength as an individual. Richard Pryor for his humor and edge, Chris Rock for having my favorite TV show of all-time ("The Chris Rock Show" that aired on HBO from 1997 through 2000), Nelson George for being a great writer and the model for music historians, the hard rock band Van Halen, especially singer David Lee Roth for his outrageous persona, the 1985 Chicago Bears for showing how to be dominant in what you're doing while having fun at the same time. LL Cool J and later Ice Cube for both showing you don't have to be a member of a crew to succeed. Al Green, Barry White, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, and Teddy Pendergrass are all major influences too.

4) What was it like moving around so much and working in different places?

I knew that moving around was part of the industry before I chose to get into it, so it was something that I was prepared for even prior to doing my first show in college. Once I actually did it, though, I found out that it wasn't as simple as I thought it would be. To me it was just a matter of taking everything I'd learned while I was at WGCI and going out and kicking ass like a band on tour. I had the skills and the work ethic to be successful. I tried my best to make everything I did be the absolute best that it could be; every talk break I did, every phone call I aired, every feature I came up with, and every segue from song to song with drops. I respect everyone who does radio on any level, but I felt like as long as I gave it my all, nobody could beat me, and if I didn't give it my all somebody else might.

Yet in reality I learned that being the best can sometimes cause problems. Some people are intimidated easily; especially if you're not a person who seeks approval from others before you do things, and I'm not that type of dude. I've been pulled into offices at damn near every station I ever worked at because someone didn't like the way I said something, didn't like the way I answered a question, or some other garbage. A lot of people don't understand what it takes to be a great on-air personality; even if they work at a radio station themselves. Most people who work at stations in other departments work more directly with their co-workers. Most air personalities work in the studio alone, and we're responsible for reaching a lot of people. It's not easy to go into a new city where nobody knows you and get people to like you. I had to be in a certain frame of mind to make that work, and it didn't involve winning over people in the hallway or doing a bunch of talking with co-workers in the studio. My focus was always on connecting with the listeners, but I learned that some folks are more concerned about how you connect with other people in the office. That was especially difficult when I worked at night because everyone in the office was on their way out the door when I was coming in to get started. I got along with most people I worked with, but I was about winning, and like I learned early on, different people do different things to put themselves in position to win.

The other aspect to moving was an increased level of independence; for better and/or for worse. When you work in your hometown you can get away from the business by hanging with family or people you knew before you got in radio. When you move someplace else you can't do that. Everyone only knows you from being on the radio, so that's all they have to go on. As a result, sometimes the only way you can get away from everything is by being alone, and that can be difficult; especially if you can't go home for the holidays. It also means that people tend to project their feelings about the radio station onto you. Meaning if they like the station, they probably like you too, and they may express that in different ways. If they have a problem with the station, they might try to take it out on you in some kind of way. I'm sort of an explorer. If I'm going to experience something, I'm going to see just how far that experience can take me, so when it's all said and done I don't look back on it wondering if I got as much out of it as I could have. Because of that approach, I didn't move around with any safety nets. I just went for it and came back with a lot of fascinating stories.

5) Could you tell us about you are doing these days?

Right now, I teach at a media school in downtown Chicago, and I'm about to start working on some TV and film projects. In fact, TV is what most people seem to know me for now due to my appearances on TV One's Unsung. I've been in about 15 of them in the past two years, including the Unsung Hollywood episode about Tupac Shakur's acting career. All this summer I was getting stopped at different events by people who recognized me, or couldn't figure out why I looked familiar. The funniest one happened right before I left Dallas. A guy came up to me and asked, "Do you ever watch that show 'Unsung'? There's this historian dude on all the episodes who looks just like you!" About a week later another guy stopped me at a party and said, "Hey man, don't you play for 'Unsung'?" I said "Yeah, we're playing Golden State tomorrow night." By the time he figured it out I was gone.

6) What's in your radio future?

Technically I'm still in the radio industry because I do some voicetrack work for a station in another market, but as far as being live in the studio where I'm talking to people directly, I may have come to the end of that. Before I moved back to Chicago, I let the PDs know I was coming home. I met with one station about an afternoon-drive opening on a station that targets the very listeners who grew up hearing me on WGCI. I was told they wanted someone who their "clients could get excited about." But I guess consistently being on a national TV show that highlights some of the same artists that the station plays, and having history in the market with the same audience they target, isn't exciting enough because they passed me up for the gig. I could see if I was whack on the air, but that's nowhere near the case, so clearly, they don't want the best they can get. It's a shame because the people of Chicago deserve so much better. We grew up on great radio talent here, but talent is no longer a priority. The other company here isn't talking about anything either. I don't plan on moving anymore, so I'm moving on.

7) Where do you feel your place is in radio history?

I actually think about that a lot. I always felt that I could be one of the best to ever do this, and I worked towards living up to that. Unfortunately, the business changed in a way that made it difficult for me, and a lot of personalities of my era, to reach that full potential. People like Tom Joyner, Doug Banks, and Herb Kent are beloved in Chicago and a revered in the industry overall. I never really wanted to do syndicated radio, or even a morning show because I always liked afternoons better, but I could've easily been the Banks or Joyner of my generation if I had worked for people who were able to see that, or who saw it and weren't intimidated by it. I've always been my own man, and some people just don't like that. I was always willing to learn, but if I felt like someone in charge was trying to lead me in a direction that wasn't going to work for me I didn't follow.

I remember being told that my name was weak and that I would never be Marcus Chapman on the radio. I didn't buy into that, or a few other ridiculous things I heard over the years. I could've done so much to help this city. I had the insight to take things beyond the studio and into the public in ways that could've done a lot for a lot of people; not just for me. Thankfully a lot of my work, from airchecks of complete shows to in-studio footage, is preserved on YouTube. September 12th marked 25 years since my first show in college, so I did something I called "The MC 25." I picked out 25 shows I feel best represent what I did in this industry, and counted them down from 25 to one. I filmed new videos breaking down what happened behind the scenes before, during, and/or after the shows, and told why each one was chosen. The whole MC 25 playlist is posted on YouTube, and it proves at least one thing: No matter what day I was on, what time I was on, what station I was on, what market I worked in, what style of radio I was doing, or what topic was being discussed, I always brought my A game. That's what I want to be remembered by, and it's Hall of Fame-level material.

According to the requirements, no one I ever worked with would even qualify for the Hall of Fame because you had to be in the same market for 20 years. That makes no sense whatsoever. Skip Murphy and company are still considered to be the best morning show Dallas-Ft. Worth ever had, but since they weren't on for 20 years they can't be in the Hall of Fame? That's ridiculous. That needs to be changed.

8) What do you like about being an air personality?

I like the fact that it gave me access to cities in a way that otherwise would not have been possible. What I mean is that being on the radio gave me an instant way to connect with and communicate with people. If you're working in a new city, being on the radio station that the public is already familiar with helps them get familiar with you and vice versa. It gives you an outlet to meet people in ways that you just don't have when you're not on the radio. For example, I didn't have that kind of access to Atlanta, and trust me, there is a difference.

9) How has being radio helped you?

I'd have to say that throughout all the ups and downs, radio gave me a platform to be great, or at least a platform to show others what I saw in myself ever since I was a little kid. Regardless of what anyone else thought about me, good or bad, I knew I was going to be great at something. It just took some time for me to find out what it would be.

10) What's your favorite thing about music?

I guess I'd say the fact that music can take you to places in your mind, and connect you to other times and eras. A lot of times when I'm listening to songs or albums, I think about what was happening at the time the music was originally released, and how people reacted to what they were hearing. I might be at a party and think about what it might've been like to be out at a club 40 years ago seeing people dancing to the hot new songs that were out, or people walking down the hallway in school talking about that new Earth, Wind & Fire album or the new jam by the Bar-Kays.

Is there anything about you that would surprise people?

That I can talk about a lot of other subjects besides music. In fact, I almost never talk about music with other people. I might ask a woman I just met if she has a favorite artist, album, or song of all-time, but that's about it. People also seem to be surprised that I can cook. I've been living on my own for almost 20 years now. I don't eat hardly any fast food, and I almost never go to restaurants, so I have to know how to cook or I'd starve!