Amplify Color

Episodes

1. 16

   15 | Bonus Episode: The Voice of Atlanta

   This bonus episode features a conversation between AMPLIFY COLOR host Ryan Cameron and Allan Coye, SVP, Digital Strategy & Business Development and GM of Interval Presents at Warner Music Group. Learn all about a life in radio as Ryan reminisces about his journey on the airwaves, the people he’s...

   Dec 13, 2023

   36m
2. 15

   14 | Charlamagne tha God

   Born Lenard McKelvey in the small town of Moncks Corner, South Carolina, Charlamagne tha God has become one of the most important people in the history of radio and TV. His journey wasn’t easy. In this episode we’ll learn how being fired from The Wendy Williams Show, and then being fired from his...

   Dec 6, 2023

   34m
3. 14

   13 | Wendy Williams

   Today we know her as an iconic TV host, business woman, writer, comedian, and actress. But Wendy Williams first rose to prominence as New York City’s #1 “Shock Jocktress.” Her journey was filled with hurdles and obstacles. From being one of the few Black people in her neighborhood growing up in...

   Nov 29, 2023

   32m
4. 13

   12 | Sway Calloway

   The Bay Area’s own Sway Calloway began his career as a rapper but all that changed when he landed his first radio gig co-hosting a show on San Francisco’s KMEL. At the time, the Oakland music scene was bubbling up with acts like E-40 and Too Shoot gaining local acclaim. But the scene was…

   more
   Nov 22, 2023

   32m
5. 12

   11 | Big Boy

   Born Kurt Alexander, Big Boy went from working as a bodyguard for the Pharcyde to the leading voice of hip-hop radio in Los Angeles. Once he was hired at Power 106 as a nighttime and afternoon DJ, he was unstoppable. And he was loved–by guests and listeners alike. He’s a husband, a father, a son,...

   Nov 15, 2023

   33m
6. 11

   10 | Robin Quivers

   Born in 1952 in Baltimore, Maryland, Robin Quivers began her professional career in the military before rising to national prominence as the unlikely co-host of The Howard Stern Show. Working alongside the most controversial man in radio got her to the Radio Hall of Fame, but the journey wasn’t...

   Nov 8, 2023

   31m
7. 10

   9 | Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Garcia

   Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia are two of the most surprising contributors to Black radio. This Jewish and Puerto Rican duo turned Columbia University’s college radio station WCKR into hip-hop’s first radio-safe haven. Every Thursday from 1am -to 5am, The Stretch and Bobbito Show was a…

   more
   Nov 1, 2023

   30m
8. 9

   8 | Mr. Magic

   Hitting the airwaves on WHBI in New York City in 1979, In 1979, Mr. Magic’s “Disco Showcase” debuted on WHBI in New York City. Mr. Magic had no way of knowing that his so-called disco showcase would become the very first hip-hop radio show. With his DJ Marley Marl, Mr. Magic became the voice of…

   more
   Oct 25, 2023

   32m
9. 8

   7 | Tom Joyner

   Nicknamed America’s “Fly Jock,” Tom Joyner was the #1 voice of Black radio for over 25 years. He earned his nickname because he hosted a morning show in Dallas and an afternoon show in Chicago, which required that he fly back and forth from city to city every day. Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Tom...

   Oct 18, 2023

   29m
10. 7

    6 | Dyana Williams

    Though June has been known as Black Music Month since 1979, it wasn’t until Dyana Williams met with President Clinton years later before The White House officially recognized it. Today Dyana is known as an activist for the rights of Black musicians. She got her start in radio back in the 1970s…

    more
    Oct 11, 2023

    32m
11. 6

    5 | Cathy Hughes

    When she was just in her early 30s, Cathy Hughes created the largest African-American broadcasting company in the United States. This did not come without extreme adversity. When looking to buy her first radio station, she was denied bank loans 34 times. In this episode, listeners will hear how...

    Oct 4, 2023

    35m
12. 5

    4 | Petey Greene

    “Petey Greene the Talking Machine” was Washington DC’s fast talking, provocative, but tell-it-like-it is radio disc jockey. His life is a turn-your-lemons-into-lemonade success story. Petey served 21 years in prison but it was in prison where he found his calling as a radio personality. Prison...

    Sep 27, 2023

    31m
13. 4

    3 | WERD (America’s First Black-Owned Radio Station)

    In 1949, WERD became America’s first radio station owned and programmed by African-Americans. Founded by Jesse B. Blayton in Atlanta, Georgia, WERD was known for playing Black music that wasn’t traditionally played on white-owned stations, offering Black artists and DJs new opportunities to be...

    Sep 20, 2023

    33m
14. 3

    2 | Jack L. Cooper

    Everyone on this list is forever indebted to Jack Leroy Cooper, America’s very first Black radio disc jockey and radio programmer. Despite no formal education and dropping out of elementary school, Cooper paved the way for Black folks to be entertainers on-air and to control the content that was...

    Sep 13, 2023

    28m
15. 2

    1 | The Foundation of Black Radio

    Radio connected people like never before. It changed the way we received information and advertising, as well as how we listened to music. Everyone got to enjoy radio … but that doesn’t mean everyone got to participate. How and why did African-Americans get excluded? In this episode we explore…

    more
    Sep 13, 2023

    34m
16. 1

    Introducing: Amplify Color

    Charlamagne Tha God. Wendy Williams. Robin Quivers. The names are familiar, but the stories of their trials and triumphs in the radio industry may not be. Amplify Color reveals the empowering and inspirational stories of individuals who left an undeniable impact on the radio industry despite the...

    Sep 6, 2023

    2m