Bev Smith Honored
American Urban Radio Network (AURN)’s Bev Smith receives the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Allegheny County Council of Pennsylvania at the Council’s regular meeting on February 17. Host of the only syndicated radio African American nightly talk show, Smith will join CNN television’s host Larry King where she will be on the other side of the table—being interviewed instead of interviewing.
Anji Corley Makes WAMO Middays an Experience
Sheridan Broadcasting urban WAMO-FM (106) in Pittsburgh has named Anji Corley to fill the midday slot left open with the departure of KiKi last July. This marks a return for the radio personality who once covered morning drive for the station prior to its replacement of her with the syndicated “The Steve Harvey Morning Show.” Corley now hosts “The Midday Experience with Anji.”
KISS Debuts Syndicated Brian McKnight Show
Emmis urban AC WRKS-FM (98.7 Kiss) in New York City has signed on as the flagship station for the five-hour syndicated ABC Radio Network show, “The Brian McKnight Show.” Replacing “Kissing After Dark” with Lenny Green, the new show debuted on January 26 at 7pm with Green joining Brian McKnight as co-host of the show.
“Brian is a phenomenal music personality who has quickly established himself as a broadcaster with a knack for touching his audience in a deeply personal way,” says ABC Radio Networks VP of urban programming and distribution Ed Pearson. “Adding this new show to our urban portfolio is a win for us and R&B music fans across the country. The live studio performances will be a hit on the air and online, and there’s no question they will create traffic and become a destination point for both consumers and advertisers.”
V103 Selects Elle Duncan to Fill Midday Slot
February 2 welcomed a new voice to middays at CBS urban WVEE-FM (V103) in Atlanta. The 26-year old Elle Duncan, moves over from the popular “Ryan Cameron Show” to fill the 10am-2pm slot vacated by Porsche Foxx last year. The Atlanta native, who majored in broadcasting at West Georgia College, started her radio career in 2003 at 790 the Zone with “The Two Live Stews,” later segueing to “The Ryan Cameron Show” in 2005 where she became the Afternoon Drive Traffic Girl. In addition to her working at V103, Duncan also hosts the weekly show, “The Kitchen Sink,” seen on the Gospel Music Channel.”
Says WVEEV/WAOK General Manager Rick Caffey: “Our listeners love her so it’s a perfect and natural fit!”
Just remember, Ludacris began on “The Ryan Cameron Show” too.
Boney James Entertains KJLH
Concord Records’ Rick Nuhn threw a lunch for the Taxi urban AC KJLH-FM (102.3) staff recently to introduce the label’s new Boney James project, Send One Your Love, impacting just in time for Valentine’s Day on February 3. (seated l-r) KJLH’s Dominique DiPrima, PD Aundrae Russell, Dolores Thompson; (standing l-r) new VP Vinny Brown. Morning host Guy Black, artist Boney James, Janine Haydel and Chris Lewis
MD Opening at KDAY
Majic Broadcasting’s urban AC KDAY-FM (93.5 the Beat) in Los Angeles reports an opening in its MD slot. The departure of April “Bombai” Pongtratic to pursue other opportunities has left PD Adrian “AD” Scott covering the position temporarily.
Hey Luenell On the Air
Comedienne Luenell has launched her own radio show, “Hey Luenell,” from Burbank studios on Magnolia Boulevard. Broadcasting via pod cast format on iTunes, the radio show is also available on her website at www.heyluenell.com. She tapes her show weekly on Wednesdays and Thursdays, promising to tackle any subject that crosses her mind. Her in-studio guests lined up for the first quarter include Tiffany Pollard (aka New York), DJ Quik, actor Hill Harper, comedian T.K. Kirkland and TV producer Claude Brooks.
BMI Explores ‘How I Wrote That Song’
At the same time, BMI explores “How I Wrote That Song,” with a panel that features Chad Huge, T-Pain, Will-i.am, Makeba Riddick and Keri Hilson. Scheduled at the Key Club from 11am-3pm, this panel includes discussions with Grammy nominees and past Grammy winners.
Makeba Riddick: A Songwriter’s Dream
March 2, 2009 by Sidney Miller Jr.
Filed under Special
Calling singing and songwriting her hobbies since the age of seven, Makeba Riddick always felt a successful career as a musician was just a dream. But it’s her song on T.I., “Live Your Life,” that became the #1 single in the country and the #1 digital download. That distant dream is now a serious reality.
Born in Baltimore, MD, Makeba’s love for music would lead her to the Berklee School Of Music in Boston. With actually being a musician still only a dream, she majored in music business and only minored in songwriting. After graduating in only three years, she moved to New York and used her music business degree to begin working at record labels. She still didn’t know she would ever become a songwriter. With the music bug still in her system though, she was working at labels during the day and doing song demos at night with different producers around the city, until one producer finally convinced her to do music professionally.
The strong catalog she had amassed soon made its way to Dave McPherson who selected one of her songs for Jennifer Lopez’s This Is Me … Then album. Her song, “All I Have,” made it all the way to #1 on the charts. She got a publishing deal with P. Diddy and the whirlwind began.
“It was really surreal,” she explains. “I always grew up admiring Puff Daddy and here I was with him telling me about how awesome that I was going to be.” She was only 20, living in a foreign city without any family, but every week she was in the studio with producers like Cory Rooney, Mario Winans, Troy Oliver and the Souldiggaz.
Upon moving to Los Angeles, she got her next big break in 2006 while working with her dream producer, Rodney Jerkins. He told her he saw something special in her and the songs they worked on together ended up on Beyoncé’s album.
She was then introduced to a budding young artist named Rihanna, with whom she started writing and developing songs. Within two years, Rihanna would become a household name, selling more than seven million copies of Good Girl Gone Bad and establishing Makeba as the go-to songwriter. With Rihanna’s sound she was able to really carve out her own niche. A&R knew it could rely on her to supply them with that perfect pop sound that everyone could relate to.
When asked what makes her songwriting unique, Makeba says she tries to make her “lyrics inspirational. Even if it may be an urban or pop song that you might think would only appeal to some, I try to write songs that make people say, ‘I have been through that or I have felt that.’ Stuff that makes people feel connected to each other as humans.”
Finding that commonality in all of us is what will make her a great pop songwriter for years to come and not just a flash in the pan urban songwriter.
In terms of her own musical tastes, Makeba stays true to her roots as a student of music by always listening to different material. She may be writing for Rihanna or Beyoncé but she might be listening to the Killers. It keeps her “unique and different. You have got to be a student of music to inspire others with your music.”
Makeba has written or co-written for everyone from Mariah Carey to Michelle Williams; Jessica Simpson to Fantasia; the Black Eyed Peas to Danity Kane; Avant to Solange Knowles. Most recently, she co-wrote “Ave Maria” on Beyoncé’s latest I am… Sasha Fierce and has been working closely with P. Diddy on all his new projects as well as Lil Jon. She has also been writing on the upcoming new Toni Braxton album and has begun work on Rihanna’s new album.
And humble as ever, Makeba is still amazed that all of this keeps happening to her.
ASCAP Presents Hitmakers Panel
During Grammy week in Los Angeles, ASCAP presents its special Hitmakers panel on February 7. Johnta Austin, Ne-Yo, Manuel Seal, Jermaine Dupri and Tricky Stewart join the panel moderated by Billboard Magazine’s Senior Editor/R&B Hip Hop, Gail Mitchell.
