The Questlove Show - Questlove Supreme: Cathy Hughes Part 1

Episode Date: March 1, 2023

Cathy Hughes is the first Black woman to head a publicly traded media company and a true radio pioneer. In part one of a two-part interview, Ms. Hughes joins Questlove Supreme for her first-ever podcast. She discusses her journey into radio, creating The Quiet Storm show format, and helping launch some incredible entertainment careers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed human. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits,

my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. And we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar.

This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, for wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok. When a group of women discover they've all dated

the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed, I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that, trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe.

On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I got you. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Ellen's, correct? I doctored the test once. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing.

Greg Gillespie and Michael Manchini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, everyone?

I'm Ago Vodam. My next guest is... It's Will Ferrell. Woo. Woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot. But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't

feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah. It would not be. Right. It wouldn't be that.

There's a lot of luck. Listen to thanks, Dad. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Questlove Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. I'm so honored. This is my very first podcast. Oh, my God, that means you've denied many of your requests, but we made it.

Hi, Ms. Hughes. I'm Shuka, Steve. Hey, Sugar. How are you? Good. I love your name. Thank you. Are you single?

Oh. Don't ask about it if you want to. That's right. I just say, don't make any inquiries that you're not looking for answers. Hey, hey, I'm serious. I'm in New York. I mean, I don't know where you are, but I know your bill's managing now, but so I want to fix. Yeah, that's right.

You get a lot done today, Miss Hughes. We're going to get paid. I'm going to get paid finally. After all these years, how long are we doing this for? Way too long than I haven't paid yet. Forever. It would be super janky. This is going to be the first time that I will admit on the air that I might be stealing the neighbors.

Wi-Fi. Oh, do you guys. You got a good neighbor. No, they don't know I'm stealing it. Shout out to apartment B for letting me this episode of Questlef Supreme, brought to you by my next door neighbors. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Questleaf Supreme.

We are together again. We're together. Yeah. All five of us. It's been a minute. Oh, yeah. Here I am. Hey, Bill.

Have you, you've been going a long time. I went to Fonte's house to get cigarettes. And I'm back. I'm back. I'll have it be back. Thank you. So I'm hearing around the grapevine that you've created yet another Broadway hit. You know, people seem to like it.

People come to see it. It's exciting. I'm hearing the buzz. I'm hearing the buzz. I think you should come see it. I think everyone should come see it. It's a good show. Can I tell you how Bob's Bill is, though?

Can I just say that, Amir? I asked Bill. I said, so how long is the show running? He was like, what you mean? just run and I was like oh that's that happened for everybody or that's okay he just brought on Broadway until bill comes from Hamilton pedigree so that means that anything he creates you know meanwhile like I've seen like at least four of my friends kind of have to go back to the drum board and you know shut down their

Broadway plays and you know oh sidebar just speaking about things we create January 19th is the premiere of Jamvan starring starring three fifths of Questlove Lai'a as the big old book of travel. Get it. First animation role. And Fante wrote a song for David Diggs, which is, I believe, episode three or four, but anyway, tune in YouTube originals, YouTube kids.

January 19th, first two episodes. Shout out to Quest Love Supreme. There you go. Yes, we took care of business. We are talented. Yeah, we are. We are talented. So, ladies and gentlemen, I will say that as a media,

wait a minute. Yes, you are. Am I a media personality now? Absolutely. Yeah, you are. I'm a media personality. I'm not a drummer anymore. Okay, I'll take that.

So I will say that as a media personality, I got a thing about that one. You know, I was from a generation in which radio was boss. Radio was the common denominator. Even amongst our QLS fam here, I know that I've had, we've talked about Laia's history as a radio personality in Philadelphia and other markets. Where were your other markets, Laia besides Philadelphia? D.C. and Atlanta.

D.M.V., the Atlanta. Yes. You've done every shift. You've done the afternoon shifts. You've been midday mommies. You were, you, Lai was a midday mommy for a little bit. when you start on radio I know that you start with weekends and off-duty hours and then you'd start in the morning and then when they trust you enough

to have your own afternoon show you become a midday mommy. Wait, wait, what's a guy like does a guy get that title? It's very New York. No, it's very New York. Okay. Anyway, I get it.

If you do, enough, very few men do middays. We've got to talk about that. It's a reason too. Oh, I won't, yeah, this is going to be the radio education show. Steve and I, like our bonding, even of this, this very platform that we're on, Steve and I always talked and fantasized about like both he and I come from a place where we used to have like, as kids, our own, you know, pretend radio shows. I know Steve to this day still has like collections of his, you still have like your fantasy radio shows when you were like 12, right? Oh yeah, I have all that stuff

Plus I have an actual radio show These days on WKCR I totally forgot that Steve and I have a network I actually have my own Sugar network Maybe you've heard of it We're turning five years old

In February It's real It's real uh yes Of course Steve has his own network Fonte and Bill I don't know what you guys were into But I would assume that at some point in your life You two also had the radio fantasy of just

I don't know How it's starting? Fonte is about to hit me with it. Nah, I never did that door. No, no, I didn't do radio. I did radio in my, in college. I had a, we had a raid, me and Pooh, actually, had a show on AudioNet,

which was like our campus radio station, and you could listen to it like in your dorm room. And so I would do it there. I would make, like, tapes and stuff as a kid and like act like a radio announcer. And, you know. Okay. Yeah.

And then I mean, our first album, WJLR, that was a fictional radio station. That's right. Even on your own records, you had radio stations. Multiple albums. I will basically say that, you know, no musical lover I know could resist the fantasy of playing radio station. And even to this day, like, I make mixtapes for friends. I make these slow jamp.

Actually, our guess is also really responsible for, like, a game-changing innovation in radio, which is the Quiet Storm format. Like, I cannot even put forth any, you know, and a short amount of words of how instrumental and powerful our guest is today when it comes to radio. Simply put, you know, between all the markets of name the cities, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Richmond, the DMV. LA at a point, some point of L.A. too. Yes. Absolutely. If your fans are Ricky Smiley, Russ Parr, Reverend N. Now Sharpton, T.D. Jakes, D.L. Hughley, Erica Campbell, like, you could name them all. She's literally responsible, one of the most powerful figures in communication.

Owner of Urban One, formerly Radio One, TV One, Interactive One. I cannot believe we pulled this off. Thank you very much. We have the one and only Kathy Hughes on Questlove Supreme. That's probably the longest introduction I've ever given in. life. I'm so appreciative and it's so interesting. It's my very first podcast ever. I don't know what my staff is going to say about this when they find out. Are they scared? Are they nervous? Well, no, they've been trying to get me to do a podcast. Really? Have not? Yes. You're the first I've said yes to. But I got to go back to the pretend radio stations. Mine was my bathroom and my

microphone was a toothbrush. There were six of us in the house. And I locked the bathroom door. I didn't give a damn that people had to go to school and work. I was doing a radio show. And I never came out until my show was over. Because I knew when I came out, I was going to be physically abused by everybody in the house. They were throwing things at me and banging.

And the interesting thing, I only did two things. I did news and I did commercials. That was the start of my radio. You didn't spend the records at all? I'd spend any records. I didn't have a turntable in the bathroom. So we didn't have, okay, and I can't sing. And so there was no music.

It was all narrative. I practiced, and it's so interesting because I was very serious about it. I did it for years because my aspiration was to one day be the first African-American woman to have a nationally syndicated radio show. And I knew I had to practice, and I was 12 years old, and I did my hour broadcast every single solitary morning. So finally, my mother compromised with me and told me if I had to have the bathroom for an hour,

I had to do it between the hours of 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. And I cheated. I would do 5 to 6. Okay. All right. But everybody was always, you know, because in those days, I don't know how people, family survived because there was only one bathroom.

And we didn't even notice that there was only one bathroom and everyone had to go in, except in the morning when I was doing my radio show. So that was the start of my career. For you, like when I mentioned radio, what were your memories of it? Who were you listening to as a kid? Well, number one, I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. And so I listened to Conway Twitty. What you know about Conway Twitty?

Wow. That's who I listened to. We listened to Elvis. We listened to the righteous brothers. We listened to. It was called Country and Western. And my mother, for my 12th birthday for Christmas, put, I begged her for a radio, a transistor radio, and she put it in layaway for Christmas, but she couldn't afford to get it out until April.

And so I got it for my birthday. And for the first time, I could hear what I thought were black air personalities. They were really Wolfman Jack and Haas and all of these white personalities sounded like they were black because they didn't allow black men on radio back then. Wow. Really? Okay. And I was fantasizing about being this woman who was going to be on radio not knowing that Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American woman to have a nationally syndicated radio show. She was.

I was 40 years old when I found that out. And all the way from 12 years old to 40, my goal was to have a nationally syndicated radio show. So I was kind of thankful that God withheld that information from me. And it was so interesting because I was in the middle of teaching a class at Howard. And I looked in this book that I wanted to recommend to my students to read. And there it was. And it was like the words popped out of a page. my eyes and I was like, oh my goodness. I've been aspiring, but it's what was driving me. So I was

really kind of glad that I did not know because back in those days, syndicated radio was the thing, the NBC radio series, the ABC radio series. Back in those days, people, way before anybody, you know, on this podcast was even born, we watched radio. We sat around and when you look at the radio and you imagine and you visualize. And I mean, some of my greatest radio memories were the boxing matches because my daddy was a big sports fan. Oh, wow. The crowd, the enthusiasm, you thought you were actually there.

And then my mother was a very accomplished musician. She had a group called the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, 18 piece all women's orchestra in the 1930s and 40s. and they were world-renowned. They traveled all over Europe. They were in Germany. They were in France. They were in all these foreign countries playing for the American soldiers. And they would have to do one night for the black soldiers, another night for the white soldiers. But the international sweetheart's rhythm were nicknamed by Earl Father Hines as the first freedom writers. because they were integrated and the white members of the band would actually darken their face they would be in not black face

but they would have dark makeup on to pass for black as they would travel through the south and it was really interesting because the police the stories they told about how the police would come on board their bus. They had the first tour bus

ever built because they couldn't stay in hotels they took an old deserted Greyhound bus and put three stacks of bump beds. And that's where they rehearsed. That's where they lived. That's where they traveled throughout. And the police would come on board the bus.

And they would think that the biracial women were the white women. And they would think that the white women were actually the black women because they would have them in the makeup. What would have happened if they found out that white people and black people were together? They would have thought they were freedom riders and arrested them? Absolutely. Absolutely. Exactly. It was very dangerous. So, you know, so radio was like second nature to me because I've been trying to write this book for 30 years and the book starts off when I was five years old. And it was the first time that I realized my mother's picture was in the mural at the Apollo. And she's rushing. We're late for a performance. of her band and I'm saying they're staring at my mother. And that was the first time that I realized that I was growing up in the entertainment industry.

I don't know when you realized it, you know, because you two, Glessel grew up in the entertainment industry. But that was the first time that it dawned up on me that my mother was more than just my mom. Okay? And then that evening for the first time when I saw her on the stage, I was like, oh, my goodness. because back in those days, they made me sit on the front row because they wouldn't leave me backstage. I had 17 aunties. So they could babysit you. So they could babysit me because even back then they were worried about molestation and drugs.

All the other things that were going on backstage. And so did you experience this? So they would make me sit on the front rows that they could keep an eye on me. I sat at the bar. I was the only five-year-old allowed to sit at the bar. And then once I was seven, like I was working. I was stage manager. So they didn't believe in babysitters until way later.

Absolutely. Yeah. And then a year later when I met Moms Mabelie and Red Fox when we reopened the Howard Theater in D.C., they told me about how when I was a baby, that the girls in the band would pull a drawer out in the hall. And when they could stay in people's houses or in hotels, and that was my bassinet. They would take a drawer out in the dresser, okay, and they would put cover. and that's where I would sleep. The first time we said Moms Mabelie on this podcast.

I was just such a big fan of hers as a kid. Like, I love you, Aunt. Thank you for saying her name. Well, my baby sister is named Jackie after Jackie Moms Mabel. Wow. My mother named, uh-huh, because Mons Mabelie told me, she recognized me. It was strange. I was the general manager of W.H.U.R. at the time.

She said, come here, girl. She said, what's your name? And I said, it's Kath. And she said, your mama name Helen? I said, yes, ma'am. And she said, I bought you your first bassinet because they had you sleeping in a dresser drawer. Really? And she said, get your mama on the phone.

Okay. Okay, I had no idea. And then she told me all these stories about how, in addition to everything else, one of the lead attractions of my mother's group was a woman. named Tiny Davis, a world-renowned trumpet player. Okay. And Tiny was a lesbian. And that Mount Mabelie told me that she was the first openly, you know,

a lesbian entertainer. And that, you know, that not only were they not supposed to have black and white people, they also were not supposed to have gay and lesbian people. Right. I think it was Ma Rainey the way I, okay. They were really pioneers in so many different areas. And it was with 1930s and 40s. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield. And in this new season of the

girlfriends, oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. They said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target.

He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Wodom. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place they come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry. about you, which is really sweet.

He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be.

Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft, and we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East-West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider,

you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice Podcast on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok. In 2023, former bachelor star Clayton Eckerd found himself at the center of a paternity scandal. The family court hearings that followed

revealed glaring inconsistencies in her story. This began a years-long court battle to prove the truth. You doctored this particular test twice in so-ins, correct? I doctored the test once. It took an army of internet detectives to crack the case. I wanted people to be able to see what their tax dollars were being used for. Sunlight's the greatest disinfectant. They would uncover a disturbing pattern.

Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Alespie and Michael Marantini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trap. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news at Americopa County as Laura Owens has been indicted on fraud charges.

This isn't over until justice is served in Arizona. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, so probably, you know, in the wake of what I've been, sort of going through last year in terms of after summer of soul, a lot of people started. Which was, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for that. Thank you.

God bless you for receiving that. Thank you. Oh, my goodness. And promoting it and still talking about it regularly on all of our airways, that was the most magnificent piece. That was almost a significant of when they found Oscar Michelle's films that had been buried in all the way. Okay, for you to bring that to life, in my opinion, was an Oscar Michelle.

So forgive me for cutting you off. Thank you. Thank you. I'll take that compliment. I appreciate that. Thank you. Well, I was going to say to you that I've just been getting so many, like, you know, just random archive stuff.

And someone was really incredible enough to gift me, like, almost 100 hours of, like, vintage radio programs. I mean, like, Hal Jackson, Sid McCoy, Jocko Henderson. I'm sure Georgie Woods from Philadelphia. You know what? It's so, here's the weird thing. The million dollar research right now, we've been, I have a little pack of like maybe eight or nine cats that like collect these things.

For the life of us, we are searching high and low for either Georgie Woods' radio show or the dance show that he used to have in Philadelphia. That's like, that is gold to us. But I wanted to ask, like, did you have any interaction with, like, the first generation of syndicated radio personalities like, like Jacco Henderson or Sid McCoy, any of those, like, golden voice gods of kind of like the 50s? No, because I was still a child.

I was still fantasizing and still growing up in Omaha, Nebraska. I knew more about Johnny Carson, okay? And the Fonda's and Marlon Brand, do all of these, were Omaha folks in the entertainment industry, okay? To get into the pool, like what year is, do you consider your first professional year, not professional year, but the year of like, I guess now a person would have to start as an intern

and then intern to an assistant and an assistant to sort of work your way up the ladder. What's the first step that you had to take to officially plant some feet inside of that world? I started off as an owner. Yeah, that's the flex. That's the greatest flex of all time. That's the show. Good night.

Good night. Omaha. I dropped the mic, right? Omaha's African-American community has produced some of the greatest athletes. of all time. Bob Gibson, one of the greatest pitchers, baseball Hall of Famer, Johnny Rogers, Heisman trophy winner, Bob Boozer, basketball, Paul Silas. We had all of these incredible athletes, and they decided to pull their resources and take Willie Nelson off the radio and put James Brown on. So they decided that they were going to buy a radio station and create a black format.

And I have always been a saver. My mother and father both instilled me. If you get a dime, you get to spend a nickel and put a nickel in. At that time, I cigar box when I was a child. Okay. That was my bank. And so I had my little $10,000 saved when they came up with this venture. And so I invested.

So my first- Wait a minute. My first experience in radio was as an owner. Okay. But 10,000 now might be like 500 bucks, but 10,000 then was like 500,000 now. Like, where did you find the patients to, what did you have to sacrifice to save? My father died at 45, okay, and my portion of the insurance was about 8,000. Okay, so I only had about 2,000 in nickels and dimes that I had to save myself, but I had $10,000.

So I invested in this radio station. And then because I had been bitten by this radio bug as a child, K-O-W-H in Omaha, Nebraska, I went to start volunteering. My first job was one of the owners, all of us, all the owners were actually volunteering. Biggest mistake, biggest business error in my career was when I moved to Washington, D.C., and I told them, I said, listen, I had this opportunity to join the faculty of the Howard University School of Communications. I don't know any from D.C. I have a five-year-old son. Would you all please, you know, buy me out? So they bought me out at the same amount that I had put in, which was a $10,000.

Years later, all of them made $2,000, $400,000 apiece. Yeah. I opposed to the station. But I didn't have any idea then, okay, that, you know, the value would appreciate it at that level. So they gave me my $10,000 back when I moved to Washington, D.C. But I started off my career in radio as an owner, not working my way up. I ended up working my way up when I was the general manager of WHOR and the staff decided they wanted to unionize. And I wasn't going to have it because it would.

to force the students out of the facility. Okay, I was not going to allow the union to come in and deny the only reason Howard University had WHUR, which stands for WH. Our University radio was for the students. And yet we had all of these professionals, many of whom were no longer employable in the industry, holding on to their positions and denying the students, the opportunity to be on the air. And so they went on strike. And so when they went on strike, I told the students, it's me and you, and we went on the air.

And I was trembling. That was the first time I had ever been on the air. Okay, so I have these group of teenagers and me, and we're going to keep the station on the air. Because to this day, thank God, Howard University still is a facility where students can get commercial training. because college radio could not suffice in getting these kids jobs when they graduated from college. They needed to have a commercial credential on their resume. I'll say it again, still the best college radio station, too. I just wanted to say it again to me and the nation.

I will say it. I mean, that's the first, even before my own hometown started playing us, like Howard University was the early supporter, even before like our hours. supported, even before like our album came out. That's how I run my radio stations to this day. That that is not just about employing the people who, you know, make the salaries, but it's also about creating jobs for artists, for writers, for producers, creating opportunities for them that, you know, nobody else is going to afford them. This was before Black became fashionable and everybody, you know, decided, oh, my goodness, okay, this trillion-dollar, you know, community that

we're missing out on, we're going to hop over here in the black space, but back then, you know, it was not possible. There were no crossovers, okay? You either got played in black radio, or you didn't get played. And so that's been always a priority with my programming. Because you're an owner, maybe you can explain this to me. Okay, so when I, I got in the industry professionally, at least with the roots. It was like 93. And when our third album came out in 96, 96, 97, one of our radio promotion guys at the label was trying to explain to me something new is happening at radio that's going to make it

harder for us to get you guys on radio. And, you know, the thing that they were saying, explaining to me was, was basically that whereas when we used to visit radio stations in 93, 94, 95, personalities on the air had control of what they played. So they were like, they were the tastemakers. If, hey, I know about this cool group from Philadelphia, you guys should hear them and they played the record. Whereas now we were coming to radio stations and things were like pre-programmed

almost weeks in advance before you even get there. Yeah, they consolidated. What they did was limit access to artists. That's the reason, you know, we're a very unique corporation. You are. Because, yeah, we're very unique corporation because my air personalities still have control over their playlist. Don Simpson, I would never insult in Donnie Simpson by telling him what to play. Okay. All right. If Donnie Simpson doesn't. know what to play, then he shouldn't be on the radio, okay? Donnie Simpson controls his playlist. Russ Parr controls his playlist. Ricky Smiley. Now, we give them some assistance because with

automation and things, everything's got to be in the computer, okay? But also, I have always believed that, and I think this was my experience at Howard University when I was the general manager of WHUR, I think that, you know, some of the major corporations, you know, some of the major corporations, use it as an excuse to avoid payola, that they said that, you know, if you control the playlist corporately, then you eliminate the, okay, well, over the years, I have watched a lot of people figure out how to get around, okay, okay, the controlled playlist. And the tragedy is that they limit, you know, like in Atlanta, when I realized how popular the music of Atlanta was and how unique it was to Atlanta.

Okay, when I recognize GoGo as being like the national anthem of Washington, D.C. Baltimore House too, Baltimore House. Exactly. Baltimore House. Yeah, exactly. I realized that this isn't something that could be controlled corporately. And the other thing that bothered me very much is I've always had an open-door policy. The artist could always get to me.

My staff can always get to me. And when I was hearing that, you know, they won't play me because I'm local. They won't play me because I don't have representation. They won't play me for this reason or that reason. You know, I felt an obligation to try to be of assistance to individuals, particularly on the local level. Now, do we have a system now in place? Yes. Because in additionary, the else what has happened is technically.

we're able to test the songs immediately for you. Okay? And I think that oftentimes we find ourselves in opposition to what the label wants to release, as opposed to what our audience tells us they want to hear. And so we still have a control system, quasi-control system, system, but at the same time, my air personalities have the flexibility because I pay them a lot of money. And a lot of that money is paid to them because of their knowledge and their experience and their expertise. I want them to be aware of what, you know, the trends are in the clubs.

If you're on my hip-hop format, I want them to really help resurrect some of these classic R&B acts. that were it not for us. Okay, if we had not really conceptualized, you know, adult contemporary, all right, some of these artists would still be working as sales clerks somewhere as opposed to performing. I have always moved being in business a lot more than just making money for the business. I was taught my family has a mantra, which is that in all the business, for you to do well in your life, you must first do good for other people. And I've always

wanted to do good because I can't tell you how many nights my mama as a professional musician had to feed us scrambled eggs for dinner because we couldn't afford because some promoter hadn't paid her or some gig hadn't worked. So I understood how life was hard for an artist. and my mama was at top of the game. Okay, and she still wasn't making money, all right? Because she was playing swing. And so I've always had this commitment with my format. The other stations have a lot more resources.

They're a lot larger than us. You know, we're big, we're black on media. We're the biggest in black old media, but compared to, you know, what used to be Clear Channel, which started the same year as Radio 1. with Lowry Mays. But when you look at these major corporations that are now in, quote, the black space, even with their control of the format, they still have some of the same problems they had before they controlled it.

But at the same time, because of their size, they're still able to have a relationship with the artists. I want to have more than a relationship with an artist. I want to be able to tell the story of the first time I played. John Legend. His name was John Stevens. And okay. All right. And he brought me 10 cassette tapes that he had produced himself with a magic marker. And when I went, he was selling them a $10 in piece. But I went up to him and I said, young man, I'd like to buy all 10. And he said, oh, no, ma'am, I'm sorry, I can't sell

them to you because I need to try to get these disc jockeys to listen. Okay. And I said, well, I know these disc jockeys. It'll be okay if you sell me all 10. And I laid a hundred dollars. Bless his heart, John Legend. Bless his little hard. I was sold all them. That's gas money to get to the next show. And I'm sorry, I'm just, I'm down.

No, this is the less I talk, the better. Because I'm paid. I'm going to get a commission off of unpaid. I'm representing him now. Finally, the respect I deserve after all these years. Thank you, thank you. You're welcome. I wanted to ask because you mentioned moving to D.C.,

but I want you to talk about moving to D.C. I believe you said it was because of that opportunity. at H-U-R? No, it was actually the opportunity to be on the faculty in the first School of Communications. Okay, so talk about moving to D.C. and the difference of culture and what you saw, and don't get a twist, so you must have fell in love because you've never left. Can you talk about that? I grew up in an environment where they were only white folks and black folks and Native Americans. I never saw an Asian. I never saw anyone of a Hispanic, Latino.

I never saw a foreigner. Okay, growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, it was strictly black folks, white folks, and our Native American brothers and sisters were on reservations. When I got to D.C., I saw Black Excellence. I used to write back home and say that my eyes were tired. My eyeballs were, because I was just like in awe. I was like a kid. I had never seen Black doctor.

black lawyers, black, everything. Howard University was like, to me, going to heaven. I could not believe, okay? I just, because I had never, ever experienced this in my growing up. Because by the time I was in school, my mother's band had folded, the men had come back from the war. So her all-female band was never, no longer in, you know, demand. And so my mama went and became a nurse. So when I came to Howard, I was part of the very first faculty that Tony Brown put together, created School of Communications around the radio station. They had the radio station before they had so many Tony Browns, right? My Tony Brown from Philly Brown is like. Tony Brown, who has Tony Brown's journal.

Oh, that's Tony Brown. Yes. That's Tony Brown. Yeah. Yeah. Shout out Tony Brown at the age of 12 when I went to the demonstration. Democratic National committing Kansas City. Wow.

Gave me two tickets to the victory tour because the Jackson's open the victory tour in Kansas City. Wow. Just randomly gave me to. And those are hard tickets to get. I love Tony Brown just for that. I forgot about Tony Brown. Only Brown is.

Oh, but that's who hired me because the University of Nebraska did not have a Black Studies Department because it's very conservative. okay, in Nebraska. But we had a Black Studies Committee, and I was the chairperson of the Black Studies Committee, and we would bring Tony Brown to Omaha to speak all of the time. So when Dr. James Cheek offered him the position of the first dean

and asked him to create the School of Communications, Tony said, would you like to come and be part of our faculty? And at that time, again, I was elated. Quincy Jones was on the faculty stand. Latham was on the faculty. Belvin Van Peeples was on the faculty. Oh, yes, we had a faculty that, okay. Ooh, them Christmas parties.

Ooh. Okay. I mean, it was unbelievable. And my first assignment was a communications conference. And at the communications conference, nobody could attend the communications conference from corporate America and the entertainment industry unless you had guaranteed in writing to Tony Brown and myself. that you would hire at least two students.

We have students from all the HBCUs come. And that very first year, that very first conference, 172 students of color got jobs in the industry because of Tony Brown. Tony Brown said, we don't need for you all to come to window dress. If you're going to come and meet with these students from around the country.

So that was our first kickoff to the School of Communications at Howard. which you know. The school, which is now named the Kathy Hughes School. School of communication. So last. Do you have a listing of like just some of the who's who of personalities that have sort of just come through your? It's amazing to me. It's amazing to me as you age because, you know, your life, and that still work.

So it keeps, you know, it keeps. you know, going on. But no, it's not a who's whose list. And it's so amazing to me when people come up to me and tell me stories about, you know, you gave me my first opportunity or you played my record, okay? Or you did this, okay, or you opened this door. You, you know, you booked me. The first time I booked birth, went and fire. I had a total of 20 people in the Crampton Auditorium, and I went and stood on the corner of Georgia Avenue at the entrance to Howard and vague people to come in. And Jessica Cleese was the lead singer, not Philip Bailey. Okay. I remember her. She was one mom. All right. And when I see Verdeen, Burdine, he was there. You know, he said to me, says to be all the time, this is the lady who got us

started because she went out there on the corner and begged people to come in. And when I tell people the lead singer for Earthwind and Fire was Jessica Cleese, they're like, what? Okay, no. Okay, you know this. Wow. Wow. Okay. And like I said, I had 20 people, but Jim Brown, okay, Jim Brown was involved with Jessica Cleese and he had put money. He had given Maurice White money to start this group called Earth went and Fire. All right. And my uncle, we're very good friends in Los Angeles. And so my uncle had hooked him up with me. And so he had brought me this group called Earth Went and Fire. Okay. So I went on the, we went on the radio and told people to come. Nobody had heard him. Nobody came. And so I think before the evening was over, I might have gotten 40 people in there to hear

the McClampton Auditorium. Wow. The story of them is a 15-seat, 15-100-seat venue. Right. Everyone gets their start somewhere. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way,

this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand-new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for Raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose,

and even music. The Clivert Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes.

And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield. And in this new season of The Girlfriends, Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me?

The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the Girlfriends. Trust me, babe.

On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever. for you get your podcast. I don't you? What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Wadam. My next guest, you know from Stepbrothers, Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell.

Woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place they come. look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet.

Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat, just hang in there. Yeah. It would not be...

Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. And we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits, teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make

to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice Podcasts on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

In 2023, former bachelor star Clayton Eckerd found himself at the center of a paternity scandal. The family court hearings that followed revealed glaring inconsistency. in her story. This began a years-long court battle to prove the truth. You doctored this particular test twice in so much, correct? I doctored the test ones.

It took an army of internet detectives to crack the case. I wanted people to be able to see what their tax dollars were being used for. Sunlight's the greatest disinfected. They would uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Alesspian, Michael Marantini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young.

This is Love Trap. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news at Maricopa County as Laura Owens has been indicted on fraud charges. This isn't over until justice is served in Arizona. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Was there an act that was a hard sell? You know, did you get an awkward prince back in like 1978 when he wasn't ready yet?

Listen, I can't tell you how many battles I fought for Prince because I discovered Prince when he was like 13 or 14 years old and people thought he was obscene was the word that they used to describe. And I was like, this boy's a musical genius. This kid is unbelievable. He plays every instrument there is. What are you talking about? O obscene. Oh, his lyrics. Remember, music and fashion have gone through periods where there were.

was serious censorship and, okay, and certain things weren't allowed. And, you know, lyrics had to become a camouflage, like, plus the magic dragon was about weed. Okay, all right. Okay. You know, so you had to camouflage and had to have, you know, the double meaning, but so many. But I guess that probably the John Stevens story is the biggest in terms of because his accomplishments. And still he's, he's still young. Okay.

Nobody knows where he will end up because he's been like a rocket ship with so many various groups over the years. But one of the things that I've been proud of, quite frankly, was the assistance that we did provide for the Dewaq groups and for the oldies, the goodies as they call them, because so many of these individuals were starving.

Okay. All right. I mean, they love the arts. They loved the music, but they couldn't work any longer. And disco just killed so many of them off. And it was not until we, during that same era, I came up with this concept of, you know, basically oldies, but we, you know, put more sophisticated titles to it,

dealt contemporary, okay? So you help usher in, like, nostalgia era? Or the urban AC category, Amir. I think she's saying that they created the urban AC, category. No question. Okay, and it was to really provide platforms. We had this event for years until it became too big, quite frankly, for us to handle. I admire the fact that Philadelphia still is able to do. There's called Stone Soul Picnic. And the Stone Soul Picnic was only these old groups that, you know, the Ohio players, all these groups that had been dormant.

Okay, nobody was buying them. Nobody was sampling them. Okay, nobody was recognizing them for their brilliance. And we start resurrecting them. Okay, and I kind of stumbled into it after I had created the quiet storm, because the quiet storm was love music, love with ballets. And I had to really reach back, all right, to eras where it. The lyrics told stories.

You got to tell that story. You need to tell the quiet storm story. Where's the name from? Explain to us who Melvin Lindsay was and how you guys invented. You guys basically helped triple the population. And let me tell you that the main reason I want to write my book is because when W.H.R. Celebrated its anniversary, there were several inaccurate accountings of the quiet storm. number one, Melvin Lindsay was not the originator.

Melvin Lindsay was my third. Whoa. He was not my first. He was my third. Okay. Oh, all right. My first was a kid named Don Roberts, who broke my heart because he was the most talented of my first three. But he was good looking, and he said to me, I got a face for television, Ms. Liggins, okay, because I wasn't even married to doing this.

He said, I don't want to be in a radio studio where no one can see me. Sure enough, been on to be a big-time anchor in Baltimore, Maryland. Wow. Now, I'd rob my first. My second was a young man named Jack Schuller. Jack Schuller was Melvin Lindsay's best friend. Melvin Lindsay was my intern that I paid out of my pocket. He picked my son up from school.

He came because Howard said that they didn't have a budget for interns. And I needed some of the students to actually be in a position to earn some money. So Jack Schuller was vomiting literally after each show or doing the show. He was so nervous. He was trembling. He said, please don't make me do this no more, Ms. Liggins. Please, please. Melvin would do it.

Melvin would do it. So Melvin told me he would do the quiet storm if I didn't make him open the microphone. So if there were any early tapes that he would say, good evening and welcome to the quiet storm. The next time you would hear Melvin Lindsay's voice, he would say, thank you for listening to the quiet storm. I'm Melvin Lindsay. There was nothing in between from Melbourne except the music. Great taste in music. It was my private music collection.

and I started it out on Saturday night and then on Sunday. And then I decided that the conception of the Quiet Storm was for a senior to be chosen by the faculty. Two seniors, in fact, one for each semester to give them a commercial experience on their resume. Okay? It was never for one person to host the show. It was supposed to be a rotation opportunity. The closest I came to it was Milton Allen, who was married to Pat Prescott in L.A., Sheila Eldridge, and Franklin. Those were my three, okay, students that I was able to rotate, okay?

Nobody else rotated. Okay, people came and got stuff, including Melbourne. Well, Melbourne did so good that K. YS. Kiss told him that they would give him an opportunity if he would come and be on the air at Kiss. So Melvin walks into my office. Now this, like I told you, he's a intern. I have literally supported him. Okay. His parents would say to him, well, you need to ask Ms. Liggins first before you do so-and-so. I had picked his classes for him the whole nine years. He tells me on a Friday that he's got an offer and he's going to work at Kiss. And I'm thinking he's talking about

after graduation and all this. And I said, when? He said, Monday. I was so irate. I told him to get out of my office. What? Yes. So Dewey Hughes, who at that time had 14 Emmys for his productions at B.R.C.N.BC.

14 Emmys. Okay. He created youth news. He created music videos as quiet as in his cap. Anyway, Dewey comes to my office and he tells me that it's a setup. that NBC just wanted Melvin off the air and that they had him in the mailroom. And would I please bring him back? And I said, bring him back.

And he said, let me take you to dinner and talk to you about this. Well, ultimately, Dewey and I got married. And Melvin came back. Okay. And years later, years later, I never will forget. We were at this big affair. And Melvin was being honored. And I was in the audience with Dewey.

And Melvin didn't acknowledge the fact that I was even in the audience. And Dewey had torn his Achilles, a attendant player basketball. He was on crutches. He went up to the head table on crutches. He grabbed Melvin Lindsay around the neck. And he said, I'm married because of you. And you're going to hear me. I return.

Live it. Okay. And Melvin went back to the microphone. Well, I'm so sorry. I didn't know she was here. He grabbed him right in front of the whole room. It was hilarious because that's how Joey and I ended up getting married. The reason my name is Kathy Hughes.

How did you get Melvin out of his sinus? Because I didn't know Melvin Lindsay as a radio personality. I knew him as when we first got cable, I knew Melvin Lindsay as a news personality. So he was like, Brian Gunn's. And I'm like, wait a minute, you were a quiet storm guy. So sexy. And I was too young to even know it. So, oh, just.

I was like, so how did you? And did the song come before the show? I could not take full credit for getting him out of his shell. Number one, Melbourne was introduced to the gay lifestyle by, I also had the distinction of hiring the first openly gay air personality. you Robin Holden. Yes, Robin. Okay.

The D.C. Robin Holden, I had to talk in code back in those days. She said the children will be meeting this Friday night and so-and-so. She was talking cold, and Howard University was up my rear end. Okay. Are you out of your mind? Conservative. Okay.

Okay. Exactly. Conservative, homophobic, all of that, okay? And at the same time, I'm getting all these rave reviews from the, because D.C., DC as quiet as is kept. Mm-hmm. Okay, is a big gay and lesbian city. Start all.

All right. All right. For many, many decades. And so, okay, so Robin was an incredible air personality, incredible air personality, all right? And she helped Melvin come out of his shell because I think that she made him comfortable with his sexuality. She made him feel that he feel that he. It was okay because Melvin was very closeted at that time, which contributed to his, okay? He was engaged.

I bought the engagement ring for a young lady, and she left him because she recognized that he wasn't comfortable with her. But during those times when Melvin was quiet and withdrawn and went to open the microphone, his show was almost like a black musac. And so it grew in popularity. We didn't have any commercials because it was a student shift. Okay. So we became number one in a matter of like 18 months. We went from no listeners to being number one in the market because Melvin wouldn't open the mic.

And I had no commercials. So it was nonstop love. Music. Wow. Okay. Okay. Music. The theme of Philly International.

there's a message in our music. Okay, we believed in that. And the message was one of love and affection and attention. And so Melvin blossomed and went on to become an incredible personality, incredible. He grew into himself. He got comfortable with himself. Deanna Williams was very much a part of his growth in development, okay, because he realized that he could be loved regardless of, okay, his sexuality, his sexual preference.

had no bearing on his talent. And he really, really, really blossomed and became this incredible, incredible television and radio personality and died too soon, too early. And so AIDS took him away way too soon. He was our first, right? Like, I feel like he was our first major. He was. He was.

It just hurts me to my. heart to think what he could have been, what he could have done. Had he not been discriminated against, had he not been unable to be who he really was? Because talent, personality galore. And once it started coming out, it was only out for a short period of time and then he was gone. He still needs to be in the Radio Hall of Fame somewhere. Absolutely. Absolutely. deserved it. He became my most popular, but the most popular of all the hosts of the Quiet Storm was Von Harper in New York. Von Harper. So let's talk about the franchising, the franchising

of the Quiet Storm then. Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. Howard wouldn't let me franchise it. They wouldn't let me license it. And at one time, there was stations that actually called themselves the Quiet Storm Station. Yeah. Howard could have supported not just the School of Communications. They could have supported the entire school off just licensing. It's a trademark. Yes. I was like with the trademark.

The reason I left Howard University was I realized that they had taken a billion-dollar baby that God had given me the motherhood of, okay, that I had first a billion-dollar baby for Howard University. And they had thrown the baby, the bathwater, and me out of window. And so I resign because I resigned telling Dr. Cheek that I did not want to miss the next billion-dollar baby that God might impregnate me with. I would not allow anyone else to be in charge of my destiny. And that's what Radio 1 became. It became that, okay, that baby that God once again blessed me with because before Howard,

they persecuted me. They punished me for the quiet storm. Really? Why? Terribly. I was very, very, very provocative in my days at Howard University. I stood up for the students. I, you know, opened doors. And it wasn't Howard's fault. HBCUs only, you know, recently realized that education is a business. You have to make money at it. Okay. And all this to be announced. not being in classroom, not being assigned,

having to stand in line for hours to register. Okay, all of that. That's part of the experience. I'm like, wait, this is. But not. Okay. Howard was very good to me. Howard sent me to Harvard University for six weeks to learn broadcast management.

Because when they told me they wanted to put me in the job as general manager, first as sales manager, I said, I don't know how to do it. And they said, well, you know, you know some of the basics. And they paid my tuition to Harvard. For the Harvard Business School? The business school. At that time, they had a six-week course called Broadcast Management. Wow.

And then they paid my way for a two-week course at the University of Chicago called Psychographic Programming. That's when I came back and created the quiet storm. So both times. So, you know, they say that. I was their best student that never matriculated at Howard University, but Howard invested in me quite seriously. I would not be, you know, professionally who I am or what I do now, were it not for high university.

And so it was easy for me when I found out that the School of Communications was in, a danger of not losing its accreditation and perhaps having to close that I was like, oh no, that can not happen. I can't allow that to happen because they produced me. Okay, even though I was never a student, okay, how at university produced who I am professionally. You know, I think that over the years that some of the things that I wanted for the students and for the university have come to fruition.

And for that, I'm eternally grateful. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space

for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends...

Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed I will be his last target.

He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Wodom. My next guest, you know from Stepbrothers, Anchorman,

Saturday Night Live and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Farrell. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with him one day, and I was like, and dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet.

Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be.

Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. And we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East-West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galko, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else.

If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok. In 2023, former bachelor star Clayton Eckerd found himself at the center of a paternity scandal. The family court hearings that followed revealed glaring inconsistencies in her story. This began a years-long court battle to prove the truth. You doctored this particular test twice in someone's, correct? I doctored the test ones.

It took an army of internet detectives to crack the case. I wanted people to be able to see what their tax dollars were being used for. Sunlight's the greatest disinfected. They would uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Gregalespian and Michael Maranini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young.

This is Love Trap. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news at Americopa County as Laura Owens has been indicted on fraud charges. This isn't over until justice is served in Arizona. Listen to Love Trapped Podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I always want to know, like, okay, in my mind, to just establish one radio station seems like a task. but I mean you had or have over 50 of these radio stations so I guess my two-part question is one how taxing is it to have eyes because I mean you seem like a personable figure in terms of you probably know what works you know your Atlanta staff like you probably know your Dallas staff the probably the way that you

you know your Chicago people versus your Philly. Like I'm certain that you have to have some sort of personable relationships with all of these conglomerates. One, why do you care? Two, how taxing is it to run an empire? It's a long way to get an empire. Okay. Do you're saying that it's a long way from an empire? I'm going to let you do the small fries talk, but I'm just saying that, okay,

whoever's like above you, like, what are you comparing yourself to? For me, it's not quantity more than it's the quality. We do it differently. We do it differently, but let me say to you, yeah, behind my back, they call me Dick Mama because I have some interesting rules like you can attest to. Tell us stories. We prepare for the drop-in. That's what I'll say.

She knows that every station, when they get word, that Ms. H might be coming to town. There's a clean up. Mama coming home. There are just certain rules that I live by. One is that many, many years ago, I had an opportunity to work for inner city broadcasting. I put their station on the air in Detroit. It was LBS, okay? It was, you know, BLS reconfigured.

And there was an incident with an individual who called a member of the staff, a dumb bitch to her face. And I heard it. And I quit. There are just certain things that I just will not tolerate. One of them is any of my employees being cursed at because to me, it defeats the ability. to get the best out of them. When somebody is cursed at, particularly by a superior, they're setting down. Okay, you're not going to get whatever caused you to curse them out, you know, curse at them or call them out of their name.

You've defeated the purpose. And so as much as I curse at home, I don't allow it in my facilities. Okay. There are certain other things I didn't, don't allow. Speaking of BLS, when I was going to surprise. Wendy Williams, who started with me. Wendy Williams is one of the individuals had her very first job with me.

And she was interviewing Snoop. And I could smell the weed on the first floor before I got on the elevator going up. Okay, I knew Snoop was on the air. Okay. And it's funny. So Wendy Williams said, oh, I just got word. That this Hughes is coming in the building. And Snoop said, oh, I got to put this joint out

because she don't allow no smoking up in her facilities. Okay. All right. And so when he said, well, this is not her facility, this is inner city. He said, in this Hughes is here, I got to put it out. Okay. Because the FCC, so few black owners, I was not going to allow my staff to shoot themselves and deprive themselves of an opportunity by getting me and them in trouble with the FCC. So certain things I just prohibited. It kind of gave me the reputation of being Big Mama and, okay, I believe. even hugging. I believe that if I know you on medication, I'm an HR nightmare. Okay, my HR

department. Okay, I'm an HR nightmare. Because if I know that you're on meds and you back and peculiarly you're up in the station, I will pull you aside and ask you, did you forget to take your meds that morning? Because I don't want you to blow your career. I don't want you abusing the people who may work for you. I don't want to say for 2023. Okay. All right. And so it's a To know that you okay. It's important for me to know that, okay, I don't like, I don't like how long you've been depressed now. Okay, I won't think that you need to talk to somebody. So I'm going to recommend a good counselor.

And then I'm going to check and see, did you follow up and call this person where I gave you a gift certificate. I was forever giving out gift certificate to go talk to somebody. Okay. It's literally like working for your auntie. Okay. So for you, of course, I would think that having good numbers is good news as far as like the ratings and whatnot. I can also imagine for you it could be concerning when you hire personalities that sort of grow in stature. So how do you immediately not prepare, but how do you handle?

when you have a media personality that works for one of your stations that seems to be growing and growing. And you might, like, if they decide to go rogue, I mean, I never knew, like, how, like, was Wendy just allowed to do whatever she wanted to do carte blanche? Or was it always like, she just operated and was like, let me suffer the consequences later if I, if I start, you know, burning bridges of the artist that I talk about, but she still gets the numbers. like how do you handle like is it is it a nightmare when your artists when your personalities get bigger than you planned on them for being at least as affected for the radio station i hope i asked that question right i would them to be as big as they can possibly be but most importantly isn't that bad business for you because when it comes to like renegotiating the contract or you know someone tries to poach them and take them

them away. Hey Oprah Winfrey, we heard you're doing weather on this thing. How would you like your own show? Like, how do you handle that situation? Listen, one of my very favorite personalities of all time, a brother named Jerry Bletson. Jerry Bletso worked for me both at Radio One and at WHUR. But when he got an opportunity to double his salary, I helped negotiate that contract for him. You can't get too big in my book. The bigger, to me, rising water lifts all boats. Okay. I want you to get big. I also want you to maintain respect. Okay. Respect is very important to me. And Wendy's biopic was so inaccurate. She accused Deanna Williams of firing her. Deanna wasn't even there. Okay? So Anna could not have done what Wendy said.

I've never smoked in any of my facilities, and I used to smoke cigarettes, a pack a day girl, you know, but I've never smoked in any of my facilities because most facilities, because, you know, it's radio, it's, you know, confined, and they stink after they smoke. Okay, the smoke gets in there. Yeah. And so, you know, the true Wendy's story was,

was that I knew that Wendy had a problem because one evening I had to pay she was being held hostage by her dealer and I had to pay to get her release to come to work and I was very concerned well being she was young that was her first big market you know radio job and she passed out on the air

the reason Wendy and I parted company is she literally passed out on the air and the record back in the those days we were paying, you know, LPs. It was skipping. And I only lived like three, four minutes from the station. And I ran in there. And she was literally passed out. And we got her, you know, medical care. The Rescue Squad came and everything. And we then, you know, helped her move on to a different position in, you know, a different market. She came back to work for me many years later. Then even after her biopic, she was,

requested that we be a second window on her television show. So we're running her television show on Cleo TV, my second network. Oh, wow. Yeah, exactly. So Wendy's issue was not her getting too big. Wendy's issue was the demon that she couldn't overcome, couldn't fight, that she couldn't win, win against. And so many of us have, you know, talent, but we also have a self-destructive. entity to our personality. Okay? That's real. Okay, that's what Wendy had.

You know, I mean, Tom Joyner at one time was the biggest their personality. The only person bigger than him was Howard Stern, and that was because Howard Stern was on white stations, and there were a lot more white stations. Tom Joyner was on 127 radio stations, of which he was number one in 80 plus of those. Oh. Okay, okay, never an issue, never once wanted, okay, him not to continue to grow. Ricky Smiley now is, I'm delighted in how he's growing. Donnie Simpson came back, okay, to radio, to work. So it's not an issue of them.

And yeah, contract negotiations always are tough. But when you run your company the way we run ours, which is very family-oriented, even with HR and all of the rest, then we don't have the same type of contract negotiations that you would have, perhaps, at an eye heart or someplace else, okay? Because we're quite transparent with our people. This is how much money we make off your show. This is what your ratings look like. And this is how much we can afford to pay you. Okay?

I probably have a Guinness World Book record of people. who have worked for me, who have gotten fired, who have quit, who have come back more times. Okay. What are them on this call? All right. You can raise your hands by. Okay. All right.

All right. You have come back many, many, many times. And some of them, you know. Whites. Many times, huh? Okay. Let's mention. But I just happen to think that we all grow and we change with all.

life and age and experiences. And I think just because we might have messed up at one time, you know, I was hopeful that Wendy would be able to make a comeback, but I, you know, and it's kind of doubtful now that that will happen because I think that her health is not being as responsive as she would need it to be, you know, have a comeback. And Sherry is doing so good on that show. Yeah. So lovable.

And, you know, and he comes. you know, off our network. She was on with Tom Joyner. Cheryl Underwood. Cheryl Underwood. Cheryl Underwood. Cheryl Underwood was a Black Republican on Tom Joyner show first. She just did a feature.

Oh, okay. Wow. Whoa. And so the only one that I really had an issue with, and now he's back. He's on my Atlanta station, Steve Harvey. Wow. Let's talk about it.

Okay. Steve and I part. It was the best thing they ever happened to Steve. It forced him to become the great L.A. People know who Steve Harvey is because of my company. He did my morning show at the beat in Los Angeles. Okay, that was his first major gig. And Steve wanted to do things his way.

And that didn't work for me. So I sent a shockwave through the company the morning. And I used to tell Steve quite honestly, I said, listen, I did morning drive for 11 years. I'm waiting to talk about it. Okay, please do not tip me to replace you with myself. Because I love to be on the radio in L.A. Okay.

Steve didn't think I was serious until that morning when he and I party company and I sit in his chair. Okay. What? Yeah. Oh, yeah. You called his blood. What were the things he wanted? to do that I guess didn't jail with you.

You say he wanted to do it his way, what ideas that he'd have that just didn't work for what you want to do? Or things that just may not work for radio, period, you know? Steve is very talented, but very dogmatic in his approach to how he wants to do things and get things done. I don't want to go into specifics. Yeah. Yeah.

But how did y'all come back together then with all of that? We came back together almost immediately because it was the best thing that ever could have happened to him. And I told them that. Let me just say to you, you know, I've been married and I've been in some serious long-term relationships. And I'm friends with all of my exes because to me, just because a person is your ex, whether it's professionally or personally, you shouldn't be bad mouthing them. It makes you look like you ain't got good sense. Makes you look like you don't have good. You chose them.

Yes, Ms. Yes, yes, Ms. Hughes. Let's talk about it, Ms. Hughes. Okay. I'm the same way professionally. All right, just because it didn't work out, I'm not going to bad mouth you. I'm not going to stop you from getting other opportunities. I'm not going to stand in your way, okay, because it makes me look like I didn't know what I was doing when I hired you. Okay.

All right. Same thing with X's. I give this lecture to young women all the time. It is crazy for you to be bad. mouth and your baby daddy. Okay. You got pregnant by him. You got enough of him

to have a baby with him. And now he is low-life dog. People basically don't change. All right. I know how much it's like church. That's true. Okay. Then that's why he was when you decide you're going to let him

get you pregnant. So that doesn't reflect very favorably. on you. I feel the same way personally. Hey, wait, my un- Unpaid... Hold on. This is, philosophically speaking, if people don't change, how do you give them second and third chances? How does that work? Their basic personalities don't change. People do

change. You learn. You learn. Your understanding of them changes. Yeah, your understanding of them changes. And they do change in terms of how they operate. Okay. All right. We haven't had any of the issues with Steve being on our

stations in a syndicated capacity that we had was working for me directly. And I mean, right after Steve came Lala, Lala was my midday air personality at feet. Lala was a midday mommy, too. Lala was with Chris Love 11, Poon Daddy. Remember in Atlanta? That's where she started.

I knew Lala when she was an MTV personality. I didn't know about her radio days. Wait, we're the one who got her that job. The woman who was the program director at MTV was Mary Catherine. Mary Catherine Sneed, Mary Catherine Sneed, who was in charge of programming for all my radio stations. And she said, listen, there's a great opportunity I think Lala would be perfect for. Okay. And we negotiated that contract for Lala. And again, it kind of hurts my feelings because Lala talked about I started out

in radio. I was like, could you call our company's name? It would help us. We're small black company, you know. I mean, okay, that's you. I'm so grateful to you having me on this. Please, you've had all, okay, the kings and queens of celebrity dumb. Okay, and for you to allow me to come on is such an honor. I'm so grateful to all of you all. You're not in our fabric of America.

What are you saying? You're a part of the fabric. You are all of our lives. Hey, y'all. It's Laia. And that's where we will end. part one of the Questlove Supreme interview with Kathy Hughes,

the first black woman to head a media company publicly traded on the U.S. stock exchange. You may know those companies as TV One and Radio One, which come together as Urban One. Ms. Hughes has been in my life since the beginning, so I am truly honored to have her on her first ever podcast interview with Team Supreme. Yes.

Stay tuned for part two, where Kathy speaks about her commitment to portraying black excellence on television, stories on some of her famed host, and the role of radio in the black community today. As a QLS tradition, we will continue to celebrate Women's History Month with some of the strongest female voices. And that's definitely Kathy Hughes. Don't forget to check out Part 2. Coming soon. Much Love Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio.

For more podcasts from IHeart Radio, visit the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Cliford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft, and we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galko,

joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make, to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else.

If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice Podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 and TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed, I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends.

Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Ellen, correct? I doctored the test once. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing

pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Alessian. Michael Mancini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police.

As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, everyone. I'm Ego Vodom. My next guest, it's Will Farrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad. gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot. But if you ever reach a point where

you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah. It would not be. Right. It wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Yeah. Listen to thanks dad on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.