The Questlove Show - Questlove Supreme: Cathy Hughes Part 2

Episode Date: March 8, 2023

In the second part of her first-ever podcast interview, media mogul Cathy Hughes discusses her leadership style. Ms. Hughes also opens up about the power and importance of radio in 2023, working with Dick Gregory, and why her TV One channel aims to combat the stereotypes and misinformation about Black folks on television.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 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. 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 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 Iheart Radio 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, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Correct? I doctored the test ones. 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 Rancini. 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 Ako Vodam. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. Woo, 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 in life. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Quest Love Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. What up, everybody? It's Laia. Welcome back to part two of the Quest Love Supreme interview with Kathy Hughes. In part one, Ms. Hughes spoke about growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, her move into radio and creating The Quiet Storm, which may be responsible for a large part of the population today.

If you still need to listen or watch, please do. Here is part two, which is a special episode for me, because I get to tell Ms. Hughes what she means to my life and career as she tells more stories from her incredible journey. Join us as we celebrate this Women's History Month and Honor Great Women Year Round on QLS. I know that you have your shows that are syndicated, i.e. Steve will do something from LA, but it goes to like, whatever, 100 markets, whatever.

Ricky's in Alabama. Okay. So what I want to know is how are you able, are you the micromanaged type in terms of like, okay, now I'm certain that there's the technology that exists where you can instantly listen to your Houston station and quickly switch to your security. Chicago Station if you want to. How were you able to do that back in the day before this technology, before the Internet just colonized everything and made it accessible? How are you able to check your 12 stations back in 1989, 1990? By going to the, but also remember, I started on the East Coast. So first it was D.C. Then it was Baltimore. Then it was Philadelphia. We expanded. in a pattern. Okay. It wasn't until we bought the Clear Channel stations, the IHeart stations, that we actually went to the West Coast, that we actually picked up stations in like St. Louis. So we're back now basically just concentrated on the East Coast because that is easier for us to

get to our stations and to our people. So back then you just had to travel. And even though the technology wasn't your computer and then there were phone numbers that you could dial in and listen to it. I was just about to say she was hotline and we out of nowhere too. Right, exactly. Oh, so you would be like, all right, let me see what Lai is doing right now and you would call a hotline to hear exactly what's happening in Philly. Totally. And so Lai, was she the type to like give you notes? Like you didn't reach the. Well, Amir, you remember we had a warm line and a hotline, right? The warm line was the number that all the labels, the artists and people had, the hotline was a number that only management had.

So when you saw that ring, you knew down, da-da-down. Close out the break, close out the break, close out the break, close out the break. Really? Yeah. The warm line. The hot line. No, the hot. Yeah, all my, to the day, we have a warm line and we have a hotline.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And so we did it by telephone back then. You could actually listen to the stations. Yeah, so we heard them, okay? We heard them, but the reality is, back to your original question about them growing big and becoming. The way radio has consolidated, they ain't a whole bunch of opportunities even for the big names.

Okay. So there's not a much, there's not a whole bunch of opportunity to lose them to another. Now, we may lose them to another industry, another discipline, another career. But there's not much danger in, you know, I mean, Donnie Simpson was retired when we convinced him to come back, okay? If he leaves me, he's going back to retirement. He's not going to work at an other state. Going to play with the grandbabies. The same way, I mean, D.L. Hughley and Ricky Smiley both have it perfect because with technology, they still do their stand-up.

Okay? they still pack houses. And so, you know, where are they going to go? Because certain other corporations do have prohibition, okay, and limitations on what you can do. I want my people to be as successful as possible because with their success, like I said, a rising tide lifts all boats. That means they can employ people. My new mantra, love that shit. I need you to tell these fine fellas the story of how you.

did become a personality and decided to do a morning show with a fellow named Dick Gregory in D.C. Oh. So when I had the opportunity to buy my first radio station, we did what's called a format search, which tells you where there's a hole in the market. And the hole in the market was information for African Americans. And I was like, oh, that's perfect. What no one told me was that news talks. is the most expensive of all radio formats.

Oh, I didn't know. Oh, yeah. Why? An air personality can run their board, can answer their own phone. They can do news talk is the most expensive because you have to have, you have to have an ensemble. You have to have a team to do a show in news talk, okay? It's not possible for one air personality, okay, or two people to do it. And so I was not able to service my debt.

Again, I knew how to run radio. I knew how to create radio. I did not know the business of radio. And here it is. 1981, the prime went into the mid-20s. I was paying two and a half points over prime. My first quarter of being in business, my interest rate was 27.5%. Okay.

It was in point. possible for me to service my debt and support a news talk format. So after about a year of me being, my father was a CPA. And my father taught me that one of the things that causes a lot of people to fail in business is that they destroy their credibility with people that they owe money to. And he taught me never to hide from a phone call from someone that I owe money to and never not pay them something. And so each month during this time when the interest rates are in the mid to upper 20s, and I can't service my debt and run my station, if I owed you $1,000, you might get a check for $300, but you got something every month from me. Okay. So I maintain my credibility with my lenders

to get me through this period. But at a certain point, my lenders came to me and they said to me, You can't afford a news talk format. You don't have the resources. You don't have the experience to do this. You have to go back to music. Well, I had already done this research. And so I knew the number one, I was an AEM station. How was I going to compete against the monster I had created at WHUR?

Okay. I had created. I was an expert on FM. I had, you know, cut my teeth on FM in the D.C. market. So they want me to play music up against. I have no separate. of sound, okay? Because to this day, there's very little, if any, AM stereo anywhere in radio. Okay, all right? There's no separation. I'm like, how am I going to do this?

I'll be mono and they stereo? No, this isn't going to work. And so they said to me, if you want to keep one shift, it has to be morning drive, and the only way you to keep it is for you to do the show yourself. Because you're the only person. can afford. And it was just like a light bulb going off. It was like, that's a great idea. Okay. And so I convinced my then-husband, Dewey Hughes, that we would go on the air. And Dewey lasted about three months because by now he's got 14 Emmys. He's in television. He's working for MC. Okay. He's not interested in doing radio. And so he says, He's going to move to California and suggest that I come with him.

Okay? And I said, no, I can't leave my radio station. People are dependent on me. I said, I'm going to do the show by myself. And he said, I wouldn't advise that. And then out of nowhere, like an angel, Dick Gregory descended on me. And one of the jokes on the air was that he was my permanent guest. because Dick, some days when I was too tired or was sick or couldn't do the show or I had to do a promotion or speak somewhere,

Dick would do the show in my absence. But we used to always joke on the air about it's called the Kathy Hughes Morning Show with permanent guests, Dick Gregory. But for many years, Dick Gregory was there every morning. Dick Gregory would not accept a penny of compensation and said to me that in his life and his career, that two people had resurrected him from where he was and elevated him to where God intended for him to be. One was Hugh Hefner, who put him in the Playboy circuit and really started him as a big personality. And me, when I allowed him to do my morning show with me, because, number one, if people start booking him again, His popularity started to rise. Once again, he was being invited to college campuses to speak.

You know, he was never on Oprah's show because Oprah thought he was too radical. People considered him a conspiracy theorist, okay? And yet everything we ever talked about turned out maybe years later to be the truth. Okay. It might have been a conspiracy, but it was still a real conspiracy. It was actually taking place. And I cannot tell you how blessed. He said that I made a difference in his career.

He made a difference in my life and my career. Because the topics that we covered, the information that we disseminated during morning drive, I never will forget the morning that Leah Atwater called in. And he said, so Ms. Hughes and Mr. Gregory, this is Lee Atwater. I am the president's blah, blah, blah. And we said, we know who you are, Leigh, okay and he says I don't know if you are where

but everybody at the White House has to listen to the Kathy Hughes at Dick Reggie show in the morning because all the staff here keeps all the radios tuned and I said so are you telling me that the president listens to the morning show you

we don't have any choice we all listen to it and he became a regular listener and caller to the show but I know that was because of Dick Gregory then one day, I'm on the National Board of the Urban League, and I tell Dick to come go with me that President Bush was the speaker. And so we're going down the receiving line afterwards. And the president talks about how Dick was his graduation speaker at Yale University.

And that he start quoting him and the president's handlers are trying to put, President Bush, President Bush, they're trying to move him. And he said, whoa, I'm talking to Mr. Gregory. And so Dick said, well, let me introduce you to, oh, I know who Ms. Hughes is. I have to listen to her show in the morning. Sometimes you talk about me real bad and you're helping her. Okay. And you helping her. But Mr. Gregory, you changed my life with that graduation speech. Dick brought so much credibility and brilliance to that show that to this day, to this day, people fill out there. diary saying that they listened to Kathy Hughes in the morning with Dick, it's a permanent guest, Dick Gregory.

And Dick's been dead quite a few years now. And I've been off the air quite a few years. But that was the impact that we had in the nation's capital. Oh, yeah. If that city couldn't have got any blacker, it was like, we didn't think it could get any blacker. And here comes, y'all. Here it is.

Yeah, I want to know, I want to ask you, Ms. Kathy, you were a young mom. And, like, so you were talking about, you know, you have people that will watch a kid. How did you balance motherhood? like in the middle of all this. I didn't have to balance it. It was my top priority. Okay. It was my top priority.

I never, my son laughed and says that he had to be 14 before he didn't, he learned that everybody didn't work or grew up in a radio station. Melvin Lindsay picked him up from school. I love to cook. Okay. I cook like somebody's grandmama. Okay, I cook. And so I would cook on the weekends for the whole week.

Bring the food to the radio station. I do my homework with his homework with him. And then I had a sleeping bag. If I had to stay late, okay, he was my date. Howard used to complain because I had a little tuxedo for him. Okay, we get dressed at the radio station. We go to affairs because I didn't know anybody. I couldn't leave him.

I didn't want to leave him with anyone other than Melvin, okay, who helped me. And he grew up in the radio station. I mean, Robin Houghton used to put him. him out all the time. She teases him now about that. She said, you know how many times I put you out my station? Because he would be down there helping her out. And she said, no, I don't need any help, okay? But no, never was I confused. My first priority. I never thought that I would have a career. I thought that what God intended for me to be was a radio personality syndicated. I'd only have to work four hours a day. And then the rest of the time, I would take care of

of the five sons that God was going to bless me with and a husband and that my most important decision would be what I was going to cook for them that evening. It's 17. The good Lord blessed me with the one child that I would have. And, you know, I'm single now. But, you know, God has blessed me with two husbands and one of whom is deceased, my son's father. and then Dewey Hughes, who, you know, you may remember the movie, Talk to Me. Talk to me.

Yeah, I was not asking you about Petty Green. Did you have any, like, what was like with him? Did you all interact? I knew Petey Green before I ever met Dewey. Like I told you, the way I met Dewey was he was bringing Melvin Lindsay back to work for me at W.H.U.R. I knew Petty because Petty was dating my roommate and spending a lot of nights up in our town now. And everyone's, you know, why weren't you in the movie? The reason I was not in the movie was because I was not in Washington, D.C.

By the time I got to Washington, D.C., P.D. Green was bigger than life. Okay? We had all these Emmys. He was working in television, and I didn't know him. I knew who he was, okay? But they do mention you. Only because, and Casey Lemons, who, you know, just did the Whitney Houston movie. The Whitney Houston movie.

Casey Lemons. the way they do movies is they test them. Okay. And the test, 90% of everyone they showed the movie to say, well, where is Kathy? Okay, all right. Why isn't she in the movie? I was in the movie because I didn't even know Dewey existed, nor PD.

I was living in Omaha during the time. Also, the end is a lie. That's the name's Hollywood. That's cute. Okay. So they added that in the line at the end. How's Kathy's show doing? And he says it's doing great.

That's the ending line. But, you know, I'm so honored because Don Chito says to this day that the Pity Green role was his favorite all-time role. I was going to ask you, how do you think, like, you know, Chi would tell how him playing Dewey, was that accurate to the person you knew? Dewey Tell and Dewey are friends to this day. He was so, okay, Dewey's idol was Johnny Carson, okay? being from Omaha, part of his conversation with me on our first dates had to do with

Johnny Carson. Okay? Because Omaha is about as big as you all studio. Okay, all right. Okay, and so everybody in Omaha and like I told you, it's only black folks and white folks. And I think our population

when I was growing up was right around 200,000 people. Okay, of which about 20,000 were black. Okay. And so everybody knew everybody. So, you know, Dewey's infatuation with Johnny Carson. Dewey is still the same way to this day. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're 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 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 you get your podcast.

What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodam. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. 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 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 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 Iheart Radio 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, 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 disinfected.

They would uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Gregalespian 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 has served in Arizona. Listen to Love Trapped Podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. How do you know when someone who wasn't a communications major is ready for prime time, ready for the big time? Like, you know, oftentimes like a lot of people in hip-hop, you know, Moni Love, sort of transitions from hip-hop to radio, Chubb Rock. transitions from hip hop to radio. Like right now, like a lot of the people I grew up listening to as hip hop emcees and DJs or whatnot are now transitioning to.

Like, even I'll be sure having his show and whatnot. So how do you know? Look at L.L. Cool J. We just honored him Monday night, okay, with the Icon Award. And it got left on the editing floor, but the L.L. Cool J story was, L.L. Kuljee was a member of Congressman Flake's Church. Floyd Flake resigned as a congressman to go serve his congregation. He was like, I'm not helping folks be in Congress, so he went home.

And he called me one day, and he said that a member of his congregation named Todd, okay, was asking him about pursuing acting. And this is when L.L. was at the height of his hip-hop career. Okay, but he was getting offers because you know how they use the rappers for cameos and, you know, and the film. Like most deaf, I thought was one of the best actors, okay, the movie he did where he played the doctor, which was a true story. Okay. Something all right. Okay.

All right. I thought that that was brilliant. I thought he was going to be, you know, as big as Jim Zell. So anyway, they asked my opinion. And I told him that for what I had seen of his acting, he was great in that, you know, I would encourage him to pursue that. One of my blessings is my best friend for many decades is Deanna Williams. And Deanna Williams has an eye and an ear for talent like none other. And I depend quite heavily on her.

Okay. I may have a feeling about somebody, but I'll ask Dee to take a look at them or listen to them or, you know, check them out and see what her opinion is. I relied very heavily and have for many, many decades, Deanna and I have been besties for probably half a century, to be honest about it, okay? And the reality is I've been quite heavily on, you know, Deanna's input because she has the best eye and ear. Okay, I'm better with music because I have been tone deaf most of my life and from a childhood accident. And so it used to be when the music reps would come. to the station, they'd always play the new music for me because the joke was, if I could hear a hit, it was definitely if it moved me. Okay, seriously, that was the case when Gene Riggins was General Manager Universal. She's a here, I want you to hear this song. He's from your hometown. I said, Nellie is not from my hometown.

And it was the country grammar, right, country grammar. Country grammar that she was playing for me. Quincy Jones has said to me that getting a hit wasn't really as complicated as a lot of people figured. You have to hit a chord that's familiar to the listener. And so when I heard Nellie's country grammar, I was like, everybody knows nursery ride. Right. gee, I said, I hear this. And she said, okay, we're going to sign him.

Okay. And did. But in terms of on-air talent, the two, I have been blessed with the two greatest air personalities that have lived during my lifetime, Tom Joyner and Deanna Williams. I don't think that they have, there's no one comparable to their level of talent. There is no one comparable to what both of them have done in different ways, but to help individuals in the communications industry. And so to have close friendships with both Tom Joyner and Vienna makes me look a lot smarter than I really am.

I get it. We didn't even get to TV1 and unsung. But there's one thing I do want to know. how good are you with the archival part of your business as far as maintaining old radio shows from yesteryear and whatnot? Because I think oftentimes when we're building, and I say it's an empire, whether you say it's small fries, I say it's an empire. When you're building an empire. A little empire. A little empire. Nah, we think I'm big.

You're building an empire. you know oftentimes we don't think we're making history day to day but then like 30 years go by and like if I want to hear you know what was radio like in 1978 blah blah blah blah or whatever like how good are you with archiving like historical moments that have happened at any of your radio stations. So I now have a full-time archivist that's trying to get individuals, my listeners who have recorded things. To be very honest with you, I didn't have the money to store things. I were going to pay for a storage bin. When I moved, we threw it away. We threw the stuff away. Okay, because I was living it. Okay. I was living.

I was trying to survive. I wasn't interested in history. Okay. I was just trying to build a company, keep people. You know, I'm blessed to say that never once have I had a check bounce in the 43 years I've been in business. Not once have I had a check bounce. Not once have I had an employee who did not get paid. Okay.

And for a black company to be able to say that after 43 years is quite an accomplishment. but as hard as it is and still is to get advertising. But no, I didn't maintain those records. So my archivist is thrilled every week when she comes across somebody who might have a piece of my history. Okay. And trying to reassemble it and pull it in. And I'm surprised, you know, just the other day somebody went in their garage and they sent me a video of me going. to a nabob function with Quincy Jones.

Okay, he and I went to the nabob function that evening. And this person had a copy of somebody interviewing us. Okay, and we were talking about James Brown was being honored that evening. And Quincy Jones and I were standing there and we're talking about it. And then whoever it was that was interviewing and said, well, we hope that you all have a great time this evening on your date. And I said, well, this isn't really a date. And Quincy Jones said, it is a date. Okay.

I was like, oh, that sounds about right. Oh, wait. A date. That's one brand. Wait, Quincy Jones, a black woman. What happened? What happened? Right.

It was his story. Exactly. It was his story. Okay. And so we're kind of piecing it together, Questlove out because, no, I didn't maintain it. I threw the shit away, quite frankly. Excuse my language, okay?

Oh, not. I feel you. I couldn't afford storage, okay, and I didn't have any place. And, you know, if I needed extra space, I was trying to put an employee in it. You just weren't thinking that you were making history. I still don't think that I'm making history. I'm very honored, okay? I am very honored when someone says to me.

That's a crazy part. You are literally still the only black woman with the most radio and TV. Like, there's no body. That's crazy. And you don't get your degree. The other thing is, quite frankly, I think that what happens so often is that if we believe our good press, then we get upset with our bad press. Okay. And so I'm kind of no press.

Okay. I have read very few articles about myself. This arch of this is like, oh, look at this. And I was like, where was that? And she was like, well, this was in so and so. magazine or newspaper and I was like, I never saw that. She said, well, you should have seen it. It was front page or it was what, when I became the general manager of WHUR, it was front page business section of the Washington Post. It was years afterwards that I actually saw it because I try

not to concentrate on me as much as I try to concentrate on the mission. Wait, guys, this is a historic moment. So we've been doing this. we've been doing this for like what six years now yeah the running joke is with these guys always ambushing me with love and accolades or flowers or whatever because oh flowers right i was i've been i was previously notorious for not ever wanted the same thing as you never read about never read the comments never but you know i also had to learn in the last year that, you know, especially with black people, but people in general just don't celebrate themselves. And, you know, it's, but I, I understand that because we were programmed to keep going.

Yeah, we were, we were programmed to just like stay small, stay out of trouble, don't cost too much trouble, don't bring, you know, attention to yourself. And also like, you know, if we celebrate ourselves, then we'll get big headed and whatnot. And I would personally like us to think about at least more, more refocusing that part of our history and accept. Wow. I'm actually forcing someone to accept flowers on Quest Love Supreme. But you're going to concentrate more on yourself? I'm being forced to because everywhere I go, I got people forcing me to celebrate myself. So, yeah, I'd given.

He said you too. Right. I think everyone on this Zoom could do well from accepting some flowers. Everybody. Everybody on this, everybody on this Zoom is a very humble person who's very successful and very good at what they do. Anyone with 56 radio stations and their own television network, I think definitely needs to,

you know. We're up to 68. Oh. Oh. Yeah. Get your shit straight. I want to ask you, Kathy.

So what to you in the era now of like podcast and, you know, everything being kind of on demand with, you know, streaming and everything. What to you is the purpose of radio in 2023? Well, I don't think the purpose has changed, particularly when you talk about radio that's geared specifically to the black community. We are very research-oriented, and we consistently, in our research, the listeners say, second only to the black church in terms of credibility. Wow.

I think, you know, I just, I just concluded a campaign. that brought me so much joy over the last two weeks about Stevie Wonder's happy birthday. Yes. I triggered press, international, national press. I triggered so many individuals realizing that you don't go to a black function and don't hear the Stevie Wonder version. And most people have no idea that they're not singing the lyrics, that the lyrics to that song is one, the most beautiful point. that Steve has ever written. Okay.

Because, okay, just fabulous tribute to Dr. King. But more importantly, it was a protest song because the U.S. Congress would not make the holiday. Exactly. And the movement was dwindling and really on life support. And that song really resurrected. And it was very special to me because that's the same year that we went into business that he released hotter than July. Okay, hotter than July was the

LP that the song was on, the birthday song was on. And it even triggered Stevie. Stevie did a Instagram live talking about how, you know, things haven't changed in 40 years. I was so proud of that. I still want my company to be mission-driven.

I still want there to be a message in our music. I still want there to be content in our narrative that really makes people stop to think. And so, you know, to be able to continue doing this, I think is what keeps the relevance, the importance of Black on radio alive. And so even with technology, the reality He has one time I had to compete against Iheart. I had to compete against AMFM. I had to, now I actually compete against my actual listeners. My listeners do their own playlist.

My listeners think that they're great DJs. My listeners, so not only am I competing against corporations, I'm competing against the people that I'm trying to serve. Yeah. But as long as they keep coming back, I realize that they, are without saying it recognizing that we do the value. They recognize the value. And that value, you know, we're very emotional. One of the things that kills a lot of old black folks is they go to the same doctor for 40 years. The doctor don't even see that they got cancer. Okay, because he's so

used to hearing them complain and sister Sarah didn't been coming here 40 years. Okay, we don't, we're not real quick to change certain things. We don't change preachers. We don't change doctors. We don't change our hairpiece. It's funny. He said Barbara, Fontaine. But it is kind of said. It seems like black radio is getting smaller and smaller.

And the youth are not going to have the relationship that like maybe we had as far. Because people don't realize that black radio is different. And you can please speak to this. They don't realize that black radio is different in the sense of this relationship with community, rock, jazz, country radio. of these kind of genre stations have to have a direct connection to the community, go to schools, do being. It's so it's sad in a way. Right. And the relationship has changed.

Urban One honors that aired, you know, Martin Luther King's birthday last night, okay, did a 50-year tribute to hip-hop. And the relationship, when they came out there with a young man with the radio on his shoulder, it just kind of warmed my heart to realize. and remember the days where people would carry boom boxes on their shoulders. Okay. All right. Yeah. Be on roller skates. All right.

I mean, went to bed with the boom box. Okay. That radio was like, you know, almost like a chalice is to a Catholic priest. Okay. What a set sitting in there waiting to hit record. That's right. Absolutely. Absolutely.

It's changed. And certainly with technology. but technology also, even though it's brought on a different level of competition, also has made it easier for us in so many ways because of voice tracking, because of being able not to have to be at a certain, like our gathering right now, we're all over the country. We're all in different. Okay. And yet we're having this podcast the same as 10 years. ago we would have all had to have been assembled in your studio, okay, looking at each other,

you know. So it's helped with the delivery of the product. But I really am not pessimistic about the future. I think it will change. I think that certain things are already changing. I'm very dismayed over the fact that when I started out, there were almost, 400 black-owned radio stations. Now there are about a hundred and thirty-two black-owned radio stations, and 68 of them belong to me. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're 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 that. 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 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 you get your podcasts. I got you. Everyone, I'm Ago Vodam. 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 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 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 Iheart Radio 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 potential 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 selling, 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 disinfectant. They would uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Grega, Lesbian, 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 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. Based on what you would have to get up at four in the morning, five in the

morning to do in the bathroom, is that human being that's looking in the mirror with a brush, is she satisfied with the path that the universe has given her? And is there anything else left to explore or conquer? I want to come back and talk about TV. Okay, because, okay, I want to do a second podcast. I like the podcast because I've got very strong opinions about television and how it's really changing our perception of who we are. Okay. Wait, actually, okay.

All right. This is important. I really want to come back and talk about that. Okay. Give us a preview real quick because now you gave us a little bit. You got to give us more. Yeah, I was like, what don't I know? It's night and day?

The reality is foreign countries see us through the eyes of movies and television shows. And our portrayal, one of the reasons that I am still the only network in this country that will air the Cosby shows, because that ensemble, that is not forgiving what Bill did, what he did was despicable. But that show more accurately portrayed black life in America. that any show has ever. And that ensemble should not be punished because of the wrongdoing of one human being. I don't want the Chinese

who only see housewives of Atlanta to think that that's what black women are about, fighting with each other, screaming and hollering. The way media, right now, the media is dogging Biden. The reason Hillary Clinton never got elected president of the United States would lose to somebody who couldn't even construct a sentence

was because of the media dog and her like and in my opinion she was more qualified to be the president than her husband was qualified to be the president nobody had done what Hillary had done but the media now no longer is covering the news it creates the news and it decides particularly as it relates to people of color, what's important and what we should be thinking and what we should be doing. Okay, but anyway, that's a whole other podcast that I hope that you will invite me back to.

Okay. You know what that one? Okay, because if we don't get it under control, all right, I do not know what's going to happen to the future of us. All right. But y'all, we wouldn't know black girls be missing. Thank you. Thank you. Exactly. All right. Thank you, TV1. And so very important, but to your question, no, I have no regrets. There is absolutely nothing that I would do differently other than have more than one child. Okay. I really, really, really wished that I had, I had him so young. It was so, you know, traumatizing and so scary for me, quite frankly. But I should have adopted. I should have made it.

for more than just Alfred to benefit from the blessings of this media conglomerate that God has blessed me to be able to build. I have adopted individuals like Laia, I have, you know, other individuals that I have, you know, been a big aunt to or godmother or a grandmother, but I wish that I had biological, okay, heirs. Do you mind me interrupting real quick? I just want to say this, because we've been through a lot in these 40 years, something years as you know me. But be clear. The only reason I wanted to be in radio is because my godmother had a best friend named Kathy Hughes who owned radio stations. Be clear. The first radio job I ever got was at 12 years old when I volunteered at WLWMMJ, your first radio station.

And be clear that when I went to Clark Atlanta University, you were the one that made the call to Dr. Gloria James and said, she needs an internship at WCL. So thank you. And then be clear that I had the best all female morning radio show on Radio One. Shout out to Shamara. You just closed the show, Laia. I know. That's like some Mike drop Laia version.

There's nothing else I can say. Be clear. I don't know about sugar and Bill not saying anything. We don't say much. We try to, we know when to talk. Yeah. And no, you said you were single. That was my only question.

I don't have any more questions. I want to know, Ms. Katz, is anybody that you want on unsung that you haven't been able to get yet? You have an unsung wish list, rather? Does Stephanie finally given yet? No. No. The 50 mentions, I love them.

And their position with me has been, we're not unsung. And I was like, that's not the purpose, okay, of the show, okay? And I said, well, would you at least do unconsorred? But yeah, I do have, right, and they top my list. Every year we pitch them. We have pitched them every year. We had them on this show. Wow.

I mean, they actually were trendsetters. And I think that that story needs to really be told. And because I was such always, and still am such big fans with that, I mean, look how long the marriage has endured. Okay, it's hard. Okay. All right. Yeah.

Okay, that's very rare. Okay. And I mean, remember when smoky and. Right, exactly. That didn't work. Okay, it's hard to do what they have accomplished. The fifth dimensions are. You have to create a format, a show called trendsetters, or at least the title will cater to the ego of the artist.

Because I've heard artists say, well, I'm not unsung, so I'm not doing it. Because I think in their mind, they think like unsung means failure, but no, it just means that. Yeah, it's over. It means that you didn't get your just recognition. It should have been more. They should be called flowers. Yeah. Yeah.

It should have been more. I thank you all for this opportunity. I like doing a podcast. I knew you were. Thank you. We knew it. What did you want? I told you.

She's going to be the Kathy Hughes podcast next week for sure. Exactly. You guys, sorry. Sorry to break news. you this way but yeah Kathy's taking over so I appreciate it. No, when you retire Questlove, can I fill in? Absolutely. It's yours. You can buy us out right now.

Okay. You know, well, I got witnesses now. Okay, I got witnesses. Pick us up. Sorry, I heart. Yes, I've sold. I just made a deal. Yeah. Negotiated family on good faith.

It's all good. And Questlove in closing, I know that you don't like the flowers. You don't like the accolades. I'll take the flowers. Okay. The things that you have done in your career have been exemplary. I thank you for who you are, not just professionally, but personally. Like I said, to me, it's not about, you know, establishing yourself as a celebrity or, you know, any of the rest.

It's really about who you are as a human being because in the end analysis, that's all. We came here naked. We're going to leave out of here naked. And the only thing we have is that which we have done to help other individuals in your record stands for itself. So thank you. I'm truly honored. And truly honored to meet you guys, particularly the one that's interested in me being single. And you mentioned naked.

So, I mean. All right. All right. Sugar Steve. Bill, Fonte, and Laya. This is another episode of Quest Love Supreme. Thank you very much. The great cap views.

We're signing off. Thank you. Much Love Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. For more podcasts from IHart Radio, visit the IHart 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, 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, unfilled 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. 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 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 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. 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. Owens, correct? I doctored the test ones. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg, a lesbian, Michael Marantini.

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, it's Will Ferrell. 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. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.