BY: JADE LEONARD
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Danté Clifton, Denzel Fleming, and Mike Byrd
As a radio personality, she's usually getting to know her guests and asking them questions, so we wanted to tap into the real Morgan Mckenzie, this great woman behind the mic. She's a lover of the people and uses her voice to connect with all types of people across the nation, sharing her feelings, emotions, and experiences. "I know I'm not the only one going through life." She hosts OKC's Power 103.5 FM show, which plays your favorite Hip Hop and R&B tracks. She's educated, and studied Broadcasting and Media, and received her bachelor's and Master's degree in English and African American literature from North Carolina A&T State University (a.k.a A &T). She's an educator, and she taught English at A&T right after Undergrad. She's a performer, "I love to dance", and danced on A&T's Golden Delight Team. She's a music lover, "It's amazing to have music a part of my life every day, it is absolutely LIT". She's also a daughter, a sister, and a friend-- "I am the embodiment of love".
The UpNext: When and how did you break into radio?
Morgan McKenzie: "In my major, we had to snag an internship. The major was geared towards hard news and reporting. It was my junior year and I was like, all that is cool but I wanna do the radio. So, I'd be in class brainstorming how I'm going to snag an internship. I'd blow up B-Daht from the 102 Jamz morning show’s email, telling him who I am and consistently asked when the next internship meeting was. One day he gave me the date, told me to come through, and I never left. I interned my way to the top."
On Straight Talk she was on the mic for free just interning first; recognizing her passion and diligence, the program director offered her a part-time job. From Straight Talk, she aspired to have her own segment. "Whenever they needed someone to fill in I was there". She filled in on every show slot they had, on the weekends and sometimes during the week, morning, noon, or night, all while still in school working 3 sometimes 4 jobs at once— she had to make it work!
The UN: What is the ItGirl Show and what does it mean to you?
MM: "I do IT all; I teach, I coach, I'm an educator, and I have my own show. It's an embodiment of everything. It's hard to put me in a box so I think that's where it stems from. I can talk about social issues, music, entertainment, I can do it all!”
The UN: What do you want to convey to your listeners?
MM: "Relatability, understanding, and stability. I want them to know my platform is also their platform. I am a liaison to the community. I focus on the black community but I'm able to reach more than that."
The UN: What's the day in the life of a radio host?
MM: "Definitely gotta be tapped into social media. Its overwhelming at times staying up to date on the trends, entertainment, and gossip news, Black Twitter-- you have to keep up to date with what's going on in these streets. Content, content, content. I save articles that I can research and use certain points for the show. There's always planning ahead and figuring out how to utilize your content in the best light. Its tough because social media outlets can be very taxing, especially when the news circuit is in pieces and shambles."
The UN: Since you constantly have to engage in adverse content, how do you make that separation to where you can set that boundary to still replenish yourself?
MM: "This may sound weird but I spend a lot of time at home in silence. I don't watch a lot of TV, I don't talk to many people on the phone when I'm at home that's my time to decompress. I rest, meditate, and that time allows me to recharge."
The UN: What is something you wish you'd known before starting out?
MM: "I wish I would have known how to read contracts and how to negotiate for the position that's in your best interest. This industry is fun (a lot of fun) but there are a lot of things that happen behind the scenes. There should be research on how the business is handled, how to set yourself up for good plays in the industry, so you can walk into a job that's for you, you get paid the way you need to get paid, and that job is working for you just as you are working for it."
The UN: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
MM: "I see myself syndicated; like the Tom Joyner Morning Show or the Steve Harvey Show, you can hear them all over the nation. That's what I want to be on. I want my voice to extend across this nation, have a couple of books under my belt, and delve into authorship. I want to find a way to merge media and teaching. I could see myself having college-level courses where I'm teaching the business to students that ties into scholarships."
The UN: What role does faith play in your life?
MM: "Faith keeps me going in this industry. It's very competitive and male-dominated. When I first started out my boss didn't think I could do it. He didn't think I would make it this far. I've been told, “Wow Morgan I didn't think you would make it this far”. People will project their fear onto you, and my faith has been strong enough to just block that out and the vision that I have for myself, and that's what has kept me in this industry. My faith is EVERYTHING. You can tell me one thing but if my mind is made up, it is what it is. When he told me no I wouldn't be a radio personality, I said YES.”
The UN: There's a stigma in the black community around therapy and the idea that one can fix their problems themselves. What improvements have you seen?
MM: "Girl I love me some therapy. When I was going through dark times my mom actually intervened and told me I should take up therapy. My reaction was "I'm not crazy" going back to that stigma we often hear in the black community— “You must be crazy if you need to go to therapy”, but being productive about your mental health is not crazy; being productive about having an outlet is not crazy; being productive about taking necessary steps to benefit you, your health, and your future is not crazy. I walked in and saw a beautiful black woman who was able to relate to me, made me feel safe, understood, and gave me strategies on how to move forward with my issues. They get to the root of the issues and it's an "oh my gosh" moment because I didn't look at it from that perspective. Many times we look at the perspective of those around us but.. they're not professionals! A lot of it is biased, and it is okay if you have to shop around for a therapist.”
The UN: What advice do you have for people who want to go into radio or start a podcast?
MM: "Just do it. After being told no so many times I said I'm going to do this on my own. I took the time to figure out my brand and my content because I couldn't wait on them to do it for me. For podcasts, I wanted to do one for the longest but I was so scared. What am I going to talk about? I don't want to put myself out there, psyching myself out. My friend & I figured it out one day and had a set in 15 minutes. We ended up havin' a little follower base too.
For radio,
1. snag an internship at a local or major radio station.
2. Document all your work and save it.
3. Promote yourself.
4. Follow Programmers in the industry (they give you jobs); if they know your name they can vouch for you."
The Benefit of Affirmations:
MM: "Affirmations have been key in my confidence and self-love, you go through things in life and it takes a toll on you and weighs on you heavily, and impacts how you show up for your day to day life. Affirmations have been a way to instill love inside of myself. You can't give love properly unless you sew that into yourself. There were times when I was down in the dumps and people didn't really know because I knew how to perform, put on a mask, and show up (This resonated with me because as a past performer myself, I would do the same things). I was so depressed for so long and no one knew because I didn't ask for help. But the key to all of this was to write down affirmations like Being Mary Jane. Write them on the mirror with lipstick, make them visible all around you and say them to yourself. Even if you don't believe it. They stuck with me and now they ARE me and I believe it. I encourage people and encourage myself, affirmations are EVERYTHING."
To keep up with Morgan and her radio career, follow @morganmckenzieradio