Dynamite James
The Main attraction
KKBT 92.3 in Los Angeles, “The Beat” was all the rage in the late 80s and early 90s. But all that glittered was not gold for Black men.
Nationally, it was THE station and a place where black announcers wanted to work badly. The station, located on Yucca St in Hollywood at the time was historic and the very place I was working when the 1994 Northridge earthquake hit while I was on the air doing an overnight shift.Digital and Radio Facts – Outside of pure talent and extremely good looks, I have no idea how I got in (laugh). Perhaps it was timing. Mike Stradford didn’t hire me but as soon as he was out, John Monds hired me when I sent in my, by that time, 20th air check. I am still friends with John Monds to this day.
Monds was a great PD and working at the station was like Heaven and hell at the same time but the money, compared to the urban stations I had worked at previously was like night and day
In urban radio, we were trained to think that we should be grateful to have ANY job at all in radio because the white stations didn’t hire black jocks. I used to hold that against Black owners when I was younger but I get it now. They were being honest and speaking from their own personal experiences years before my generation when radio was REALLY racist. Racism in radio has gotten better over the years but it was still bad in the 90s.
KKBT was a great place to work but at the same time, it was the most racist company I have ever worked for too. They really had a thing against black men. Black men at the station were mostly used to give up cultural secrets, slang and concepts to help program the station then we were quickly tossed to the curb. Oddly, the three Black men that outlasted everyone, Micheal Mixxin Moore, Tre Black, and Captain G. are all deceased and died young.
Black Men Need Not Apply Unless You Surrender Your Cultural Concepts
Black women were able to work there but black men were not so fortunate. Ironically, black men as in artists, rappers and producers in hip-hop, were the main people the station used to garner success. They were none the wiser, they didn’t see the exchange, they were being supported andused at the same time.When John Mondsleft as a PD, and Keith Naftaly came in things changed drastically. First, the small office John had was relocated for the new PD to an office 5 times the size with a fireplace. I knew my days were numbered at that point. The energy at the station had changed.
The morning show was hosted by John London and the House Party, which included a mixture of people from all races but a white host which was very odd for an urban station at that time. London was somewhat distant and private and I never had a lot of conversation with him but I give him credit for completely being himself. He was not acting black or trying to fit it. He was being himself. The black audience in LA ate it up but I personally was never into that show.
Once new management came in just about all the black male announcers were out including Tavis Smiley who’s midday segment was canceled after a white woman at the station complained his segments were racist. Smiley’s segments were about empowering Black people.
Whatever Happened to John London from The House Party?
The station opted to bring in men who could emulate black culture instead of hiring black men and that’s not to take anything away from jocks like Theo Mizuhara who I worked with who was an excellent jock and a great guy but I was confused as to why only stations playing black music had to be multicultural when all other formats didn’t.
“No Color Lines” … Starting with Black Men
The station had a slogan “No Color Lines” which the black male jocks made a joke about by saying … “starting with black men.” I don’t know who came up with that cheesy slogan but it made no sense since it was not and had never been an industry-standard in radio. I could never imagine a country radio station or a rock radio station having a slogan like that. The slogan wasn’t about acceptance as much as it was an excuse.There was a black woman who worked at KKBT who was playing both sides and she helped the white management eliminate the black male talent by acting like she was compassionate with the racism that was taking place and learning how we felt. Then she took what we said back to the management members like the late Craig Wilbraham.
She played us and she played us well. To be honest, I don’t know what’s worse … the racist management or black people helping them BE racist.