Recently we met with a very talented radio personality on the Philadelphia R&B station Heat 100 Radio, Joey Mannarino. We had a very interesting conversation with him so we are sharing it here with you.
Pro Media Mag : Firstly, could we know a little more about your past life & family?
Joey Mannarino: OK, well I was born in Philadelphia, which is always going to be my first home. I’m only twenty two so I don’t know much about a past life. I have a wonderful family – mother, father, and I had a wonderful grandmother Emilia as well who raised me. Family is everything to me. If I didn’t have family I simply wouldn’t have made it anywhere. I really find it amazing to see people without a family doing well. They must be really strong people. I find that almost all my strength comes from family.
PMM : What are the key strengths necessary to be radio personality ?
JM: You have to be able to be relatively strong with who you are. If you don’t have a sense of self the people you interact with will knock you over. You just have to be aware of who you are. You also have to be aware of the people that you allow into your space. I don’t know that I would say those are traits exclusive to radio, but just life traits in general. Probably it is tougher when your job is more public! The more open to the public you are…the more insane your life becomes. You have to manage that.
PMM: How has social media impacted your job?
JM: Social media is the necessary evil of life today. Whether you like it or not, you need it. For something like radio you really need it. I’ve never lived without social media really, like I said I’m only 22 so basically since 10 I’ve been on social media. You know I’ve met some wonderful people because of it and some not so wonderful people too. Life is that way, though, on and off the social media. I think for the radio stuff, you can certainly use the social media to engage listeners all the time, whether or not you are on the air. It’s a necessary tool, but you have to be careful with it.
PMM: You seem to have a close relationship with your listeners through social media and on the air. How did you develop that closeness?
JM: Well, I don’t know how exactly I would say I developed that closeness. I just am a people’s person and if they listen to me I love them. The listeners to my show are the reason that I’m able to do a show, obviously. I do my best to respond to everyone and keep a dialogue going. It’s important how you treat people in any business where you rely on audience. I learned that from some people who really know.
PMM: Have you ever had a conflict with a boss? How was it resolved?
JM: I think we’ve all had conflicts with bosses in our lives. Right? You just have to learn to move forward. Luckily, I’ve been blessed to work with wonderful people all the time. I have a wonderful boss, Simply Monica, where I work at Heat 100 Radio and it is a joy to work there. If it wasn’t for her actually I would never have been in radio at all. So of course, working with her is wonderful.
PMM: You talk about politics quite a bit on social media, but never on the air. How come?
JM: I love politics. I really do. This year has probably been the most entertaining political year in the history of our country. On social media, we do discuss it quite a bit and I think that’s just because of who follows me and what they want to discuss. I see it on my feed all the time. I never really get into it much on the air because my show it’s controversial. People really disagree with stuff like that. I don’t ever shy away from a political discussion, but I won’t initiate it on the air. The vibe of my show is always relaxed and calm, if I start talking about politics somebody is going to flip out and call in furious! I will say, though, the closer that we get to the general election if its actually Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump, it will be too good not to incorporate into my shows a little bit. It will literally be the best election in the history of our country.
PMM: What is your favorite part of doing your show?
JM: I go back and forth with this all the time. I don’t know if I love sharing the new music with people more, or simply getting to take the calls from people. I love interaction and you can’t get that off the air the same way the you can when you’re live. I’ve talked to people through some interesting things and topics on the air. I love doing that, so that is probably my favorite part. I really do love sharing music with people too, because I love music. People don’t consume music the same way they did years ago. It’s all singles now not albums. They want fast. Instagram and Vine have changed the game for music, believe it or not. People want hooks that can fit into fifteen seconds. It’s not about art anymore, but it really is an art. People don’t realize it, but there is so much great music still out that doesn’t get exposed the way that it should.
PMM: What is some of your favorite music out right now?
JM: There’s so much that I really do enjoy that are newer. Tyrese had one of the best albums of the year last year. “Shame” was one of the best records of the decade. This year SWV had an incredible album called “Still”. There’s at least five hit records on there. Just such quality. Tank had a great album and a really great single. The single actually sampled “If Only You Knew” by Patti LaBelle. If you can sample Patti and do her justice, then you got it going on! Very few can pull that off. Tinashe has been killing it too, she’s probably the next big pop artist like a Rihanna or Beyonce. There’s so much good stuff out, but it’s hard to know what’s even out today. True good music is not getting exposed like it should and that’s why I make sure to expose the good on my show.
PMM : What is the best advice you have for people who want to pursue a career in radio?
JM: Well, I’m nowhere near the top of the food chain in radio so I don’t know how great my advice is but you have to be strong. It’s a very nasty business. There’s a lot of jealousy. There’s a lot of things that come with it personally. When you’re on any kind of platform whatsoever there are people who want a piece of the pie. You have to be strong and make sure that you always put yourself first. You don’t ever want to get lost. And finally, make sure you stand out. If you blend in to other shows and other personalities, then people have no reason to seek you out. You have to make sure you stand out from the competition. Anyone can talk, keep it interesting.
PMM: You’ve been in the radio industry for three years, is there anything you would do differently?
JM: I would be lying if I said no. In everything you do, you can look back later when you know more and say that you wish you could have done something differently and it would have been a better outcome. So, sure there are some things I would have done much differently. I do believe in God, and I believe that God has a reason for what he does. There is no other explanation for a lot of things. So, while I wish there are things that could have gone differently, I truly do believe that God has it the way he has it for a reason. I won’t question his reasoning, just learn from the lessons. Everything is a lesson, the important thing is to learn. You will keep getting lessons until you learn whatever it is you are supposed to learn!
In deed it was a nice and interesting conversation with Joey Mannarino. In case you want to follow him or get in touch with him we grabbed his website and twitter link for you.
Twitter : @RealJMannarino
Website: www.joeymannarino.com
