Post by Adam B on Aug 22, 2005 8:33:26 GMT -5
Tosha Makia Interview
by Adam Bernard
(Adam B, Tosha Makia & DJ Cue)
Tosha Makia may not be known on a national level yet, but her single "Be Yourself" opened up a lot of doors for her in Connecticut. All of a sudden the Puerto Rican Bridgeport native found herself opening for the likes of LL Cool J, The Clipse and Lil' Kim. She also landed herself a job as a radio personality on Hartford's Hot 93.7FM, Connecticut's highest rated urban radio station. With her new single, "Oh," building on the buzz of "Be Yourself" Tosha's released her debut EP, "Did It Again." Although she's on a commercial radio station as an on-air personality, "Did It Again" is an independent project.
With the exception of a few specialized programs major radio has never been kind to independent artists, so this creates a potentially precarious position for Tosha, an indy artist working for major radio while trying to get put on. There could be some inner self-resentment, but according to Tosha the rules of radio are pretty clear and she knows she's got to work under them. "I wish I could have Tosha Makia radio," she says, smiling at the thought "that would be great." She laments, however, that her status as an on-air personality doesn't have much on an effect on whether her song gets played. "People think that because I work for Hot 93.7 that I'm able to get the spins I want, and let me tell you something, it's so much harder for me to get spins because I work at the station," she explains "they don't want to seem like they're trying to sugar me up, or 'it's Tosh, let's help her out.' It's a lot harder and a lot of people out here don't even understand that."
The fact of the matter is Tosha's "Be Yourself" was getting spins before she was at the station, which is one of the reasons why they courted her to be an on-air personality. From the "Be Yourself" experience she very quickly learned what it takes to get a song into rotation on a major station. "When we did it I know we spoke with Victor Starr (who was the Program Director at the time). We had a big mixer's meeting with him, and I know we also had a meeting with Kid Fresh and Kid Fresh put it on Crunk It or Junk It."
"Be Yourself" was a runaway success on Crunk It or Junk It, which was one of the only avenues local artists had to be heard on commercial radio at the time. Despite working for the station, Tosha is outspoken on her feeling that more avenues need to be paved for locals to get their music aired, saying "if you have good stuff it's worth being played. If it's not for radio it shouldn't be for radio. I think there are a lot of local artists out there that have so much talent and I don't think they're given the time of day, I don't understand the whole thing as far as that."
Tosha has had more experience with local artists than most, she even grew up with one, her father, who played bass guitar in a local group called Brown Sugar. "I always sat and watched him play the guitars and things like that. In my house, growing up, music really was like the number one thing." She continued, fondly remembering a time during her youth when she could be found outside her closed basement door trying to get a listen of her father practicing. "I was like four, I was never really allowed to go down there so I would just like go up to the door and listen."
Playing by the rules, no matter how straight laced it may sound, is something Tosha's also done in her career. One thing she can't understand is why so many artists who haven't made it yet can be seen in the club every night. "I've seen people party before they get started, that shocks me, because I'm like you should basically bust your ass to get where you want to get. Sweat, blood, tears. Don't party to death before you get it." Tosha can't party to death for a number of reasons, including the fact that her time slot on Sunday's starts at 7 AM.
On 7 AM on a Sunday some people are recovering from a long night of clubbing, Tosha, on the other hand, is seated at the DJ microphone at Hot 93.7's studios. "I love the radio," she explains "those hotlines are just everything, they can fix your day in a heartbeat." She adds a quick disclaimer, though, for anyone wondering where her true passion lies, saying "before I'm a radio personality I am an artist."
Her last hit as an artist, "Be Yourself," made major radio take notice. If her current single, "Oh," and EP, "Did It Again," become equally as big her hope is some major labels will start to take notice, as well.
by Adam Bernard
(Adam B, Tosha Makia & DJ Cue)
Tosha Makia may not be known on a national level yet, but her single "Be Yourself" opened up a lot of doors for her in Connecticut. All of a sudden the Puerto Rican Bridgeport native found herself opening for the likes of LL Cool J, The Clipse and Lil' Kim. She also landed herself a job as a radio personality on Hartford's Hot 93.7FM, Connecticut's highest rated urban radio station. With her new single, "Oh," building on the buzz of "Be Yourself" Tosha's released her debut EP, "Did It Again." Although she's on a commercial radio station as an on-air personality, "Did It Again" is an independent project.
With the exception of a few specialized programs major radio has never been kind to independent artists, so this creates a potentially precarious position for Tosha, an indy artist working for major radio while trying to get put on. There could be some inner self-resentment, but according to Tosha the rules of radio are pretty clear and she knows she's got to work under them. "I wish I could have Tosha Makia radio," she says, smiling at the thought "that would be great." She laments, however, that her status as an on-air personality doesn't have much on an effect on whether her song gets played. "People think that because I work for Hot 93.7 that I'm able to get the spins I want, and let me tell you something, it's so much harder for me to get spins because I work at the station," she explains "they don't want to seem like they're trying to sugar me up, or 'it's Tosh, let's help her out.' It's a lot harder and a lot of people out here don't even understand that."
The fact of the matter is Tosha's "Be Yourself" was getting spins before she was at the station, which is one of the reasons why they courted her to be an on-air personality. From the "Be Yourself" experience she very quickly learned what it takes to get a song into rotation on a major station. "When we did it I know we spoke with Victor Starr (who was the Program Director at the time). We had a big mixer's meeting with him, and I know we also had a meeting with Kid Fresh and Kid Fresh put it on Crunk It or Junk It."
"Be Yourself" was a runaway success on Crunk It or Junk It, which was one of the only avenues local artists had to be heard on commercial radio at the time. Despite working for the station, Tosha is outspoken on her feeling that more avenues need to be paved for locals to get their music aired, saying "if you have good stuff it's worth being played. If it's not for radio it shouldn't be for radio. I think there are a lot of local artists out there that have so much talent and I don't think they're given the time of day, I don't understand the whole thing as far as that."
Tosha has had more experience with local artists than most, she even grew up with one, her father, who played bass guitar in a local group called Brown Sugar. "I always sat and watched him play the guitars and things like that. In my house, growing up, music really was like the number one thing." She continued, fondly remembering a time during her youth when she could be found outside her closed basement door trying to get a listen of her father practicing. "I was like four, I was never really allowed to go down there so I would just like go up to the door and listen."
Playing by the rules, no matter how straight laced it may sound, is something Tosha's also done in her career. One thing she can't understand is why so many artists who haven't made it yet can be seen in the club every night. "I've seen people party before they get started, that shocks me, because I'm like you should basically bust your ass to get where you want to get. Sweat, blood, tears. Don't party to death before you get it." Tosha can't party to death for a number of reasons, including the fact that her time slot on Sunday's starts at 7 AM.
On 7 AM on a Sunday some people are recovering from a long night of clubbing, Tosha, on the other hand, is seated at the DJ microphone at Hot 93.7's studios. "I love the radio," she explains "those hotlines are just everything, they can fix your day in a heartbeat." She adds a quick disclaimer, though, for anyone wondering where her true passion lies, saying "before I'm a radio personality I am an artist."
Her last hit as an artist, "Be Yourself," made major radio take notice. If her current single, "Oh," and EP, "Did It Again," become equally as big her hope is some major labels will start to take notice, as well.