"Since I was a kid I was always infatuated by performing, entertaining, and like putting on a show for people"
The Rickey Smiley Morning Show is undoubtedly one of
the funniest broadcasts on the radio. Comedian, entertainer, and actor Rickey
Smiley joins with his co-hosts Headkrack, Ebony Steele, and Gary with the Tea.
One of my favorite people on the show is HeadKrack.
His jokes are timeless and his freestyles reminds me of old school Hip Hop. So I
sought out to interview him and find out about HeadKrack the man, father,
entertainer, and Hip Hop lover.
He was on his way to interview rapper J. Cole when
he met me at Starbucks in Midtown Atlanta. We sat in the midst of what felt
like a cyber café as everyone seemed to be preoccupied with their electronic
devices. Yes they were preoccupied until the lyrical genius spat a captivating
freestyle rap exclusively for Just Talk. I enjoyed listening as he spoke very
freely, sharing his experiences in the entertainment business and his personal
views on life.
Read the exclusive interview below:
On
the meaning of HeadKrack: There’s
a dice game called C-lo and whenever you roll 4, 5, or six they call that a
head crack which means it’s an automatic win. And in life everything I’ve done
up to this point seems like I’ve been so lucky. I keep hitting a head crack. I
mean even with this radio thing- when Keynote and I first started we called
ourselves the Bodega Brovas and we wanted to do an overnight show and they put
us on 6-10 which is prime time. And that blossomed into us being number one-
then that blossomed into a morning show which started out with one city and
ended up being seventy- then that blossomed into a TV show and the music thing.
I’m blessed to be able to travel the world with my best friend.
On
what made you decide to go into the entertainment business: Since I was a kid I was always
infatuated by performing, entertaining, and like putting on a show for people.
I use to have the Thriller VHS tape and whenever my Mom’s friends would come
over I knew the choreography from top to bottom and I would do it for them. That
parlayed into doing school talent shows, which parlayed into me battling people
and battling on the radio. Then getting together with different people and
different groups and trying different music out.
"My love for music has always been there"
On
how the opportunity for the Rickey Smiley Morning Show come about: The night show was doing well and
Steve Harvey had just left the station. The Program Director in Dallas at 97.9 The Beat said, Yo Krack you’re a really organized guy and you’re really plugged
into Pop culture. I’m going to take you from the night show, put you with this
new guy Rickey Smiley, and we’re going to form a morning show.
On
being on the # 1 morning show: You
know it’s crazy because it really hasn’t quite set in to me that the morning
show is what it is. And every now and again I’ll come across people who are big
fans of the show and they tell me these amazing things. Like I was having such
a bad day and when you all said this-So when I run into those people, I get it.
But other than that it’s this thing in the back of my mind that I get up at 4
a.m. and go do. It’s weird because I do realize that I’m on the number one
morning show but I don’t wake up and say, Yeah I’m on the number one morning
show. It’s like it’s this thing I’ve been doing and I’ve been blessed to be
able to do it as long as I’ve been doing it. You have people who tell have
horrible stories about being bounced from station to station. Technically I’ve
been at the same station for my entire career and on two back to back
successful shows.
On
how you discovered your love for music: My
love for music has always been there. I’m originally from the Bronx, New York
and when I grew up it was like right when Hip Hop was really starting to pop.
It used to be this dirty little thing that radio stations would play after 10
o’clock or midnight, and to watch it grow to like this massive thing that
drives a whole culture is amazing. So I felt connected to it from day one.
"The Bodega Brovas consists of Keynote, Travi, and me"
On
how the Bodega Brovas came about: The
Bodega Brovas consists of Keynote, Travi, and me. Keynote went to the high school not too far from me and I was the
guy people were always telling him about that reminded them of him and telling
me that I reminded them of him. Eventually we met each other and we just
clicked. Keynote and I worked together every night for like five years so we
were tight from that, plus we love Hip Hop. Then Travi was a part of another
group too, so when he left his group he was like- I like what you doing and he
wanted to just travel with me on the road and be my hype man. So when I got
booked for a series of gigs in Europe- Keynote, Travi, and me had recorded a
song but we couldn’t go all the way to Europe to do just one song. So I was
like let’s go in the studio do a few of records, and a few records turned into
like nine records, nine records turned into like twelve, and so on. Then we
were like we have to call ourselves something and we decided on the Bodega
Brovas.
On
what Bodega means: Bodega’s
are multi-purpose stores that sell everything from sandwiches to cigarettes to toilet
paper. And musically Bodega Brovas are the
same way. We’re fun. We’re conscious. We’re ignorant. We party. We kick a
message. We have records that will make you want to cry. We have records that
will make you want to get on the treadmill and run until it gets dark.
On
The Bodega Brovas tour: The
last one we got to go to Germany, Ireland, the UK, and the Netherlands. It was
awesome. It was just like a fun energetic tour. Our shows are like a mixture of
a live Hip Hop show and almost stand up. And overseas they’re really excited
about Hip Hop like its new and they come out and support. Including countries
where English is not their first language. In Germany we were like three shows
in before we realized- They don’t know what we’re saying. But when we throw the
records on you can’t tell.
On
your greatest accomplishment to date: My
kiddos. I have a thirteen year old who is mild mannered, respectful, and sharp.
I’ve had custody of him since he was very young, so it’s just been pretty much
me and him against the world. I’m proud to have not raised a statistic. And
then I also have a newborn.
On
your future plans: I
want to do more television. Dish Nation is really popping, and me and my man
Keynote from Bodega have a few ideas for TV shows that we’re about to pitch
out. I really want to be more involved in the world of television. Radio is
such a one dimensional media that you have to imagine what we’re doing- I want
to show you what we’re doing. I want to tell the stories from people who grew
up in our era. So more television, more radio, and hopefully more music. I’ve
been in radio for twelve years now and I’m really ready to take it to that next
level.
"I tripped coming out of a cardboard limo- it was just so whack"
On
your most embarrassing moment: There’s
quite a few but I was on this talk show called the Richard Bey show. This was
like 1995 and they were doing a show on prom date disasters. I met this girl
and she was the new girl in school and she was already pregnant when I met her.
We even got to the point where I had named the baby. We went to the prom
together and we split up but we said we would meet back up. And she was in a
hotel room with this dude that I actually looked up to. So I brought her on the
show as like my big pay back but the way they edited the show made me look even
worst. I tripped coming out of a cardboard limo- it was just so whack. I’m so
glad that the Richard Bey show got cancelled. I’m so glad that if you do a Google
search you can’t find it. There’s one tape and it’s at my grandmother’s house
in the safe and you’ll never see it.
"Everything in my life happened for a reason"
On
if you had a chance to do it all over what would you change: I wouldn’t change anything. Even the
mistakes in my life have worked out. Like my parents were ruggedly cheap and
they wanted to save money so they put me in school a year early. All my friends
were like a year older than me. I really think that helped shape my sense of
humor, it made me more responsible, and made me interested in older things. So
I think everything in my life happened for a reason.
On
your marital status: I’m
in a relationship
On
your future plans for marriage: I’m
married to this game.
On
what type of woman do you like: I
like all types of women. I don’t really have a type. I don’t discriminate.
On
what you want your legacy to be: I
want my legacy to be that HeadKrack was the dude that came in and he had fun, he
inspired people, and he didn’t care about what people thought. At the end he did
it his own way. It’s okay to be like- I don’t like what they’re doing and I
want to do something else. That’s what creates individuals. Like when everybody
else was like out in the field Ben Franklin was out inventing stuff. That’s
want I want to do. I want to push the envelope and do different things. Rather
it’s from a music stand point or a film stand point. Even with the envelopes of
radio. I want see more free thinkers in radio. I want to see the play lists
expand more and celebrate more aspects of Hip Hop. And from a music stand point
I want to make records that matter now, matter later, and twenty or thirty
years from now.
I enjoyed talking to HeadKrack as he shared his life experiences and future aspirations. He is a real stand up Dude- I officially stamp him a part of the Just Talk family.
TLC's The Sisterhood star, Ivy Couch and her husband Pastor Mark Couch was honored Thursday night at a star studded baby shower. Both media and entertainment celebrities were present as everyone congratulated the couple on the anticipated arrival of their baby girl. The shower was hosted by Couch's fellow cast mates, Pastor Domonique "Pastor D" Scott and Pastor Christina Murray. 
The venue for the event was the Atria of Hair Designs by Future Vision Salon in Atlanta. April Green, owner of the beautiful salon graced the shower with her presence and extended a warm thank you to the hosts for choosing her venue.
The lovely couple emphatically thanked everyone for the gifts as well as their acts of kindness and love. They announced that the name of their church has officially been changed to "The Lifeline Church." Pastor Mark wore a t-shirt with the church's new logo. They also informed guests that the grand opening of a second location will take place on March 31st in Fairburn, Georgia.
