♪ ♪ ♪ >> Just ahead, a brother who's had a long, distinguished career in broadcast, particularly in radio -- brother Colby Tyner.

Next, on "The Chavis Chronicles."

>> Major funding for "The Chavis Chronicles" is provided by... Reynolds American, dedicated to building a better tomorrow for our employees and communities.

Reynolds stands against racism and discrimination in all forms and is committed to building a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

American Petroleum Institute -- through the core elements of API's Energy Excellence Program, our members are committed to accelerating safety, environmental and sustainability progress throughout the natural-gas and oil industry in the U.S. and around the world.

You can learn more at api.org/apiEnergyExcellence.

Additional funding provided by Pfizer.

♪ ♪ >> We're very pleased to welcome to "The Chavis Chronicles" brother Colby Tyner.

>> Thank you for having me.

>> Man, I've known your family for a long time.

>> Yeah.

>> You know, tremendous advocates for freedom, justice, and equality of African-Americans.

>> Yeah.

>> Tell us about your family's involvement in the civil rights movement.

>> Well, I'm biracial, so I have a white, Jewish mother and a black -- an African-American father from two totally different parts of Philadelphia.

So, I always view myself as a miracle -- if somebody from the bottom could find somebody from the great Northeast and come together.

My parents were civil rights warriors.

I mean, when it came to just the Civil Rights Act, all of the protests of the '60s and '70s, that was a rite of passage in my family.

I know you've done some things with my father... >> Yes, absolutely.

>> ...in the '70s.

And growing up, whatever was happening, it was a part of my life.

Like the March on Washington and the first anniversary of the -- major anniversary March on Washington, the march to get Martin Luther King's birthday -- >> That's right, when Stevie Wonder came out.

>> When Stevie Wonder, yeah, 1980.

>> If it hadn't been for -- you know, Radio One played a very important role in the rollout of that song.

>> Yeah, yeah, and that was really -- you know, my mom always teases me about taking me to protests when I was a child.

And when the opposition would speak, she would take the pacifier out of my mouth.

>> Right.

>> But that's really how it's been my entire life.

And I've actually -- you know, I find myself, like, teaching -- always find myself teaching my peers about history and about things that they just don't teach you in school, because when you come from that background, you learn a lot of information.

>> Right.

>> And so people are always fascinated by that.

>> And tell us about your close relative McCoy Tyner.

>> Yeah, McCoy Tyner is my uncle, and I was actually born on his birthday, so we shared the same birthday.

So, as a child, they thought I was a prodigy -- a piano prodigy -- and they threw me into classical piano lessons at a very early age.

>> They said, "You need to hold up that jazz tradition."

>> Yeah, yeah, it was like, "Oh, he's the next -- he's the next one."

And McCoy was like a father to me.

[ Piano plays up-tempo jazz ] ♪ ♪ We would always try to get together on his birthday, or I would go to his show -- one of his shows -- and connect.

And, sadly, we lost him.

Right before the pandemic, we lost him.

And he was just a great individual, and we're actually, as a family -- >> His legacy is still alive.

>> Yeah, his legacy is still alive.

>> Musical legend is legend.

>> And my brother Michael Tyner is a director, and we are working on a big documentary about McCoy... >> Oh, great.

>> ...that will be coming out in the next year or so, so that people can kind of understand his legacy.

And him and my brother -- him and my father were very tight.

And my brother was able to get a lot of content before he passed, from him, and my dad has provided a lot of information.

But McCoy is someone that, you know, musically -- music legend that he was and continues to be, is something of my family that we are very proud of, and we can't wait to share this documentary so people can learn more about him.

>> Tell us about your career in radio.

>> I was just one of those kids that, you know, to stay out of trouble, I stayed in my room and listened to the radio.

And during those times, it was sort of like that dream was birthed to do radio.

And I used to call the radio station and speak to the personalities all the time.

And one day, this personality that I would talk to all the time, he just disappeared.

And that was, like, the first time I'm, like, listening to radio like, "Hey, what happened to my favorite personality?"

And as a child, my parents were divorced, so I lived in between Philadelphia and New York.

And I was in New York, visiting my dad, and I heard that same person on the radio.

And I called him, and he thought I was stalking him.

His name is Fred Buggs, and he's still a big-time New York City personality.

And he invited me down to the station when I was 15 years old.

And I walked in, and at that time, the station was KISS FM in New York.

It was the biggest urban station in America.

And I walked in, it was off Broadway, and I just saw the buttons and the energy, and I knew it was something that I wanted to do.

So, when I graduated high school, a month before I started at Temple University in Philadelphia, I started an internship at a station in Philadelphia and, you know, worked my way up at that station for 16 years.

I walked in as an intern.

I did producing, board hopping, ended up getting my own show at 21 -- a hip-hop show called "Radioactive," which really changed my life.

And then I just kind of got promoted up the ranks, ended up doing mornings with Wendy Williams on this station in Philly.

And then I left to go to New York to launch Power 105, which is one of the bigger urban stations in the country.

We launched that in 2002.

And then I left and came back to Philly to be a program director, to really oversee my own station, and I did that for about six years.

And then I went to Ohio, Cleveland, to be the operation manager and oversee a cluster of stations.

And from there, I was promoted to the vice president of the company.

So I spent the bulk of my career working for Miss Cathy Hughes and Alfred Liggins at Urban One.

>> Right, I know Cathy Hughes very well and her son Alfred Liggins.

And they are pioneers.

>> Yep.

>> Tell us what you do as vice president of Urban One.

>> Yeah, I'm the vice president of programming, so I work mainly with our radio brand.

So, we have urban mainstream, which is hip-hop.

We have urban AC.

We have inspiration.

We even have a few regional Mexican stations now.

We have a few talk stations.

We have hot AC stations.

So, I work with all of the program directors on a day-to-day basis, who program many of our stations.

I hire program directors.

I hire talent.

I work with our Reach Media division, which is our syndicated programming.

It's the largest African-American syndicated network.

We have Ricky Smiley, D.L.

Hughley, "The Morning Hustle," Erica Campbell, just a who's who in entertainment that we have.

And I work with all of those talents, in coaching and working with their shows directly.

And then I work with the digital division.

Our digital platforms are almost like their own stations, their own entities.

So, all of those kind of come together in my job, and it's exciting.

And we hire a bunch of great broadcasters, young people, people from different backgrounds.

And it's a great place -- this company is a great place to give people opportunity that may not get opportunities at other companies.

And it's great to see people of color making history on a day-to-day basis, and I get a chance to work with them.

And we have radio stations in all kind of cool places around the country, and we are the center of black culture in all of these cities, and continue to be, and so that's always great to tie into.

>> Very good.

We have an intergenerational audience.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> I want to talk to you a little bit about hip-hop.

>> Sure, of course.

>> How do you see the culture evolving?

>> Well, I'm a first-generation hip-hop head, so, I mean, I watched it be birthed in the Bronx and just kind of lived it, and it spoke to me as a young person.

I'm not surprised, similar to jazz, similar to blues, it's African-American culture that young people kind of took and made into something special, and the rest of the world tapped into it.

It's continuing to evolve.

It's a multibillion-dollar business now or maybe even trillion-dollar business, if you look at it that way.

>> That's right.

>> It is great -- >> Rihanna's a billionaire now.

>> Yeah, Rihanna's a billionaire, Jay-Z's a billionaire, Dr. Dre.

>> That's right.

>> But it also opened up the doors for people like me to make a living.

I couldn't imagine, you know, being a kid, listening to Sugarhill Gang in '79, and saying, "Hey, I'm gonna make a living off of this."

Like, "I'm gonna feed my family and open up doors for other people and their families."

So, no, it's always constantly evolving, and it is really the center of culture, is black culture, and the center of black culture is hip-hop.

>> For you, who is your top female hip-hop artist?

>> Ooh, that's a great question.

Um, probably Queen Latifah, but only because I just was there with her, earlier, in the beginning of her career.

And I remember her taking chances when nobody else would take chances.

And then to see her evolve into an actress... >> Great career.

>> ...and her and Shakim, her partner, to just really evolve into, like, a media company.

I mean, she is really a great inspiration, from a just do-it-all perspective.

She has really been one that -- someone I'll always respect and appreciate.

And, you know, excited to know that I saw her and met her earlier in the journey.

I still have to do a podcast on her.

I have all this great Queen Latifah content that I want to share.

But she was also another artist, similar to Jay-Z, that was a visionary that thought like a mogul, and look at her now.

>> And, similarly, who is your best male hip-hop artist?

>> Oh, I would definitely say Jay-Z, 'cause I just, you know, remember him early on, in his humble beginnings in the music business.

And in my podcasts, I have more podcasts on Jay-Z.

I was just lucky enough to interview him along the first five albums.

So, I have a nice, historic arc of who he was and what the kind of things that he was involved in.

And it's really phenomenal to look at what he did and what he has turned that into and how he is on a stage unlike anyone else in your culture, to come from the projects and, you know, to be hustling and to stem all kind of success out of that in music, in entertainment, and sports.

He has inspired -- generations of younger artists right now are inspired by hope.

They look at him, and it's like, "That's what I want to do."

And that alone can change the world.

So, like, he is just one of the greatest artists, just from an artist perspective, but just from a business perspective and being able to think and operate and follow up and be a mogul.

Man, that is phenomenal.

>> And your podcast is "The Backstory."

>> Yes.

>> How did that evolve?

>> Well, early in my journey in radio, I did a show called "Radioactive" in the '90s in Philadelphia.

And during that time, you know, hip-hop is so commonplace today.

You hear it everywhere you go.

You hear it on top-40 stations.

You hear it on the news.

I mean, it's everywhere.

But in those times, it would be the urban stations in every market had to super-serve the entire community.

So, you had something for the older people.

You had something for the younger people.

You had, you know, your gospel music on Sundays.

You had your reggae show.

Like, the one station had to super-serve everybody.

And for hip-hop, it was late at night, and so I pitched an idea in 1991 to my program director to do a hip-hop show.

And that show was "Radioactive," and I was able to interview all of these amazing artists.

The '90s in hip-hop was a renaissance period.

I mean, really, many of what we -- all of what we see now was kind of really exploded in the '90s.

And so, through that period, there were, you know, tremendous artists that made music and had success and who are now big-time billionaires and big company owners and people that really helped expand the culture.

So, I interviewed a lot of these people on that journey.

So, I was listening one day to the late Combat Jack, who had a podcast.

It was about Chris Lighty, who was someone I knew, coming up in the business.

And, unfortunately, we lost him in 2013.

And he -- Combat Jack did this great podcast about his life.

And when I was listening to it, I was like, "I could do something with the content I have saved over the years with people."

So, what was Jay-Z like before -- way before, you know, you know him as the billionaire he is today, right?

What was he like before "Reasonable Doubt"?

What was Nas like before "Illmatic"?

What was Wu-Tang like early in their career?

You know, Common, Fat Joe -- all of these artists that are household names today, I could tell you their story.

And when you go to a Wikipedia, you'll see a quick blurb about somebody, but there isn't anything like audio that you could reference to for a lifetime, to say, "Man, if I wanted to know what it was like for Jay-Z early in his career, this could be a history lesson."

You could go to it and literally hear Jay-Z in his own words, promoting his first album, doing a freestyle, talking about the beginnings of Roc-A-Fella and speaking like a mogul way before he was even considered a mogul.

And I wanted to tell those stories, and so the podcast is really a way to share that content and me to tell the story, but also play real, live content, but also tell a little history.

Like her brother Michael seven years earlier, Janet had her breakthrough album and was now a superstar.

We talked about the reaction to this album.

>> No, I mean, you never know, and I love creating music, and I do what I do 'cause I really love it, and I didn't know if it was going to be successful or not, but I enjoyed it.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And I was really excited that people liked it, as well.

>> Janet would now have a legion of fans.

She would take three years before she released her follow-up album, "Rhythm Nation 1814," which would usher in an even more empowered Janet, who not only kept that same energy from "Control," she would use her celebrity to talk about social issues, racism, poverty, and what was happening in the world.

I would give the history of hip-hop and how socioeconomic forces really helped birth hip-hop.

If you lived in the New York City area in the '70s, it was a pretty rough place to live, and poverty was everywhere, and then Reaganomics came in the '80s, and, you know, out of that energy is what birthed hip-hop, and we didn't do it to make money.

We did it to stay out of trouble and have fun.

I don't think people understand that.

They see a big rapper today, and they don't understand, like, all of this came from struggle.

There was economics that, you know, that touched upon the community, which opened up the door for this, and this is how we reacted to it.

>> Tell us about the feedback you're getting.

>> Well, a lot of the artists love it because they're blown away by just the history of themselves and learning about themselves or hearing themselves in that moment.

I always tell the story about Fat Joe because he is someone that I was -- actually, when I did his podcast, I happened to have, you know, probably, like, ten different interviews that we did over the course of his career, and he pulled me aside, almost with tears in his eyes after I released it last year.

And he was like, "This was the best representation of my life."

You really told my life story in one podcast."

And he also said, "You taught me stuff about the Bronx that I didn't know."

And I talked a little bit about how the Cross Bronx Expressway was built to take, you know, to start white flight, move people out to the suburbs.

It created the South Bronx, created despair and poverty, which birthed hip-hop.

Like, a lot of people don't know that, you know, that in many of our cities around the country that decisions were made to build things in our community and push us out of the community, which created havoc, which out of that havoc came this art.

So, that's a really good story.

DJ Khaled is another one who I interviewed.

And I tend to -- I look at someone like an Oprah, and then, when I worked with Wendy Williams, she was really good at really digging deep into somebody and learning about a person so when you speak to them, you are, like, overwhelming them with information about themselves, which brings out more information.

So, that was sort of the style that I learned.

And so, when I would interview people, I would ask them stuff that nobody else would ask them, or I would tie things to them, you know, collectively, like, things that happened along their journey.

And it makes for a more interesting listening experience, and you walk away, like, learning something that you never knew about that person, which is really the goal of the "Backstory" podcast.

>> I wanted to ask you about technology.

>> Sure.

>> How technology has changed the music industry... >> Mm-hmm.

>> How technology has changed radio, television, social media now, you know?

>> Mm-hmm.

>> How do you see African-American engagement with the innovations in technology?

>> Well, our audience is actually very savvy when it comes to technology.

For instance, in social media, they always mention "Black Twitter."

Social media has become a really interesting place for the African-American audience to voice opinions and have a platform, where in previous times there wasn't any platform.

I think it's been -- if you could go back.

I could take you back 20 years or 25 years, when two-way pagers came out, and you were able to communicate directly to somebody with a pager and send him a message.

>> It became a status.

Everybody had to have -- >> Yeah, everybody had to have them in black culture.

>> Two-way pagers -- pull it out.

>> Yeah.

>> You know that you had some credibility and some receipts.

>> Right.

But usually doctors had pagers.

But the, you know, black folks, we took it in.

We created it and turned it into a cultural icon.

We jumped into cellphones pretty quickly, right?

We are quick to move on technology and put our own spin on it.

So, I constantly see it evolving, and I constantly see people willing to take chances and try it.

It's very scary because there's goodness with the Internet, but then there's a lot of evil and disruption, as we can see, to society.

So, it's actually gonna be very interesting to see how the government changes the laws around it because there are some things that are happening that affect all of us that, you know -- it'll be interesting to see what happens there.

But I think that, from the African-American perspective, we are always willing to try, adapt, and put our own little spin on it.

>> How does Urban One deal with making sure that the information that we put out is accurate?

There's so much misinformation out there.

Where do you find the truth versus the misinformation?

>> Well, yeah, it's a very tricky road to travel now, specifically because on social media anybody can make a statement.

And it's like, "Is that factual?"

whereas in the past, you, you know, if you're a media outlet, you make a statement, you have to vet that statement because you don't want to get sued, and you want to make sure that you're legitimate.

I mean, we have a huge digital division, and so, that manages all of our digital properties, and we have rules and protocols in place.

I mean, it's very important, from a journalistic perspective, that you're always open and honest and clear about information.

And I think social media in general distorts that, but from a company perspective, you have to be on point.

So, we're really on point with that, and we really pay close attention to all of the things that we do.

We have a team member in every market that manages that.

We have a team member over them that manages it from a more global perspective.

But that information is sacred.

Like, the truth is sacred, right?

So, it's important that you stand behind it, and it's important that organizations stand behind it and be consistent, right?

That's where we all need to be.

>> Exactly.

The global marketplace -- do you envision Urban One becoming Global One?

>> I mean, I see what we have done over the past 20 years, and I'm excited to be a part of this company.

I'm excited to be an African-American working for this company and seeing vision.

It's always been sky's the limit at our company.

Our founder and our CEO are visionaries in regards to ideas and concepts and willing to expand.

So, I mean, the sky's the limit.

I always come in every day, man, with an exciting feeling because being here for 19 years and being able to see where we were and where we come from -- I remember the company when we didn't have websites, you know?

Now we have a whole division for digital, right?

I just remember us without a network and just watching how TV One has really cemented itself in the African-American culture.

So, the sky's the limit.

It's always sky's the limit, and that's sort of the attitude that we have.

>> What are your recommendations, in terms of preparation of young people to get into the broadcast industry?

>> Well, I think that it has changed dramatically over the past few years.

I think what's beautiful about, if you want to be a talent, the Internet is a great place if you want to be a talent.

If you have a great idea, you should go and make that idea happen.

That's what's great about podcasting.

If you have -- or, you know, YouTube, you can create on your own, with your own phone.

And people are paying attention.

And a lot of opportunities come from that.

I mean, if you look at Issa Rae, Issa Rae was literally a woman who created a show on social media, right?

And look where she is now, signing a -- having a very successful show but signing a great, a big deal with HBO to develop more shows.

But all of that started with her having an idea and implementing the idea, and doing it on her own.

I would tell people don't wait.

Put your idea out there.

There are always people looking.

But then, once you put your idea out there and you get feedback from people, and you see what kind of success you have, then you can pitch that to companies to pick it up and put you on a bigger platform.

>> With all of the isolation because of the continuation of the COVID pandemic, how do you see what will happen post-pandemic?

Are we going back to the old normal, or will there be a new normal?

>> I think it's a new normal.

I think this is the great reset that we're in right now.

So, we all have our seat belts on, watching how it's playing out.

It's very surprising, but it's exciting.

If you ever ask me a question about the future, I'm always optimistic and excited about the future.

Sometimes people look at the future as darkness.

I think in the media, in the movies and television sometimes, they paint the future as very dark and bleak.

I look at it very with an open mind, and I think that the pandemic was a great reset for all of us.

And I think people are looking at content a lot differently and cherishing content.

It, also, for content creators, it was a great opportunity to actually focus on your content.

And I think we're going to see over the next ten years all kind of interesting ideas and concepts that were developed out of this period.

You know, sort of like what happened after the Great Depression.

I think we're gonna have that experience from a cultural and digital and media standpoint.

We're gonna see a lot of interesting things come out of this period.

>> You mentioned that you're an optimist.

>> Yep.

>> What feeds your optimism?

>> I'm just generally a positive person, but I believe that every day you get in this world is a blessing.

When you wake up, it's amazing.

I never look at a day bad because -- and it may sound a little crazy, but just the way we are created and brought into the world, we're all miracles.

And so, I just hold onto that energy every day.

Like, I'm just appreciative to get another day.

I thank God every night when I go to bed that I had another day to live, and that drives my optimism.

And you never know what will happen in every day that you have in life.

You never know who you're gonna meet.

You never know what experience you're gonna have.

I just -- I get so excited about that.

There's so much to do in life, and I live my life every day that way, just excited for what's next.

>> Colby Tyner, thank you for joining "The Chavis Chronicles."

>> Thank you for having me.

>> Major funding for "The Chavis Chronicles" is provided by... Reynolds American, dedicated to building a better tomorrow for our employees and communities.

Reynolds stands against racism and discrimination in all forms and is committed to building a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

American Petroleum Institute -- through the core elements of API's Energy Excellence Program, our members are committed to accelerating safety, environmental and sustainability progress throughout the natural-gas and oil industry in the U.S. and around the world.

You can learn more at api.org/apiEnergyExcellence.

Additional funding provided by Pfizer.

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