When New York's Power 105.1 DJ Envy heard he was being teamed up with Angela Yee and Charlamagne tha God, he balked.
He'd been there a year doing afternoons and was happy. His previous foray into mornings didn't go well and waking up early dealing with other people was not his idea of fun. And he had not heard good things about his new partners.
"Charlamagne has been fired four times. Don’t want to work with him," Envy said. "Angela Yee? On Sirius, she curses like a sailor! I don't want to work with that. Sounds like a disaster. We'd get fired after a week!"
But his boss insisted this was a good idea. He was also offered some very good money to give it a try.
Surprise! It worked. "We were all sidekicks before," Envy said. "We all knew how to share roles. Nobody is bigger than the team. That's what makes us connect so well."
The show went into national syndication last summer. It's now in 20 markets and has been gaining buzz. Streetz 94.5's weakest time slot had been mornings. Steve Hegwood, the boss, felt it was the right to grab them now, even at the expense of a local show by the well-liked Rashan Ali.
The Breakfast Club debuted on Streetz on Monday.
The show name, which evokes the John Hughes movie of the same name, isn't an obvious one for a hip-hop show. Envy defend the name: "It doesn't matter if it's a pop station or R&B station or hip-hop station. It's just a club. You can be a part of the conversation. Come join us and listen. It works like a club. We can go to any city anywhere. We invite people to come out and have fun with us and party with us."
In a relatively short period of time, they've become known for candid interviews. "We call them conversations," Envy said, be it with Jay Z or T.I. or 50 Cent. "We'll ask whatever's on our minds. We'll as Jay Z what his favorite sexual position is."
At this point, Angela Yee joined the conversation and she said, referencing the film, "We're all delinquents from the movie!"
I then asked about the slogan they use about being the most "dangerous" show in America.
"I don't think safe is the way if you want to make history," she said. "I think for all of us, it's a matter of us putting ourselves out there taking a risk. Bigger risk equals bigger reward." At the same time, they feel they don't need guests to make compelling content. - just great chemistry and personalities.
Now that they have gone national, they are traveling a lot more, going to New Orleans, Miami and Detroit. Atlanta is forthcoming.
Angela already goes to Atlanta frequently already since she has plenty of friends here. "We're all pretty familiar with the area," she said. "Atlanta is a huge part of the music scene and a large part of Hollywood now. A lot of people in music are moving there."
Envy, who has an aunt in town, said he loves soul food so "I can't wait! My mouth is watering right now thinking about chicken and waffles!"
Although the show is their primary focus, all three have other endeavors. Both Envy and Charlamagne have their own shows on MTV2. Envy is working an album. Angela was on VH1's 'Gossip Game" for one season and is writing a book. "The Breakfast Club always comes first," Envy said. "Without that, nothing else matters."
Both Angela and Envy are New York natives. Charlamagne, who was unavailable for the interview because he was taping his TV show, is from South Carolina. I hope to meet all three of them when they do come down for an event. I'll definitely post info about it when they do.
On the radio
The Breakfast Club, 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., weekdays, Streetz 94.5
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