Jammin With Juice

by

Central City Stories

101.7 The Truth features a format of talk radio shows geared mainly to Black listeners. The talk revolves around local and national politics, community controversy, and everyday urban life, the hosts adding dashes of colloquial humor. The newest talk show from 101.7 The Truth is “Jammin with Juice” that airs in the noon to 1 p.m. slot.

Hosted by young millennials, Ben “Jammin” and Carrie “Noni Juice,” their mid-day talk show embodies the rhythm and cadence of Black conversation and the humor and audacity of Black rap. Their lively commentary includes instruments of wit, sarcasm, arguing, reminiscing and a premium on laughter, all in the verbal embroidery of the hip hop culture. They are a good duo, Ben with his oral antics, Carrie with her infectious laugh.

Tell me a little about each of your backgrounds and how you ended up with a talk show on 101.7 The Truth.

B.J.: I was born and raised in Racine and graduated from J.I. Case High School. From there, I started to find my way into music. Being a rapper and an eccentric guy, I was figuring out my voice. Meanwhile, I worked at different odd jobs including Walmart. I read the book, The Alchemist, which taught me that you make the world what you want to make it. I quit Walmart and got a job with iHeartRadio, working on their street team and with deejay Reggie Brown on his V100.7 radio show. I developed my character, Ben Jammin, and I learned a good work ethic. When 101.7 The Truth started in 2021, I became The Tory Lowe Show’s producer and did that job for two years. Then, I became part of the noon show, Nothin But The Truth, with Melanie Ricks. When Melanie moved on, I got my own show with Carrie as my co-host.

Carrie, what about you? How did you get into the radio business?

C.N.J.:  I was born and raised in the inner city, the Brewer Hills area. As a kid, I spent most of my time with my cousins at my grandma’s house on Sixth and Walnut in Mayflower Court. I graduated from Rufus King High School and went to college at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Got my degree in broadcast journalism. Then, I did a number of internships in radio and newspaper, and I worked odd jobs. I read the book, Black Privilege, Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It. That book inspired me to create my own opportunity. In 2021, I was hired as a producer on 101.7, and it’s been my only media job since then. Right away, I met Ben Jammin. Three years later, we have our own radio talk show. 

Ben, your nickname is Jammin. Carrie, yours is Juice. Nicknames are prominent in Black pop culture. I find this true especially in the sports and entertainment world. How did that come about?

B.J.: Inside of our Black culture, everybody has a nickname. Black families give their kids and relatives nicknames, and that’s what you go by on the streets. 

C.N.J.: Yeah, Ben, your real name is Benjamin, therefore Ben Jammin. As for me, my real name is Carrie Noni Mahone, hence my nickname, Noni, which is African for “a gift from God.” The radio personality, Reggie Brown, called me “Noni Juice” because he said my hair was so juicy. That is how I became Juice and what I go by on our radio show, Jammin With Juice. 

Describe the style of your show. I hear it as big and broad, lots of laughing and interruptions, and laced with gossip and information about entertainment news. 

C.N.J.: You are pretty on base with that description, Tom. We both love to laugh naturally. Our show is about what we are interested in as individuals as millennials. The topics can be funny, but we also might discuss crime or politics, but from a millennial perspective. You don’t hear a lot of young voices on a big media platform like ours. We do have older listeners, but we want to pay attention to younger listeners and get them involved. On our podcast. we talked about the murder of Sade Robinson because I was personally affected by that crime. 

B.J.: A lot of people underestimate how millennials feel. My opinion is we’re here to grab the world by the bullhorns and drive it to where we want to go. We are the future. 

If I were the Marketing Director at 101.7 radio, I’d design an advertising campaign around your show about the concept of what’s going on with younger listeners. 

C.N.J.: Oh, yeah. millennials got something to say. It’s a new generation. A new era of media.

So far, through your first several shows, the talk is confined to celebrities, influencers and their platforms, and also top 10 music albums. Do you think your listeners are influenced by influencers?

C.N.J.: Oh, definitely.

B.J.: For sure. There are a lot more followers in the world than there are leaders. There are listeners out there who are influenced by what we might say and also what celebrities say and do. They feel it from the depths of their hearts.

When you talked about the entertainment giant, Puff Diddy, aka Diddy, he did not come off too good. The video that came out showed that Diddy physically abused his girlfriend, and then later, he videotaped a weak apology.

B.J.: We try to talk from the vantage point of how the Black community is feeling. The Diddy story was all over the media the previous weekend, and we needed to talk about it. For the past 30 years, Diddy has been a big influencer in the Black culture. It’s a huge disappointment to see where Diddy’s image is right now.

Unlike the other talk show hosts on 101.7, you don’t seem to give a lot of opinions or take a political stance. But you are taking small talk to an art form. Micro versus macro conversations.

B.J.: We try to stay more neutral. Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, I’m here for the truth. I’ll never say I am all the way right or all the way left.

See if you agree with this. Anecdotally, I’ve found that millennials aren’t as affected by ethnic differences or by racism. They are more open minded than earlier generations.

B.J.: We are open-minded to a lot of things including race differences. We want to focus on leaders and influencers who are transparent. We are looking for a real boss, a real artist, a real politician, a real job. 

C.N.J.: We are the first generation that got to see life before social media and see life with social media. We millennials and those younger than us are tired of being told things that aren’t legit on media outlets. Our show’s format is conversation, between Ben and me and with our callers. I’m somebody who can agree to disagree, but I want to hear your perspective. 

I like that you treat your callers with respect and don’t argue with them.

C.N.J.: That’s true. We just want to have good conversations where listeners may go away thinking a different way.

Black radio seems much looser, almost like rap rhythms and the hip hop culture, big on humor, interruptions, laughing, raised voices. Does that make sense? Ben, you’ve talked about the rap culture influence on your life.

B.J.: That makes sense, yes. Conversations in Black households are kind of different, and Black radio reflects that style of talk.

C.N.J.: Ben and I work for Good Karma Brands, and they don’t tell us anything on how to conduct our show. We have full creative control. Larger media outlets tend to control their programs more.

B.J.: If you are a white person and want to learn about the Black culture, just pull up and talk to a Black person or jump into a playground basketball game.

I’ve done that, stopped to talk with Black people in their neighborhoods, and I’ve encountered a friendly atmosphere. I think that if you want to connect to another culture not your own, you need have conversations with the people of that culture.

B.J.: There are so many different cultures and ethnic groups here in America. 

Carrie, you’ve talked about the next generation of Black women journalists. How does your new generation differ from past women journalists?

C.N.J.: I think there is a new generation of media in general. Women seem to be dominating the game in news, entertainment, politics, and sports. The new media are the ones who will make changes moving forward. A lot of influencers have their own platforms now, their own voices in podcasts, YouTube, Instagram, and more. 

B.J.: Carrie is the youngest woman with her own show in radio history in Milwaukee. She is a leader. 

What is the difference between Black pop culture and white pop culture? I’m talking spoken rhyming rap versus, say, Taylor Swift’s insular songs. So much of Black culture is based on the personalities of music and rap artists. 

B.J.: Not necessarily. For Black people, pop culture is all art. Entertainment, movies, nicknames, and our own brand of slang.

C.N.J.: For me, the Black culture feels like family, an unspoken language. Even without speaking, we can understand each other.

B.J.: I don’t think you have white culture without Black culture. White culture is actually Black culture with low seasoning.

Aha, very good. You know, jazz music is a good example. Jazz is America’s classical music, and it was basically developed by Black people in New Orleans and later by Black musicians in Chicago before moving on to other parts of the U.S. and to Europe. Last question: who is your Jammin With Juice audience?

C.N.J.: We want our audience to be everybody even though we come from the millennial lens. We welcome callers of all ages.  

Jammin With Juice, hosted by Carrie “Noni Juice” Mahone and Ben “Jammin” Hooks, is on the air every weekday from 12-1 p.m.