Working at one of New York’s top radio stations is a dream job for many, but for TT Torrez she makes it clear that the opportunity did not happen overnight.
Before joining Hot 97, Torrez made her mark in the industry at several different radio markets across the country. After enrolling in college at Norfolk State University and then transferring to Johnson C. Smith, the broadcast journalism student got her on-air start in the industry at a local radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her journey back to her birth state of New York came after radio stints in North Carolina, South Carolina, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and six years in Virginia.
“In radio, what people don’t realize is that you have to be willing to move around,” says Torrez. “It’s like a sports team where you get traded and drafted all the time. People that have been on the radio for 20 plus years, that’s unheard of and you’re blessed to be able to stay at a radio station for that particular amount of time.”
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In an interview with BlackEnterprise.com, the multimedia radio personality, who has also been named as one of the hosts of the Culture List on Centric, opens up about her career journey in radio, her views on showing emotion in the workplace and advice she’d give to young people who want to have a career in the industry.
BlackEnterprise.com: When did you first discover that radio was what you wanted to do?
Torrez:Â I started in radio when I graduated high school. When I was in high school I knew academics were not my thing. I couldn’t stand math and I was not a science girl, but I loved everything that had to do with the creative process. I loved acting, I loved drama and I loved English. I did well in all those classes so I knew that was kind of my thing. My aunt owned a night club in South Carolina and radio personalities would come through the night club. I was staying with her at the time and when the radio personalities would come in, I would ask if I could shadow them. I went to the radio station one day and I knew right then that this was for me. I graduated high school and then went to college at Norfolk State. During that time, I idolized Russ Par in DC on the radio. I idolized Wendy Williams and Angie Martinez and I just studied the game in and out.
When did you get your first radio job and how did the opportunity come about?
After college my first radio job was in Charleston, South Carolina. I was doing radio at Norfolk State University and I was working as a college rep for Atlantic Records. This record rep I knew was like “Hey, my friend is launching this station in South Carolina and I think you’ll be good for it.†So he put me on to it and whenever I would have a break I would go down there to do radio and study under him. Then, there was a radio station launching in Charlotte and they were looking for young talent to put on the station. That same
guy also put me in touch with him and I sent him my air check. He was like listen, “You’re green. You’re not that great but I will give you one shot one weekend from 4am-6am.” It was some sort of crazy hour. So I would drive from Norfolk State to Charlotte to do one weekend shift in my Ford Escort. I was broke and didn’t have any money, but I knew I had to scrape up pennies for that Friday to get me to that radio station and back. I did that until I moved to Charlotte and transferred to Johnson C. Smith to chase my radio career. I would go to school in the day time, go to the radio station and also work at a group home as a youth counselor. I did that for a while until the guy I knew in Charleston had a full-time gig. So my first full-time job was there and I did morning. I produced the Russ Par morning show because he was syndicated, and I did midday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. I did that for a year and then the station flipped and I was out of a job. So I went to DC and that’s when I worked with Russ directly on the street team. So I went from being on the radio every day to being on the street team, which is entry level. Most people wouldn’t do that, but it’s about humility. I did that for two months and then I got hired in Connecticut to do midday.With radio still being a male-dominated industry that has its fair share of ups and downs, do you feel there is room for women to show emotion in the workplace?
You know, I’ve been on my own since I was 14. I didn’t grow up with my mom or father so I knew at [that age] I had to do this on my own. When I was 14, my mom was a single mom of eight kids and she dropped me off at my friend’s house and never came back. I thought she was dead to be honest until one day I talked to my brother and he told me, “Oh, mommy moved to Virginia. She thought you would be better off here.†So that moment in my life was a turning point for me.
I finished high school and was the first in my family to graduate. I was the first to go off to college and make a career and not be on welfare. People think that’s so small but when you come from that and that’s all you see, it’s a big accomplishment because you can easily fall in the pit hole of what everybody else did. So for me, I never wanted people to see me break even if I was hurting. I know now as an adult that’s not always a good thing; to hide those emotions and pretend to the world that you’re good. I had to go through therapy to help me navigate it because that’s not really how you’re supposed to operate in life. So now, I’m learning how to show emotion. But in a business environment, sometimes I don’t think there’s room for tears.
What advice do you have for someone just graduating college who is interested in a radio career?
The biggest mistake people make is saying “Oh, I’m going to graduate college and have a job.†No, you should be working at that local radio station wherever you go to school and putting together you air checks right now. Nowadays, with the power of the Internet and digital, you also need to put yourself online and start to build your own brand. Then, you need to make sure that you know who the key people are. All the key people are online. Whatever radio station you want to work for look at their website and see who the program directors are. See if they are on Instagram and Twitter and start following them. E-mail them your air check and ask for advice. You may not get a response, which is cool, but keep sending great material to them. Some day they might say “Ohh, she had an interview with such and such. Let me hear how this sounds.†Also, build a relationship with bloggers so that if you have good content you can push it out to them. I’ve always had a good relationship with bloggers and that’s what has helped my brand. I would chop up my videos, put them on YouTube and blast them out to the bloggers. If it’s good material it will get picked up. Also, find out what your local radio station is, get on their street team and do stuff for free. Really start now and work hard. That’s really what it’s about as an intern; can you be trusted to get the job done?