Today we’d like to introduce you to Dwight “Rich Black” Walker.
Hi Dwight “Rich Black”, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story is a story about having a dream, believing in that dream and doing the hard work to achieve that dream. I grew up in Hollis Queens, New York. I moved to Miami to attend college and graduated from there, I relocated to Atlanta Highly Unique Radio is a family business. I started Highly Unique Radio in 2013. My daughter Khalinah Walker along with my nephew Devonte Whitmore and I wanted to create a platform which allowed artists to develop a fan base. We also wanted to change the voices of radio at a time when mainstream radio had a cookie-cutter vibe and everything had the same sound. I knew we had to target the college students in order to connect with our base. I attended and graduated from an HBCU along with my daughter and nephew so we believed that we could connect with the demographic that was looking for the next big thing. Highly Unique Radio has been a platform which so many of today mainstream personalities had a radio show or podcast with us.
Three of the most notable radio personalities to have started with us and changed the game would be Fly Guy DC who is a radio personality on Streetz 945 FM, Tampa Mystic with her successful podcast Industry Most Wanted and CM the Dj the host and long time Announcer for the Atlanta Dream. I knew when these three walked into my office I knew they were the right fit for our platform and knew they were going to the faces and voices to change Atlanta and they were with us first. Highly Unique Radio since we are app based radio we have listeners all over the globe. We help the local Atlanta based artist be seen and heard far beyond their normal reach. In the past nine years, we have expanded the radio platform to three stations: Highly Unique Radio ATL, HURSOFLO in Hollywood, Florida and HUR CLT. We have plans to open a station in Canada this year. Owning a radio station has helped me to become more of an entrepreneur. We are moving into music video production and film production with our partnership with Playhouse Studioz. I feel the sky’s the limit at this point. At this time, we have the opportunity to do it all and our company plans to change the game one project at a time.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been an easy road to be honest. We had to create the industry, we had to have the vision and the trust that we knew what the artist needed and how to deliver it to the listeners. We have to not only compete with mainstream radio, there are now like hundreds, maybe thousands of app based radio/podcast platforms here now. We had to stand out by networking and providing the listeners with the best of the best programming.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I wear many hats at Highly Unique Radio. I am owner and co-founder, current Program Director but I am truly proud that I am a radio personality. I have a syndicated radio show which is on five days a week Monday-Friday from 4p to 7p Hip Hop Reloaded Show. I really enjoy what we are doing with this show. We reach over twenty-five thousand listeners per day. We interview so many different kinds of artists from all walks of life and our listeners get to connect with them in a real way. I feel what sets us apart on this show is that we give the listeners who tune in an opportunity to connect with the artist via social media in real-time and our app lets the artist to test their product in real-time which is unheard of on mainstream radio.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I can’t take all the credit, we have a super team around us. I have a large team from the marketing department, graphic department and or new music department. I want to say though my family supports my business endeavors one hundred percent. I also have mentor and good friend Chris Gotti co-founder of Murder Inc and Founder of Add-Venture Music. He has given me valuable insight on how to navigate and paven my own lane in the app base business. In running a business, we have clients that struggle with cost to market and promote their products and we have adopted the model that we will assist all clients from all resource levels and give them the same top-notch energy to give them the support they need to successful.
Contact Info:
- Email: Dwight.walker70@gmail.com
- Website: www.highlyuniquesoflo.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/darealrichblack?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Other: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1276577798
Image Credits
Image from photographer Karetova
