Ep. 19 : Sound, Spirit & Self w/Morgan Cornell
In this episode of 'Beyond the Threshold,' I am joined by radio personality and a professional voiceover artist and NC A&T grad, Morgan Cornell.
In this episode she shares:
- Her journey from a shy child to developing a passion for media.
- Her NC A&T experience, and interning at 102 Jamz.
- The challenges of working in radio, transitioning to voiceover work, and eventually returning to radio.
- The importance of following one’s spirit, her routine of meditation for gaining clarity and staying grounded.
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How to support & connect w/ Morgan
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[00:00:00] Morgan: Follow your spirit, follow your gut. I've said this before, but it won't lead you wrong. If there is something that is nudging at you to do artistically or professionally, the road will open up. Once you decide that you wanna do it, once you say, I'm gonna do it.
[00:00:21] Sidney: Thank you for tuning in. I'm your host Sidney Evans, and you're listening to another episode of Beyond the Threshold. [00:00:30] Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Beyond the Threshold. I'm your host, Sidney Evans, an award-winning sound editor and producer. For those of you who don't know on this show, I interview black men and women working in the media industry to highlight the lessons and experiences it takes to achieve success in the field.
Today we have a fellow North Carolinian, and though we haven't officially met, or this is our first time officially meeting, I found out about her through a close friend of mine, Greg Hill, who she [00:01:00] went to a and t with. Close friend of mine, we went to high school together. Uh, she was the past guest on his show, the Minority Trailblazer Podcast, which, uh, has been on hiatus.
So you need to take that up with him, not with me. I'm, I'm doing my thing over here. In the meantime though, um, I know she made herself a name for herself in radio. But what I really want to know is the, uh, the journey it took to get there. And she can share all her, hopefully some good stories. Um, I know there's always some challenges in life, so we'll get into the nitty [00:01:30] gritty of those too.
Um, but to give a little bit more of a background on her, uh, she's a professional voiceover artist, uh, and radio personality, uh, currently for radio ones. I Power Richmond and Kiss fm. Uh, she's also a children's book, author of Zion's Happy Place and a two-time graduate, and former professor of North Carolina a NT State University.
And as I mentioned, she's a, uh, North Carolina native from Winston-Salem. Uh, so without further ado, I'd like to introduce Morgan Connell to the [00:02:00] show. Welcome to the show, Morgan.
[00:02:01] Morgan: Hi. Thank you for that great introduction.
[00:02:06] Sidney: Oh yeah, no problem, no problem. Gotta give, gotta give credit where credit is due. Um, outside of your background in media, another, uh, reason that I was, am excited about this episode, and you may have all just from the, the comments she made.
Um, she has one of those personalities that you can kind of just feel, um, and I think it's gonna really stand out. Um, and I'm, I'm interested in, in, in, in hearing her story. Um, and y'all know, I do not like to [00:02:30] waste too much time. I like to really jump into it. Into things. So, um, Morgan, if you don't mind sharing a little bit about your background.
What were, uh, what was Morgan like in her younger years? What were her interests and what was kind of the catalyst to lead you down the path that you are today? I know that's three separate questions, but if you just start with the, your background in general.
[00:02:49] Morgan: Okay, I could start from when I was young. Um, I was always very, very shy as a little girl, like super duper shy, but my thoughts were very, very, uh, [00:03:00] busy and loud, and I always loved listening to the radio.
Um, I've always loved watching people on the news. I would listen to the radio so much that I could pick up on programming when I was little. I didn't know it was programming, but I was like, okay, this commercial is about to start, or this radio personality is about to come on. Or I could just follow the trends when I was little.
Uh. And I was like, I always wanted to do that. Or I would watch cartoons or movies and mimic the people [00:03:30] on the shows or mimic the people doing the voiceovers. And I'm like, I wanna, I wanna do that. And so I would practice with my voice when I was little. I used to have like a little boombox, you know, throw back boombox the, and I used to prerecord like radio shows or there was a way for you to record yourself in the boombox, so I would record myself.
Like as if I was a DJ when I was a little kid. So I've always had a, a love for media, a love for music, [00:04:00] a love for, uh, language, the spoken word. And my mom, she was also in radio, so my mom, she did radio in the eighties. She was on Christian stations in North Carolina and she loved it. And I remember she's from, uh, New York and so she fine tuned her voice.
So that she had a neutral sound so nobody could hear her northern accent or the southern accent that she picked. And so I, maybe I [00:04:30] got it honest, but yeah, from there. Um, I just always listen to music, always listen to radio. I grew up listening to 1 0 2 Jams in North Carolina, spaced in Greensboro, but you can hear it in Winston-Salem as well.
And so I listened to bdo, I listened to Africa. I listened to prominent voices from that station, uh, 97.1. That's the old school station with Ette Cole, Renee Vaughn, all of them. I knew [00:05:00] them. I knew the program, I knew the personalities, and I was like, I'm gonna be on that station. I'm gonna be on that station period.
And so, uh, high school, high school was just regular. I was marching, dancing, trying to survive, do do the high school thing, college where everything shifted for me. And so, um, I, I just knew I wanted to go to a and t. I knew I wanted to be golden delight. That's all I knew. And I still had that thought, like maybe I could do media.
I dunno. I [00:05:30] knew they had a journalism program, so I didn't declare journalism until my sophomore year at North Carolina a and t Aggie Pride and shout out to Greg Hill, uh, declared my major in journalism, mass communication with uh, uh, who was it? A focus on electronic media. So I had to snag an internship to graduate.
So a lot of my peers were getting internships at news stations because a and t [00:06:00] had a focus on hard news for some reason, and I wasn't trying to do all that. I enjoyed entertainment aspect of it all. I enjoyed the music that I love to listen to. I didn't wanna talk about shootings and serious business all the time.
I was like, I'm going to get an internship at 1 0 2 Jams the station I grew up into. And so. BDot, he was the face of the station at that time. BDot and Kyle Telian. Um, I couldn't get in touch with Kyle, but I would bug, [00:06:30] um, BDot. I found his email. I'll be in my little journalism classes. Hi, my name is Morgan Cornell.
I am a student at da da da da da. I love to know when your internship meetings are, and I sent him I don't know how many emails and I finally got one back and I was like, boom. I'm gonna graduate, get my internship, and I'm not leaving this building until I level up. And so I got the internship, uh, at 1 0 2 Jams with the Wild Out Wake Up show with Kyle Ian BDot [00:07:00] and Tasha Makia.
And I was, I don't even know how I was doing all of this. School. Uh, my morning started at 4:00 AM I had to beat the talent there, make sure they had their coffee, make sure they had the rundown of their show, whatever research needed to be done. I'm doing that. I'm still in school, by the way.
[00:07:17] Sidney: That's, uh, actually insane.
I, and, but I'm glad you, I'm glad you, uh, mentioned that because a lot of times, um, you know, you see people, like once they become known to you, like [00:07:30] they've. They, a lot has went into it. Like pe they don't, they don't just wake up and, you know, you're the host of a show or, you know what I'm saying? Like, there is a, like you said, you're, you're, you're in school, you're, you're going, you're, uh, waking up at four, um, and you're at a and t and it's a, it is a, it's a lot going on, man.
It's a, you know, it is. I I'm, obviously you're in college, so I, I know you had fun, but there's a lot of things that you had to probably sacrifice in order to check all those boxes to get that done on a, a daily basis.
[00:07:58] Morgan: For sure. For sure. Um. [00:08:00]
[00:08:00] Sidney: So, yeah, so I'm, I'm glad you 'cause, uh, I think a lot, I think a lot of times, and this is initially what I thought, that, you know, you just go to college and like the, the, the, the, the, the, the blessings just come, you know what I'm saying?
It's like, oh, I, once you, once you, once you're a full-time student, then all the, all the doors are the opportunities open. But now there are a lot of people who go to college. So you, you gotta, you gotta do something. Uh, to stand out. And like you mentioned, you know, it may take bugging somebody for three to six months before they [00:08:30] finally respond.
And then sometimes the only reason they respond because they're like, I'm just tired of hearing from this person and that, so lemme just respond. So, and you know, so they say, okay, well I'll just give 'em a chance and then I get an opportunity to see, uh, to get to know you, see what your talents are. Like, okay, this person really is talented.
I can see why they took the initiative. Right. But sometimes it, it takes going that extra mile. Um. To, to really put yourself out there.
[00:08:54] Morgan: For sure. You have to, especially in the world of media, especially in the world of media today, what is [00:09:00] gonna set you apart because everybody, uh, is, has a stage now, a lot of us have, a lot of people have platforms and a.
They're doing a lot of the same things. So what makes you different? What's gonna make you stand out? And if there are people doing what you doing or doing what you wanna do, model, emulate them in your own way and try to reach out to these people. You never know, these people may give you a shot, but yes, the duality of it all, it's like I'm having fun, uh, learning this craft and [00:09:30] trying to, to get my foot in the door, but also I'm hustling to get my foot in the door.
It doesn't just happen overnight. It can, but. Or many of us, it doesn't. And so I'm going to school. I'm in the marching band. I'm also working, I'm waking up at 4:00 AM and driving 20, 20 minutes across the hallway to get to my internship. And so it was tough, but it was fun. And so once I got in there, I'm like, how can I lend a helping hand?
How can I do more? And so [00:10:00] there is a guy in production, Carlos, he. Basically created the end, the sound of 1 0 2 jams, the classic sound. He was doing that. And so I'm like, Hey, well how you do that? How you do that? You need help. I wanna do commercials. And so next thing you know my voice, I'm an intern, my voice is on commercials.
I'm the go-to girl for a commercial spot. And so I was like, I'm gonna take it anytime I could get my voice on this mic. I'm gonna take it. And so, [00:10:30] uh, Chris Lee, he had a community-based talk show called Straight Talk and I remember fussing him out in a club 'cause I was a little lit and I had just natural, like I cut all my hair off and he was like, work, what?
What did you, why'd you cut your hair off? He was curious. And I had got enough of me asking me about my hair and I lit him up. I was like, first of all, I did this for me. And he was like. OMG, and then I made a post about it on Facebook. He was like, [00:11:00] I need you on on my show. Mm,
[00:11:02] Sidney: just the energy. He just liked the energy.
Just the energy.
[00:11:05] Morgan: Everything I had to say about it. And we actually talked about the politics of black hair on the show and how I cracked open the mic live. And I was like, he don't know it, but I'm not leaving. So I was like, you need me on Sunday? What are you talking about? Sunday? I could contribute air.
And so I kept coming in on Sundays to get on air and after a few [00:11:30] months the program director, Brian Douglas, he was like, I've been hearing you on the show. I wanna hire you. Boom. Now it's straight. Talk with Chris Lee and Morgan McKenzie. Like, I was like, okay, bit. I'm in the door and. By that time I'm in grad school, so I'm learning a lot of, I'm, I'm studying black literature, uh, black liter English and black literature.
And so what I'm learning, I'm taking that information to Straight Talk because it's a community-based talk [00:12:00] show. It's not music plan. We are talking about intellectual issues, social issues, cultural issues, like. So whatever I'm learning at a and t I'm applying English on the radio now. And so
[00:12:13] Sidney: let's, let's, let's, let's just jump in there.
'cause that's a, uh, that's, that's a, that's a good point to, to emphasize. 'cause I know a lot of times we get so focused and. Our specific thing that, um, and, and there is a, like I said, there's a, there's a grind that goes involved for you to [00:12:30] develop those skills, but, um, a lot of times, like what gets you opportunities and especially in radio, like where there, well if you have a platform, so whether are artists, musician, um, radio personality, TV personality, things like that, you have to be.
You should in order to do it well, I feel like you should be an educated person. You should be an interesting person. 'cause you don't know what topics, uh, are going to present themselves. And when they do, like, it's a moment when a, when a a a, a [00:13:00] natural conversation happens about a topic and, and you have something to add to it.
It, it comes through. There's a, there uh, there's a time and place for going back and do research after the fact, but that sometimes that moment is hard to, uh. Or are nearly impossible to recreate. So you want to make sure you're overall well-rounded person and um, an interesting person and we'll touch on that later.
'cause a lot of times. In order to do your job well, you have to be a better version of you. And, and sometimes [00:13:30] that there are seasons where you, you have to focus on one thing, but then there's also a season where, um, you have to focus on all aspects of you to make sure you are the most whole, whole and well version of yourself to be able to sustain what you're doing.
Might be able to do it for a little bit of time, but if you don't work on all those other things, um, you crash out, burn out. All, all those words start coming into the equation, and that's when you, you don't, you, you want to be proactive as opposed to reactive. Mm-hmm. Uh, but to get back to the, to the, to, I guess we're going [00:14:00] chronologically here.
You're, you're offered, um, a job and, and I, I don't know if most people know, but. Starting off on radio, you know, it's, you not, I don't think it's the most profitable. I was, you're not, you know, uh, the, the, the, let's say the, the, the initial salaries are modest to say the least. I'll say that. So can you, um, uh.
Paint a realistic picture, uh, picture of, um, it may be a little different. Now obviously things have evolved, but at that time, like what did that look like with you getting a full-time job? [00:14:30] Uh, but you're like, man, like how I'm supposed to live off this. I work so hard to get to there. Like, how am I supposed to live off this?
How am I supposed to sustain everything I'm doing under these circumstances?
[00:14:39] Morgan: That's facts. And to be quite transparent with you. I was never full-time at 1 0 2 Jams. So when I was first offered the job, it was part-time and so a part-time, uh, radio personality for straight talk. And then I was a swing shift operator, so that means I worked my way up to that as [00:15:00] well.
So it's like whenever a full-time personality is. They'll just use a swing shift, uh, will swing from shift to shift to hold down a fork. And so they tested me enough. Like you said, doing the work, being prepared, uh, knowing my information, knowing how to work the, the systems, and knowing how to hold down a show, I was able to swing from shift to shift.
So if a full-timer on the morning show is out, I can step in. If the midday, uh, pro prominent midday personality is out, I can hold down a fort. [00:15:30] Now, mind you, this is part-time. And I'm only getting paid not much. It was giving gas, money, groceries at the time. So starting out, I'm, I'm doing this outta the love and the passion for it.
'cause it's not paying for anything to be frank. Like maybe some gas, maybe maybe some food, maybe a little cookout tray. I don't know. But
Right. Mainly
I'm doing this out of the love for it. Now, full-time. That's [00:16:00] different. That's salaried. They get benefits and all of that. They're, they're living comfy. But even it depends on the market that you're in.
So Greensboro, it's, we're like midway, midway in the market. Mm-hmm. So the higher you go in the, uh, the lower you go in the market, like you top 10, you get in banks. You'll make more money. You midway you getting kind of like mid pay, salary wise, part-time. You better count your pennies Just to be real and simple.[00:16:30]
I would bank my hours 'cause I'm working different shows along with straight talk and uh, counting the hours that I'm doing behind the scenes with commercials and production and, and events and stuff like that. But it's a hustle.
[00:16:45] Sidney: Yeah, you gotta be, you gotta be. Sometimes you know what you ask for when, when, when it comes.
Like you can't, you sometimes you gotta, you, you gotta see it through. Sometimes that really is, sometimes you think getting that first opportunity is the test, but sometimes [00:17:00] the test is when you do get the opportunity and it, and it ain't what you look like. It may look like you, you, you might be working full-time, but you might be getting paid far part-time.
You know, that's what it was. Um, and that's the, and that's the test. If sometimes you can, if you can break through that wall. It could be a lot more on the other side. How long were, how long did you like, were, were you doing that? How long did that last?
[00:17:18] Morgan: Uh, at 1 0 2 Jams.
[00:17:20] Sidney: Yes.
[00:17:20] Morgan: I was doing that for five years.
And what's funny is how I gained the op, the swing show operator position. Where I was just doing straight [00:17:30] talk. That was two hours a week, Sundays. That's how much I was on air at the beginning. And so I told you I lived at the station. I'm, I'm there doing various jobs 'cause I wanted to, and I wanted to assist and I wanted to show that I'm able to do this.
And so a pro, uh, radio personality who got a job prior to me and I had been there longer, they didn't show up for their own show. If somebody had to keep the ball rolling. And who was there staying after [00:18:00] the show? Yours
[00:18:00] Sidney: truly
[00:18:01] Morgan: me. And I'm like, what? I gotta, I gotta do this by myself. This is the time. And so I was prepared, I was scared.
[00:18:08] Sidney: You were prepared? Yeah. That's the most part. You were prepared. I was
[00:18:11] Morgan: prepared. And then from then on it's like, oh, Maura got it. She could do the midday, she could do, she could do weekends. She could do the morning show. Be that calling me. We need you Come, come through on the morning show. Roxy gonna be out bitch.
So preparation meets opportunity every time.
[00:18:28] Sidney: Okay, so that's the, that's, [00:18:30] that's a, uh, def definitely an inspiring story. You had to, you had to do that grunt, grunt work to break through, I guess you could say outside of like, waiting for your opportunity. Like once you did get that first, you know, opportunity where you were like, okay, I, I, I got it.
And, and I delivered, I guess what were some of the, the challenges within that? I know you said you, you had a, uh, interest in the voice, so, um. Maybe the, you know, the technical aspect of it was a challenge or there may be some hidden challenges that the average person may [00:19:00] not be aware of or that you didn't expect.
But I always wanna, uh, paint a picture of like, even though you're doing what you wanna do, you finally, but, but that I, I just wanna bring light to maybe there may still be some challenges within that as well.
[00:19:13] Morgan: For sure. Um, I'd say, like I said, for five years I was part-time at 1 0 2 Jams. I landed the full, my fir my first full-time gig in radio in Oklahoma City at Power 1 0 3 0.5, and I was, I was taking it.
I just took it and I left. And as soon as I got there, [00:19:30] well, as soon as I get a little comfy, the pandemic hit. And so I'm in a new city. I've moved across the the country to chase a dream and do radio full-time, and now the community is dependent on me to provide them with sound information to help through a pandemic.
And we didn't know what the hell was going on from a day-to-day basis, so that was challenging within itself. And then furthermore, pay, I was making more money, but. [00:20:00] The way inflation was rising during that time. I was like, I don't even know how I'm surviving off of this radio salary. Like honest with you, I'm, I'm having a ball, I'm doing what I love to do, but I als, I'm not in college anymore.
I'm an adult and I have to take care of myself. And so one of the hardest decisions that I've ever had to do was to. Leave radio. So I left radio while I was in, um, Oklahoma City. So my third year there I was [00:20:30] like, I gotta find something more stable, uh, to do what I need to do and to survive post COVID.
And so I transitioned from news, I mean, from radio to news. So I was a, a senior promotions producer at a news station. I was like, okay, I'm not really. Cool. I'm doing some cool things. I'm behind the scenes. I'm whatever. I'm used to having my own show, so watching the reporters do their thing and I'm like, mm, I'm not, this ain't me.
I'm missing radio. I [00:21:00] never thought I'd see the day where I'm not doing radio. I'm like, you can't count out voiceover Morgan, you could do this.
[00:21:08] Sidney: Okay, so you're, you're gonna transition voiceover before we, before we get to voiceover. 'cause I, I. And this may have something that like, I think this falls in line too, and maybe a little bit earlier when like, like podcasting is starting to come into equation and, and terrestrial radio is a lot different.
And you know, I mean even, I guess even in it heyday, like you said, starting off, depending what marketing, [00:21:30] the pay isn't great. I can only imagine, you know, on, on full scale with the entire industry, like how this. Declining and then like you said, with inflation and you know, the cost of living going up is just like kind of going against each other.
Is it, is, is this something you recognized at that time or you kind of really didn't care, you was just like, I, I, this is not sustainable for me. Like, even, even though like I know there's a new medium being introduced and it's affecting this, but I, I'm, I don't really care [00:22:00] about all that. Like it's, it's trickling down and I gotta do something else.
So like, what was that, how, how, what was that battle you had with that?
[00:22:06] Morgan: I'd say one battle is, or was the fact that, okay, there was a misconception, so we're in the, the COVID period and people were like, nobody's listening to radio. Nobody's listening to radio. Actually, more people were listening to radio at that time because they needed, uh, sources from local people.
To [00:22:30] provide the information on where to go to get testing, where to go to get help, like where to go to survive. So more people were looking to radio during that time. So that's a misconception. Some people are like, I don't listen to the radio anymore, and it could get to you if you allow it. But there are people who still listen to the radio.
There are people who still make money off of radio because this sells, it's a business. And people still need to sell things. People still need to reach people. And there are people who still turn on the radio and, and listen. It's [00:23:00] still, uh, a marketable industry, but it can kinda feel a little antiquated with like AI or, um, people doing podcasts now.
Um, social media. Social media. There was a time where to have a badge on social media that meant you have credibility. That means are prepared. That means you've done the research. That means you have worn the hats and, uh, done the work and done all of the things [00:23:30] to provide the masses with pertinent information.
But now, bads don't mean a thing. And when you log onto social media, you don't know if this information is correct or, or who the hell is saying it and where they got these sources from. So it's, it's wild. And I come from, I went to school for media. You know what I'm saying? People who work hard to learn how to research and to present information.
And it's just like, it's, it's a free for all now.
[00:23:57] Sidney: Right. But so you're saying like, yeah, there's a [00:24:00] misconception, but the, the reason radio has been able to stick around is because it's a, it's a more credible medium. Mm-hmm. But the, if the people there are there, they, they have some credentials and then
[00:24:10] Morgan: Well,
[00:24:12] Sidney: with the, well, well, to a certain degree
[00:24:14] Morgan: to it, because that did change.
Because of social media, there are people who can just snag it the higher you go. As far as like major radio shows, I have a issue with them because it's like they'll just hire a comedian. They'll just hire [00:24:30] some, uh, so somebody who's a de-list celebrity or somebody who popping on social media, they don't have any.
Any insight on radio or how it works. They're just there because of social media presence and it's like there are tons of people who actually care about the craft, who actually have studied the craft, who would be excellent in positions like that. But just because they got 110 K followers, they're granted a radio position over someone who's qualified.
[00:24:59] Sidney: Okay, [00:25:00] so, so, okay. So the first point, to a certain extent, it is a more credible, I guess, more kind of more on, like you said, on a, on a smaller scale. And then, but then also you had that, uh, local, regional, regional connection with the, but with social media, it's like the whole world is opened up to you, but people kind of want to know what's going on, where they are.
So that
[00:25:17] Morgan: authentic connection, that local connection is still valuable.
[00:25:21] Sidney: Right. And the radio stations are very, uh, involved, like community involved and things like that as well. Yep. So yeah, that ma that, that makes sense. [00:25:30] Um, but you just, so who, uh, when you made the transition to voiceover, did you, did you say that somebody like mentioned this, like you should consider, or is it kind of a realization that you had.
[00:25:42] Morgan: It's something that I've always wanted to do, always inspired to do. And it wasn't until I just said I'm a voiceover artist. In my head I was like, I'm gonna do this. And so what do I do? I go study the craft. I go find forums, I join Facebook groups. I follow. [00:26:00] Voiceover artists on LinkedIn, and I'm looking at who's who and what they doing and how they doing it.
And I'm practicing scripts on my own. And one of the first things I learned from those forums and from those discussions is that I need a coach. And I was like, bet. So I get on LinkedIn and I find a coach outta nowhere. I was like, oh, let me look at him, look at his credentials. Hired this guy. And I started getting coaching from a certified voiceover artist doing what I wanna do, and he's the [00:26:30] one.
He was like, you got it. You could do this and snag the job in Richmond, Virginia to do voiceover full time. And we get benefits. You need to apply. You ain't said nothing but a word. I'm working at Zoom station. I'm ready to go. It's post pandemic. I'm ready to go. I'm sad about radio, but voiceover is calling, baby I'm applying.
And I nailed it. I nailed it. And so, uh, where I work now, they've hired like, uh. Theater, people who have [00:27:00] theater backgrounds, and I found that my radio background, all of those commercials that I was doing when I was an intern and back at school and back at 1 0 2 Jams, that that equipped me for the job.
And voiceover. I'm reading scripts all day.
[00:27:15] Sidney: That's interesting 'cause I, um, I, previous last my, the first, the, my first season I had a, a voiceover artist, his name is, uh, to and Wade Phil Johnson. He's from Florida, but he's based in New York. Um, but he was telling me about his experience and the thing that I learned from him is, like you said, if you wanna do [00:27:30] voiceover, you gotta get a coach.
If you want to enter, because you have to understand how that industry, uh, operates. They're, they're, they're tapped in to have experience. Why would you not rely on somebody who has more experience than you, but not only for to get into the game, but. To stay in it because he mentioned, and I, this is one of the, uh, segments that I clipped up.
'cause I thought it was really important that there are a lot of trends that happen in voiceover as far as, um, 'cause he was saying, he was mentioning like, you know, when people traditionally think of voiceover, they think of the, the [00:28:00] big, I don't know, like when you, you know, if it was an, in the movies, the BET where it's in awards show.
Yeah, no, just like commercials, like when they big. Voice or whatever, but he was like, you know, of more recent, because we live in a such a distracted world now, and people are like multitasking, doing things. I don't know if it's still, it's still a trend, but there was a, a trend at one point where people were kind of going for these more distracted, more organic reads instead of the big voice.
Voice over. Voice type of thing. But the, the [00:28:30] overarching point was made was if he didn't have a coach, he wouldn't have known that these people are looking for this type of read and you're doing like a traditional, and even though you, you, it really doesn't matter, like what you've done, what before, like what do the, what does this read call for?
And if you aren't tapped into that, um, you can miss out on opportunities. And if you. If you go a long period, you know, you could wake up one day and be out the game. 'cause you don't, you're, you're not, you're not tapped in. So I di I didn't know that because I'm not part of that world. But after my conversation with him and then hearing you [00:29:00] mention it, it's clearly something that is very important.
[00:29:03] Morgan: Mm-hmm. Gotta be tapped in. It's who you know as well, like who, you know, having a silent coach and I'm still learning and networking because this is just a start, like I'm trying to. Getting these big time national commercials. I wanna be in a trailer. I would like to voice, uh, cartoons and things of that nature.
So the, the journey has just begun. I have to do more research and continue to network and to continue to fine tune my craft. This, it's ongoing [00:29:30] and the research never stops. Preparation never stops.
[00:29:34] Sidney: Correct. So, so, uh, so now, because you're doing voice overnight, I guess you kind of, you have to like, invest in some like equipment and do things.
'cause you gotta be able to, you know, the, the, the turnarounds can be very short. So did you, uh, was that hard? Did you rely on coaching to help you build that? And like, how did you decide on like, oh, okay, like this is, this is the standard equipment that other people use, so I'm gonna use it? Or did you kind of experiment where it's like, okay, this is.
[00:30:00] This is, you know, different microphones make you sound different ways. So it's like, okay, did you have to, was there a period where, this is the one that sounds good in my voice, where I'm just going, okay, this is was recommended. I'm just gonna go with this and we gonna rock out like that.
[00:30:13] Morgan: I remember when I was in Oklahoma dreaming of leaving, and I would just picture myself in my, my, my apartment and I got my booth and I got my own equipment and it, it is such a blessing to be able to walk into my, my spot and [00:30:30] see my recording booth, see all of my editing equipment, and know that I'm doing this for real.
Like I, what I've envisioned. Is what I'm living right now. And so my coach definitely helped me. I didn't know where to start. I just knew I bought a mic, but he was like, Morgan, we, no, you need a better mic than this. So, gave me a rundown. He was like, you need to shop here and I'm gonna go, I'm gonna help you.
Um, I'm gonna come over and you're gonna test the mic and we're gonna see how it sounds on your, on your voice because. Different voiceover artists need different [00:31:00] mics. We have different sounds and things like that. And what computer to buy, what computer works well with this software, with this console, or with this microphone like.
My coach put me on, shout out to Poppy, said Babe, voiceover artist. He, he definitely helped me in that department. He was like, yeah, I just bought this new booth. It's in my, my apartment, you know, and it's small so it's not taking up too space. So I too, too, too much space. So I got a snap, you know, that I could put up and if I travel, I could pack it up and take it with me, [00:31:30] because in the future I'm gonna be doing this on the go.
That's. That's what I'm calling in. So it's like my coach put me onto all of this information and even where I work now, like they put me onto so much information on technology and how we are producing our voiceovers. I was like, okay, it's some good stuff. So definitely coaching people who have the knowledge and are willing to share it.
[00:31:54] Sidney: Absolutely. Absolutely. So during these, uh, so it seems like you had like different seasons [00:32:00] of, of, of, of the journey, but I wanna reference, I want to, uh, revert back to something that I referenced earlier about like the, the. Becoming the best version of Morgan aspect of it. 'cause you're going through these things.
I'm, I'm, I'm gonna take a stab in the dark here. Um, it seems like after the Okla moving to Oklahoma City and kind of, it sounded like you started really evaluating like, what, what is the path that I want to go on? So was this just a professional thing or was it a personal thing because you [00:32:30] was like, okay, this the version of myself that.
I would like to be, and I want to sustain for the rest of my life is going to be the foundation of all this other stuff. So are you, are you at, at, at this point? Are you trying to figure that out as well?
[00:32:46] Morgan: Yo, it was crazy. Oklahoma City, there was a point where it just felt like grief to, to keep it hot with you or to be very transparent with you.
There was a [00:33:00] point in time where. Where I was in life and what I thought my life would look like as far as career and life in general, like me as a person. It didn't pan out the way that I thought, and I'm like grieving the dream that I had. It's like, I wanna leave radio. Radio is my heart. What do you mean I'm not doing this anymore?
What do you mean? The game has changed and it's not feeling like how it, how it used to feel or anybody could just do radio these days. Like [00:33:30] it's a grief that I felt to be real. And so I felt those feels, and it's just like, okay, I can feel 'em, acknowledge them, but what we not gonna do is wallow in them.
So what's next? That's where the voiceover joint came to me. I was like, what's next for me? Where can I see myself? Moving naturally is voiceover. I'm still using my voice. I'm still creative, and it's even on a larger scale, so I just start envisioning where I wanna be, how [00:34:00] like envisioning it. I don't know where I'm gonna start, but I just take a step at a time.
Day by day, I was like, okay, I wanna do voiceover. I feel crappy. I gotta go to work and do this job that I freaking hate at this news station. It is what it is. But what? What can I do after work that has to do with voiceover? What can I do? Okay, I joined this group. What's next? What's next? And then once you decide, the steps come to you, if you listen to your spirit and you make a decision on what you wanna do, that road will become clearer [00:34:30] every day on where you need to go and how you need to go about it.
[00:34:33] Sidney: Absolutely are like personal habits that you incorporated to help you. 'cause sometimes when you're, um, like you try okay, you, you're, you're aware that, okay, I need to, either the vision changes. Some people they don't have one and they need to get a vision. Mm-hmm. Or some people it evolves, but it's like, if you don't have like healthy personal habits, you don't have the clarity, you don't, you're, you're not in the right.
Energy to, to be [00:35:00] able to like become clear on what the next thing is. Are there any personal habits outside of professional that, um, help you glean that, gain that clarity?
[00:35:10] Morgan: Yeah. Uh. Personal habits for me, when I don't have clarity, I meditate. And that's what my book is about. Z happy place by my book, teaching babies how to meditate.
But for me, I, that gives me clarity, whether you wanna call it prayer or meditation, that's what I do. I sit still and allow my [00:35:30] thoughts to do their thing, but I'm just being present in the moment and I find that clarity comes to me. Through that. Um, and also I use social media and I know I'm always on my phone.
I'm always on social media. So how can I allow social media to benefit me? And I don't know if you were following me during this time, but I, there were these, uh, trends, we just talking about trends, but it was like a voiceover challenge on social media. So I was like, okay, I'm gonna do these for fun. 'cause one, I'm still a [00:36:00] content creator, so I'm gonna do the content creator thing.
Um, establishing myself as a, a voiceover artist, even though I'm not, and I'm gonna do voiceover challenges for fun. And I would do them kind routinely. I practice them whether I posted it or not. I'm working voice, so I would do stuff like that. I'm on social media all the time. How can I make this work for me?
So gaining clarity through peaceful. Quiet, silence, meditation, those things just to [00:36:30] stay grounded. Even though I'm dealing with grief and dealing with life and dealing with post pandemic stuff, I gotta find peace within myself, and then I'm always on my phone. Let's make it count.
[00:36:42] Sidney: Right. Okay. Yeah. Uh, thank you for sharing that.
I'm, I'm a big, uh, proponent of meditation and. Sometimes it's hard. It is Sometimes those habits that we know are, are, are helpful and, and benefit you overall. Like when, when life gets to life and man, sometimes you can neglect it. [00:37:00] 'cause I know kind of around the time when I really, really took an interest in audio for maybe around 20 17, 18, like I was really, I was meditating daily.
Um, and I think that helped me really figure out like, okay, what I have, I have the, what's the thing I'm going for lack of a better word, like live or die for like I gotta commit to something. I gotta. I, there has to be a push to for, for something and that's when it became clear to me. And then, you know, go through things like COVID and, you know, I, you know, I had, um, [00:37:30] during that time, I, uh, became plant-based.
Like I just went through a lot of personal transformation and then I get outta that season and. You know, the, the hustle and bustle of life starts to pick back up. And I, I fell off. And here recently, like I've, I've been back heavy on my meditation and I'm just like, man, how did I make it this long without continuing this to, uh, to be part of my daily routine?
And now I kind of understand some of the challenges that I went through because, um, I didn't have that [00:38:00] clarity that I had at, you know, other parts of my life. So, so I'm glad, I'm glad you shared that. I'm a big proponent of meditation too. Um,
[00:38:08] Morgan: I'm glad you got some clarity. You got back on it. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:38:11] Sidney: That's, that's if it, if it wasn't for those moments, I don't know if I'd be doing this podcast right now. So, uh, shout outs to meditation, but, um, so you're, you're, you're doing back to you, you're doing the voiceover thing, um, but you eventually got back into radio. So please share that story.
[00:38:27] Morgan: That is so funny.
So [00:38:30] I'm. Knee deep in the voiceover world. Now I'm doing it every day for a living and I kind of put radio in the back of my mind just to protect my heart because I, but it is what it is. I ain't even, I even stopped listening to it for a minute 'cause it was hurting my heart. So it
[00:38:48] Sidney: still exists and I'm not a part of it.
[00:38:50] Morgan: And I'm not a part of it. What? So, um, back when I was in school and on one of two jams, I was using social media to network with any and [00:39:00] everybody doing what I wanted to do or doing the same thing I was doing. So I would follow programmers from across the nation. Mm-hmm. They don't know me from campaign.
Right. But I know you follow, follow, follow. And then we have what's called air checks. It's like a audio montage of your best on air brakes. That's how people typically get jobs in radio. So I would make them on a regular basis and just cold, send 'em out, send 'em out cold to the programmers all across the nation.
And so there was a programmer here in Richmond [00:39:30] and I forgot, like I'm, I'm just, I'm just moved. I'm corporate, I'm doing voiceover. So a lot of new stuff is happening. And one of my homegirls in radio, she was like, you know, uh, Matt, he's out here in Richmond. I was like, you, you right, but I'm, I'm not thinking about radio.
She was like, Morgan, you up. You should, you should hit him up. I was like, okay, we'll see. I didn't have any expectations, so I was like, Matt, hey, you know, I just moved to [00:40:00] Richmond. Whoopty, whoop. Love to kick it with you. Catch up, whatever. Next thing you know, he was like, you wanna.
I guess I'm back in radio, so this is fairly recent. I moved to, uh, Richmond last year, and I'm telling you, I've been like in the voiceover grind. It is corporate. It is, it's uh, almost like 40 reads a week. Like it's [00:40:30] a lot going on. And, um, I was like, it gotta be part-time and it's, it works for me like I'm still.
Getting my feet back into the game, uh, it still feels new for me when I crack open the mic on radio. It's like, oh my God, I'm doing this for real now I'm doing it again. But it's still fun. It's still fun to me. So I introduced myself to Richmond and we rocking out now.
[00:40:53] Sidney: That's cool. So, uh, just a little bit about, about Richmond.
'cause my, uh, my lady, she went to, she's from Norfolk, but [00:41:00] she went to VCU, so, um, she's really tapped in and she, she's a creative, so she. Exhausted every, you know, all the opportunities that were available to her there. And we, uh, we, every now and then we'll go to a VCU game and she hit me up. Um, not hit me up.
We were having a conver, I think she text me. We weren't, I think she was at, I don't know, she's at work. We at work, whatever. Um, but she was like, 'cause I'm, you know, as far as me like, 'cause I, I've been working all production, but like, I was working for Tenderfoot tv, but I got laid off at the be end of last [00:41:30] year.
So I was. Trying to figure, I had another moment where I was like, I gotta get some clarity. So when I started the podcast, start focusing more on, okay, I'm gonna start writing, I'm gonna start, you know, creating my own things to, to be involved with because I, I have, I have this skill and I have, and I have this, this desire to make things.
But if the, you know, if others aren't giving opportunity to where. Gotta create my own opportunity. But she was like, she hit me. She, uh, mentioned, she was like, I don't know what, what it is, but I, I kind of got this feeling like [00:42:00] we should, we should be in Richmond. And I don't, and we had had conversations previously about it just 'cause after we visit, we, you know, kind of on a, on a little highlight.
This is cool. It's eclectic. It's, it, it is, is is big enough. But it's not super, it still kind, it gives you still kind of a North Carolina feel. Um, it's like the best of both worlds. So that, I don't know, maybe. Us having this conversation, you being on here, working there, moving there. Maybe that could, that could be some divine intervention type stuff, but I thought I, I thought I mentioned that, but Richmond, yeah.
It's a, it is a, [00:42:30] surprisingly, most people might know, it's like a good, uh, help, like you said, help for creatives. Um, you know, it's affordable, like kind of all the boxes that people want to check. So, so that's really cool. And it's a good, as far as the East Coast, it's like right in the middle of everything you can get to dcs.
Yep. It's not too far from New York. Baltimore, Philly. Like those are, you know, you know, drives up the road. So just, just, just thought I'd share that. But overall, 'cause I, uh, I think one of the things that stood out that I didn't ask directly, but has been a, [00:43:00] a theme is the relationship part of it. Like your first opportunity, but, you know, you get a relationship with BDot, you, you getting the job in Richmond.
Putting ourselves, connecting with people. Like, I don't, these people don't know me from the can of paint, but, you know, worst case scenario, they, they say yes or they say no. But most people don't do that either. They say yes or they don't respond. So it's, you know, it is, it is. No love lost, but can you just speak on the importance of.
Building relationships, truly building a relationship, not, not [00:43:30] using somebody as a stepping stone. And then once you get to the next thing, you know, they're an afterthought. But I actually building a relationship with people and whether they can help you or not, still being able to, uh, if, if you do get a no and out response, you not being salty about it or throwing shade, just, you know, trying to, you know, connect with the next person and the next thing and then, um, maintaining them.
Can you just touch on that?
[00:43:51] Morgan: Absolutely. Um. This industry is all about networking and a lot of times it's who you know, like you never know what type [00:44:00] of, uh, interaction can lead you to the next step or lead you to an opportunity and not, that's not to say that we're meeting people just off of the strength of opportunities or an opportunity opportunistic.
Uh, way, I think it's important to have some insight on who you're talking to as a person. Like know them as a person and as an individual before you just go ask for anything. Um, when I would reach out to these [00:44:30] programmers, I've done some research on them. I'm like, well, I know what they do. Uh, they got these kids.
They, they went here. And so I would drop a little. A little nugget of information that I know about them, just to let them know I know who you are and I've done my research. I'm just not coming in here with my handout. Or I let them know like, Hey, um, I appreciate it. If you, uh, just take some time out, listen to my air check.
And if you ever need any type of, uh, help with a commercial or. Help here. I'm free to help. Just let me know. So [00:45:00] it's not just a one-way street, it's, it's a two-way street. If you need my voice for something, I'm trying to get, get it where I live, I can help you as well. So I would do that. And what's funny is there is, uh.
He works for Radio One, Kobe Co. And he is like the top guy up there. And I would blow him up on Twitter, Instagram for years. And sometimes he wouldn't respond, sometimes he would. And he had such [00:45:30] wealth of knowledge about hip hop, about radio, like he's been in it, he's lived it, and he's able to take. His interviews from radio and turn it into a podcast.
And these aren't just regular, uh, interviews. These are like interviews with like Jay-Z from back in the Day, or like just dope artists from back in the day. And he is able to formulate a podcast off of that. And I'm just like, wow. So just blown away by who he is and with Radio One and it's just like, all right, I used to reach out to him [00:46:00] and he wouldn't respond.
And then sometimes he would, and it would be like, quick nugget information. I'm like, I got a response. Cool. I had put in dozens of applications to Radio One across the nation, just different stations to Radio One, and I'm applying for years and years and years and years. And it's like, no, no, no, no, no, no.
What's crazy is I work for Radio One now on Tuesday, and I was like, yo, and to bring it back to relationships, [00:46:30] I recently reached out to Kobe, Kobe, and I was like, Hey. I don't know if you remember me, but I used to blow you up on my early days in radio and I appreciate you for taking the time out when you did to respond to me, and I wanted to let you know that I landed two jobs under radio One, and I love you to check me out.
That was it. So I wasn't just bugging him all those years. I'm still following up right?
[00:46:54] Sidney: Reaching out to 'em when you don't need them. I think that's, that's, that, that's, that's the, that's the thing right there. That, [00:47:00] that, that, that is the genuine aspect of it when you don't need them. Mm-hmm. Um, everybody comes around when they looking for a job.
[00:47:06] Morgan: Okay. It's just like, nah, I, I landed it and I just wanna say thank you. I appreciate you for taking that time or. Wow. After all of that, I'm finally here. Right? It,
[00:47:18] Sidney: it, it wasn't with the help of you, but I'm here now.
[00:47:22] Morgan: Let's bridge this, this reconnect though, you know what I'm saying? So relationships. Yeah.
Don't go out there with your hands out. Just know [00:47:30] people, uh, do your research and provide a, a, a lane for you to, to assist as well. I think that goes a long way.
[00:47:37] Sidney: Absolutely. Absolutely. Unfortunately, we are, uh, uh, approaching the end here. Thank you so much for sharing. Um, and I, I, I think she, she held true to the, what I said earlier about that personality coming through.
'cause not only, these are great stories, but these great, great deliveries. Um, so you see, you see how she has made a career for herself in this space. Uh, but for the last segment, uh, of the show, uh, I [00:48:00] just wanna get an idea about your sense you made. References to listening to music and television and all those things when you were younger.
Um, but I wanna know what some, what some of those, uh, things were specifically. So, uh, I'm gonna ask you a few questions, uh, and looking forward to your responses. And I, uh, so the first one is, um, what's your favorite album of all time?
[00:48:22] Morgan: Okay. Uh, A Seat at the Table, Solange. I think it's just entitled Al Green.
It's just the [00:48:30] Al Green album. Like this. The classic album. The classic cover for sure. Uh, yeah. You know what I'm talking about? The Black album, the Blueprint, Jay-Z. Top to bottom. Top to bottom Renaissance, Beyonce. Mm-hmm. Oh my God. Life. Yeah. Those are just to name a few.
[00:48:48] Sidney: That, that actually shows, uh, a lot of insight to you are, 'cause you got like traditional, you know, hip hop, but then you got some, some, uh, soul in there.
And then with salons you got [00:49:00] the, you know, she's real eclectic and all that. And then you, yeah. And then you got some Beyonce, which, you know, all the bases are covered there. Um, okay, so next, uh, favorite producer or producers? Music producers.
[00:49:11] Morgan: Ooh, music. I was like, yo, if I ever did a track. Ever was a musician and I would have to work with Pharrell like off, like I'd have to must, what's his name?
He always makes great trap beats. Mike Will, I love him. I love him. I love him. I love the [00:49:30] work that he does with Race Reed like gets me going. If I was like really an artist that was like into funk Quincy Jones and it have to be like something like what he did with Thriller. They gotta be funky. Oh no, not a thriller.
What was the one before that? Off the wall. That's, yeah, it gotta be funky like that. Take that. Yeah, add that to the list off the wall. 'cause it was straight bangers on it.
[00:49:57] Sidney: Those are solid, [00:50:00] solid, solid responses. Uh, alright, so last two. Uh, favorite film score or soundtrack?
[00:50:06] Morgan: Boomerang.
[00:50:07] Sidney: There's a, there's a real, I might look it up.
There's a really big song that was on that soundtrack, but I can't, uh. Soundtrack while I'm looking this up, are you, uh, a person who, when you listen to an album, like you kind of gravitate more through the singles or like the album cuts?
[00:50:24] Morgan: Uh, I dunno. I feel like I'm weird, the album cuts, but I'm weird about it.
[00:50:30] Like, if the album drops, I'm not gonna listen to it When everybody else listens, listens to it. I like to wait till all the drama dies down and get my own opinion. Right. You,
[00:50:39] Sidney: you don't wanna be, you wanna be in influenced by popular opinions.
[00:50:41] Morgan: Yeah.
[00:50:43] Sidney: Okay. That, that makes sense. I'm, yeah, that's where I'm too, I like to, whether it's a show or album or whatever, like I said, I like to let all the noise die down so I can, and you gotta, and you have to listen in the car before you start posting and making judgements on it, because that's the, that's the, that's the most.[00:51:00]
Cl that's the closest experience to the, the environment they were when they created it. 'cause cars are, are made for acoustics as far as that. So if you Oh, don't, don't, don't, don't go bashing. 'cause there's been a lot of, uh, people bashing this, this Wayne album, which I haven't listened to. But, um, uhoh, and I'm not saying it's good or bad, but if you ain't listening to the car, just, just hold the take until after the car listen.
But to get back to the boomerang. So end the, uh, end of the robot boys man. That's the big one from the Boomerang soundtrack. So. I knew, I knew [00:51:30] it was something else. Gotcha. Um, alright, so last question. Uh, favorite TV theme song?
[00:51:34] Morgan: OMG. Okay. Ooh, what will we do, baby without us? What, what show is that?
[00:51:46] Sidney: Hold on, I'm looking it up.
I got you. Uh, family ties.
[00:51:51] Morgan: Oh my God. Yeah, that's a, it's listen to it. Listen to family ties. Yeah,
[00:51:57] Sidney: yeah, yeah. I'm a, I'm gonna check it out. Some of them, [00:52:00] some of them like eighties, uh, like white six sitcoms had had, 'cause uh, one of my other guests, he mentioned the taxi theme song, which are no lyrics, but it's like they're, 'cause in taxi it's like, I think it's in New York.
They like showed a bridge and then like shots from the city. It is just like an instrumental. But he was like. That's, that's one of them ones. So apparently this is too, so without us, I'm a, uh, I'm gonna check that out from family Ties. Um, alright, that's, that's it as far as this segment. Before I let you go, two [00:52:30] questions.
Um, how can people find you on the internet in, in, in, in, in the webinar, all that good stuff. And then what was just like one piece of advice you would. Uh, suggest for, uh, obviously this is specific to media, um, but for anyone who has a, a passion and endeavor that they want to explore, whether it's, you know, they're early, they're, they're young and they discovered it early, whether on the contrary, maybe they made a career path and had to make a living doing something else, but [00:53:00] there's, there's this thing that, that's on their spirit that they can't let it go and they want to pursue.
What was the piece of advice for, uh, pursuing that?
[00:53:08] Morgan: I would say. Follow your spirit, follow your gut. I've said this before, but it won't lead you wrong. Follow your spirit. Follow your gut. If there is something that is nudging at you to do artistically or professionally, the road will open up. Once you decide that you wanna do it, once you say, I'm gonna do it, just leap for it, [00:53:30] go for it, and lead with authenticity in a world full of superficiality.
Lead with authenticity. And I think that will carry you, uh, a long way. And to follow me, I'm very active on Instagram. That's my jam. You could follow me at Morgan McKenzie Media. That's Morgan McKenzie Media and yeah.
[00:53:52] Sidney: All right. Well, I'm already following, so I'm, I'm looking, looking forward to uh, continue to continue to connect with you there.
But I [00:54:00] appreciate you. Uh, she's actually taking a break for work to record this interview, so I appreciate the, uh. The adjustment. And I, I, I know, um, that's not the most, that's not the easiest thing to do. So I appreciate you. Um, make sure you support, make sure you, uh. Follow her on the socials. Make sure you buy her book, especially if you're interested in meditation.
And for everyone listening, thank you for tuning in and, uh, we'll catch you in the next episode.
Thanks for listening [00:54:30] to today's episode, and please don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. If you want to know more about me, visit sound by sid.com. And I'm Sid Evans, Jr. On Instagram and Threads. If you want to know more about the podcast, visit sound by sid.com/podcast. And if you'd like to see and hear more from our guest, subscribe on YouTube at Beyond the Threshold Pod and follow on TikTok at underscore Beyond the [00:55:00] threshold.