MADEFEATURES
MADEXXXX
CTG: When I was working at Z93 I was still
living with my mom and I had two other jobs.
I worked at a telemarketing place and I worked
at a clothing store in the mall called Demo. That
helped me out because I was working in the
mall, so I could always get some fresh gear. The
telemarketing thing was kind of keeping a lot
of money in my pocket because at the time I
was paying a lot of my own legal fees, so that
hurt me a little bit. I always tell kids in order to
accomplish your dreams, you have to deal with
your reality. Dealing with my reality was having
a job. The first time I ever got a full-time gig was
at Hot 98.9 in Charleston and when I got fired
from there I was living with my mom. Then I got
a job in Columbia doing radio and I used to drive
back and forth every weekend.
It just always seemed like God always had
a structure for me because when I was in
Charleston I was living with my mom and
then when I started going back and forth to
Columbia, my now wife was attending the
University of South Carolina in Columbia. So, I
was doing weekend radio in Columbia, I would
be on the air from Thursday to Sunday and I
would just crash with her. It just all ended up
working out. After a while I was just like “Eff
it” and moved out and got me a $400 a month
apartment. I had no furniture with a TV on the
floor. The only thing I think I had was a bed. My
mom let me take the bed from the house, but
that’s the grind. You gotta do what you gotta do.
MADE: Very true. In talking about the grind,
why do you feel it’s important not to get caught
up on a check when you’re trying to establish
yourself?
CTG: I feel like when you’re caught up on a
check, you miss out on a real opportunity. A lot
of people don’t recognize opportunity unless a
paycheck is attached to it. If the only time you
recognize an opportunity is if a paycheck is
attached to it, then you don’t really know what
true opportunity is. Opportunity doesn’t come
with monetary value. A real opportunity is life-
changing and a lot of times it has nothing to do
with money. The first time I got an opportunity
to work in New York was with Wendy Williams.
Her husband Kevin said, “Look man, we can’t
pay you. We can give you a place to stay.” I was
out. The reason I was out because I understood
that coming from Hot 98.9 and going to the
number one market, [I was] getting the chance to
work alongside a radio icon.
Say what you want, but Wendy is a radio icon.
Now she’s a multimedia icon, but at the time
she was a radio icon. She was 20 years in the
game. This is someone whose books I read,
who influenced me and inspired me. Before
I even knew Wendy, I used to have a Wendy
Williams bobblehead doll sitting in the studio
of the radio station. I always respected Wendy
and I always respected Howard Stern. When I
got the opportunity to work with somebody like
that, I knew that was priceless. I just did it. Plus,
I never did anything for money anyway because
I never had any. I sold crack, but I wasn’t really
one of those guys that was selling crack because
I wanted money. I was selling crack because it
seemed like everyone around me was doing it.
It was more like a thing to fit in more so than,
“Oh, I gotta get this bread.” I’ve never been that
guy. Ever.
MADE: You mentioned Wendy Williams, and I
want to go back to that. Why did you say that
working for her was the best and worst time of
your life?
CTG: Simply because it was a time where
I learned all the right things to do and all the
wrong things to do. It’s just not the easiest
situation to be in. Wendy’s husband can be a bit
much and that’s just the truth of the matter. Plus,
I was away from home and I really didn’t have
any money. Not having money in South Carolina
is different from not having money in New York.
I had to learn how to ride the bus and little things
like that. Sometimes I’d be sitting in the crib that
they had for me and they just didn’t pay the light
bill. I would be there in the cold and shivering
and I wouldn’t say anything about it because it
wasn’t a complaint. They would pop up and say,
“The lights aren’t on?” Then they would turn the
lights on.
It was t he best and worst time for me because it
was like a family vibe. You had Nicole Spencer,
Tarin Donatien and Trev Hollywood—people
that I grew to appreciate like family for like two
to three years. Then it all came crashing down
when Nicole filed her sexual assault suit against
Kevin. It just wasn’t the same. We kind of had to
choose sides and give statements. Nicole is my
girl to this day. It was just bad. Literally the best
and worst time of my life.
made-magazine.com |
15