Following radio host Angie Martinez’s departure from New York City radio station Hot 97, Martinez spoke in-depth on her decision to leave the radio station during an interview with Elliott Wilson of The Truth.
The radio personality, who worked at Hot 97 since she was 18-years-old, first recalled the day she planned to announce her departure. She says she had no plans on leaving on bad terms and made sure she contacted the proper people before she announced her resignation via email and then on-air.
“I have so much respect for everybody I worked with all these years at that company and Emmis,” Martinez said. “I didn’t want any of that to go bad. I didn’t want to treat anybody with disrespect. I wanted the right people to find out the right way at the right time. I didn’t want anybody to hear about it in the streets. So, I needed to call the–the direct phone call from me to the proper people happen first. Before anybody in the street would start talking about anything. So, that was important to me because I’ve been there so long I didn’t want to go out wack. I wanted to have the one-on-ones and the ‘Look, this is what’s happening conversations.’ Late night before I started making the calls. And I started with Flex.”
Although Martinez is reportedly making twice as much at Power 105.1 than she was at Hot 97, she says that her move to a rival radio station was more so about growth and challenging herself.
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“They came to me with an offer I could not refuse,” she said. “Well, I have a kid. I have a family. I have aspirations. So, it’s everything. It’s being able to pay my mortgage, but it’s also being able to have some growth. Really, it’s that. It’s really that. Because if it was just about money I’d have asked Emmis for more money. You know what I’m saying? Or whatever. It was more about what the company has to offer me. You know how many radio stations they have? You know how many markets they have? I mean with iHeart Radio and the television opportunities that the company has. And beyond the opportunity for growth, which is the main thing, it’s also just challenging myself to walk into a new building. To do it there. To do something new. To do something that people didn’t expect me to do. To do something that made me nervous.”
Later in the interview, Martinez spoke on her relationships with the newer artists in Hip Hop. She says she talks to the likes of Wale and Meek Mill on the regular and revealed that she tends to worry about some artists she communicates with regularly, including Meek and crooner August Alsina.
“I definitely talk to Wale often and check on him,” the radio host said. “I spoke to Meek yesterday. I know, he needs to be checked on. I said that to him the other day…He’ll also call you when something like this happens and wish you well from a sincere, nice place. And send you a nice email. I also spoke to Meek the other day from his situation where he is briefly. But like August I really like a lot. We communicate. We stay in touch. I kinda check on him from time to time. Cause I think he has a lot of talent, but I also get worried about him too. I get like that with people. I got like that with Chris in the beginning. I feel like ‘Are you okay? Are you gonna be alright?’ I feel like that with August a little bit. And Rocky, I felt like that with also. So, yeah I have…When it’s real. I don’t force a relationship.”
Angie Martinez’s interview on The Truth can be found below.
