Every Saturday afternoon Ricky Ricardo’s voice takes overthe air waves of KLSU, becoming the glue between his show ofclassic hip-hop songs.
Otherwise known as Ricardo Jeffries, a mass communicationsjunior, the host of the two-hour show comes to life in the basementof Hodges Hall spinning retro hip-hop records on his show,”Old School Reunion.”
Jeffries started the show just four months ago, when he got ajob at KLSU, the typically rock oriented campus radio station.
“It’s a mixture of being able to speak mymind,” he said of the weekly show. “I play the music Ilike while being employed.”
Since “Old School Reunion” features older music,problems arise in finding new songs to play.
“I ask older people what they liked to listen to,”he said. “I also ask classmates, but my listeners give memost of my ideas.”
Jeffries said listeners often request songs that he has neverheard of, opening doors to new types of classic hip-hop.
“On any given Saturday, I’ll play myfavorites,” he said. “Anywhere from Naughty by Natureto Public Enemy, but it’s good to get new ideas.”
Although the format of the radio is made by students forstudents, Jeffries worries that KLSU is missing their targetaudience.
“I think we need more live stuff,” he said.”With better shows at better times, we could have a growingpopulation. I think we’re on our way to that.”
The radio show, in itself, was a goal for Jeffries, who wantedto be on the radio since he was 10 years old.
“The door was closed to me for so long,” he said.”I applied every semester since my freshman year. It was justa matter of me making a friend there.”
Originally, Jeffries wanted to take over the Monday night timeslot, “Underground Sound,” but he worked with managerAllen Lee to create his own show.
“I really wanted to play hip-hop,” he said.”The idea for this show came about because ‘UndergroundSound’ doesn’t play older songs. It seems to fit reallywell so far.”
His on-air character is no different than Ricardo himself.
“The guy I am on-air is the guy I am anytime,” hesaid. “It’s not scripted; it’s just me beingmyself.”
Jeffries said his favorite part about working at KLSU is thefreedom.
“I don’t have someone breathing down my neck aboutwhat to do,” he said. “You won’t get thatanywhere else in America, where you can be yourself and have funwith your job.”
Outside of KLSU, Jeffries spends his free time writing for theLSU yearbook, The Gumbo, and practicing with his band, IllegalAlias.
The band started in 2002 and recently recorded their first albumon campus at the School of Music.
Although Illegal Alias is a hip-hop band, Jeffries said he doesnot use KLSU as a place to promote his music.
Jeffries is not looking for anything major when it comes to hismusic or broadcasting.
“I don’t really want to be on-air everyday,”he said. “I just want to expand my audience and make my airtime the most popular slot.”
With appreciation for college radio in general, Jeffries wouldnever switch to do commercial stations.
“I love college radio,” he said. “Every showis fresh; it really is a refuge for music lovers.”
Concentrating in print journalism, Jeffries does not see himselfin radio as a long-term career.
“It depends on where I end up,” he said.”There is a short-lived career in commercial radio andI’d rather write.”
As a majority of the employees at KLSU, Jeffries volunteers hison-air time, which he finds to be a positive idea.
“All of us are doing it because we love it,” hesaid. “It’s that kind of passion that keeps peoplethere.”
Jeffries finds all the recognition he needs through his loyallisteners.
“I get more and more calls from people just to say‘thanks,'” he said. “To me, nothing is moresatisfying than that.”