What is your name? DJ name?
My name is Jada White and my DJ name is Dream Queen.
What is the name of your show and when is it on?
It is called “In the Cab with Dream Queen” and it is on Saturdays 8 to 9am.
Please describe your show. What is its format?
Stream of consciousness, really. I think of it often as a mixtape for myself and my people that listen – like I’m putting together a mixtape every week. Sometimes I’m influenced by current events and other times it’s just to get people moving, get myself moving in the morning.
What drew you to participate in KMRD?
I’ve always loved music and radio, and I just really appreciate the endeavors and the success of KMRD. It’s great programming, great people, and it’s a way for me to get creative, spread my toes out a little bit here.
What is the appeal of doing a radio show? How does it fit into the rest of your life?
I wrestle with the idea that, am I just stroking my ego? Just talking to the air? And then I think, I hope that nobody’s listening, so it can’t be that much of an ego trip! Being a board op for so many years, and a musician and a writer, I guess I have wanted to be on the mic. So it fulfills that need – that creative outlet – that I can’t really do with my own music right now. I just let other artists speak for me.
What difference has being a DJ made in your life?
I don’t get so much sleep!
It’s made me feel like I’m filling some sort of purpose. I feel like I have a voice in a way that I hadn’t felt like I had a voice in the past few years, since I stopped writing. So it’s fulfilled that and I really enjoy getting comments that they loved my show, that it affected their mood in a positive way, that it made them think. Another DJ told me that she can hear that I have something to say, and I say it through the music, which just made me really feel like somebody got me. It’s always lyrics for me – of course it’s beat – but when somebody says “you’re trying to say something and I hear it in the songs you choose” it makes me feel affirmed, and it also makes me feel that I have things in common with folks that maybe I don’t see all the time. I have people listening that hadn’t heard my voice in years because we don’t talk on the phone. My mom is 1500 miles away, and my aunt same thing, and they’re like, “it’s just great to hear your voice.” That makes me feel good, it makes me feel connected.
What are your hopes for your show?
That I just keep getting to be a better DJ. That I can find a way to say things and make people think and make a difference in the world in a consciousness way. I just hope that I can continue to find spoken word pieces or say things from my own mouth a little bit more. My music spot’s getting a little bit shorter, because I give myself a chance to rant a little bit… I want to do more meaningful expression.
What are your hopes for the station?
I hope the station stays on the air forever. I hope that more people can be involved, that it keeps growing, that more people can listen on the internet. I just hope that we keep growing and people tune in more and more.
Thanks for rolling with me!