“With the Internet, you can do anything that you want!”, says Prince Hakeem, creator of Juug Talk as he describes the possibility of putting your ideas into action. After joking around on social media about starting a podcast and the volunteered participation of a few friends, in addition to the “can do”attitude, Hakeem was encouraged to Google how to produce a podcast and within a week Juug Talk was born. The cast includes show creator Prince Hakeem, a graduate of the University of Buffalo with a degree in psychology, the female voice Taka, known to listeners as “Young Icey Slime” a chemistry major at Buffalo State College. Her role is to come up with topics of discussion for a major segment of the show. Technical support and comic relief are provided by entrepreneur and musician M-A of Mile High Muzik, and last but not least, the neighborhood troublemaker Sazon. M-A admits that he had never heard of a podcast prior to working on this one, but together the team has successfully produced their show on a weekly basis.
Juug Talk is a radio series by the people for the people. The term ‘juug” is all about the context you choose to use it in. You can say, “Whats the juug?” meaning “what’s up” or it can mean “I’m working” “I’m partying” or “I’m grinding”. Segments include “The Chatty Cathy Report” where they discuss local news and the latest trending topics in pop culture. Another segment the show relies on is “Got To Go” segment where each cast member selects a person, place, thing or action that they feel society can do without. The chemistry that flows throughout the group is truly remarkable. Everyone brings different personality traits and skill sets without even noticing. Juug Talk has a unique open door policy for the people they choose to feature as guest hosts. They play mainstream and underground music during the show and though the podcast’s content is mostly humorous discussions, they are working on achieving much more than making listeners laugh.
One of the most important goals of Juug Talk is to help spread the word about other people’s projects and artistry. They encourage anyone who is interested in promoting their products, music or events to contact them and talk about possibly coming on the show. They also strive to bring awareness to issues that personally effect them. Last summer, the Juug Crew organized a charity kickball game to bring awareness to Crohn’s Disease. Crohn’s is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract, a very painful and sometimes difficult disease to live with. Taka is a Crohn’s survivor and has often used social media as a way to share how the disease effects her on a regular basis and daily struggles it causes. “I am proud to be a Crohn’s survivor and I aim to inform people about the disease and be an advocate for it.” The kickball game was a huge success. They were able to raise $400 to donate to Crohn’s research and said they are looking forward to hosting another one this coming summer. But this is only the beginning because the team is constantly working on ways to advance.
When asked about their ultimate goal, all four members agree that they want to take over the world. Taka expressed that the most shocking part of this experience thus far is the support of the people. M-A said that people could easily overlook them and not take them seriously but the with over 2,000 listeners on a single episode on Soundcloud, the fan love is very apparent. They also commented on how much they appreciate the loyalty. The faithful Juug Talk listeners know that by Friday there will always be a new episode full of comedy and sarcasm available for download. The collective agreed that anyone interested in doing a podcast should just go for it. Their biggest piece of advice is to be yourself. Sazon also expressed the importance making sure you work with a team that you can trust.
Be sure to catch Juug Talk every week on iTunes and Soundcloud. You can also connect with and look out for updates on everything the team has going on from contests to charity events and more on the Juug Talk social media.
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