Southern alumnus Joe Anthony, better known as DJ Marquis on local radio station WEMX-94.1, is not satisfied with just being a disc jockey.
Cutting his teeth on shows “Duce and a Quarter” and “Phat, Phat and All That,” Anthony has struck out on his own with a weekly music show entitled “Southern Hospitality.”
“The purpose of this show is to showcase local and national artists,” Anthony said. “So every week for every local artist, you’ll see somebody that you would see from MTV or BET.”
Anthony has already interviewed musical artists 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, YoungBloodz, Destiny Child’s Kelly Rowland and locals Hot Boy Ronald and Choppa.
“The first time people saw Lil’ Boosie and Webbie on television was on my show,” boasted Anthony. “We just don’t show case rap artists. I’ve done gospel and R&B shows before. Sometimes it’s just hard to find local artists that are in different types of music.”
Unlike other music shows, Anthony hopes to capitalize his originality and local artist.
“When “Phat, Phat and All That” was shut down, a friend of mine wanted to do a show that highlighted Baton Rouge artists. I looked at a bunch of regional video shows and I was trying to cap out on what they didn’t do,” Anthony said. “So I make sure I showcase a DJ, then I showcase a local artist who I feel that’s next coming out the market.”
Although a local station or major cable network has yet to see the potential of Anthony’s show, he did have light at the end of one tunnel.
“We set up a meeting with COX Cable 4 for a meeting,” he said. “We did that for a year until we moved to channel 22, which was a sports station. The good thing about that channel is that they stream all their shows on the Internet, so it was worldwide. Now we’re on FOX 44 every Friday night at midnight. Reruns of the show can been seen on channel 22 at 10 p.m. on Saturdays.
Nevertheless, Anthony’s talents do not stop just at the media level. He has a Web site, www.djmarquis.com, and along with local leaders, he created a book club for young boys.
“Basically, the book club is to help to get the young audience to read. After talking to friends of mine who teach in the school system, they found boys lose interest in reading in the sixth grade,” Anthony said. “So I try to pick a book a month and we discuss it.”