Jackson State University’s Sonic Boom of the South received an ardent on-air “shout out” and social media boost from popular radio show host and comedian Rickey Smiley during an Aug. 22 segment of his nationally syndicated morning show. The social media staff in the Department of University Communications posted several photographs and video clips from the marching band’s annual “Thee Merge” event to the university’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
Smiley, who is also an actor, saw the video footage of the Boom’s freshmen and upperclassmen performance and was so impressed that he gave the Boom a radio mention and also embedded the video on his “Rickey Smiley Morning Show” website.
To date, the social media video has reached roughly 1 million people, due in large part to Smiley’s assistance.
“What’s interesting about it to me is that he [Ricky Smiley] attended Alabama State, so it’s just a testament of, no matter what your ties are, excellence recognizes excellence,” said Lowell Hollinger, associate director of bands for the Sonic Boom.
The Ricky Smiley Morning Show is the country’s No. 1 hip-hop show, according to its website. The show is syndicated to millions of listeners in 60 cities throughout the nation, including many that are a primary recruiting base for Jackson State University (such as Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, Memphis, Little Rock and Atlanta).