Stars of the popular podcast, The Read, will make their way to the University of Memphis. Kid Fury and Crissle, the co-hosts whose discussions on hip-hop and pop culture has drawn hundreds of thousands of listeners, will appear on campus April 2, at 7 p.m.
Brought by the National Association of Black Journalists and SEA, the event is free to anyone else who ants to come view the show.
The podcast, which started in Mar. of 2013, covers hip-hop and pop culture’s most discussed celebrities, according to their agent Alexandra Rago. It premieres weekly with its male co-host, by the name of Kid Fury, and female co-host, by the name of Crissle. In less than two years, the podcast gained more than 100,000 followers. They also reel in more than 300,000 listeners a week. They’ve sold out shows from coast to coast. Past guests include singer Jazmine Sullivan, radio personality Charlamagne Tha God, and actress Jenifer Lewis.
Kid Fury, from Miami, and Crissle, from Oklahoma, began their journey via twitter, according to Rago. After forming the twitter bond, they ended up meeting each other in Atlanta, where they hit it off. When the idea of the podcast was pitched to Kid Fury, he expressed his desire for Crissle to join him.
Before working together, Kid Fury got his start on YouTube. He’s the creator of an urban news website, The Fury, started in June 2006, Rago said. He also has his own YouTube channel, Kid Fury TV, that has almost 100,000 followers. Crissle kept more of a private profile with writing. However, her work has been featured in ESSENCE magazine and has participated in panels at New York University and Murray State University.
Preparation for the event started back in Oct. 2014 when members came across the idea in an organization meeting one Monday. Along with president, the three began diligently working on bringing the vision to life. The biggest obstacle came from obtaining contact information and the price for the two.
Relief came to the three when organization got the email of the duo’s agent, which set things on a roll.
Amongst the anticipating crowd is Alyssa Hemphill, senior English major.
Hemphill has been listening to The Read since the very first episode and hasn’t missed an episode since.
“I listen to each episode at least twice,” Hemphill said.
She first learned about the podcast when Kid Fury announced the new project and decided to give it a try and has loved it ever since.
“They’re so down-to-earth,” Hemphill said. “It’s like having a conversation with your friends. It’s uncensored and they talk about issues that impact various communities, like racism.”
She said it’s a great event to bring to the university because it caters to our diverse population. The hosts are also college educated and could give advice to students as well.
Hemphill also invited friends from Southern Miss and Ole Miss who also listen to The Read.
In addition to coming to live shows and listening via YouTube, people can also listen to The Read on iTunes, Soundcloud, iHeart Radio Talk, ad Stitcher.
