Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcus Vaughn, Mark Price Jr, Vanessa Woolridge and Kenlen Martin.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Marcus, Mark, Vanessa and Kenlen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I (Marcus Vaughn) was a former hip-hop/culture blogger. I ended my blogging days back in 2011 (I think). I’ve been through some personal things such as friendships going left, backstabbing acts of betrayal, getting cheated on, and getting dumped. However, in the midst of all the madness, I’ve started to pick myself back up by reading books on inner peace, healing, listening to positive affirmations, watching motivational youtube videos.
While I was going through the rabbit hole of motivational content on YouTube, I stumbled upon a podcast named “Knowledge From Men” hosted by fellow San Diegan Andrew Ferebee. I got hooked because I was getting valuable information that can help me out in the future. After that, I delved deeper into the rabbit hole and discovered other podcasts like “The Brilliant Idiots”, “Tax Season”, “The Bodega Boys”, “The Joe Budden Podcast”, and many more.
Being inspired by those shows I felt that I can create a podcast with my friend M-Eezi (Mark Price Jr.). As we were brainstorming we couldn’t think of a name to save our lives. He suggested that we should call it “Just In General”, and like a spark, it hit me, why don’t I make it an acronym “JIG”, hence the name of the show “The Jig Is Up”. We felt a woman’s presence was missing from the show. So we thought Ms. Nessa (Vanessa Woolridge) would be perfect. Then K-mart (Kenlen Martin) has always been around supporting whenever he can from being in the background to making funny one-liners on the mic. In the end, I found my new form of blogging with friends that are near and dear to me.
Mark Price: I was listening to Radio shows like Steve Harvey in the Morning, Big Boi on The Real 92.3, The Breakfast Club and Hot 97. I looked at those shows as inspiration as well as actual podcasts like Joe Rogan and Dormtainment’s Comedy Trap House. This was right before podcasting became popular.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never a smooth road. One, we live one of the most expensive cities in America. So everyday living is gonna cost. We all have our responsibilities ranging from rent, car note, insurance, and whatever streaming service that adds to our list of first world problems.
Podcasting wise, it was never smooth, but we make our necessary adjustments. We started off recording in a studio, but that started to cost money. Then we invest our own money in affordable equipment. Another thing to put into consideration, especially as indie podcasters, finding the day that we can all get together and record. I would have to say that’s the biggest challenge getting everyone together.
Mark Price: The challenges I’ve had to overcome were the traveling arrangements. When we started the podcast I was living in LA so I would travel by car or Bus/Train ride every week on my days off from work until I actually made the move back to San Diego
Please tell us about your work. What do you guys do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
The Jig Is Up is an unfiltered comedy podcast that covers current events, pop culture, sports, and relationships. Hosted by Marco (@yotismarco) along with his longtime friends M-Eezi (@m_eezi), Ms. Nessa (@blasian_mami1), and K-Mart (@kmart619) encourages you to be yourself unapologetically in a world of political correctness while giving life lessons through laughter.
You can say I specialize in finding the topics of discussion, steering the conversations from one topic to another. I’ve been known to do some voice impressions.
What I’m most proud of is our dedication and consistency to keep showing up (almost) every week to record.
Our nothing is safe attitude is what sets us apart. We stay unfiltered, Raw and sometimes controversial.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Consistency is key! Never say die, because you just never know who’s watching and cheering for your success.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://thejigisuppodcast.com
- Email: jigisuppodcast@gmail.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/jigisuppod
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/thejigisuppodcast
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/jigisuppod
Image Credit:
Ivan S. Harris, Vanessa Woolridge, Marcus Vaughn, Kenlen Martin, Dauche Bates
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Demetrius Greene
October 9, 2019 at 8:31 pm
Yo, honestly, the JigIsUp is One of the BEST Podcasts coming out of SD right now! Hilarious segments and a lot of heartwarming bits too. I was telling my sister-in-law about it and she was like ‘That’s one of my favorite podcasts!! Wasn’t I the one who told you about it?!!” See I had to let her know, nahhh fam!! You’re talking to an OG TJIU listener right here! My favorite podcast to listen to, by far!