Bo Taylor Taking His Message From the Streets to the Airwaves

Summary

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By the age of 24 [Bo Taylor] was heavily involved in drug trafficking which led him into a world of non-stop negativity and violence. By 1992 when the L.A. riots happened, Bo was already dealing with a lot of guys around the city but these relationships were mostly negative. Bo would experience more struggle and pain than most people experience in a lifetime. He was diagnosed with Hepatitis A & B and lost over 120 pounds. If he didn't weigh as much as he did at the time, he would have surely lost his life. You would think one near death experience would be enough for one man to endure but Bo nearly lost his life on few more occasions. With dwindling health Bo also experienced his appendix bursting. If it wasn't for his cousin who found him on the floor of his home he would have surely died. If these severe health issues weren't enough, Bo didn't help his odds of survival by being shot at on numerous occasions. He recalled being shot at 7 times in one month, in the same phone booth.

During 91-92, Bo opened a recreation center. The center did very well and was received well by the local community until someone was killed at a party that was thrown at the recreation center. It taught Bo a lot because he found out that the police at the time didn't care about the murder, they only wanted to know who did it. The recreation had been burned down twice so it just reached a point when Bo couldn't keep up maintenance and it became more of a hassle than an enjoyable job. So Bo would decide to continue his community works with out the community recreation center.

With all that was going on Bo still wasn't satisfied. His opportunity came when Kathy Hughes bought The Beat. Bo didn't understand the changes being made from the community perspective so he called to complain and actually got a call back from Kathy Hughes herself. He learned that the community action department was being taken away. At first he didn't understand but later he found out that it was always Kathy's vision to have the radio personalities, be part of the community in a special way. When given the opportunity to meet with Kathy Hughes personally, Bo decided to bring legendary singer and community activist James Ingram to the meeting. The encounter was classic because Kathy Hughes didn't know it was James Ingram. He just introduced himself as James. So Kathy didn't recognize who it was until 4 hours into the meeting. And ever since that day, the Ingram family and the Hughes family have shared a special relationship.

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Bo Taylor Taking His Message From the Streets to the Airwaves

Bo Taylor is the newest edition to the V100 family in Los Angeles. But Trust me when I tell you, he's been around longer than you think. Over the last 14 years Bo has utilized his relationship with the radio station and helped bridge the gap between the community and on-air personalities. Since the radio station changed its format ridding of all hip-hop music and changing its nairie officially to V100 (formally known as 1...

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