You’re guaranteed more than just a delicate sip of “tea” (as in the truth, and delicious gossip) when in the company of Lenox Magee, David Dodd, and Isaac King. The Sip, their two-year-old Chicago radio show, which broadcasts and streams on Friday nights from 6-8 P.M. CST on Urban Radio Network, is the country’s first of its kind: pop culture and politics from a gay black perspective, with a whole lot of “tea” being served.
“I’m not sure about the measurement of the tea we spill,” King muses. “I always hated math, anyway. It’s quality tea, and that’s what’s most important.”
Their Previous episodes can be listened to on Mixcloud (www.mixcloud.com/thesip), and a mere sampling of past guests on the show (there’s more than enough tea to go around, after all) has included The Chew’s Carla Hall, singer Darrian Ford, actress Rutina Wesley of HBO’s True Blood and OWN’s Queen Sugar, Simone Missick of Netflix’s Luke Cage, author James Earl Hardy, the cast of Noah’s Arc, and former Destiny’s Child member LaTavia Roberson. “That interview got a lot of response,” King recalls of the latter. “She became upset about a question Lenox asked her and she hung up after cursing us out!”
Politics and health issues also make up a significant chunk of The Sip’s programming as well as posts on its busy Facebook page, www.facebook.com/thesipchicago. Chicago’s Department of Public Health helped shed light on a meningitis epidemic hitting the gay community; Northwestern Memorial Hospital Colon and Rectal Surgeon Dr. Mike McGee educated the hosts and listeners on anal cancer and anal sex dos and don’ts transgender women of color Caprice Carthans and LaSaia Wade shared their stories; and HIV-positive activist Daniel Driffin, who co-founded online HIV support organization Thrive SS, discussed the speech he made at the 2016 DNC.
“Our mission is really to provide a platform, and medium, for LGBT People of Color to discuss their issues, love stories and heartbreak and their stories of triumph,” Magee says. “As we examine hard-hitting news, politics, and pop culture from a black gay male perspective, we hope to convey a sentiment of non judgment while transcending all labels. More importantly, we examine black gay life through the voices and stories of those of us who live it.”
