Adai Lamar wakes up all of Los Angeles every weekday morning as the local voice of the nationally syndicated Steve Harvey Morning Show. She is funny, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and the consummate professional. But, for her interview with the Sentinel she told me she was a bit nervous. “I am used to being the one asking the questions. To be the interviewee is very different for me”. That is probably the best example of who Adai Lamar really is. A small town girl (Tatum, Texas: population 1382) who is willing to embrace the adventure, who works every day to find her place and voice in this world and is willing to take a leap of faith and just Go For It!
I asked Ms. Lamar to describe herself in 10 words or less: A child of God, Daughter, Servant, Adventurer, Freedom Lover, one that is in Love with people. What she didn’t say is a workaholic, not in the sense of always being at the radio station doing things, but a workaholic for the people. On any given day you can find Adai mentoring young interns from the radio station, you can find her speaking to a group of high school girls at a Black History Assembly or welcoming community members at the AQMD Black History Day Celebration.
Yes, Adai Lamar is truly a worker for the people. She grew up in a small town where having family, friends and community was a part of everyday life. She says that this environment is what created her love of people and sense of community. The environment I grew up in created her sense of community, It was a town where everyone knew everyone, where you had concern about your sister, your brother, your neighbor where you were responsible to check up on the old man around the corner.
When asked why she does so much for so many? Ms. Lamar had this to say “ People say you are born with one purpose. I always felt like God wanted to use me in many areas. I think that’s one of the reasons I enjoy what I do as a broadcaster, I come into contact with so many different people that have wonderful things going on. They are doing things in the community and I have an opportunity to be a voice for them and get the word out.”
She loves working at KJLH and the vision and foundation Stevie Wonder has built for the station as the Kindness Joy Love Happiness station. She says KJLH gives her a sense of family. Before coming to KJLH she worked for Tracy and Kenny “Babyface” Edmunds in their legal department. But radio was her true calling after sending her promo tape to some friends Andre Russell called me and I did fill in work and I have been there ever since. “Everyone goes into a job and has a plan but once I got there I realized everything that I wanted to do as a broadcaster I could do from that seat. Probably more than I could do at any other station. I have the freedom to do so many things. At some jobs you’re locked in to one thing, you don’t have the ability to do many things and many places” at KJLH she can follow her passion, wherever that may lead. “So many causes come across my desk but there is not just one thing that is near and dear to my heart and I get to be of service to many of them”.
THE DAUGHTER Adai Lamar described herself in a lot of ways. But nothing brought light to her face like when she talks about her mother. Adai moved her mom from Texas to Los Angeles 5 years ago and she now lives with her full time. “My Mommy lived in Tatum her whole life”. I went home one holiday and I could feel that something wasn’t right. I took her to the bank and one of the tellers said “you came to get your mother”? The community could see things weren’t quite right, so Adai said “Mommy, it’s time for you to become a Cali girl”. She said her mother fought tooth and nail not to leave Texas but in the end it all worked out. “It has been a very different experience. Challenging but yet so rewarding to have her with me, even though the challenges I know where she is, I can get to her. It changed my life style, because I have lived on my own since I went off to college. But, now I have her in my home, and she reminds me all the time she is still the momma.
THE ADVENTURER On social media and on her website (adailamar.com) she is described as a stiletto strutter. So few would have believed she loves to race stock cars, ATV’s, ride horses or even has a plan to skydive this year. “I think God created a huge world and I only have so much time to see it. I love to travel. I am a thrill seeker. I am the cautious daredevil I will say I am not doing that then I watch and evaluate, but eventually I do it.
I Love to travel. “I travel a lot by myself, it’s easier to get around and you move when you wanna move”. On one trip to Beijing the adventure got a little scary. I learned how to negotiate a taxi ride, but in a foreign country late at night I suggest you “don’t try and negotiate a taxi ride”. I was riding and I kept asking the driver “where is the hotel”? I started getting nervous. I got my wallet out of my bag and I was preparing to jump out of the cab. I put my hand on the knob and then we came around the bend and there was the hotel. Come to find out the cab drive didn’t have our version of a Xpress pass so he went the long way to the hotel, but I certainly learned my lesson on that adventure.
SERVANT Jenesse Center, The Brotherhood Crusade, UNCF, Senior Care are but a few of the passions that Adai Lamar gives her time and talent too. Many celebrities lend their name to projects; some even fund them, but very few get in the trenches and put in the work of Ms. Lamar. “When you meet so many people that inspire you and you see a need and you want to help fulfill those needs. I am passionate about caregiving (because of my mom), women’s health, which I support through our (KJLH) health forum each year. Every year it gets bigger and bigger, but that shows a need. Women need far more care than they realized. (Thank God for our president). They need free health screenings that they would otherwise not be able to get.” She also loves talking to young people inspiring them to do and be more. ‘If you want me there tell me kids are going to be there. They help keep me young. I have a 21 year old niece and 13 year old nephew keep me up to date on what is going on in the world, what pressures they are dealing with and as an auntie I can tell them “relax, it’s just not that serious and that it will all workout”.
Her day begins somewhere between 4 & 4:30 in the morning and every day she says she starts the day by asking the question “What great is gonna happen today”. She says her day can be quiet or as busy as she wants it to be. “Somedays I am working with an organization, talking to kids, or doing something else in the community. I get off at 10 so other days I’m riding my bike by the beach or having a nice quiet lunch”. She has the freedom to decide what and where she will spends her time. But, she does at times have to work late into the night depending on the event and commitments of the station. “One time, I lost my voice doing nightly events until midnight. I went to the doctor and he said Adai you need to take a month off, I was like NO WAY”. She tried giving him a 3 day weekend, but that just was not enough. She took it easy, I didn’t book any obligations and eased into the day, she even drove to Texas. After 2 weeks her voice came back. This experience she says taught her a big lesson. Sometimes I have to really relax. Not having my voice was a moment when I felt very vulnerable. My voice is my power.
But having that power does not come without worries. She worries about our community about the place society is today and the injustices she sees on a day to day basis. She says she has serious concerns about the care for our seniors. Medicare, Dr. appointments, the paperwork, they really can get the run around. “My mother can’t navigate it (but she has me) and I see seniors all the time at the doctor or at the pharmacy struggling to just understand what is going on. We have to make the health care system easier for them to understand”.
She is also concerned about our young people. “Police brutality is scary. I am so afraid between our young people and the police, the relationship is so tarnished that we can’t fix it. They are going to think this is the norm, that they’re always going to be misunderstood. I also want the police to reach out to the young people to bridge those troubled areas. It concerns me if it is so corrupt that it may not be mendable.”
The truth is Adai Lamar is the complete package. She is funny, she is smart, she is adventurous, she has a strong sense of family and she is committed to her community which is all driven by her faith. The only thing we don’t know is if she can cook? Oh well, next time!