Today we’d like to introduce you to Cervon Williams.
Hi Cervon, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I always had a love for music, sports, entertainment, and pop culture. My love for hip hop runs very deep. I pursued being an artist for many years until I felt I was losing love for it and being frustrated with it for a moment. A lot of people on the outside do not understand the politics of things. I can recall the first time seeing the movie Juice as a kid and was like I want to DJ like that.
The scenes of the DJ battles were so dope to me. It wasn’t only that influence but the whole hip hop culture, the club atmosphere, all of it in which I grew up just was all an influence. I really believe I grew up in a golden era for black music, television, and entertainment. I would often have conversations with my uncle, Don, about the future in music, and he kind of put the battery in my back about not being one-dimensional and branching out and expanding my talents.
From there I took up being a self-taught DJ in which I had the opportunity to DJ many events and some clubs (Shout out to my bro Rod for my first set of speakers! And the homies Kasaan and Rick Mccoy for many conversations about doing things our way and our ideas about success). I always had high aspirations of going big or not going at all so I would take leaps at trying to get on the radio here in Jacksonville to DJ and to be a personality. I was willing to even start in promotions.
After a while of no success in accomplishing that, I wanted to take matters into my own hands and do something new and authentic for the culture of hip-hop and for my generation of music and media consumers. When Covid hit and the world was in a time of not knowing what would come next, there was still a growing need for entertainment for people being home more often than before and that urged me to put things in motion. It’s funny when I hear discussions about how people discovered podcasts or what the first podcast was that they discovered.
I knew I always wanted to be in radio and my first radio influence was fictional. Martin! Martin had WZUP radio on his show! To me, he was the 1st real podcaster! lol. But truly, I wanted to have engaging authentic conversations with individuals in music, movies, sports, lifestyle, health, etc. While still keeping my integrity and still bridging that gap with hip hop.
I conducted my first celebrity interview via phone in my living room and I went on to conduct interviews via zoom presently, and it was from there I knew I was onto something. Of course, it’s considered a podcast but to me, It’s so much more because I am taking a journalistic approach but still giving true natural conversation. Boom! The Livin Room Podcast!
Interviews straight from the living room of my home!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
No. And it’s still not. I still get a lot of rejections, a lot of the runaround, and a lot of misreads because my follower count on social media may not seem like I am a big deal to some.
It’s about seeing through that and keeping it going you know. You have to believe in yourself before others do. I am appreciative of the opportunities I have been blessed with and the individuals who I built relationships with and got to interview. It’s definitely a journey.
Sometimes, I had to get out of my own head and just do it! Overcoming adversity is better for the book I say.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a self-taught DJ/Podcast host/and media personality. I am creative at heart. I honestly hate to put myself in a box. I still every once in a while get the urge to want to hop into music because the love is there still but my intentions would be different whenever I do.
However, hip-hop will be with me every step of the way. The influence of Hip-Hop culture will always be there in what I do. I am most proud of being able to do it all my way and seeing the strides I have made by being a one-man powerhouse. I don’t have co-signs nor am I in circles where opportunities are just given based on affiliation. I had to go out there and do the groundwork.
I had to really build my own relationships, take the rejections, and keep pushing until I got a yes. I know how important it is to network. I often say sometimes relationships are worth more than money. It’s like I have these blinders on and I am in tunnel vision to where I am in my own race with self. I have my idea of what I want to do, and how I want to do it, and I really do not pay attention to what others are doing.
We are our own harshest critics, I often feel it’s always much more I could be doing and that fuels me and keeps me hungry. It’s so much undiscovered talent here in Jacksonville. I just hope everybody gets their shine in due time.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was hard-headed lol, goofy, intelligent, and loved music. I swear I could sit and watch music countdown shows all day. I admit I have nerd ways as well but I am not ashamed of it at all. The older I get the more I embrace it. I feel like for you to really do things I do, you have to have some nerdish ways about you.
I was often told I should have been a lawyer because I can debate and argue with the best of them. I just speak up a lot and I’ve never been a follower or a yes person so that leads me into “debates” and I win them all! Lol, I also had an interest in writing. I used to write stories in elementary and staple them up and pass them along to classmates to read.
That interest still remains but more so in the hip-hop/pop culture/music media/and entertainment journalistic realm of things. I used to collect Source, XXL, and Vibe magazines and was amazed by the stories written about artists.
I feel like when you have the opportunity to be a voice or a representation for others that doesn’t have the voice, it’s important that you use your platform and influence responsibly.
Contact Info:
- Email: Livinroompodcast@gmail.com
- Website: Anchor.fm/livinroom
- Instagram: @jashaad904
- Facebook: facebook.com/thelivinroompodcast
- Twitter: @jashaad904
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCe2npX-Umz0SKcVizju0OIw#menu
- SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/jashaad904
- Other: https://linktr.ee/jashaad904
Image Credits
Ladarius Gardner @LadariusGardner and Bump Dinero @bump_dinero
