Deborah Tennyson (born October 10, 1974), known professionally as Cherry Martinez, is a radio personality, DJ, program director, philanthropist, and chairman/publisher of Cherry On Top. Cherry Martinez was host of No. 1 evening DJ program in New York, Power 105.1 and following host for the nationally syndicated radio program “Power After Hours”. Also specializing in celebrity news, guest interviews included

Jae Millz Jarvis Mills (born September 11, 1983), better known by his stage name Jae Millz, is an American rapper from Harlem, New York, who was signed to T.I.'s record label Grand Hustle Records and Atlantic Records. His debut major label studio album, ...

, Chrisette Michele, Adrienne Bailon, and

Charlie Baltimore Tiffany Lane (born August 16, 1974), better known as Charli Baltimore, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Her stage name is taken from Geena Davis's character in the film ''The Long Kiss Goodnight''. Career Charli Balti ...

. Cherry is also known for founding the annual women's media/entertainment ceremonial Girl Power Awards, with (VH1 Executive Producer, CEO)

Mona Scott Mona Scott-Young ( Scott; born February 15, 1967) is an American television producer and entrepreneur. She is the CEO of the multi-media entertainment company Monami Productions, best known for producing the VH1 reality television franchise ''L ...

and a developed feud with radio DJ Funkmaster Flex of rival station Hot 97. She is recognized as the voice on the Hip Hop record “

Funkorama "Funkorama" is a song by American rapper Redman. It was released on December 19, 1995 via Interscope Records as the first single from '' The Erick Sermon Compilation Album Insomnia''. Written and produced by Redman, it samples "Midnight" by A Tri ...

” by Redman off the

Insomnia (Erick Sermon album) ''Insomnia'' is a hip-hop compilation album presented by American rapper and record producer Erick Sermon. It was released on April 23, 1996 via Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place at Mirror Image, at the Music Palace, and at Rockin ...

Radio career

Cherry Martinez attended

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

where she penned the handle “Cherry Martinez” while hosting the WERS-FM (88.9) College radio program. Cherry received her first position in 1992 as an intern for Boston's

Wild Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...

AM (1090) radio station. Cherry was then hired by the program director Stephen Hill, now vice president of music programming and talent at BET, to run segments on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. In June 2003, while at Sirius Satellite Radio in Philadelphia, Cherry was hired by WWPR-FM ( Power 105.1) program director Michael Saunders to serve as a DJ, moving on to host the 6pm show.

Public Disputes

In 2006, DJ Funkmaster Flex of Hot 97 reportedly made derogatory remarks against Cherry Martinez on air and made references against her surname citing Hot 97 co-host, Angie Martinez, “is the only Martinez that matters.” For his part, Flex says of the name calling, ''I didn't say it; somebody said it while I was on the air. I made sure that they never said it again." Adding “I was teasing her about it because it's what radio is built on. You're in a war; it's about building your name and staying on top.” Cherry Martinez responded to the broadcast with a release of a Diss track that played as the intro for listeners of the show and published an open letter on observations of struggle for women in media, citing “The radio industry is like Highschool”.

Award Ceremonies

In 2012, Cherry Martinez founded an award ceremony celebrating powerful women in media and entertainment honoring

in production of

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

show

Love and Hip Hop ''Love & Hip Hop'' is a media franchise that consists of several reality television series broadcast on VH1. The shows document the personal and professional lives of several hip hop and R&B musicians, performers, managers, and record produc ...

, as well presenting the “Girl Power Award” to Jennifer Graziano of Mob Wives. Awards were also given to publicly voted sororities, and schools in African American, and Hispanic communities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Cherry 1974 births Radio personalities from Boston American radio personalities Living people