Check Out James Raymer’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Raymer.

Hi James, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am originally from Clayton County, GA., which is just south of Atlanta. After high school, I attended Georgia Southern University and began doing a radio show on the campus radio station, WVGS, Statesboro, 91.9. My first show was an overnight shift on Sunday mornings from 3am-7am. In spring quarter of my freshman year, a friend of mine from our dorm, Curtis “Scooby” Senior joined me on air and the “Dolewite & Scooby Show” was born.

Scoob and I worked our way up from that overnight shift to becoming the first show in school history to be aired daily from 6-10am. We were awarded two local chapter NAACP Image Awards for our work in the community and made a pretty good name for ourselves DJing clubs and events all over the state of Georgia.

I left college after 4 1/2 years to pursue radio professionally and landed an internship at WHTA, Hot 107.9 in Atlanta. Scoob soon left school as well and would meet me at the radio station late nights to work on our radio demo, which would ultimately lead to a job offer here in Nashville at WUBT, 101.1 The Beat.

We moved to Nashville on December 10, 2001 and took overnights on the Beat two days after. Nashville showed us a lot of love as we were ranked #1 with our target demo, persons 18-34, for all but one ratings period for ten years. We were also well known for DJing, hosting, and throwing parties and club events all over Middle Tennessee, the most famous being “The Socialite” which started in 2008 at Karma Lounge and became the largest, most consistent Thursday night party for almost five years. In late November of 2012, we were promoted to afternoon drive.

On February 18, 2012, Scoob unexpectedly passed away from Sarcoidosis, a disease he did not know he had while visiting his sister and nephew in Detroit. My best friend, my business partner, somebody that I considered my brother was gone in the blink of an eye. We had worked so hard for over 15 years and he passed away right when that work was beginning to pay off. The community here in Nashville really picked me up in the months after his passing. Scoob was somebody that everyone felt they knew, and it felt like the entire city mourned with me. We were even able to pass legislation for Nashville to begin naming honorary streets after people and the first honorary street in Nashville was Curtis “Scooby” Senior Lane on the corner of Jefferson and 14th.

Six months after Curtis’ passing, I met my wife, Kenya. Six months after meeting, we moved in together. A year after moving in together, we got engaged, and a year after that, we were married in a small town in Tuscany, Italy. My wife is an amazing human who constantly helps me in my personal development, which I’m sure is not an easy task. In September of 2017, we welcomed our daughter, Selah, into the world, who is the light of our lives.

My career continued to rise as well. In January of 2014, I was named Assistant Program Director at WUBT and a year later was officially named Program Director. In November of 2020, I started “The Dolewite Podcast” in which I interview people that I find interesting, most of whom challenge societal norms in one way or another. My podcast is available on all platforms and I’m really proud of it.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
In fall of 1999, Scoob and I thought we had landed what was then our dream job at WHTA, Hot 107.9 in Atlanta. Ludacris had just inked a record deal and was leaving the station and the program director was interested in us replacing him. We did 4 or 5 shows and were told to finish the semester at Georgia Southern, transfer schools, and move back to Atlanta to take the job. The program director ended up taking a job in Dallas, and we were left out in the cold.

When Scoob passed away in 2012, I had no clue how I was going to continue. My whole career I was part of a duo. I had to figure out how to be on the radio by myself, how to DJ by myself, how to promote by myself, etc., all while dealing with the loss of my best friend.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Afternoon drive host, mixer, and program director at WUBT, 1011 The Beat Nashville

Host of The Dolewite Podcast available everywhere you get podcasts.

What are your plans for the future?
I want to continue to grow my imprint in the podcast space. I really enjoy what I’m doing and love speaking with ppl that challenge societal norms. I’m learning so much and really hope my podcast continues to grow.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://linktr.ee/Dolewite
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/dolewite101
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DolewiteandScooby
• Twitter: Twitter.com/dolewite101
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/Dolewite101