Supreme

Supreme (born Jon Malone August 10, 1973) is a radio personality, musician, songwriter, publisher and music historian. Supreme is currently the host of The Classic Hip Hop Show on WUHT FM. The show airs Saturday mornings from 7am to 11am.

EARLY LIFE Supreme was born Jon Malone in Detroit, MI and raised on the west side. One of his schoolmates in elementary school was neo soul crooner Dwele, whom Supreme would later work with. Supreme's mother, Elizabeth (Roper) Malone, was an interior decorator from Greenville, AL. Supreme's father Johnny Malone is a singer/songwriter who penned hits for A Taste of Honey and fronted his own band with songwriting partner Allan Barnes of The Blackbyrds. The band was called Malone & Barnes and Spontaneous Simplicity and was based in Washington D.C. A self proclaimed "music brat", Supreme spent a considerable amount of his childhood traveling due to his fathers' touring and recording schedule. Frequent visitors to the family home were Commodores' bassist Ronald LaPread, pianist/flautist Brian Jackson, legendary producers The Mizell Brothers, and famed JB's trombonist Fred Wesley among others. Attending these sessions would have a profound impact on Supreme and inhance his love for the arts. Supreme loved to draw and was an avid comic book collector. At 10 years old, Supreme was already a master at drums, piano, and violin. The mysterious and iconic Detroit DJ The Electrifying Mojo also played a major part in shaping Supreme's musical interests. Mojo was known for his Midnight Funk Association radio show, which defied genre boundaries by blending soul, funk, rock, classical, new wave, and techno. Hip hop culture grew in the Detroit area thanks to the national success of Run DMC and the youth were listening including Supreme. After his mothers' death in 1989, Supreme left Detroit to settle in her hometown of Greenville, AL. Greenville offered a stark contrast to the harsh environment of Detroit and possibly a chance to focus on his own life. As he puts it, he "got to be a big fish in a small pond". He eventually finished high school there. Supreme's love for hip hop grew as he was introduced to the music of Public Enemy, Slick Rick, and NWA. Around this time he bought his first drum machine, an Alesis SR-16, and started recording his own demo tapes on a used Tascam 4-track recorder. He began to collaborate with other rap talent in the area and realized he had the knack for producing and composing.

FROM COLLEGE TO MOTOWN RECORDS In 1991, Supreme graduated from high school and headed to Alabama State University. Confused about what to major in, he transferred his scholarship to the University of Montevallo in 1992. as a mass communications major, Supreme was granted access to the television and recording studios eventually becoming audio engineer for the campus TV news program. In 1994, he started his own radio show, Basement Flava, which would be the campus' first ever hip hop based radio program. In addition, Supreme established relationships with then-fledgling indie labels such as Relativity and Pendulum Records, who serviced the show with records by newcomers like Digable Planets, Fat Joe, and Common. 1995 was a turning point for Supreme, as he was torn between finishing college and joining his father, who was now living in Los Angeles, to establish a career in music full time. A friend gave him a contact with Motown Records in L.A. who were looking for interns. This proved to be the breakthrough Supreme needed. Supreme traveled out to California to intern in the A&R department. Jheryl Busby, then president of Motown, was so impressed with his drive and passion for learning the business, Supreme was offered an actual paying job in the A&R and video production departments. A year later, Busby resigned and Andre Harrell took over as president. The company was then downsized and subsequently the L.A. offices were dissolved. Supreme soon found himself without a job and decided to return to Alabama to finish school and work on his demo.

INTRODUCTION TO RADIO In 1996, Supreme completed his first solo effort, the hip hop collectors' item "Supreme's Lounge". Only 300 cassettes were pressed. "Supreme's Lounge" made quite an impact and was courted by several independent labels for distribution. It wasn't until radio personalities Kori White, B-Brian, and Chris Coleman gave it a thumbs-up that Supreme decided to switch his focus to the radio industry. In 1998, Supreme began his radio career in the research department at Cox Radio. He held several side jobs during this time and also worked with many local artists. This same year his father officially retired for the music industry and decided to give his half of the publishing company (Lonebar Music) to Supreme. At the time Lonebar was inactive. Supreme reactivated the company and started licensing sample clearances for his father's music. The most notable sample was A Taste of Honey's "Disco Dancin'" which was used by R. Kelly for "Money Makes the World Go Round" from his 1998 "R" album. In 1999, he started "The Eargasm", a weekly hip hop showcase at the High Note Lounge which would become Birmingham's longest running (1999-2004). Supreme joined a local funk/jazz outfit called Mecca's Groove as keyboardist and lead singer. In 2000, he became assistant program director for Clear Channel's V105.9 (WENN FM). The station folded in 2001 and new father Supreme needed to make ends meet. He went to work at a local Southside coffee shop and sang for tips while there. Being on the Southside meant obtaining gigs for the band would become easier.

RETURN TO DETROIT In 2002, Supreme returned to Detroit and was introduced to P-Funk keyboardist Amp Fiddler. Amp's solo releases were well recieved overseas, but he was ready to break stateside. Supreme contributed two songs ("I Believe In You" and "Unconditional Eyes") and helped Amp's "Waltz of a Ghetto Fly" album become an underground success in the U.S. At this time Detroit was experiencing a return to prominence in the music industry thanks to the emergence of the neo soul movement. Supreme established a working relationship with several of Detroit's hottest artists and beatsmiths such as Slum Village, Jay Dee, Dwele, and Vernon D. German.