WMMJ (102.3 FM), known on air as "Majic 102.3 & 92.7," is a jammin' oldies-leaning

urban adult contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music ...

radio station owned by Radio One in the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

market. It is co-owned with

WKYS WKYS (93.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Washington, D.C. The station is owned by Urban One through licensee Urban One Licenses, LLC, and broadcasts an Urban Contemporary radio format. It is co-owned with WMMJ, WOL, WPRS-FM, a ...

, WOL,

WPRS-FM WPRS-FM (104.1 FM) is an Urban Gospel formatted radio station in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The station is licensed to Waldorf, Maryland, and is co-owned with WKYS-FM, WMMJ, WOL and WYCB and has studios located in Silver Spring ...

WTEM WTEM (980 AM) is a commercial sports radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station services the Washington metropolitan area as the flagship station of the Washington Wizards. WTEM is also the co-flagship ...

and

WYCB WYCB (1340 AM) is an urban gospel station in Washington, D.C., owned by Urban One. Its studios are in Silver Spring, Maryland, and the transmitter site is in Capitol Heights, Maryland. WYCB is the oldest gospel radio station in Washington; it wa ...

and has studios located in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ce ...

. It is licensed to Bethesda, but its transmitter is located in Tenleytown. During the 1960s, '70s and early '80s, the station had been home to the original "progressive rock" formatted WHFS, which later migrated to the higher powered Annapolis,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

-based 99.1 frequency. WMMJ simulcasts on WDCJ (92.7 FM, Prince Frederick, Maryland) for the southeastern counties of the Washington metro. WMMJ broadcasts in the HD format.

History

In 1987,

Cathy Hughes Catherine Liggins Hughes (born Catherine Elizabeth Woods; April 22, 1947) is an American entrepreneur, radio and television personality and business executive. She has been listed as the second-richest Black woman in the United States. She found ...

purchased WMMJ and changed the format from

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

Urban Oldies Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

as ''Majic 102''. The station has basically maintained this format for 20 years with it skewing its format more toward the 25-54 demographic as an

Urban Adult Contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music ...

. Majic has consistently been one of the market's leaders, delivering Washington's most loyal audience. In 1999, WMMJ acquired the syndication rights of the ''

Tom Joyner Thomas Joyner (born November 23, 1949) is an American retired radio host, former host of the nationally syndicated ''The Tom Joyner Morning Show'', and also founder of Reach Media Inc., the Tom Joyner Foundation, and BlackAmericaWeb.com. Early l ...

Morning Show'' from rival Urban AC WHUR-FM. In the summer of 2008, it also became home to

Mo'Nique Monique Angela Hicks (née Imes; born December 11, 1967), known professionally as Mo'Nique, is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She has received an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. She ...

in the afternoon until March 18, 2009, when Mo'Nique decided leave to "further her career in television, film, and comedy". On June 23, 2010, WMMJ's live airstaff were let go in a surprise shakeup, despite the station posting its best numbers in the Washington Arbitrons. The shakeup began in April 2010, when its GM and PD were let go. WMMJ hired former WHUR morning man John Monds to be the new afternoon drive personality from 3 to 7 PM and Courtney Hicks as the new midday personality from 10 AM to 3 PM. Michel Wright has since replaced Courtney Hicks in Middays, and Adimu replaced John Monds in afternoon drive, and finally Donnie Simpson replaced Adimu, all formerly of WPGC (except John Monds). Monds was moved into the 7P.M.-midnight timeslot. Since the airstaff change, the playlist has been steadily leaning toward a Jammin' Oldies direction due to declining ratings; however, the actual format still remains on the Urban AC side of the line. On August 3, 2015, WMMJ announced their new slogan as ''The Real Sound of the DMV'', and also made a surprise announcement that

Donnie Simpson Donnie Simpson (born January 30, 1954) is a longtime American radio DJ as well as a television and movie personality. He hosted ''The Donnie Simpson Morning Show'' on Washington, D.C. radio station WPGC-FM from March 1993 to January 29, 2010. C ...

will return to the airwaves after retiring from his morning show on WPGC-FM in January 2010. ''The Donnie Simpson Show'' returned on August 17, 2015, and airs Monday thru Friday from 3-7P.M. (ET). In January 2016,

Russ Parr Russ Parr (born 1959 in California) is an American radio DJ, film director, writer, actor and television personality known for such television shows as ''Rock 'N' America''. Career Parr began as a Production Services Director at ABC TV. Russ wa ...

moved over from sister station

to WMMJ to replace Tom Joyner after 17 years on the station. To bolster coverage in the southern and eastern portions of the Washington market, Radio One purchased WWXT (now WDCJ) from Red Zebra Broadcasting. WDCJ began simulcasting WMMJ on May 1, 2017.

References

External links

Official Website of ''Majic 102.3''
* {{coord missing, Washington, D.C. African-American history of Washington, D.C. Urban One stations Radio stations established in 1961 MMJ Urban adult contemporary radio stations in the United States