‘Queens don’t compete’: How these three women rose to the top of Miami’s airwaves

When Stichiz thinks about her favorite memory from her South Florida radio career, she doesn’t recall a time from behind the mic. She thinks of this one time at rapper Kodak Black’s festival in Pompano when a group of men approached her.

“Love you for freeeeeeeeeeee,” the men said, repeating her catchphrase back to her. They used to listen to Stichiz’s afternoon radio show on WMIB’s 103.5 The Beat while they were in jail.

“Don’t label me a cry baby, I really don’t be crying like this,” Stichiz said, as she told the story during a panel at The Art of Hip Hop museum in Wynwood Friday night. Fellow legendary female Miami radio hosts Supa Cindy and Lucy Lopez sat on the panel to celebrate Women’s History Month with a discussion on career advice, navigating a male-dominated industry and meeting fans at Publix.

“We wanted to do this because these women are telling other people’s stories all day, interviewing other people, shining light on so many people, hosting community events,” said Allison Freidin, co-founder of The Art of Hip Hop and panel mediator. “It’s our turn to really focus on them.”

Marialaura Leslie, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs director, presented the mavens of Miami radio with a proclamation on behalf of County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to commemorate their contributions to South Florida, from uplifting listeners’ spirits to organizing donations after hurricanes. March 15 is now Supa Cindy Day, Stichiz Day and Lucy Lopez Day.

In true Wynwood fashion, each honoree was gifted a painted portrait made by local artists Tierra Armstrong, Nico, and Didi Contreras. Happy tears were flowing even before the panel started discussing how they got into the radio industry.

Before Supa Cindy became the 99 Jamz morning show host, she was a Miami Dade College student who wanted to become a dietitian. But then she saw the science and math course load and changed her mind. Later, her goal was to become a camera person for Channel 7 News. But nobody hired her.

She joined 99 Jamz as an unpaid intern, knowing that was “where I was meant to be,” she said. But after a host she worked with left to Orlando, her job was in limbo. Jerry Rushin, a pioneering South Florida radio personality and manager who retired in 2012, told her to “hold tight.” Meanwhile her mom told her to get a job at Publix.

One day, she was called into the office, quickly introduced to her new co-host Big Lip Bandit and the rest is history. “We really, in my opinion, changed the game in South Florida as far as radio goes,” she said.

Through her over 10-year career with the station, she said she focused on working hard and connecting with listeners instead of focusing on the times she had been overlooked.

“My community is number one. Yeah, I get to go to award shows, I meet rappers, I meet celebrities,” she said. “But my number one favorite thing about being in radio is meeting the people that listen to me. Getting stopped at Publix and a listener looking at my cart to see what I’m eating.”

Freidin asked Stichiz about the unique challenges she has faced in the industry as a woman. One woman in the crowd muttered, ”Male jealousy.”

Stichiz said her age also played a role in how colleagues perceived her and the opportunities she received. When she became the midday show host, some questioned how she was able to “bypass everyone else,” she said. Because she appeared to be so “green” at the time, Stichiz said people weren’t aware of the hard work she put in.

“A lot of people see your shine, but they don’t see the dirt,” she said. “I believe God gives us the grace where he won’t let everybody see the dirt that gets on you in your journey and in your process.”

Lucy Lopez reflected on her journey from climbing the ranks at Power 96 to interviewing Pitbull and Rick Ross to starting her own podcast, Mamacita Rica. Lopez suddenly left the radio station in 2021 after over 20 years there. She said she felt a strong sense of gratitude for the recognition she received at the panel.

“I didn’t get here on my own. A lot of people are responsible for my success, and some of those people are no longer with me,” Lopez told the Herald after the event. “So this is like my full circle moment. I never really got to do a proper goodbye on air and say goodnight to Miami. I feel like this [event] is it.”

Lopez, a proud Cuban-American from Hialeah, made a name for herself in radio despite the naysayers, she said. Years ago, she was told that she could never get a national spot with her accent. She walked away with 10 national spots.

“We come from a very particular school of hard knocks. I fought to get to where I am. I had to defend my Hialeah accent. I had to defend my Latinidad. And, for some reason, the industry I am in -- or was in -- was terrified of my vagina,” she said, making the audience laugh. “Which is beautiful.”

During the panel, the women stressed the importance of supporting each other, even if they’ve worked at competing radio stations. Supa Cindy said this as they they posed for one last group picture:

“This photo is the epitome of queens don’t compete!”

This story was produced with financial support from individuals and Berkowitz Contemporary Arts in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.