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Frankie Darcell's Fate
In early December 2012, Frankie Darcell was silenced. A longtime staple on Detroit's radio scene, she was laid off, and much of Detroit was none-too happy about it.
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In early December, Frankie Darcell got silenced.
A longtime staple on Detroit's radio scene, she was laid off, and much of Detroit was none-too happy about it. Her "Talk of the Town" segment was a must-listen on WMXD-FM (MIX 92.3). It was beauty shop fodder taken to the airwaves, and not everything was light and bright—in the thick of the first highly publicized Kwame Kilpatrick trial, she was the one who landed that infamous must-listen interview. Her show was heard in more than 20 markets—but Detroit was home to the girl originally from New York.
The 50-year-old broadcaster says she doesn't know what's next, but she's willing to bet she won't be off airwaves for much longer.
You're from New York, but you became the voice of Detroit. How did that come to be?
When I moved to Detroit, I was supposed to be here for three years. Detroit embraced me and I looked up and it's been 18 years. You know, there is a fight for Detroit when you live and love Detroit.
Why do you think that Detroit had that grab on you?
I felt that Detroit was one of the last Black meccas of America. With its population, when you look at just those in power and decision-making positions, it was really the information capitol for Black America. It became so easy to be able to get involved in what the trends of Black America were around the country—politically, musically, which was my piece. When I moved here and I met Anita Baker and Aretha Franklin—and these people were people I had access to—it was like, "Wow, where else in America can you do that?" Along the way, Atlanta became hot, but when I moved here in 1993 for me, entertainment, this is where you want to be. I remember going on the air one day and "Talk of the Town" started because I asked, "Where can I go get my hair done?" and the lines blew up. Then I said, "Where can I live?" And that's how I learned about the city of Detroit and I just learned to love it. And now people think I graduated from Cass Tech.
