Women just don’t understand…
Most men probably think it once or twice a day and on Late Night with LaKesha this week we are going bring in Jermaine Smith, who has branded himself as Jay Everyday, to discuss a few of things that men wish women understand. I am so excited and ready to learn…
Join us on Tuesday, November 1 from 10p to 1030p CST
http://BlogTalkRadio.com/LaKeshaWomack
call in to listen live – 646-929-2031
Post your comments on the blogtalkradio show’s page, on this blog or tweet us ~ @LaKeshaWomack @EveryDayDaBrand using #LWBTR
Meet Jay Everyday…
Behind every face associated with a name is a story. For some their story proves that being triumphant is still possible even in the midst of challenges, hardships and the toughest adversities. Born on Christmas Day in Queens, New York, but raised in the East New York section of Brooklyn, was a boy who was oblivious to the circumstances in which he was about to endure. Unbeknownst to him as he made his entrance into the world was also the realization that he would grow up to be a man who would later be associated with titles such as playwright, director, producer, Editor-In-Chief, on-air radio personality and Internet radio station owner. He once said, “We live our life forward but to understand it you have to look at it backwards.”
If we relive history from present day to his conception, Jermaine “Jay Everyday” Smith’s story could easily be a non-fiction novel written by a New York Times Bestseller. However, facts can never be fiction, thus what you see is real; one man destined for greatness though statistics would have said otherwise. And today, the very obstacles he once faced in his formative years assist him in writing, directing, and producing stage plays that have received accolades and acclaim at various venues across the United States. Jermaine “Jay Everyday” Smith lost his father to Cancer at the tender age of four, leaving his mother to become a single parent to him and his sister. Yet, even more troubling was the fact that she was battling a drug addiction which spanned over the course of twenty plus years.
Though his grandmothers and aunts played a role in shaping his development and offering some nurturing due to his mother’s situation, the difficulties of dealing with his fractured family structure forced him to withhold years of emotional pain and perplexity. From witnessing drugs being used in his home as a child, to taking on the responsibility of watching over his sister, Smith grew up faster than most children. Though the allure of the streets could easily captivate someone of his circumstance, that sort of lifestyle didn’t spark his interest. He spent a great deal of time writing, which in hindsight served as a way to release those repressed emotions.
As the years progressed and his mother’s situation didn’t improve, Smith found himself facing more tribulations in his life in 2003. His two year old nephew who suffered from sickle cell died after he was wrongly treated and misdiagnosed with having a sickle cell attack when it was later discovered he had a fever. Leaving the family in turmoil and grief, it was at that pivotal point that his mother decided her lifestyle had been detrimental for far too long and decided it was time for God to navigate her life. In awe by his mother’s choice and her spiritual healing, Smith also recognized that a breakthrough needed to happen for the sake of his own future and that of his family, and also gave his life to God.
For the past seven years God has been the center of his family unit to include his mother’s now drug free existence. In 2005, after focusing on working out some of the issues that plagued his ability to understand who he was and dealing with those feelings, he began writing skits and presenting them to the pastor of his local church, who suggested he turn them into stage plays. Thus the comedic, dramatic, inspiration family drama stage play, “A Piece of Me”, was born.
Throughout its fifty performances, it was the first African- American produced play to be shown at Playhouse on the Green in Bridgeport, Connecticut since 2002 and the first African-American produced stage play ever to be performed at The Shawnee Playhouse, which was built in 1904. “A Piece of Me” has received several recognitions, been responsible for almost a hundred audience members turning over their life to Christ, and won noteworthy awards to include, the “Best Stage Play Award” in 2009 at the Holla Back Gospel Music Awards in New Haven, Connecticut, five nominations at the 2008 Tiffany Gospel Awards in New York and a review and feature on Essence.com in May 2009. Smith’s second stage play, “Cooking in Yesterday’s Grease”, has been reviewed in the Examiner and continues to be performed across the North Eastern Region of the United States. “Cooking” was well received on the You Tube channel as ETB produced Web-series in early 2011.
Creating a name for himself and a marketing brand Smith set his sights on radio. After attempting to get on mainstream radio to promote his stage plays and being unsuccessful, he sought out the opportunity to create his own Internet radio station, Everyday Radio. With a fully equipped, station in Brooklyn, NY and with over ten radio shows hosted by various air personalities under his leadership, Everyday Radio offers something for everyone. The radio station relocated to Harlem, NY during the summer of 2011. The mission of the station remains to provide a platform for the “everyday” person to be heard. In September 2010, Smith launched Everyday the Magazine, a publication for everyday heroes in communities nationwide and abroad. The publication will give readers a chance to read insightful, sometimes painfully honest interviews from real people who have amazing stories and testimonies that can change lives. This November 2011 Smith will release the fragrance “Everyday” for Woman; a nice floral, light and friendly scent created solely and independently distributed by himself. Smith will also collaborate with Theophani Style to produce an Everyday Platinum line of lipstick, gloss, blush and eye shadow for the Theophani Style line.
Adding to his professional credits, Smith has been interviewed and recorded documentary style by TBN’s “The 700 Club”, started a documentary titled “Restoring the Black Family/Men in Transition”, featured in 21-7Magazine.com, Exclusivity Magazine (XI), Allezom Magazine, served as a regular guest on WHCR (Harlem Community Radio), featured on New York’s public access channels, BCAT and MNN, Taking Back Our Community’s WVOF 88.5 FM, and has appeared on Tom Joyner’s 94.3 FM, to name a few.
Jermaine “Jay Everyday” Smith is the father of two boys, and currently resides in Harlem, NY.
