Miss Jones

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Miss Jones ("Jonesy" or "Missjones") is the stage name of Tarsha Nicole Jones, the notoriously opinionated and controversial host of Miss Jones in the Morning on the New York City radio station Hot 97.

[edit] Background

Jones graduated from Syracuse University with a B.A. in music.^{[citation needed]}. Before becoming involved with radio, Jones sang professionally during the mid-1990s but was unable to achieve commercial success as a solo singer. But she did enjoy some success with her independent 1994 hit "Where I Wanna Be Boy". It hit the both the R&B Top 30 and Dance Top 30 (#21/#24).

[edit] Radio career

Miss Jones hosts the Hot 97 radio show Miss Jones in the Morning which airs weekdays from 6am to 10am and is currently in danger of being cancelled. Miss Jones has been the center of controversy on several occasions, most notably for the controversial tsunami song titled “USA for Indonesia”. On January 18, 2005, Jones twice aired the song ridiculing victims of the recent tsunami disaster in Indonesia nearly one month earlier.

Facing lone opposition from on-air colleague Miss Info, who distanced herself from the song by saying "minus Miss Info" after DJ Todd Lynn made the following introduction "Starring the Miss Morning--the Miss Jones in the Morning players."

Jones responded with the following: "If you feel that way, why are you even on the show? Why do you always have to make it known you are separate?...You're always trying to undermine everything that's done here... I know you feel you're superior probably because you're Asian, but you're not." The song was played for four days reportedly after complaints following the first airing. Responding to the public backlash, the station issued an on-air an apology on January 24.

Jones eventually made the following apology to her listeners:

"I apologize to all who have been offended by my poor decision to go along with playing that insulting (to say the least) Tsunami song. I should have known better and I didn't. So I'm sorry and hopefully we can move forward from this, or I can move forward from this being a better hostess, because I am better than that, and I know better than that -- and you deserve better radio than that."

In 2003, after the release of a board game called "Ghettopoly" by predominantly Asian investors, Jones was enraged and called for the release of a game called "Chinkopoly." The cover of the box of the game portrayed an African-American. Jones refused to apologize for her statement, despite complaints mailed to her producers. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

In January 2006, Jones was again at the center of a controversy due to remarks she made that were considered racially offensive. Jones offended many members of New York City's large Caribbean community when she referred to Roger Toussaint, the Trinidadian-American leader of striking transit workers, as a "dumb coconut who probably doesn't have a green card" and "should probably be deported."

In late August 2006, the personality saw more controversy, when she insulted radio guests Beyoncé and Tina Knowles. She was subsequently suspended from the station for two weeks.^[5]

Recently, Monica came under criticisms on the show after Miss Jones said she wasn't using her full capacity on her comeback single "Everytime Tha Beat Drop", though she made it clear of her full admiration of her singing abilities.

She famously hung-up the phone in an on air interview with Christina Milian when she would not answer the questions. Miss Jones made it clear that the star "cannot dictate the direction of the interview".

[edit] Music career

[edit] Chart Positions

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

[edit] Additional Release Information

• The Other Woman (LP released on the Motown label, 1998)
• "Don't Front" (Single released on the Stepsun label, 1994)
• "Where I Wanna Be Boy" (Single released on the Stepsun label, 1994)
• "Where I Wanna Be Boy / "Don't Front" (Double A-Side single released on the Stepsun label in the UK, 1994)
• "2 Way Street" (Single released on the Motown label, 1998)
• "2 Way Street (#1 Lady)" (featuring Big Punisher) (Remix EP released on the Motown label, 1998)

[edit] Current Activities

On May 29, 2007 Miss Jones will release her very first book, a memoir titled The Wendy Williams Clone?: The Life and Loves of Radio's Most Controversial Diva.

[edit] References

1. ^ Outrage over awful lyrics to HOT 97's racist 'Tsunami Song' NY Daily News.
2. ^ Asian Media Watch Website of Asian group that monitors the media.
3. ^ Tsunami song sinks hip-hop Hot-97 NY Daily News
4. ^ 'Tsunami Song' fallout:3 suspended, 2 firedNY Daily News
5. ^ Hush, Hush, Pass: Miss Jones vs Tina Knowles, Usher on Broadway, and Keisha from Total. Vibe (August 29, 2006).

[edit] Links

• Miss Jones' Biography Miss Jones' section on the website of Hot 97.
• Miss Jones at All Music Guide
• Click here to buy Have You Met Miss Jones?: The Life and Loves of Radio's Most Controversial Diva.