By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Wednesday, January 13, 2016
With Rickey Smiley no longer a regular presence on the syndicated gossip show "Dish Nation," the production company has hired Atlanta rap legend Da Brat as a permanent member, joining Headkrack, Gary With Da Tea, Rock T and Porsha Williams, Fox television stations announced.
The popular TV show is seen locally on Fox 5 on weekdays at 7 p.m. and repeated at 12:30 a.m. The Atlanta-based team shares duties with Kidd Kraddock's Dallas-based morning team discussing pop culture news of the day. The Atlanta portion of the show is shot at Radio One Atlanta headquarters downtown between 10:30 a.m. to noon every day after Smiley's radio show from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Smiley, whose name remains prominent in the studio while "Dish Nation" airs, this season shows up maybe once or twice a week, leaving his team to handle things without him most of the time. He told me in an interview in November that he has other projects going on, including his reality show on TV One "Rickey Smiley For Real." (Da Brat is a regular on that show as well.)
Da Brat, who became a rap star in 1994, joined his radio show last summer and has been on "Dish Nation" as well in recent months.
"Once she began guest hosting, we knew right away we had to make her a permanent member of the Dish family," said Stephen Brown, EVP of programming and development for Fox television stations.
"Since the first day I filled in on ‘Dish Nation,’ " Da Brat said in a press release, "it felt comfortable and there was a natural chemistry."
Williams, who is on "Real Housewives of Atlanta," is not on the syndicated radio show but the other cast members juggle both shows.
Reach Media, which runs Smiley's syndicated show, has not announced whether Da Brat has become a permanent member of the radio show itself but she has been there consistently over the past six-plus months.
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