Remembering Kirk Anthony of Smooth 98.1
After a long day at the office yesterday, Friday, May 31st,
I went to see a movie to pass time and allow rush hour traffic to ease up on
the roads. I saw “Olympus Has Fallen” and after it was over, I was already at
the first Lekki toll heading away from the island when I tuned in to Smooth
98.1 around 10:50pm. Friday nights from 8pm to midnight are hosted by “The
Genie” on a show called “Club Classics” where he plays songs from the 80s and
other memorable periods.
I was surprised to hear the voice of Jennifer Netimah, host
of “Real Talk” and “Single & Smooth,” (both shows which only run from Monday
to Thursday evenings), on air with the Genie. They were both referring to Kirk
Anthony in past tense saying things like “This was one of Kirk’s favorite
songs.” My initial thought was that Kirk had announced his resignation from the
company. I sent in a text message to the show asking what was going on, and
then I heard the voice of MaZI’no, host of the morning newspaper review show “Freshly
Pressed” responding to my text saying I should stop by the studio if I could.
Then I heard other hosts speaking about their memories of Kirk Anthony
including Aderonke and pHisayo. It was at this point I feared the worst. I
turned around and headed back to the island.
I arrived at past 11pm to see the Smooth 98.1 parking lot
full of cars. The studio owner was there with his wife along with all the hosts
I mentioned previously, janitors, and security. I went to speak with MaZI’no
privately, and through bloodshot eyes that provided evidence of lots of crying,
he informed me that Kirk Anthony had suffered Cardiac Arrest in the studio
earlier that day and passed away. Aderonke, host of the morning weekly show “Strictly
Soul” and Saturday morning show “Breakfast in Bed,” and the Genie were the only
ones in the studio to witness what happened.
The Genie administered CPR on Kirk while Aderonke called an
ambulance. I won’t hijack the memory of Kirk Anthony by ranting about the slow
response of emergency medical services in this country, but we all have a
responsibility to put pressure on our government to improve what is currently a tragically
inept healthcare system. However, I should note that the ambulance (which was
30 minutes late) which picked up Kirk and the clinics (the first one refused to
treat him because they claimed not to have enough “capacity”) he was taken to,
were both private enterprise.
Kirk Anthony was a bubbly, warm, principled man that hosted “The
Smooth Drive,” “Late Night Blues,” and “Smooth Motivations.” His career in
radio spans over 25 years and you could tell easily by listening to his
professional command of his material when on air. Speaking of having a command
of things, what a voice! The baritone could make one tremble and I always said
he could easily play a villain as a voice-over in an Animated feature film. I remember one afternoon on an episode of “The
Smooth Drive,” he was talking about dieting and exercise and I sent in a text
about eating salads. He responded; “I’m sorry Mr Rotus, but I’m not a rabbit”
and I still chuckle to myself when I think about that.
I feel fortunate to have met Kirk, worked with him on
promotional material for the station, and partied with him at concerts hosted
by Smooth FM. I’m deeply saddened by his sudden passing and my condolences go out to his
wife, children, relatives, friends, and his professional family at Smooth 98.1.
The radio industry has lost one of its greats but memories of his incredible
work will remain with us all forever. He will be sorely missed.
