If quarantine has proven anything, it’s that Black people can be beyond innovative even under pressure. COVID-19 shut down a lot of things, but for this media personality, it’s still business as usual.

Professional host Mouse Jones has taken over several mediums in the digital space since he first stepped foot into the industry. As a hip hop and cultural figure, he’s made it his business to be the voice of his generation, speaking on all things important to the Black community.

His new nightly news podcast — “Quarantine Nightly” — is his latest venture where he reports on all things concerning Black culture that mainstream media omits.

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Wanna hear what it would be like if I had my own late night news show?! Quarantine Nightly!! Every night, 8pm!! Trailer is available NOW, EVERYWHERE! (S/o @lavanwright on the artwork!!) GO SUBSCRIBE NOW!

A post shared by Mouse Jones (@mouse_jones) on Apr 15, 2020 at 10:28am PDT

In an effort to maintain his digital platform, the Trap Karaoke host created a new means of highlighting stories in our culture that people should know about.

Podcasting, his preferred digital medium, largely attributes to Jones’ success as a host.

“Podcasting is a vehicle to go wherever you want to go,” said Jones. “It’s very singular, but so niche.”

Jones credits The Read and The Combat Jack Show as his inspirations for breaking into the podcast realm.

Jones chose this lane to become a media personality because of how difficult it is for Black journalists to break into mainstream media.

“If you look at TV there’s not going to be too many of us,” he said. “You don’t typically see a lot of hip hop media on television or the radio.”

Jones believes podcasts are the new trend of this era that connects better with the general public.

“Everyday, or every week, I get to intimately interact with my fanbase, when I’m really just talking into a microphone,” said Jones. “You’re not competing with anyone. Somebody could get inspired and 20 more [shows] could pop up, and it’s going to be so different from mine, and mine is going to be so different from theirs, and a consumer gets to take part in all of that.”

As an advocate for his community, Jones strives to be a model for other figures in Black media to follow. According to him, it’s our responsibility to use our platforms in ways that uplift one another.

“That becomes dangerous when we’re in a position to use our voices to better our community and we don’t do it. We’re no better than the people who are outwardly doing us a disservice,” he said.

On Quarantine Nightly, Jones prioritizes stories — like the murders of Sean Reed and Breonna Taylor — that are underreported in mainstream media. To him, no subject is too taboo for the show to report upon.

“These stories deserve to be told because they’re really happening,” Jones said. “It’s important that if I have the platform, I’m going to cover [news] in my way.”

The late-night themed podcast releases episodes daily highlighting short recaps of noteworthy news stories as well as interviews with special guests he recruits to join him on the “couch.” These interviews touch on everything from projects guests are working on to how they’re spending their time in quarantine.

The show has been up and running for close to a month now, and has featured major names across the industry including Marc Lamont Hill, Charlamagne Tha God, Karen Civil, Bomani Jones, Kid Fury, and Francheska Medina — better known as Hey Fran Hey.

The show also releases special deep-dive episodes every Friday where Jones sits down for in-depth interviews with some notable cultural figures. So far he’s spoken with media personality Taxstone, Stevie “Gunz” Dominguez, James Shaw Jr. and for his latest two-part episode, Grammy-winning gospel artist Kirk Franklin.

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The ALPACA, @kirkfranklin sat w/ me this past friday & dropped nothing but absolute gems and good word the whole time! THANK YOU @jnote_ & @rcainspiration for making this happen. @iamrell you’re an absolute superstar! (C/d: @cheymillz & @lavanwright)

A post shared by Mouse Jones (@mouse_jones) on May 16, 2020 at 9:10am PDT

Jones speaks highly of his latest achievement, but couldn’t have pulled the show together in all its glory without the help of his team — including writers Desi Johnson and JustLatasha; editor/producer, Rell; and creative designers, Chey Millz and Lavan Wright.

So far, Quarantine Nightly has received a lot of positive feedback among listeners and Jones’ hope is that the show will continue to grow and inspire others to report digestible news to the Black community.

“In just three weeks, the people have proven, I’ve proven, and this team has proven that this is necessary and it shouldn’t go away when we go back outside,” said Jones. “This show is here to stay. No matter what we call it, it’ll be here.”

Quarantine Nightly is available to stream on Anchor, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify as episodes release every day Monday through Friday.

Interviews