Grenada native and country music radio personality Johnnie Walker will be one of many honorees placed in the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame this December.
Walker began her career as a country music radio personality at Casey 14, now known as B-100. She later segued to black radio as an announcer and program director.
“As a music and entertainment executive, I am honored to be included among the 2022 honorees of the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame,” she said. “I love music and little did I know that love would create “Lady J” at a country radio station (Casey-14) that would catapult me in to a worldwide music industry career.”
In 1989, Walker joined Def Jam Recordings as a regional marketing rep and within one year was promoted to national director of promotions. The position was short lived as she was promptly promoted to senior national director, positioning Walker to be instrumental in launching the careers of R&B/Hip-Hop greats Redman, Method Man, Onyx, Montell Jordan, Ashanti, Sisqo, Case and Foxy Brown.
“Most people think I am from New York, but it is always a good conversation starter when I tell them I actually got started in small-town Grenada and at a country music radio station at that,” Walker said.
At the direction of hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, Walker relocated to New York City in 1997, and was named vice president of promotions for Def Jam. A year later, after restructuring the company’s promotions department and its field staff, Walker was named senior vice president. During her time, her team successfully marketed Def Comedy Jam; Phat Farm clothing; Russell Simmons’ co-produced movies, “The Nutty Professor” and “The Klumps;” Jackie Chan’s “Rush Hour 1 and 2” in addition to several No. 1 Gold and Platinum albums from Jay-Z, LL Cool J, DMX, Ashanti, Kelly Price, Ja Rule, Sisqo, Musiq, Dru Hill and others.
“My job has sent me to London, Amsterdam, Germany, Japan and many other places,” Walker said. “I really have been blessed with my career taking me around the world.”
After a 15-year tenure at Def Jam, Walker moved to Los Angeles, Calif., and assumed the position of head of black music for DreamWorks Records. Following a subsequent sale of the label, she headed south to Memphis, Tenn., to take the helm of the Memphis Music Commission where she spearheaded a wealth of culturally diverse music programs and creative initiatives.
“It has been so much fun getting to be behind the scenes and get to work with some amazing talent,” Walker concluded. “My job is an important part of the music culture and I am glad to be a part of what makes it all happen.”
Walker is also executive director of Memphis Music Matters, a non-profit foundation that supports the Memphis music culture, and is the creator of Women Who Jam, a syndicated all-female themed radio show and live music showcase series.
Increasing the awareness of women in entertainment, Walker created and continues to present the National Association of Black Female Executives in Music and Entertainment (NABFEME) International Women’s Leadership Summit, a three-day gathering that features riveting panel discussions and highly attractive signature events. Featured participants have read like a who’s who amongst the entertainment industry and corporate elite. Names like Shonda Rhimes, Patti Labelle, Nicki Giovanni, Dionne Warwick, Suzanne DePasse, Valerie Simpson, Judge Hatchett, Sylvia Rhone, Marc Morial, Dr. Johnetta B. Cole, Ruby Dee, Nona Hendryx, Paula Madison, Cissy Houston, Usher, Kanye West, Angela Winbush, Sarah Dash, Yolanda Adams, L.A. Reid, Cissy Houston and more have been featured.
Continuing her philosophy to empower, Walker recently joined the Music Industry Relations Collective, an advisory board of the National Museum of African American Music located in Nashville, Tenn.
The recipient of countless awards, Walker was honored by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rainbow/PUSH with the “Woman of Conscience Award;” in 2006 she received Delta Sigma Theta’s “Osceola Award,” the highest honor given to professionals in the arts; in 2009 Women’s eNews named Walker as one of New York’s “21 Leaders for the 21st Century;” in 2010 Memphis newspaper, the “Tri-State Defender” named Walker a “Woman of Excellence;” in 2012 she received the Black Music Pioneer Award from the Los Angeles arm of the Black Employee Network of the Interpublic Group and 2017 saw Walker receiving the International Career Excellence in Entertainment honor from the Memphis Stone Awards. Recently, Walker was honored as a “Living Legend” by the Living Legends Foundation receiving the 2022 Michael Bernardo Female Music Executive Award.
