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Mark Strong & Jemeni are bringing a fresh perspective to the Olympic conversation
BY SIMONE J. SMITH
Over 2,400 events throughout France, 663 in the capital alone. It’s hard to miss the buzz that’s gripped France. The Olympic fever has permeated its 3,473 streets, its 544 squares, its 373 avenues. The pulse of the Games beats through every corner of Paris, as the city eagerly awaits visitors from all five continents
From July 26th, 2024 – August 11th, 2024, the Olympic games will offer a groundbreaking celebration of sport for the entire world, and two of Canada’s OGs are breaking down the best of the 2024 games in CBC’s newest addition to its Olympic coverage.
FOMO (Fear of Missing Olympics) is a daily digital show and podcast hosted by media personalities Mark Strong and Jemeni that offers a fresh perspective to the Olympic conversation with athlete and celebrity interviews, and the hottest, hilarious takes on the biggest storylines of the day.
Mark Strong has hosted commercial morning radio in Toronto spanning between 2000-2022. From Flow 93.5FM to G987FM and more recently 1065 Elmnt FM, his charismatic personality has reached audiences across the GTA for over two decades. Mark’s latest progression in the field has found him in the driver’s seat at the Toronto Raptors home games as in stadium host and hype man, a position he has held for the last 13 years. Also known as “Strizzzy”, he has also completed his first Tedx Talk in Toronto to add to his growing online presence.
Jemeni is award-winning: artist, writer, radio host, and media personality. She has also delved into acting as a way of telling her stories. She has appeared on: Drop the Beat, Da Kink in My Hair, Queer as Folk and worked with Ving Rhames and Chazz Palminteri on the remake of Kojack. She has also done successful runs on stage starring in the Vagina Monologues alongside Erin Brockovich and the late Dana Reeves.
Mark Strong & Jemeni are bringing a fresh perspective to the Olympic conversation as they chat with athletes, entertainers, and celebs to get their take on the games and bring you all the tea from Paris. Taking a lighthearted look at the Olympics, FOMO is a dedicated space where Olympic enthusiasts can catch what they missed, celebrate the wins, take in Canadian and International performances, and get in a good laugh along the way.
Naturally, the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper had to catch up with the media besties and chop it up. They both had me laughing the entire interview.
“How did the two of you meet and decide to collaborate on this project?”
“I was doing a hip hop show called “Dropping Dimes,” Jem began chuckling. “There was this one guy who would call, giggle, and hang up. A few years later I met Mark, and we immediately clicked. That was when I found out that he was that guy.”
Mark’s story was different. “I was doing a show, and I heard that Jem was doing a show, and every time I called into the show, no one answered the phone, so I didn’t think they were paying their bills,” he shared jokingly. “Honestly though, she was wearing a lot of hats, and I was impressed with her dedication. Plus, she is Grenadian, and I am Grenadian.”
I learned that one of the senior producers was a fan of their show, and he wanted Mark and Jem to be part of this new, exciting venture.
“What we bring is Mark and Jem. Flavour. Style. Charisma,” Mark tells me. “We are looking forward to inviting new people to take part in the excitement of the Olympics. We will bring entertainment value, you know, interviews, and some fun stuff.”
“We are definitely something a little different,” Jem shares. “I don’t remember seeing two Black hosts working on the Olympics. We are not sports people, but we will be bringing in perspectives that have not been witnessed in Olympic coverage.”
“What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced while working together on this show, and how did you overcome it?”
“It is always about doing our best, regardless of the novelty. We have to do the work for this. We don’t want to alienate anyone, especially people who are Olympic enthusiasts,” Jem tells me.
“Do you have any special segments or interactive elements planned to engage viewers?”
They both started laughing. “We are working on the elements right now, and we don’t want to give much away,” Mark says, “But we do have one idea that we think our listening community will enjoy. Random for the Man Dem. This is a segment where we will cover the stories that don’t make mainstream. Stories over stats.”
I had one final question for these two comedic mavericks. “How do you hope your audience will connect with the show? What kind of impact do you want to make?”
“For those who are in the related field, we hope we rejuvenate what we have given to the city and to the country,” Mark tells me.
“I hope that they feel seen,” Jem concludes. “It is something that we take pride in, especially when we did our morning radio show. If we can start your day with laughter, we have done our job”
We once again have representatives from the Toronto Caribbean community who are showing the world that Toronto is where it is at!