Following the passing of Doug Banks in April, American Urban Radio Networks will debut “The Afternoon Rush with Rudy Rush, Ebony Steele and Loni Swain” on Monday, June 20.
Rudy Rush was a co-host on Banks’ show from 2005-2013 and is currently hosting afternoons at iHeartMedia Urban “93.7 The Beat” KQBT Houston. The comedian also previously hosted It’s Showtime At The Apollo. He will be joined by Ebony Steele, who previously was a co-host on The Rickey Smiley Morning Show and former 107.5 WGCI Chicago middayer Loni Swain who will also serve as producer.
Mike Love, former Senior Director of Programming & Distribution for Cumulus Media Networks, will serve as PD for the show.
“The Afternoon Rush with Rudy Rush, Ebony Steele and Loni Swain” will debut on Monday, June 20 on AURN’s affiliate Urban AC stations across the country. The new program officially replaces the Doug Banks Radio Show from 3-7pm ET. “We’ve assembled a solid team and we’re putting a new brand of fun and laughter into afternoons on urban adult stations,” said Mike Love, who is programming the show.
Rudy Rush, a veteran of the professional comedy circuit, has toured colleges and clubs and became the youngest host of the longest running African-American syndicated show, “Showtime at the Apollo.” Rush was the comedic force on the long running Banks radio show.
A former Miss Gulf Coast Alabama and Miss Tuskegee, Ebony Steele is a multimedia personality who most recently worked on the Rickey Smiley morning show. After winning a very intensive battle with breast cancer, Steele is helping millions of African American women win their own battles. She devotes a significant amount of her time to campaigns raising awareness of breast cancer.
Loni Swain most recently hosted middays at WGCI-FM/Chicago. She began her career at WQUE-FM/New Orleans followed by stints at WERQ-FM Baltimore and WFUN-FM St. Louis. In addition to being on air, Swain is also the show’s producer.