Infamous media personality STAR aka Troi Torain has returned for the second week of Season 2 of Everyday Struggle with co-hosts DJ Akademiks and moderator Nadeska Alexis. Complex News’ attempt to cut into the Breakfast Club/HOT 97/Sway In The Morning domination of daily hip-hop shows took a hit late last year when previous panelist Joe Budden left the show to focus on his own podcast, The Joe Budden Podcast with Rory and Mal, after a series of disputes. Rumors have been circulating that Budden will join Diddy-founded Revolt TV in the future, possibly with Charlamagne Tha God, but nothing has been confirmed.
Since Budden left, the show has experimented with G-Unit’s DJ Whoo Kid, as well as guest hosts including Rapsody, Carl Chery and DRAM before STAR was announced as the shows new co-host. The self-proclaimed biracial objective hater from Scotch Plains, New Jersey was inducted in 2011 into News One‘s ‘Top 20 Best Black Radio Voices Of All Time’ and has an undeniably strong legacy for speaking his mind, no matter who he may offend.
The self-proclaimed Father of Trolling is a divisive figure and his addition to Everyday Struggle has raised many eyebrows. Will STAR last on the show? It’s looking very much to be an entertaining everyday struggle for both Akademiks and Nadeska at the moment, as STAR is pulling no punches, and with the recent questionable comment by STAR on Nadeska and subsequent apologies, it seems only time will tell.
His major radio breakthrough was via The STAR & Buc Wild Morning Show from March 2000 on Hot 97 for three years, then from 2004 on the rival Power 105.9 for a couple of years before heading in 2008 to The Pulse and later Pennsylvania’s 100.3 The Beat FM station after a liver transplant. At the peak of it all in the early 2000s, he even managed to have ratings that outdid the king of New York radio, Howard Stern.
The original hip hop shock jock has had a string of high profile disputes with Tigger, Prodigy, Dame Dash, Jay-Z, DJ Envy, The Game, Snoop Dogg and infamously led the charge on the Afrika Bambaataa saga from 2016 on his own platform, the web-based Star Chamber on Shot97. While continuing to be outspoken on all matter of topics, STAR introduced himself to a new and younger audience through a series of appearances on Vlad TV with Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian, with Jamar previously widely rumoured to have been a potential replacement for Budden on Everyday Struggle.
