We recently connected with JayCee Ruffin and have shared our conversation below.

JayCee, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

My journey into hosting didn’t start with a stage or a spotlight — it started with a loss. When basketball, the identity I had built my whole life around, suddenly wasn’t there anymore, I needed something to fill the space. I didn’t know it then, but that “something” would become my career, my calling, and my creative legacy.

Before I returned to Elizabeth City State University, I had spent my freshman year there, transferred to Bowie State, and eventually made my way back “home” to ECSU. But the turning point happened at Bowie.

During Peace Week — which was created to increase morale, bring awareness and just have good energy — I was part of the planning committee for the Staff vs. Student Basketball Game. I’ll never forget sitting in the administration building with my advisor at the time, Coach Thomasina Bordley. She looked across the conference table and simply asked:
“Would you be interested in hosting the event?”

I had grown up in D.C., in spaces where emcees, presenters, and hype-men were part of the culture. Every time I saw someone command a room, I quietly thought, I can do that. But this was the first time someone else said it out loud.
I accepted the role — nervous, unsure, but needing something to believe in again. That event became my first time holding a mic with purpose. I booked my friends’ rap group to perform halftime, and I co-hosted alongside Angie Ang and Antonio the Cuban Cigar Smoker — two D.C. legends. That night, something in me woke up.

But my first paid moment came months later, after I transferred back to Elizabeth City State University.
When I stepped back on campus, word spread fast — “JayCee’s back!” — and the Director of Student Life approached me and said the students wanted me to host the Homecoming Comedy Show. I said the boldest thing I could think of at the time:
“You’ll have to talk to my manager.”
I did not have a manager.

But I had an uncle who had represented artists before, so I called him with all the faith in the world. He immediately agreed, signed me for one dollar so the contract would be valid, and took on negotiations like I was already a star.
Two hours later he called me back.
“They’re paying you fifteen hundred dollars.”
I remember sitting there stunned. I literally said, “Fifteen hundred dollars —TO TALK? And, I didnt even really talk that much? For something that felt natural, effortless, mine? I said, “mannnn keep signing me up LOL!”

I paid my uncle his 20% for booking the gig for me — $200 — and I kept the remaining $1,300. While everyone else spent money on homecoming tickets and outfits, I walked back onto campus with a check that said, You have something valuable to offer the world. That night, I hosted alongside Spank Horton and Alex Thomas — my first official paid emcee role. And that moment became the launchpad.

From there, the trajectory expanded far beyond anything I could’ve imagined:
Homecoming shows. Staff shows. 106 & Park appearances. WNBA, NBA, NCAA hosting opportunities. Viral emcee moments. International keynotes. Two books. A podcast. A brand. A career that continues to evolve every season.
But it all traces back to two pivotal moments — a campus gym during Peace Week, and a $1,500 check during Homecoming. The first moment lit the spark. The first dollar confirmed that spark was real.
And I’ve been building on that fire ever since.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Meet Ja’Naye “JayCee” Ruffin: The Cultural Bridge, Emotional Architect, and Transformational Voice Behind the Mic:

My name is Ja’Naye “JayCee” Ruffin — a proud Washingtonian, HBCU graduate, former student-athlete, international keynote speaker, and viral emcee whose passion is rooted in purpose, culture, community, and conversation. I am someone who lives at the intersection of sports, entertainment, education, and empowerment, using my voice to create energy, connection, and emotional shift everywhere I go.

How I Entered This Industry & Found My Calling:

My journey began in college when I stepped into the role of emcee for a campus event during Peace Week. What started as a distraction from losing my athletic identity quickly became the thing that restored it. Hosting became the place where I could be fully myself — commanding a room, building community, and sparking joy and unity through a mic.
My first paid moment happened when I returned to Elizabeth City State University and was asked to host the Homecoming Comedy Show. That one booking turned into a career. Since then, I’ve hosted for:
– WNBA, NBA, NCAA games & major sports events
– HBCU homecomings, pro teams, and national tournaments
– Corporate events, youth conferences & district-wide school activations
– International speaking stages across multiple countries
What started on a college campus has grown into a multi-industry brand reaching athletes, students, organizations, and entire communities.

What I Do: My Products, Services & Creative Work
I operate through multiple channels — all under my brand “Cee It Through,” built on resilience, storytelling, and real-world impact.
🎤 Hosting & Live Emcee Work
I am known for:
High-energy sports hosting
Arena hype activations
Pep rallies, concerts, and large-scale events
Corporate and cultural experiences
I create vibes, build emotional energy in real time, and connect a room — whether it’s 20 people or 20,000+.

🎙️ International Keynote Speaking
I specialize in:
Athlete identity & transition
Resilience and leadership
Mental wellness & self-belief
Culture-building for schools and organizations
My keynote style blends storytelling, humor, truth-telling, and emotional transparency. I don’t just speak at people — I speak to them and move them.

📘 Educational & Athlete Development Programs
I create development experiences for middle school, high school, and collegiate athletes, including:
Next Play Mentality
Playbook for Life (transition, NIL education, leadership, branding, and identity work)
Hype & Healing School Tour
These programs help young people build confidence, purpose, and the soft skills necessary to succeed beyond sports.

📚 Author, Podcaster & Creative Storyteller
I am a two-time author (Reality Sold Separately and After The Season) and the host of After the Season w/ JayCee Ruffin — a platform where I highlight athletes, entertainers, musicians, and more, helping those persons navigating life after the game or a specific season of life that could have changed their life — mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and professionally.
My creative work centers on humanity, healing, and high-performance.

The Problems I Solve
For Organizations & Schools
I restore culture, morale, and engagement
I strengthen community connection
I help reduce apathy, burnout, and disconnection
I create experiences where people feel seen, energized, and empowered

For Athletes
I help them navigate life beyond sport
I help rebuild identity after transition
I teach NIL, branding, leadership & mindset
I support emotional wellness and confidence

For Event Producers & Sports Teams
I amplify audience engagement
I help events feel alive
I create unforgettable in-game moments
People hire me for impact, not just a performance.

What Sets Me Apart

1. I don’t just hype the room — I heal the room.
My work blends energy, psychology, faith, culture, and emotional intelligence. I’m the bridge between hype and heart.

2. My lived experience is my curriculum.
I lost my athletic career, rebuilt myself, and turned my voice into a global brand. My story is real, relatable, and rooted in resilience.

3. I thrive across multiple industries.
You don’t meet many people who can:
Host a WNBA game
Speak to 1,000 teens about wellness
Coach athletes on NIL
Build community school systems
Emcee a corporate event
And go viral doing it
I’m a one-man band — but somehow, everything plays in harmony.

4. My brand is built on purpose, not popularity.
Every room I’m in, I’m there to shift something — not just entertain.

5. I study mostly guys in this industry because they got the bag! So essentially I built a brand becoming who they pay if I were the opposite sex, just so they couldn’t deny me for me being “a woman.” Women are often look at as the pretty face not the leader of the crowd in this industry. So when I host and/or speak I purposely make sure I am the headliner or the keynote just so I can stand alone for other women who have been denied.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I always knew I wanted to be on the radio. In high school, when we had to write five-year plans, mine was crystal clear:
I would graduate, play Division I basketball, get drafted by the Washington Mystics, hoop overseas in the off-season, come home for the WNBA season, become the next Pat Summitt in coaching, and end my career as a sports broadcaster.
I had the whole movie scripted.
But life — and the actions of a few negligent coaches and administrators — had other plans. My basketball dreams fell apart before I ever got the chance to show what I could truly do. My family never got to see me in a college uniform. And the silence that followed that heartbreak forced me to find my voice in a different way.
That voice eventually led me to radio, but the journey wasn’t linear.

My first taste of hosting came in college during Peace Week, long before the idea of a job behind a mic felt real. But once I found that mic, and once people saw what I could do with it, I knew something else was being planted in me.
Still, when I graduated, life humbled me fast.
I worked retail during the day.
Promoted parties at night.
Started all over again in a city where the promoters I once knew had moved on.
But I didn’t let the dream go.
I couldn’t.
I went to every radio job fair in D.C. — the Armory, the Convention Center — convinced that if a program director just heard me speak, they’d hire me on the spot.
I met my OG, EZ Street, during that grind. He would send me his real liners from mid-days at 93.9 WKYS and have me send back air checks — vocal résumés — critiquing everything from my inflections to my pacing. He was molding me before I ever stepped into a studio.
And I took that molding seriously.

As a substitute teacher, I would intentionally choose classes where the teachers had planning periods.
Why?
Because that gave me 60–90 minutes to go sit in my car and work on my craft.
I’d roll the windows up.
Turn the car off — whether it was freezing or burning hot.
Pull out the voice memo app.
Read scripts I typed from listening to the radio that morning.
Record.
Re-record.
Edit every track in GarageBand.
Download sound effects from YouTube converters.
Build a custom air check for every station I applied to — North Carolina, D.C., Atlanta, anywhere that would listen.
That car became my studio.
That silence became my classroom.
And in those moments, I learned not only how to speak — but how to pray.
Before every interview I would pray the same prayer:
“God, if this is for me, let it be mine. But if it’s not, I’ll accept that too.”
And every year, for five years straight, I got the second half of that prayer.
But I never stopped.

In year six, a program director in Charlotte referred me to Baltimore’s legendary station WERQ 92Q.
I messaged Vernon Kelson on Instagram — his page was private, but he accepted my request within minutes.
The moment I told him I wanted to be on-air, he asked:
“Do you have an air check?”
I didn’t have one for 92Q — because as a D.C. girl, we didn’t just go to Baltimore.
But if Baltimore was offering opportunity, I was going to take it.
I sent him my WKYS air check instead.
Within days, he asked me to come in for an interview.
Before I walked inside, I prayed again:
“God, I know You put me here. If this one is mine, show me. I believe it already.”
And He did.
I got hired.

I became — to my knowledge — one of the fastest-growing on-air talents at the station.
Within a month, I went from overnight voice-tracking to:
hosting my own night show
running a live night mix show
moving into afternoon drive
covering multiple primetime slots
and eventually landing the most coveted position in the industry: Morning Show Host, 6 AM–10 AM
I earned every inch of that climb.
I connected with listeners in ways I still can’t explain.
I helped people navigate the silence and fear of COVID through my voice alone.
I became part of people’s routines, their commutes, their healing.
And yet… even success can come with hurt.

Despite all my growth, I didn’t feel valued.
I didn’t feel seen.
I didn’t feel supported.
When negotiations weren’t handled with care — when my worth wasn’t acknowledged — I felt it deeply. And I remembered the prayer I prayed years earlier:
“If it’s not for me, I’ll accept that too.”
One day, after seeing my paycheck and realizing nothing was going to change, I made the change.
I resigned.
No backup plan.
No signed contract.
Just my podcast After the Season, a dream, and faith.
Leaving the station was the hardest decision of my career.
It hurt — not because I didn’t love radio, but because I loved it enough to walk away when it no longer loved me back.
I was replaced 30 days later.
That part stung.
But it also taught me:
how to advocate for myself as a woman in entertainment
how to navigate conflict without burning bridges
how to trust timing even when it doesn’t match my plan
how to pivot with grace, not bitterness
In the years since, relationships I built in radio have continued to grow.
Doors reopened.
New opportunities emerged.
People still ask if I’ll ever return.
And the truth is:
The mic is still part of my calling — but I now understand that value must match talent and timing.

Radio didn’t just give me a platform.
It gave me resilience.
It taught me to build my own lane.
It showed me how to fight for my voice — and protect it.
I pivoted not because I failed, but because I chose myself.
And that pivot became a blessing: it expanded my career into speaking, emceeing, sports hosting, storytelling, and building a global brand rooted in culture, faith, and community.
I still honor the journey.
I still honor the mic.
And I’m proud of the woman I became because of both.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a artist and a creative is being able to do it and meet some of the dopest artist and creatives in their own lanes that want to win and help you win too. The other is getting testimonials about how sharing my story or how my energy help enhance someones day or saved someones life. These are two things I will never take for granted.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jayceeruffin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayceeruffin
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaycee
• Linkedin: https://ww.linkedin.com/in/jayceeruffin
• Youtube: https://YouTube.com/atspodshow

Image Credits

Washington Commanders
Washington Mystics
CIAA
Radio One (WERQ-92.3)
University Of Maryland Women’s Basketball
Wendy’s
Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment Group
New Orleans Pelicans