WHOT Episode 148 – “Steppin In Her I. Miller Shoes” by Betty Davis
Hosted by Mangus Khan

[Low hum. Guitar fuzz creeps in like static from another dimension. The rhythm stirs—unsettling, insistent.]

“You’re listening to Late Night Grooves.
WHOT.

And I’m Mangus Khan—broadcasting truth from a dimly lit booth, where the forgotten get remembered right.

Episode 148.

And this one?

This one’s for the woman who refused to fold.

The artist who didn’t ask permission.

Betty Davis.

The song?
Steppin In Her I. Miller Shoes.
From They Say I’m Different, 1974.

A song about a woman the world used up, spit out, and moved on from without so much as a whisper.

And Betty?
She sings like a ghost in stilettos.

“She used to dance in nightclubs…
She used to sing in shows…”

You can hear it—this isn’t nostalgia.

It’s mourning.

It’s recognition.

And it’s personal.

Because Betty didn’t just write about this woman.

She was this woman.

A force.
A flame.
A Black woman in the 1970s telling the truth about sex, power, and control—loudly.

And for that?
She was erased.

Dropped by labels. Blackballed by men who couldn’t handle being outshone.

She never got the redemption arc.

She got silence.

But this track?

This is her pushing back—not with apologies, but with fire.

And here’s the part that breaks you if you’re listening closely:

She sings about someone disappearing…
While it was happening to her.

That’s not performance.

That’s premonition.

The music? Gritty. Gnarled.

It doesn’t rise or fall. It grinds.

Like time chewing someone up.

And her voice?
It’s not trained. It’s untrained on purpose.

Because the truth doesn’t need polish.

It needs courage.

Betty Davis gave more than most could handle.

And she paid for it.

But not here.

Not on this station.

On Late Night Grooves, we remember.

We honor.

And we let her voice be what it always was—

Loud. Uncompromising. Necessary.

Episode 148.

Betty Davis.
Steppin In Her I. Miller Shoes.

This is Late Night Grooves.
WHOT.

And I’m Mangus Khan—

Still walking with the women they tried to forget.

Still spinning stories that deserve to echo.”

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