Charmaine Bey

Charmaine Bey, who leveraged her popularity on the VH-1 hit reality show “Black Ink Crew: Chicago” into a radio career, has been promoted to midday personality at WGCI 107.5-FM, the iHeartMedia hip-hop station.

Starting today Bey will be on from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. The midday slot on WGCI has been open since November when Frankie Robinson exited after five years.

Calling Bey “a tremendous entertainment asset,” program director Johnnie Glover said: “I am looking forward to Charmaine connecting with WGCI listeners both on the air and socially on a star-studded level as our new midday host.”

107.5 WGCI

Bey, a native of Slidell, Louisiana, and graduate of Howard University, joined WGCI as weekend host in 2016 after starring in the first season of “Black Ink Crew: Chicago,” a spinoff of the New York-based VH-1 reality series that follows a group of friends who operate a tattoo shop.

“I am both honored and thrilled to expand my career at Chicago’s 107.5 WGCI,” Bey said in a statement. “Radio has long been a dream of mine, and with the help of my iHeartRadio family, my dreams are now a reality. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to iHeart for initiating my career in radio four and a half years ago, and even more so for this opportunity. I couldn’t be more excited.”

Matt Scarano, president of iHeartMedia Chicago, said: “Charmaine has built a stellar entertainment brand. We are excited to showcase her brand on a different level with our listeners, advertisers and community in her new role.”

In the latest Nielsen Audio survey WGCI tied for 22nd place in middays with a 1.5 percent share and cumulative weekly audience of 226,200.