Morning DJs at HOT 97 FM in NYC = some dumb motherfuckers.

One of my favorite radio moments ever, though -- I'm driving back from a ridiculously late deadline night at the newspaper where I worked at the time, and it's late enough that for the first time ever, I catch the beginning of the Hot 97 morning show (the current one)

For a minute or two, just an instrumental hip-hop beat played. Then the guys came on and started saying, "Alright everyone, I want you to just kick a freestyle right now. If you're drivin' to work, just kick a freestyle. All of y'all brushin your teeth at home, just kick a freestyle. Gettin' dressed -- kick a little freestyle right now."

And they just let the beat play. It was like a John Cage piece, where the imaginary freestyle of the person brushing his teeth *was* the music.

http://hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:96898

On December 15, radio personality Star of syndicated radio show "Star & Buc Wild" made an on-air prank call to an India-based call center. Star originally called to complain about a hair-bead product.
After questioning the Indian woman's hair-bead expertise, Star exploded "listen, bitch! Don't get slick with the mouth! Don't you get slick with me, bitch!" and, "listen to me, you dirty rat eater. I'll come out there and choke the eff out of you. You're a filthy rat eater ... How dare you outsource my call? Get off the line, bitch!"

The incident went unnoticed when initially aired. Weeks later, controversy flared when Philadelphia radio WUSL Power 99 posted audio clips from the segment on their website. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer , the station pulled the clip from its website after receiving over 130 email and phone complaints -- reportedly the most complaints the station had ever received in response to a single incident. The South Asian Women's Creative Collective list serve and Indian-centric websites like TurbanHead and DesiBlog decried the call as racist and misogynistic. The Times of India ran an editorial titled "Who the 'eff' are Star and Buc?" on Jan 12.

Response was swift. Power 99 removed the sound clip from the site. The web page administrator who posted the sound clip online was forced to undergo sensitivity training. They posted an apology online, saying "the Star & Buc Wild Show prides itself on walking on the edge. On December 15th, we crossed it." Star and Buc Wild received a one-day suspension.

The brief suspension most likely won't trouble Star and Buc Wild all that much. The controversy -- which seems to already be fading -- coincides with a career triumph for the radio duo. On Jan 17, the show, which had been broadcast from Hartford returns to the New York airwaves (the show will continue to be aired in Hartford).

From 2000 to 2003, New York hip-hop and R & B station Hot 97 featured Star and Buc Wild as their morning drive-by hosts. When Star and Buc Wild debuted, Hot 97 focused mainly on star DJs like Red Alert and Funkmaster Flex and shows that consisted of music mixes, occasional hip-hop celebrity interviews and guest freestyles. The "Star & Buc Wild" show was bracing in this mix. The rest of the station was a largely uncritical celebration of hip-hop; Star, a self-proclaimed "hater," criticized many hip-hop conventions -- notably on-air shout-outs.

Star is a contrarian, and much of his shtick stems from defying hip-hop norms. In the press release touting his return to New York, he describes himself as "the illegitimate love child of the Honorable Elijah Mohammad and Ayn Rand." On air, Star willfully admits to growing up in the suburbs. (On a recent show he bemoaned his move from Manchester to "grimy" New York, noting that he grew up in a town like Manchester.) Even his embrace of hating is reactionary: a hater is usually a target of derision in hip-hop.

Star could be termed a shock jock. The format of his show, personality-driven entertainment talk, is similar to Chicago's Mancow, XM satellite's Opie and Anthony, and the Howard Stern show. What differentiates his show is its urban radio context.

Star's New York reign of hate ended in 2003. Allegedly, Star's firing offense occurred in 2001, while he was off the air -- co-host Bucwild played sounds of screams and crashes when R & B singer Aaliyah died. However, Star claims that the Aaliyah death gag was done with Hot 97's permission and encouragement. "They did everything they could to exploit that, including hiring an independent publicist," Star told the New York Post in September 2004. Ennis Broadcasting, Hot 97's owners, also alleges that Star alienated advertisers and artists, was intoxicated at a public appearance and assaulted station General Manager Barry Mayo.

The Star and Buc Wild show will now return to New York radio on rival hip-hop station Power 105.1. Like Hartford's Power 104 and Philadelphia's 99 Power, 105.1 is a Clear Channel station.

Clear Channel is infamously zealous about censorship -- they claim to have a "zero tolerance policy" for on-air obscenity. The company notoriously dropped Howard Stern from six stations in April of 2004 over trouble with the FCC.

Speaking of Stern, it seems that Star has a chip on his shoulder shaped like the King of All Media. His website touts how his show has "beaten Howard Stern" in the ratings. In a 2004 New York Post article, Star accused Stern of "whining" about his FCC troubles. Even though he mocks one of his show regulars by calling him "Crossover," it seems that Star wants to cross over himself.

The "Star & Buc Wild" show continues to air on Hartford's Power 104. With Star's prime morning spot in New York and his syndication network in place, Star looks primed to be a major player in talk radio. How comfortable Clear Channel will be with his act remains to be seen.

TurbanHead?

The bullshit that Jones says to Miss Info is even more disgusting than the actual song.

http://www.homepagez.com/adleon/jin-tsunami_response.mp3

damn....some big sponsors are dropping out...I guess even large corporations have to have a heart, or at least pretend to, when you insult a coke drinkin, big mac chompin, long distance phone usin market.

is this honestly a radio term? don't they mean "drive-time" hosts?

From Hot97's parent company's site:
Mornings On-Air at HOT 97 in New York City.

Are you entertaining, provocative, compelling or just plain out of your mind?

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to change radio forever in America’s largest market. WQHT / HOT 97 is looking for new talent to contribute to the next generation of great HOT 97 morning shows. You’ll never work harder or have more fun.

We are looking for passionate air talent who can connect with today’s youth and the Hip Hop culture. Experience is not essential.