If you live in the Greensboro, North Carolina or nearby surrounding area, then you are very aware there is only one hip hop radio station to listen to, which is 102 Jamz. Lately though, I have been hearing more and more people either complaining about the types of songs that get played on the local station or saying that they’ve just stopped listening to the station all together. What I find most peculiar about our radio station is that it doesn’t really seem to support local artists. Now I’m not just talking about playing any person with a single or mixtape in the local area, I’m talking about artists who have established themselves in the music industry as well as new upcoming artists with good music.
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Tigo B (left) Blac Boi (right)
photo taken from still of "Back to the Money" Video |
Of course there are the couple of exceptions—and I do mean couple. J Cole, who went by way of New York to make it mainstream, is an artist from Fayetteville, NC who gets regular spins on 102. Also, anyone who’s been tuned in lately has definitely heard the new single from Greensboro native and Raleigh raised, Blac Boi and Tigo B titled Back to the Money, in heavy rotation. I don’t know how or what these guys had to do to pull off being in heavy rotation on 102 Jamz, but kudos to them and I appreciate that Tigo B. brought 102 Jamz's attention back to another local and well liked artist, Ricco Barrino, by featuring him on his single titled Ooh Wee (aka 69) . Again, these are the couple of exceptions; what about Ricco's sister, Fantasia Barrino, who won American Idol and is from High Point, just a short drive from the radio station? If you’ve been listening to 102 Jamz for just the past year you may have noticed by now that, other than the Tré Songz style of singing, there is no R&B in the playlist; that may explain why Fantasia doesn’t get any spins on the local station. I still find the lack of support to artists from the very same state the station is located in to be somewhat embarrassing, as well as an unnecessary barrier for talented local artists. I’ve traveled all over the East Coast, my favorite place to visit being my hometown of Miami, Florida, and every single time I visit there I hear Trick Daddy and Trina getting regular spins although neither of them has put out a new album in years. I know a few of the dj’s at 102 Jamz and I know the line up and regimen of the station does not fall on their shoulders, but I have been listening to the station for over 20 years and it had much more variety and content back in it’s earlier days; so my question is, what happened?!
I know several other listeners in Greensboro, NC probably have the same question. Other listeners, or maybe now former listeners, just want a change? So I want to hear from the people. How would Greensboro feel about a new radio station or for the current one to go back to the way it was, with the added bonus of playing more music from talented local artists? How would you listeners in Greensboro like a station that plays hip hop, R&B, and more reggae than just the one hour a week of “classic” reggae we currently hear? How would you like to have a radio station that really supports artists from its own state and plays “throw back” music regularly instead of just 20 minutes per day and on holidays? Basically, you out there are the listeners, what do you want to hear and what kind of radio station do you want? The listeners are the most valuable part of any radio station, so it’s time that you let you be heard.
