Tommy Washbush
Old-school hip-hop will soon have a new home in Dane County.
And true to its roots, you’ll be hearing classics from such artists as Run DMC, NWA and De La Soul just like you did back in the day — on the radio.
With a hopeful start date of Nov. 1, local talk radio host Derrell Connor will launch “The Boombox” on community radio station 103.5 The Sun, featuring a regular set of shows playing classic hip-hop from the ’80s ’90s and early 2000s. He hopes to eventually spin those segments into a stand-alone station.
“This format has been pretty successful around the country — there are a number of stations that have switched formats to classic hip-hop, and it’s really worked for them,” he says, citing Boom 92 in Houston as an example.
The success of the classic hip-hop format elsewhere is due largely to its appeal to the middle-aged listener demographic, a known sweet spot for advertisers. “When those who are now 30, 40 and 45 years old were growing up and in college, this is what they listened to,” says Connor.
Connor echoes what other rap fans have long said about the city’s hip-hop radio offerings: “We have 93.1 Jamz here, but that’s not a real, true hip-hop station.” The station plays current pop and rap hits. (89.9 WORT also offers a couple of rap shows on very late weekend nights.)
While streaming music services have tried to meet the needs of old school hip-hop heads, a set of radio shows and, eventually, a station can do better, he adds.
“There really isn’t a difference between Pandora, Spotify and Apple Music, so what would set us apart from those streaming services is that this would be local,” says Connor.
He also points to the limits of the streaming services’ algorithms and how they often lead to looped playlists, generally filled with songs that did well in sales or on the charts.
“With this, we would have DJs and hosts actually digging through the crates, finding a great track from Outkast, for example, that [was never released as a single but] you loved and haven’t heard for ages,” explains Connor.
Another benefit that live, local DJs will have is to be able to reach back into the rap archives for hidden tracks, B-sides and remixes and mix a capella verses over different beats — something the streaming services can’t do. “You’re playing something that other stations aren’t playing and that you can’t find on the streaming sites,” he says.
But to do that, The Boombox will have to stock its shelves “with a massive catalog of everything from digital songs to CDs and even vinyl,” says Connor.
That, of course, will cost money. Heading up that end of things is Ald. Maurice Cheeks. “I frequently speak publicly about how important it is for individuals to put in the work to make our dreams come true,” says Cheeks. “So, instead of just volunteering to toss in a few dollars, I’ve agreed to help lead the launch of the Kickstarter campaign.” That campaign will launch within a couple of weeks.
Marcus Miles
Boombox radio station founder Derrell Connor
In all, Connor estimates the team will need about $15,000 to build a solid song archive and take care of other essentials as they come up. For future funding, he wants to build a business model similar to that of public radio where you donate and get a sticker, hat or shirt in return.
“It’s one thing to put this together and another to make sure it’s sustainable,” he says.
But Connor thinks the team he’s building can make it work. After floating the idea to some friends and on social media, as well as creating an online survey to gauge interest, “the response has been overwhelming,” he says. “People started reaching out to me, asking what they could do to help.”
“I called on the local hip-hop community, and they’ve been extremely helpful,” he says of the offers for volunteers and expertise he’s received, noting specifically that “the UCAN [Urban Community Arts Network] folks are all over this.”
So far, he’s tapped local promoter and artist manager Mark “ShaH” Evans to do a regular segment and will also explore a request show.
While they’re still hammering out the details with 103.5 The Sun, Connor says The Boombox will likely start with shows on Monday and Wednesday mornings 7-10 a.m.; Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons 1-2 p.m. and maybe a couple of weekend night slots. They hope to have a website (www.theboomboxmadison.com) up by this weekend.
The Sun’s signal will reach Sun Prairie, Waunakee, Waterloo and into downtown Madison, while live streaming via their website will be possible from anywhere.
“Madison is long overdue for something like this,” says Connor. “It’s crazy that it doesn’t exist already.”
