This is a short introduction to all the articles that are listed below. It gives a brief run down of turbulent relationship between Hip Hop and Commercial radio...We encourage folks to get some additional background by reading about the accomplishments of Jack the Rapper and Jocko Henderson-who were two Black radio pioneers who proceeded modern day rappers.

This is a recent article that appeared in the San Francisco Bay Guardian which lays out the way Clear Channel Communications ruined one of the country's most influential and powerful Hip Hop/urban/Top40 radio stations-106 KMEL. It talks about the lack of airplay for local artists, a recent report issued by the Youth Media Council and other issues that have bred a climate of dissatisfaction

This is an in depth 14 page report that attempts to assess the relationship between the landmark SF urban radio station KMEL and the larger community of color it serves. The report found there were some serious discrepancies ranging from the type of music played to the lack of accessibility from local rap artists and the lack of diverse messages in their public affairs shows. This is a ground breaking report put together by the Youth Media Council and members of the Bay Area's Hip Hop community... by Youth Media Council-12/02

This article gives a detailed and very clear break down radio giant Clear Channel and its practices....

This is a lengthy article that gives a historical overview of how commercial radio has under the guise of doing business have used marketing techniques to divide people by race. It also talks about how pop/Top 40 radio stations economically undermined Black/urban stations and forced them away from Hip Hop. This article talks about the reasons why Black radio stations started calling themselves urban contemporary

This articles focuses on the recent findings that Latinos are the country's biggest purchasers of rap music. It also focuses on the politics within commercial radio that have effectively separated Latino rap artists from their African American brethren. Around the country you have urban radio stations that have been told by their corporate management not to play rap music from artist like Kid Frost, Lighter Shade of Brown and The Mexicanz. The reason being is because their sister station is targeting the Latino community and they do not want any confusion or overlap.

This article focuses on the recent discovery that LA's top radio station Power 106 was playing an artist named Shady Sheist an inordinate amount of times. What the public did not know was that Shady Sheist was produced by the radio station's assistant program director and that his record label was owned by the parent company Emmis Broadcasting.

Funkmaster Flex of NY's Hot 97 is considered to be the most influential and most powerful deejay in the world. In recent days he's come under fire and accused of taking money to play songs-payola. Among his accusers are popular rap artists like Nas and KRS-One who went on record to say he paid Flex 40 thousand dollars to have a record play and only got one spin. This article focuses on those allegations as well as highlights an open letter that was sent to the Senate about Flex's activities. The NYPD decided not to pursue charges against Flex.

This is an insightful multi-part landmark series that appears on Salon.com that gives a definitive break down about Clear Channel Entertainment. This is the huge media conglomerate that owns most of the country's radio stations and concert venues....

This article focuses on how media corporations are spending big money in D.C. so it can give you less news. And it's found a very good friend in FCC chair Michael Powell

This is an important letter/article that focuses on the reasons why media consolidation has been a bad thing. It talks about the ways radio stations circumvent strict rules forbidden payola. It also focuses on Clear Channel Communications being a major offender and violator of various laws...

This article gives the 4-11 on why the RIAA and major record labels are trying their best to shut down Internet Radio. It has a lot to do with derailing potential competition as opposed to curtailing Internet piracy...4/26/02

Ever wonder why you have to hear the same 10 records on your local radio station day in and day out? This article breaks down some of the politics behind the way records get played. It also concludes why the RIAA is attempting to shut down Internet Radio..4/26/02

To truly understand the history of Hip Hop one has to acknowledge and truly understand the sorted relationship it has long had with commercial radio. Right off the bat we have to note that one of the underlying factors that gave birth to Hip Hop expressions was the monumental changes that took place in the early 70s on Black radio in New York City.

First you had radio stations discouraging on air personalities from talking too much. The slogan 'more music/less talk' started to emerge around this time. This of course was stifling to many within the Black community who had come to depend upon the chatterbox style of bigger than life personas of these disc jockeys. Names like Jack the Rapper, Daddy O, Al Benson, Magnificent Montague and Philadelphia's Jocko Henderson who is considered the true father of rap, are a few of the names that immediately come to mind. In fact the first official recorded 'rap recorded 'King Tem III-Personality Jock' by the Fatback Band was actually inspired by the rhyme legacy laid down by those early Black radio deejays.

To show you how deep this connection goes to Hip Hop, Jocko Henderson who came from Philadelphia which is also home to the Hip Hop's first graf writer- Cornbread, was best known as a showman who used to rhyme words during his shift. He become so popular that he would send tapes of his famous Ace of Rockets show to other radio stations around the country. One of the stations was in Miami, Florida. His show could be heard loud and clear off the coast of Florida in Jamaica. The cats in Jamaica picked upon Jocko's rhyming style and attempted to mimic him in what became known as toasting or dub talkover. Famous reggea deejays like U-Roy became known for rhyming. They in turn influenced another famous deejay named Kool Herc who is considered the Father of Hip Hop

Secondly, you had the removal of funk and soulful music as defined by popular artists like Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye and The Barkays only to have it replaced by formulized watered down disco which was done by white rock-n-roll singers like Rod Stewart and Mick Jagger.

All this was done by Black radio stations in their attempt to appeal to a 'whiter' more affluent audience in order to satisfy new standards and ratings criteria set up by Madison Avenue advertising firms. They went from rewarding attractive ad buys to the station with the most listeners [which was usually Black stations] to the station with the 'richest' listeners which was usually white.

Over the years Hip Hop has endured a tumultuous relationship with radio that has been addressed in both songs and interviews. Hip Hoppers were angry with radio for not playing them and when they finally did play them, they got angry because they found the music and culture being exploited, maligned and misused. The end result has left people from coast to coast up in arms with movements demanding accountability and reform springing up in places like NY, The SF Bay Area, Detroit and other cities.

Listed above are a number of articles that will educate you about radio as well as give you insight into the going ons of what still remains one of the world's most popular and impactful tools of mass communication-Radio