Episode 20 — Racist Radio Stations

[admin 330]

Yo, what up race cars! Today’s guest Jay Caspian Kang talks to Andrew about racist pop radio stations that exclude playing rap music. Call 323 389 RACE to confirm these radio stations exist and to leave a question.

[Joshie 125]

Is this show supposed to be an absurdist-comedy sort of program, or a real commentary on society? This entire episode is ridiculous. Pop stations without rap exist because some people have aesthetic preferences that don't include hip-hop styles. Someone saying that they like listening to a bunch of different kinds of music but don't like listening to rap doesn't imply anything about racial preferences. I very much enjoy Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" and don't enjoy anything by Eminem, etc.

 

Judging other people for the type of music they like to listen to (obv. excluding Johnny Rebel & racist gimmick music) is best reserved for 14 year olds - get some perspective.

[Lukas Holmes 2287]

Is this show supposed to be an absurdist-comedy sort of program, or a real commentary on society? This entire episode is ridiculous. Pop stations without rap exist because some people have aesthetic preferences that don't include hip-hop styles.

 

Sooooooooo....you missed the point totally huh? The racist part is not that they don't have rap on their stations. They can not have rap on their stations. If I tune into country, I don't expect rap. If I tune into easy listening, I don't expect rap.

 

What was racist was them specifically emphasizing that they have 'all the hits' but not 'that rap'. As the host said, they say 'rap' like the n-word. Why specifically point out they don't have that type of music? They don't have polka. They don't have K-Pop. They don't have Russian Ballet. Why the need to point out a particular type of music, one that is almost 90% ethnically based, unless they are making a point about its exclusion?

 

Think of it like this, because this is what I hear, when I hear those ads, "All the hits WHITE PEOPLE like. None of that scary jungle music."

 

Yes, it is VERY racist.

[Lukas Holmes 2287]

And actually, further to the point, who is having such a f**king hard time finding radio stations without rap? I can think of ONE rap station in the Denver area and like FORTY ones that don't have it, and maybe ONE more that has it sometimes. So to Jay's point about his friends saying, "I just want one radio station without rap", it does seem to be a blanket statement on "I just want less black stuff around me." Because where are you living that you can't find a radio station that doesn't have rap on it? Do you live inside the movie BREAKIN'? Are you trapped inside Jay-Z's locked gloved compartment?

[Lukas Holmes 2287]

And a little fun. Here is the

stuff.

 

And for more fun, here is what I think he was talking about with racism in the WWE in the 90's.

. By any means necessary. Jesus.

[Joshie 125]

Sooooooooo....you missed the point totally huh? The racist part is not that they don't have rap on their stations. They can not have rap on their stations. If I tune into country, I don't expect rap. If I tune into easy listening, I don't expect rap.

 

What was racist was them specifically emphasizing that they have 'all the hits' but not 'that rap'. As the host said, they say 'rap' like the n-word. Why specifically point out they don't have that type of music? They don't have polka. They don't have K-Pop. They don't have Russian Ballet. Why the need to point out a particular type of music, one that is almost 90% ethnically based, unless they are making a point about its exclusion?

 

I assume they meant pop, like, Lady Gaga, Adele, Rihanna etc.? I like that stuff without liking rap, regardless of the race, they are not the same sort of music. I like at least some pop from all the different races, and not much of the rap from all the different races. They are making a point about its exclusion because some people just want to listen to a pop/R&B station, and not a combo station with lots of rap

 

And a little fun. Here is the

stuff.

Yeah, coming out of a country station that's unnecessary and stupid, because they're never gonna play pop or R&B or rap and there's no need to say it. With a pop station though, a lot of them have changed over the years to include more rap and less pop, etc. (It happened here where 93.7 was the pop station and Hot 98 was the all hip-hop station, and then they started playing rap on 93.7 after 10 PM, and then eventually all day.) It makes sense to make a distinction on the type of station (pop/R&B ) where people aren't sure what they'll be getting and don't want a combo station

[Kickpuncher 5012]

With a pop station though, a lot of them have changed over the years to include more rap and less pop, etc. (It happened here where 93.7 was the pop station and Hot 98 was the all hip-hop station, and then they started playing rap on 93.7 after 10 PM, and then eventually all day.)

 

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that this coincided with hip-hop's gradual rise to 'mainstream' pop status. I guess part of the issue is whether 'pop' is defined as a genre of music in and of itself, or simply a catch-all for whatever is popular at the time (probably specifically based on Billboard charts and the like).

[Lukas Holmes 2287]

Pop=popular, right?

[gibbering ape-faced moron 1]

One thing I must take issue with was Jay's assertion that Detroit was somehow less racist than the rest of Michigan, when Detroit is ground zero for Michigan racism. It's the most segregated city in America, race-baiting is played explicitly in the city's politics, and most of Michigan's major hate groups have their headquarters either in the city or in the surrounding white-flight suburbs. Personally I have never heard the N-word used more frequently, more sincerely (by white people) than in the 3 years I lived there. The rest of Michigan outside of the southeast is most definitely racist, (and I don't mean to dismiss that) but it's the banal sort of racism that you find in most rural regions. Hate crimes aren't being committed on the regular in Traverse City the way you see them happening in Detroit.

 

The only criteria by which Detroit could be considered less racist than the rest of Michigan is perhaps "will you hear that kind of stupid anti-rap promo on the radio stations?" and that's only because the demographic for the region is mostly black and it wouldn't make sense financially for a radio station to do that.

 

Ann Arbor is pretty cool, though.

[action52 554]

I remember that back in the 90s they used to have a commercial for Chicago's "Lite" music station 93.9 where it was just this voiceover woman saying how she wishes there was a station "for her." It was just a shot of a radio, with hands putting music in and out based on what the voiceover was saying. I specifically remember a moment where the voice goes "and none of that RAP stuff," and the hands pulled a gold chain out of the radio. So racist.

 

I think excluding rap kind of made sense in the early 90s, when rap was more distinct from other genres of music. Even the biggest pop rap hits of the time like "U Can't Touch This" and "Ice Ice Baby" are very different from the stuff that was considered pure pop at the time, like Michael Jackson or Mariah Carey. But these days it's so integrated into other styles, it's hard to think of a reason to exclude it other than racism.

 

I do kind of get it, though. When I say "racism" I'm referring to a very indirect kind of racism. None of the people involved probably think they're excluding minorities. But it's all about the stations bending over backwards to make sure the white listeners are never, ever even taken slightly out of their comfort zones. And when they even go out of their way to say, "No rap," it just makes it worse.

[Mustardayonaise 4]

I felt compelled to respond to comment on this topic as I have had this discussion or argument with friends over the years. There is a definite skewed perspective on this topic if you are from Detroit so I felt mentioning that had merit. I have lived in the Detroit Metropolitan area for the last 10 years and have always noticed the radio tag lines that call out "without the rap" as their identity.

 

I get the fact that someone would like pop without rap. It's a simple preference and I don't feel that that is overtly racist. This programming choice pales in comparison on the racism scale to how other local stations program their music. In specific, although 96.3 (Detroit Pop) claims to have no rap or anything overtly urban, the local alternative rock channel will play along with their traditional alternative rock tunes, rap songs by white artists inlduing eminem, beastie boys, or any other white rap artist. That in my eyes is certainly racist.

 

I have had this discussion directly with friends who work at these radio stationd and called out racism. It is hard for them to admit and use the word racist because how powersul that word.

 

Verdict -

No Rap - Not Racist

All White Music including only white hip hop- Racist

 

Out

[Kickpuncher 5012]

the local alternative rock channel will play along with their traditional alternative rock tunes, rap songs by white artists inlduing eminem, beastie boys, or any other white rap artist. That in my eyes is certainly racist.

 

The Beastie Boys are (sigh...were) rock-oriented and alt-ish enough that I can understand that part (and the alt station I grew up with definitely played them), but yeah, playing Eminem or any other pure hip-hop by white artists only is incredibly racist.