 'Radio! Suckers Never Play Me!'. These were the words Chuck D of Public Enemy first uttered over 10 years ago on his landmark record 'Rebel Without A Pause'. Since that time Chuck D has been outspoken about his concerns on who controls the flow of information. He has often pointed out that people and Black folks in particular, tend to be 'religious' to their favorite radio stations. Their undaunted loyalty sets up an interesting scenario in the sense that Black people over time develop a mind set that has them addicted and dependent on a media source that they ultimately don't control. The result is a whole lot of folks walking around thinking 'If it ain't talked about or played on radio then it don't exist'. Many stations, in particular white owned 'Black music stations' that target young people take advantage of this loyalty by keeping an imbalance of pertinent information that can positively impact and uplift the community. In other words, folks are being fed a steady diet of substandard material, and useless information that keeps them wallowing in the pathological conditions that effect them. Black ignorance has become a commodity that is aggressively projected, highlighted and marketed by white corporate radio owners who ultimately reap huge profits. The impact has long lasting behavioral effects that many people are just now starting to realize. How can some one tell Little Johnny from the Hood to do do something good and act intelligent when his primary media source is constantly showing him by what they present, that you can be handsomely rewarded for doing something bad and acting dumb? Many community leaders and activists are starting to raise questions about the type of influence radio stations are having as well as the type of access the community has to insuring that it's needs are being supported. With some of these corporate giants now owning up 8 stations in large metropolitan areas, is there a balance of material and information being fed to the community? In a recent interview Chuck noted that since the month of June he has done more then 500 interviews where he has spoken about the various new technological ground he has been covering and how there are new opportunities on the horizons for young brothas and sistas if they too get involved. While he's been on everything from CNN to C-Net, very few of these interviews have been conducted on these white owned Black radio stations that have effectively used Hip Hop music and culture as a way to attract our inner city youth. He pointed out that this has not been his choice. There oftentimes appears to be a media middle man who is disconnected from the community who decides what should and should not be exposed. In a recent issue of Chuck D's Terrordome Column which appears on his new venture http://www.rapstation.com gave one reason radio is poisoning the Black community.
"White-owned Black Radio sucks in '99 because the masters endorse the policy of more music, less talk. This policy further limits the information delivered to the people via the creation of the transparent DJ --- Colorless individuals unable to interpret the sounds they're playing for their audience. Mix and college hip-hop jocks are the closest thing we have today to the Black personality jocks of the 1950s and '60s - DJs who the people relied on for everything in the 'hood from local business support to various community activities. But corporations consider air time that could be devoted to such services to be sponsor time and not DJ time. That way it doesn't take much talent to be a radio jock these days. (Who wants to hear a damn weather report 30 times a damn day?!)" When such criticism is launched, there are many who would immediately say, 'Don't complain, go out and get your own'. We'll that's exactly what Chuck D has done. He and his partner Gary G-Wiz along with Chuck's record label Atomic Pop have hooked up and formed a global radio station for underground hip hop. It's called Bring The Noise http://www.bringthenoise.com and it will feature six new daily radio shows. Among them include Chuck D's weekly radio show called 'When The S--t Hits The Fan' which highlights unsigned indie label music from around the world. There's another show of Hip Hop classics which features longtime New York deejay Wildman Steve. There are a couple of mix shows, tons of interviews and lots of information. Bring The Noise is a very sophisticated feature that has been around for about a year and has developed a huge online following. It is now perched to reach new heights and be a big factor in the online communications game.. FNV readers be on the look out for an upcoming newsletter where Chuck D gives you an indepth look and analysis about radio and the undue influence it has on our community. the interview is very timely when you consider the recent reports about the serious drop over the past year of African American owned radio stations and the continued merging of media conglomerates who now have 'lock down' on Black listeners.
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