Boycott NY's Hot 97!
by - Davey D
2/29/00 10:42:32 AM

Seems like New York's powerhouse Hot 97 may be catching heat in a minute. There are a number of activists calling for the community to boycott the station. The reason being is their apparent lack of response during the Diallo verdict. Listeners tuning into to the station were shocked to hear that it was business as usual as the station continued to play music and did not open up their phone lines and address an issue that squarely impacted their core listeners. People had to wait until Sunday night when their one hour public affairs program came on to have this issue addressed. The other day a press release was sent out...

BLACK AND LATINO YOUTH
SAY TURN OFF HOT 97!!!

As BLACK YOUTH get Killed and MURDERERS go FREE It cannot be business as usual. As the not guilty verdicts of all the murdering police who killed Amadou came out all radio stations on the band opened up their airwaves to give updates and hear the views and expressions of their listeners. All but Hot 97 whose listeners are most effective by the verdict refused to open its airwaves. They told me they had to wait 'til Sunday for the pro police Lisa Sliwa Evans to come in and lead the discussion. In other words we are too ignorant to teach our peers.

From Puffy, Jay Z, Tupac, Biggie, Big Pun, Leonard Lawton, Amadou to the hundreds of thousands we don't know our children are being pointed to the prisons and the graveyards. We must put and end to this outright promotion of ignorance and backward behavior to our children.

HOT 97 MUST GO
DO NO LISTEN, DO NOT CALL IN,
DO NOT GO TO THEIR SHOWS,

DO NOT BUY THEIR PRODUCTS,
SHUT IT DOWN!

LET THEM FEEL OUR PAIN IN THEIR POCKET!

Come out Sunday 3:00pm
Sistas' Place 456 Nostrand Ave. (corner of Jefferson Ave).
Brooklyn, New York
For info call 718 398-1766

Take Your Money out of the Banks Let your wallet be a real weapon!

Needless to say I was shocked to hear this. However, when I requested New Yorkers to drop me emails with first hand accounts as to what was going on during the day of the verdict, a number of folks echoed similar concerns about Hot 97. Here's another letter that best exemplifies this....

Here in New York, the Diallo verdict is all over Black radio. WLIB, WBLS, and WRKS have been debating the issue. On Friday night, WBLS, which is black-owned, had people calling in expressing their feelings all night long. On Sunday, WRKS, which is Hot-97's adult urban sister station, had the Bronx district attorney,Robert Johnson, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and a couple of state Senators, etc. on their two programs, Open Mic in the morning and The Week in Review at night. The DJs and listeners have been talking about the verdict since it was handed down. People are really angry and frustrated.

Ironically, (or maybe not) Hot-97, the station that represents the people who are most affected by what's going on, only dedicated their Street Soldiers program to the shooting, which only lasts an hour on Sunday nights. The rest of the time they've stuck to the music. I haven't even heard any of the DJs mention it either. It's just the business of mindless entertainment as usual at Hot-97.

As far as the protest at the United Nations was concerned, I'm not sure how many people were there. But it was huge news here. And it wasn't just Blacks and Latinos gathering. Not only did they rally all day at the UN, they marched down Madison Avenue. Al Sharpton held a rally there to bring the Diallo case to international attention. There was also a big rally on Saturday in midtown Manhattan.

And people in the Bronx continue to rally and protest on Wheeler Avenue where Diallo was killed. A lot of them are young people. On the night of the verdict, cops were out in the Soundview section of the Bronx, where this happened, in full riot gear and about five helicopters hovering. Nothing violent occurred that night, of course. A memorial has been set up in the vestibule.

Through all of the protests, there have been NO RIOTS, NO VIOLENCE. There have been a few arrests for disorderly conduct, but other than that people have expressed their anger nonviolently. So, if you hear anything different, don't believe it.

Lastly, The Rev. Al is urging an economic boycott by Black people in New York City. He is currently trying to compile a list of all the companies which contribute to the NYPD's Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. When he releases the list later this week, he's going to ask that we boycott these companies. I also think Giuliani can kiss that Senate seat goodbye.

That's all I can think of for now. Peace, Denise (the Bronx)

Will there be a boycott of Hot 97? Chuck D of Public Enemy pointed out that Black folks are damn near religious when it comes to their radio stations. They tend to remain loyal to a fault. Once you lose their loyalty then its all over, but until then its a hard nut to crack. My take is unless one can break that stranglehold, its going to be up to the artist like a Jay-Z, DMX and Puffy and others who are in regular rotation to apply some sort of pressure. Perhaps Russell Simmons will address this concern as he campaigns to get Hip Hop artists registered to vote. BTW I+s it me or am I getting a sense that Russell may one day run for office? Perhaps Brother Conrad Muhammed will take on this issue or even Al Sharpton. Ideally radio stations should address community concerns. However, business will always take precedent as long as people continue to listen without voicing their concerns.

Before a serious boycott can get underway, you can bet your bottom dollar that the station will bring out its most high profile DJs and core artists to speak up on their behalf. It would boil down to the classic scenario of individual interests i.e ['I have a job', 'they're playing my song', 'they offered me free tickets' etc vs larger community concerns that can't easily be discerned] Should Hot 97 be boycotted? Should one expect more from them? If so, what should they be doing that they're not doing? Hit me back mailto:kingdave@sirius.com. I don't mind collecting your letters and forwarding them.