R.I.P. WILD, really, what I want to write is R.I.P. Hot 97.7. It tweeked its format later in life to play more RB, but essential it was simply a rebranding of Hot 97.7. Hot97.7 = WILD.
As a youth on the south shore at the turn of the Millenium, I can say that Hot 97.7 was instrumental in introducing me to artists like Nelly, Outkast, Juvenile, Common, Alicia Keys, T.I., Macy Gray, Sysqo, Ja Rule, Memphis Bleek, Cash Money Millionares, Ludacris, Black Rob, as well as a whole list of nameless rap stars (the one who dude "uh huh/okay/what's up?/shut up) who made hot 97.7 sound like a breath of fresh air during a time when Alt. radio was mired in Papa Roach and Limp Bizkit and Jamn was playing "It's Gonna be Me" (unless it's Lance girls) every two hours.
Hot 97.7 introduced me to rap and presented it in a way so that I could feel I was listening to a station with some testosterone, a rap station for men instead of the TRL teenyboppers. The station taught me the cultural of rap, that the music had history, old school mix shows on weekends taught me the roots of hip hop, and how much of todays music is really derived from 30 years ago. I remember when Hot 97.7 first came on, everyone in the town I grew up in, Weymouth, was listening to hot 97.7. After a week of stunting with Tone-loc's "wild thing" everyone I knew in high school was listening to Hot 97.7. The months it spent as jockless automated station running only station ids and commercial spots improved its popularity as it allowed to focus on the music. Several times riding around in cars of people I'd expect to be non-musically inclined, I would hear them say thsi station keeps getting better and better. Hot 97.7 came along at the right time, conditions had been set in place for another urban station to come along, as east coast rap was peaking around then, and southern rap was starting to quickly emerge; the overall sound was much more broadly appealing. Additionally, with no real competition, Hot 97.7 was free to set the rules of what was cool.
The major flaw with Hot 97.7 was its militancy. Hot 97.7 active refusal to court the white, suburban male audience, and instead focus on Mattapan, Roxbury, Brockton and other rt. 28 hamlets condemed it to a life of ads for car detailers and seedy clubs in Providence. Unfortately, white culture was not deemed cool enough for hot 97.7, and this hurts its abilities to appeal to companies like Filenes and Nantucket nectar which traditioanlly appeal to the type of middle class audince so abundant on the south shore. I remember driving home from Papa Ginos one night when Hot 97.7 was really new and hearing the DJ mock a caller giving shout outs because he was from Hingham. Hot 97.7 chose its direction, and that direction was urban instead of Suburban, and thats why it failed. Their refusal to recognize that a. no one north of the Blue Hills could hear their crappy transmitter anyway and b. Boston is 90% white (probably higher south of Blue Hills), meant they were doomed for failure.
Nonetheless, Hot 97.7 taught me rap, and for that I'll forever be grateful. I still feel Boston can support two rap stations, but just like Jamn, the station cannot be outright Black, its sound can be outright urban, but the stats are true, there simply is too little diversity in Boston to support a station presented in a similar to, though much broader audience (12+), Kiss-FM (34-54) in New York. If there is one lesson to be learned, its that imaging is key. Hot 97.7 managed to squander its postion as the only real place to hear hip hop because its image scared away the suburban audience. Rap can work in Boston, but the jocks, if they choose to use them (Hot 97.7 was at its peak popularity automated), have to sound like the jocks at Jamn.
As a youth on the south shore at the turn of the Millenium, I can say that Hot 97.7 was instrumental in introducing me to artists like Nelly, Outkast, Juvenile, Common, Alicia Keys, T.I., Macy Gray, Sysqo, Ja Rule, Memphis Bleek, Cash Money Millionares, Ludacris, Black Rob, as well as a whole list of nameless rap stars (the one who dude "uh huh/okay/what's up?/shut up) who made hot 97.7 sound like a breath of fresh air during a time when Alt. radio was mired in Papa Roach and Limp Bizkit and Jamn was playing "It's Gonna be Me" (unless it's Lance girls) every two hours.
Hot 97.7 introduced me to rap and presented it in a way so that I could feel I was listening to a station with some testosterone, a rap station for men instead of the TRL teenyboppers. The station taught me the cultural of rap, that the music had history, old school mix shows on weekends taught me the roots of hip hop, and how much of todays music is really derived from 30 years ago. I remember when Hot 97.7 first came on, everyone in the town I grew up in, Weymouth, was listening to hot 97.7. After a week of stunting with Tone-loc's "wild thing" everyone I knew in high school was listening to Hot 97.7. The months it spent as jockless automated station running only station ids and commercial spots improved its popularity as it allowed to focus on the music. Several times riding around in cars of people I'd expect to be non-musically inclined, I would hear them say thsi station keeps getting better and better. Hot 97.7 came along at the right time, conditions had been set in place for another urban station to come along, as east coast rap was peaking around then, and southern rap was starting to quickly emerge; the overall sound was much more broadly appealing. Additionally, with no real competition, Hot 97.7 was free to set the rules of what was cool.
The major flaw with Hot 97.7 was its militancy. Hot 97.7 active refusal to court the white, suburban male audience, and instead focus on Mattapan, Roxbury, Brockton and other rt. 28 hamlets condemed it to a life of ads for car detailers and seedy clubs in Providence. Unfortately, white culture was not deemed cool enough for hot 97.7, and this hurts its abilities to appeal to companies like Filenes and Nantucket nectar which traditioanlly appeal to the type of middle class audince so abundant on the south shore. I remember driving home from Papa Ginos one night when Hot 97.7 was really new and hearing the DJ mock a caller giving shout outs because he was from Hingham. Hot 97.7 chose its direction, and that direction was urban instead of Suburban, and thats why it failed. Their refusal to recognize that a. no one north of the Blue Hills could hear their crappy transmitter anyway and b. Boston is 90% white (probably higher south of Blue Hills), meant they were doomed for failure.
Nonetheless, Hot 97.7 taught me rap, and for that I'll forever be grateful. I still feel Boston can support two rap stations, but just like Jamn, the station cannot be outright Black, its sound can be outright urban, but the stats are true, there simply is too little diversity in Boston to support a station presented in a similar to, though much broader audience (12+), Kiss-FM (34-54) in New York. If there is one lesson to be learned, its that imaging is key. Hot 97.7 managed to squander its postion as the only real place to hear hip hop because its image scared away the suburban audience. Rap can work in Boston, but the jocks, if they choose to use them (Hot 97.7 was at its peak popularity automated), have to sound like the jocks at Jamn.