Hot 97

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Hot 97 Honors Grandmaster Flash


 
As part of Black History Month, Hot 97 host Ebro Darden recently honored DJ and hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash during his morning show. The Bronx legend is credited for inventing quick mixing, punch phrasing and taking scratching to a new level.
 
Related: Grandmaster Flash Talks Nicki Minaj’s ‘Anaconda’ Video

| DJ Culture, Videos
Ebro in the Morning, Grandmaster Flash, Hot 97,
Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Cipha Sounds Leaves Hot 97

Cipha Sounds
 
New York’s Hot 97 announced Tuesday that longtime host Cipha Sounds has left the station.
 
Emmis Communications, owner of the station, issued the following statement: “Effective immediately, Cipha Sounds is no longer with WQHT HOT 97 FM. We wish him well on his future endeavors.”
 
The move comes within days of Cipha voicing frustration with the station on his “Juan Epstein” podcast, which he hosts with Peter Rosenberg. He criticized Hot 97’s management for how they handled his removal as interim afternoon host.
 
Cipha took over the 3-7 p.m. slot last summer after Angie Martinez resigned and joined its rival, Power 105.1. However, his future at the station became uncertain when Hot 97 announced last week that it had named MTV’s Nessa Nitty as the permanent afternoon host.
 
Cipha said on the podcast: “One boss told me one thing, another boss told me another thing, they then fired one of those bosses, another boss came in an told me one thing, and then a boss of another station came in and became our boss and told me another thing … All nice people, all different opinions on what the show should be and how it should run.”
 
He stressed that he doesn’t have beef with Nessa: “I told her, ‘You’re a dope choice.’ She was mad cool.”
 
What bothers him is that he never knew the station was pursuing her.
 
“They’ve wanted her for a long time,” he told Rosenberg. “They have a hard-on for her. So then why didn’t you tell me?”
 
Cipha took to Instagram on Tuesday morning to address the move:
 

 
Related: Angie Martinez Joins New York’s Power 105.1

| Music Industry
Hot 97, Radio,
Monday, November 10, 2014

Diplo and Skrillex Discuss Similarities Between Hip-Hop and EDM

Jack U
 
Diplo might be celebrating his birthday today but he and Skrillex still found time to stop by New York radio station Hot 97 for a chat. Speaking on the station’s “Ebro in the Morning” show, the two artists discussed their love for different genres and how their group Jack U is dedicated to combining them. Diplo also revealed he’s working on a track with Nas and another artist, and Skrill revealed he’s working on projects with Fergie and Missy Elliot.
 

“I never thought I was a dance producer. We had that lane for a little bit and we worked in it but we’ve always been bigger than that.” – Diplo

 
This is one the best interviews we’ve seen with either Diplo or Skrillex because it shows how diverse their musical influences are and why labeling them as EDM artists sells them short.
 

 
Here’s a breakdown of the topics:
 
– Diplo meeting Kanye West in the mid-2000s (1:00)
– Riff Raff’s authenticity (3:50)
– Collaborating with Usher (7:20)
– Working with different genres and the similarities between hip-hop and EDM (9:10)
– Diplo being influenced by early electro and hip-hop (14:00)
– The dancehall scene and working in Jamaica (16:40)
– How EDM is changing in the US (20:10)
– Diplo’s respect for Fool’s Gold and A-Trak (24:30)
– Skrillex’s production influences (25:30)
– What Diplo and Skrillex were like in high school (29:00)
– Diplo’s friendship with Katy Perry (30:20)
– Celebrity DJs Paris Hilton and Pauly D (32:00)
– Being hated on for blending genres (36:20)
– Their upcoming projects (39:20)
 
Related: Listen to Skrillex & Diplo’s Mix for ‘Diplo and Friends’

| DJ Culture, Music Industry, Videos
Diplo, Hot 97, Interview, Jack U, Skrillex,
Wednesday, November 5, 2014

T-Pain Says EDM DJs Are Hurting DJ Culture


 
T-Pain is famous for singing on hit singles but the Florida native was actually a DJ before he became a singer and currently gigs on a regular basis.
 
During a recent interview with Hot 97’s “Ebro in the Morning,” the two-time Grammy winner spoke his mind about the current state of DJing, saying that EDM DJs are hurting the culture:
 

“You know who’s hurting DJs? House DJs. EDM DJs … If you’re a DJ and you can’t rock a crowd from someone else’s computer then you’re not a real DJ.”

 
Although it sounds like a generalization, we presume he wasn’t talking about every single EDM DJ, but rather those who pre-record their sets (David Guetta and Paris Hilton were named specifically).
 
Note: the section about DJing begins at nine-and-a-half minutes in.
 
T-Pain also discussed his current label situation, his career in comparison with Lil Jon’s and his recent performance without auto-tune that went viral.
 
Related: A-Trak Discusses Why He Scratches at EDM Festivals

| DJ Culture, Videos
Celebrity DJ, Hot 97, Interview, T-Pain,
Monday, September 15, 2014

Interview with Drake Producer Mike Zombie


 
New Jersey native Mike Zombie’s breakout came in 2013 when he produced Drake’s ubiquitous anthem, “Started From The Bottom.” The OVO signee has since go on to produce DJ Khaled’s hit, “They Don’t Love You No More,” and release a mixtape titled, End of the Beginning.
 
In a recent interview with Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg, Zombie spoke on his background, introduction to Drizzy, preferred production gear, and more. The 22-year-old also dropped a freestyle to show folks he’s more than a producer.
 
Related: What We Can Learn From Drake Manager & OVO Founder, Oliver El-Khatib

| Videos
Hot 97, Interview, Mike Zombie, OVO,
Thursday, August 28, 2014

A-Trak Praises Pitbull & David Guetta for Blending Genres

A-Trak
 
With his Fool’s Gold Day Off festival kicking off in New York on Labor Day, legendary DJ/producer/tastemaker A-Trak recently stopped by Hot 97’s morning show to discuss his career’s evolution from the DMC days and working with Kanye West to launching Fool’s Gold Records and performing at EDM festivals. The extensive interview covers a lot of ground and is packed with insights on the current state of music, or more specifically, hip-hop.
 
On bridging hip-hop and EDM:
“In 2014, I don’t think we should be separating genres anymore . . . If you go back to the [Afrika] Bambaatta days, Soul Sonic Force were making electro beats and it was hip-hop and to me the way we’re all mixing these genres [is] going back to the same idea of looking for the break. It doesn’t have to be within the confines of certain sounds or whatever . . . A big part of the vision for [the] Fool’s Gold events is to bring the energy of an EDM kind of festival to a venue where there’s also rappers performing. It’s like you’re watching French Montana but it’s got the energy of an EDM Festival . . . I jump back and forth between those worlds.”
 
On why more rappers haven’t released EDM-influenced tracks: “Kanye had Daft Punk producing on his last album and people didn’t really raise eyebrows. I think there’s certain people that are able to jump those lines a little bit more effortlessly than others but at the same time the general audience’s ears are getting trained and it’s opening up. Pitbull’s been on dance records for years too. He deserves props for that because he’s been adventurous. And one of the first people that really had big records in the last couple years in North America that bridged those gaps is David Guetta. It’s obviously cool and artistic to give props to the Kanyes and even Swizz Beatz and all these guys that use electronic sounds — people don’t necessarily wanna give props to the bigger commercial guys — but Guetta had a lot of these rappers on his songs.”
 
On how the barriers to make music are lower than ever before: “I love the fact that a kid can download a cracked version of Fruity Loops and make a beat that sounds as good as what’s on the radio and put the stuff on SoundCloud and have a following . . . [but] you have to know the history too.”
 
Watch the interview:
 

 
Related: A-Trak: ‘DJing is About Taking Risks’

| Music Industry, Videos
A-Trak, Hot 97, Interview,

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