Sounding a Wake-Up Call for Rap on the Radio

Now that rap ranks among the best-selling forms of pop music, you would expect rap radio to play the genre’s most popular and respected artists. Think again. Master P, for example, may be one of rap’s most popular artists, but his music receives scant radio play. Likewise, Redman, long considered one of the genre’s best lyricists, has never had a radio hit--despite releasing four albums that have sold more than 2.5 million copies collectively.

This is one big difference between rap and the other pop genres, which are largely driven by radio and video play. Rap, in contrast, often thrives on word of mouth and street-level awareness. It’s a regular occurrence to have a hip-hop artist sell more than 500,000 albums and not have a hit single.

But there is one prominent outlet for rap’s otherwise “unheard” artists: “The Wake Up Show,” a Saturday fixture on KKBT-FM (92.3) at 10 p.m. Since its inception in 1991, hosts Sway and King Tech have featured such artists such as the Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z before they became famous. The show is now carried in 17 U.S. markets and in Japan and Canada to more than 11 million listeners a week, making it the most listened-to rap radio program in the world,

“It’s important to us to wake up people of this culture to music they don’t get a chance to hear because it’s not mass appeal,” says Sway. “It’s important because when people go up and accept Grammys for best rap album, and not one true hip-hop head bought it, the world’s perception is that this is the best rap album. It’s up to us to use our medium to expose the world [to lesser-known artists].”

Sway and Tech, who decline to reveal their given names and ages, met in 1987 while working with separate hip-hop crews in Oakland. Before launching their radio careers, Sway and Tech released an album, 1990’s “Concrete Jungle,” which featured Sway rapping and Tech producing. DJ Revolution joined the radio show in 1996 after he submitted a mix tape to Tech.

After getting their start on a San Francisco station, Sway and Tech launched “The Wake Up Show” and took rap radio by storm with their unconventional tactics. They featured conversational interviews with rappers and the music of street-respected artists, helped bring concerts to town and allowed callers to criticize the show on-air. “The Wake Up Show” (also available on the Internet at https://www.wakeupshow.com) has demonstrated that there is more to rap than what is played on the radio during the day.

“We created a cult following of people who just want to hear good music, dope MCs, phat DJs,” Sway says. “We never changed the formula. We don’t pledge allegiance to radio. We pledge allegiance to hip-hop. With that understanding, if another show is on another station, the more the merrier. That’s more hip-hop being played and hopefully they’re doing a great job at it. We should stand as a united front.”

Now there’s a new record to consider for airing--Sway and King Tech featuring DJ Revolution’s stellar “This or That,” due in stores Tuesday from Interscope Records. The album contains new work from artists such as Eminem and Chino XL, as well as classic selections from EPMD and Main Source, in a nearly seamless mix by DJ Revolution.

Although Sway and Tech do not rap on the record, Tech and DJ Revolution produced the new songs. Sway handled the business aspects of the album, such as securing talent and contract negotiations. With potent performances from popular acts such as RZA, Jay-Z and KRS-One as well as underground heroes such as Kool Keith, Jurassic 5 and Xzibit, “This or That” provides a powerful argument for increased radio exposure of lesser-known rap talent.

“People don’t realize that there’s a lot of underground [music] out,” DJ Revolution says. “Anything that comes out that isn’t on a major label and is independent is underground.”

CLAY ‘PIGEONS’: Even though TLC’s “No Scrubs” is one of the most popular songs on urban radio, it’s unlikely the tune will ever appear on “The Wake Up Show.” But “No Pigeons,” by Sporty Thievz featuring Mr. Woods, has a chance. “No Pigeons” is a parody record, a form that was once a popular device used by rappers to launch their careers.

The Sporty Thievz debuted last year with “Street Cinema,” a story-driven album that garnered substantial praise from the hip-hop press. On “Cheapskate,” the album’s first single, group members Marlon Brando, King Kirk and Big Dubez made it clear that they weren’t going to finance any female’s materialistic fantasies. The song became a club favorite but never enjoyed the mainstream appeal of TLC’s subsequent “No Scrubs”--a song that makes it clear that the members of TLC are only interested in men who will provide them with a comfortable lifestyle.

So when influential New York radio personality Funkmaster Flex suggested that Sporty Thievz record a response to TLC’s song, the result was “No Pigeons,” which uses virtually the same instrumentation as the TLC tune and echoes many of the sentiments of “Cheapskate.” This time around, the listener response has been far greater. “No Pigeons” has become a popular radio song, and Ruffhouse/Columbia Records will re-release “Street Cinema” on Tuesday with the cut added to the album.

Both “Cheapskate” and “No Pigeons” are antidotes to the free-spending sentiments of many popular rap songs.

“What Sporty Thievz chose to do was go against what everybody was doing,” says Dubez. “The ‘Cheapskate’ joint, we went totally against the grain with what cats were talking about at the time. You had a lot of cats talking about, ‘We’ll buy you this, buy you that, take you here, take you there.’ We came out talking about, ‘You ain’t gettin’ nada.’ ”

The Sporty Thievz are currently in the studio recording their second album, which is scheduled for August or September release. The trio already has a remix version of “No Pigeons” ready in case TLC or some other group unleashes a response to their response.

“When Flex hit us in the head with the idea, it didn’t spark a lightbulb--it sparked a bomb,” Dubez says. “An answer-back record hasn’t been done in years. We took the perfect opportunity to make the best of something. We made it out of fun, but if you listen to the song, it’s real as hell.”