On April 1, Rhythmic Top 40 KNRJ Phoenix became Throwback Hip-Hop/R&B KZCE (101.1 The Bounce). On May 18, the first PPM numbers came out and KZCE was up 1.0–2.7. It was a noticeable debut for a format you might not have thought much about recently. But someone has.
The Memorial Day format-change weekend began with KLZT-HD2/K274AX Austin, Texas, becoming The Vibe, positioned as Rhythmic AC, but based largely in throwback titles. On the following Tuesday, Classic Hits KRKE Albuquerque, N.M., became 101.3 The Hustle, immediately winning the weekend at least for station names. Both stations are in markets that already had some version of Classic Hip-Hop on FM.
It has been more than seven years since the early 2013 launch of WBQT (Hot 96.9) Boston, a gold-based Rhythmic format based heavily in Classic Hip-Hop and ‘90s/early ‘00s R&B. Eighteen months later, Radio One’s KROI (Boom 92.1) Houston launched a more narrowly defined Throwback Hip-Hop approach, which turboed the Classic Hip-Hop building boom and prompted a New York Times story on the format. Even then, the format was a decade old, since the current KDAY Los Angeles goes back to 2004.
Boom Houston lasted a little over two years, and eventually its Radio One brethren followed it out of the format. So did iHeart’s KZEP (Hot 104.5) San Antonio, Texas, one of the format’s major success stories. WRWM (The Beat) Indianapolis lasted about three, but not before inspiring a Cumulus/Westwood One Classic Hip-Hop network that was heard on KWQW (The Vibe) Des Moines, Iowa, until last weekend.
If you had already pegged Classic Hip-Hop the next “Jammin’ Oldies”-style fad format, and many people did from the outset, the discussion was closed. But in 2015, when Indianapolis was at its peak, I wrote an article noting that Jammin’ Oldies was still flourishing in a handful of markets. Count on that for Classic Hip-Hop too, I predicted.
Eight years later, there are at least 15 stations based in Classic Hip-Hop in the PPM markets. Boston’s Hot 96.9 never experienced market dominance but has been a reliable three-share player throughout, even without driving rival WJMN (Jam’n 94.5) out of the format. That station had a 2.9 in April. Others in that range include sister WMGC (the Bounce) Detroit (3.4), WBMX (104.3 Jams) Chicago (2.8), KXQQ (Q100) Las Vegas (3.1). In April, KVBH (Vibe 107.5) San Antonio was up 4.0 – 4.6, showing that the format can become refreshed.
Jammin’ Oldies found its foothold particularly in those markets that weren’t likely to support a full-fledged, Black-targeted R&B station. But Detroit and Chicago are markets where coalition formats usually haven’t been tenable long-term. Both Jammin’ Oldies and Classic Hip-Hop were hurt in the long run by great first books in formats that were never meant to be more than niches, but made being a niche player hard to accept. Those willing to do Classic Hip-Hop as a niche format are still doing fine. On a translator or more marginal signal, the format is more typically a 2 share or thereabouts; in San Antonio, it’s more than a niche, yet again.
Classic Hip-Hop has also changed the Adult R&B format. In the late ‘90s/early ‘00s, some of those stations experimented with Hip-Hop titles and quickly found them incompatible, even for an audience that grew up in the Hip-Hop era. Now, the biggest ‘90s Classic Hip-Hop titles are a regular part of the format, and the ‘90s R&B that is the other half of the throwback format is the center lane.
WBQT was launched not on a Classic Hits template, but more like a gold-based AC, playing a handful of recurrents and reaching beyond the format for Michael Jackson on one side and Justin Timberlake and Maroon 5 at the new end. At that moment, there wasn’t much from contemporary Hip-Hop to play beyond Drake and a resurgent Jay-Z. Now, Hip-Hop itself is resurgent, but seemingly a generational chasm apart from 1995-2005 music. Hot 96.9’s most-played current is Justin Bieber’s “Peaches,” but there’s also Pop Smoke, DaBaby, and Saweetie among the newer titles.
The Boston version of the format is the one heard in Phoenix, at least in terms of the “plays Timberlake” pop edges. (KZCE is not playing recurrents.) Candelaria came from WMGC and Beasley, which in turn acquired the stations from Greater Media, which owned WBQT at its launch. Austin’s Vibe is also positioned as a yesterday-and-today station. Albuquerque’s KRKE is doing a harder mix, more reminiscent of the Boom stations. In the hour monitored, the most recent title was from 2017.
Here’s Phoenix’s The Bounce, “The Valley’s Throwback Station,” at 9 a.m., June 1:
- Nelly, “Country Grammar”
- Rihanna f/Jay-Z, “Umbrella”
- Akon, “Don’t Matter”
- Drake, “Find Your Love”
- Shaggy, “Angel”
- Big Tymers, “Still Fly”
- Justin Timberlake, “Rock Your Body”
- Jagged Edge f/Nelly, “Where the Party At?”
- DMX, “Party Up (Up in Here)”
- Outkast, “Hey Ya”
- Bruno Mars & Cardi B, “Finesse”
- Notorious B.I.G., “Juicy”
- Chris Brown x Young Thug, “Go Crazy”
- Aaliyah, “Are You That Somebody”
Here’s Austin’s 102.7 The Vibe at 7:15 a.m. on May 28. The Vibe’s mix ranges from Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative” to Doja Cat’s current “Kiss Me More,” but it still reads more like a Hot 96.9 than WSTR (Star 94) Atlanta’s poppier rhythmic yesterday-and-today mix.
- Eve f/Gwen Stefani, “Let Me Blow Ya Mind:
- Warren G & Nate Dogg, “Regulate”
- TLC, “Creep”
- Snoop Dogg, “Drop It Like It’s Hot”
- Megan Thee Stallion f/Beyoncé, “Savage”
- Jagged Edge, “Let’s Get Married”
- Silk Sonic, “Leave the Door Open”
- Jennifer Lopez, “Jenny From the Block”
- Jay-Z, “Hard Knock Life”
- Cardi B, “Bodak Yellow”
- 50 Cent, “Disco Inferno”
- Destiny’s Child, “Say My Name”
- Big Punisher f/Joe, “Still Not a Player”
- Dr. Dre, “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang”
- SWV, “Right Here/Human Nature”
Finally, here’s The Hustle on the morning of its June 1 launch at 5:30 a.m.:
- 2pac & Snoop Dogg, “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted”
- Lil Wayne & Drake, “She Will”
- DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, “Summertime”
- NWA, “Straight Outta Compton”
- A$AP Ferg, “Plain Jane”
- Juvenile, “Slow Motion”
- Three 6 Mafia, “Stay Fly”
- Project Pat, “Sippin’ on Some Syrup”
- Young Jeezy, “I Luv It”
- Drake f/T.I. & Swizz Beatz, “Fancy”
- Cypress Hill, “Insane in the Brain”
- Lil Wayne, “Lollipop”
During the year when COVID-19 upended radio listening, I wondered if Classic Hip-Hop stations were going to benefit from the same sort of elevated upper-demo male listening that powered Classic Rock and Active Rock stations. That hasn’t happened so far, but I’d expect a somewhat harder-leaning station like the Hustle (or the old Boom outlets) as the most likely to be helped by that shift, if it continues.
