A New Show Is Bringing Conscious Hip-Hop Back To Radio (Audio)

In recent years, Rap radio has been heavily criticized for being washed out and repetitive, playing only what’s hot right now and providing listeners with the same content over and over. But Hip-Hop’s relationship with radio hasn’t always been so disjointed. For much of its lifespan, the culture was promoted through radio shows, when maverick DJs used the public airwaves to inform the nation of a new culture, exposing millions to a New York style that would eventually take over the world. Today, Heads looking for a radio station catering to their music needs as well as the kind of news and special interest topics found on talk radio have very few options. Outside of The Breakfast Club and a spattering of local programs around the country, Hip-Hop culture has yet to find a true home in which music and informative discussion are paired on a large scale – which is exactly what a new program on Orlando, Florida’s 98.5FM is looking to change.

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Take No Prisoners Radio (TNPR) is a weekly show streaming Saturdays at noon EST at TheWire985.com and available in app form on iOS or Android. Billing themselves as providing “real talk on Hip-Hop culture and social justice,” hosts Seb and Camille H don’t hold back when it comes to tackling current events, racism, corrupt perspective, the music industry wack rappers, and everything in between. Approaching topics from a distinctly Hip-Hop perspective, TNPR have in the past hosted Masta Ace, Rapsody, Sa-Roc and others as guests, precisely the kinds of artists whose music remains in heavy rotation on the show. Launched in November 2016, TNPR plays the latest in indie and underground Rap while simultaneously using its platform to cultivate conversations about topics which might otherwise be ignored within the Rap community.

Host Sebastien Elkouby is a Hip-Hop historian and writer who created the Global Awareness through Hip-Hop Culture program, the nation’s first full-time Hip-Hop culture class for high-school students. This award-winning, college-preparatory course teaches the rich history of Hip-Hop culture while exploring media literacy, social justice, the entertainment industry, current events, gender, race, and health. As such, it serves as the bedrock for Take No Prisoners Radio’s foundation.

Today (July 10), episode 32 of Take No Prisoners Radio is streaming on Ambrosia for Heads. On this episode, Jarrett “JRock” Murrell joins the show to discuss his Fuck Your Stigma campaign created to remove the stigma associated with depression and mental-health problems in the world of Hip-Hop. This is an important episode for anyone who’s struggled with depression but was afraid to appear weak in a culture that requires one to be strong. Featuring music from Public Enemy, AFH Ready Or Not alum T.Y.E. and others, this episode is a formidable example of the work being done at TNPR.

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For more information about the show, Heads can check out the show’s archives.