In the City: Boom 92 Classic Hip Hop

Jay Rio, the radio personality of Boom 92 Classic Hip-Hop

Radio stations frequently experiment with formats to find something that sticks. Sean Ross, a radio analyst at Edison Research, says that most major broadcasters are engaged in a familiar chess game, preparing to change — or “flip” — stations over to classic hip-hop to beat a competitor, even if that means changing over a successful one.


Hip-hop emerged in New York in the 1970s and had its first hit with the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” released in 1979. So far the classic (or “throwback”) hip-hop radio format is taking shape around a core of hits from the period spanning the mid-1980s to the early 2000s, with N.W.A, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Ms. Elliott represented in abundance.

Within a month, the ratings for Boom 92 (KROI-FM, 92.1) more than tripled, and Radio One — a national chain of 54 stations that cater largely to black audiences — added the format in Philadelphia, Dallas and Atlanta. Other broadcasters quickly followed suit. At least nine variants have arrived in recent weeks, stirring excitement among listeners and yielding one of radio’s most enduring signs of success: a format turf war.

by Ben Sisario

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