Review: New local radio station for fans of classic hip-hop
For years Houston has been home to “oldies” radio stations for classic rock and country music. While those stations are still available for your listening pleasure, a new station from Radio One, self-proclaimed urban media specialist, offers nothing but classic hip-hop.
The new station goes by the name Boom 92 and can be heard on the FM dial at 92.1 and the Boom 92 website. “Classic” is as specific as the Boom website describes the genre but, after listening for a week, I recognize most of the songs as hits from the 80s and 90s with the occasional song from the early 2000s.
Hip-hop began taking form in the 70s in New York City, but was not widely accepted until the next two decades. The hip-hop genre gained some ground with the help of drum machines in the 80s, and then exploded in the 90s with the release of Public Enemy’s “Fear of a Black Planet.”
As with most genres, the hip-hop sound has evolved from its origin. But is the golden era of hip-hop already worthy of an “oldies” station? And am I really ready to accept that at the age of 28, the music I listened to in junior high and high school is already considered the “classics” of hip-hop? That’s easy. Yes, and yes. Those songs deserve their own station because even when the genre has changed again in another decade or two, the current classics will still be what put hip-hop on the map.
Occasionally while tuning into the Boom, I will hear a song that is new to me but still has that old-school hip-hop sound made popular several decades ago. But most songs, or should I say jams, have at least a lyric or two that take me back to my junior high and high school days. With the exception of maybe the incoming freshmen, the majority of UHCL students probably heard this music back in the day.
I actually find it difficult to listen to Boom 92 without cranking up the volume and nodding my head along with the beat of the songs. My favorites include “Ready Or Not” by The Fugees, “Wanna Be A Baller” by Lil’ Troy and “Poison” by Bell Biv Devoe. Most notable artists include Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur and Puff Daddy.
I have also heard a lot of songs from the Underground Kings (UGK) on Boom 92. I don’t believe it is a coincidence that the station is playing a good amount of UGK. The hip-hop duo was formed in Port Arthur, Texas, just an hour east of Houston. Founding UGK member Bernard “Bun B” Freeman resides in Houston and is still working on his hip-hop career.
The Radio One umbrella covers other Houston radio stations including Magic 102.1 FM and The Box 97.9 FM, which plays mainstream hip-hop and R&B. Boom 92 is not only the first classic hip-hop station in Houston, the website claims that Boom 92 is the first station of its kind in the nation.
The website also states the station’s goal is to “take you back” with their music selection. I cannot speak for anyone but myself but, so far, they have done just that. I was only halfway through the first song I heard on Boom 92, which was “This Is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan, and I already had the station saved to the stereo in my car.
