Sunday Night Sound Sessions is officially gone and we, as a city, tip our hats to both DJ Hyphen and Jon Moore (Rest in peace).
There is now a huge hole in Seattle hip-hop.
Hyphen penned a heartfelt Facebook post to the community about his 12-year tenure as one of our region’s only local media outlets. Alongside Moore, they built the most consistent platform for local hip-hop that has survived the ever-changing landscape of music consumption.
I couldn’t help but read his post hoping to see that the show would continue in someone else’s hands. I felt a pain when I read the following statement.
“Station management has declined my recommendation to pass the reins or rebrand and relaunch a new show in the same time slot. All good things do indeed come to an end.”
While this hurts, it’s nothing short of what’s come to be expected in the city. Local media outlets simply don’t care for hip-hop. Especially local hip-hop. Outside of SNSS, radio hasn’t provided outlets like other major cities. Whether your excuse is “there isn’t a ton of major artists from this area” or its something like “we don’t have a ‘sound'” I call bullshit. Seattle has developed a diverse soundscape of hip-hop that draws influence from both coasts, classic hip-hop, and funk. Live instrumentation and sampling alike have become staples of our region.
Local radio stations like KEXP and KGRG FM have provided Seattle, Tacoma, and the rest of the northwest an outlet. Much like blogs similar to our self, the “for us by us” media outlets are the lifeline of the local music scene. There is still a lack of reach within the smaller homegrown budgets of these stations.
“Traditional AM/FM terrestrial radio still retains its undiminished appeal for listeners – 91% of Americans ages 12 and older had listened to this form of radio in the week before they were surveyed in 2015, according to Nielsen Media Research.” –Nancy Vogt
Radio can be a major outlet to furthering the impact of local music. While the demand for unknown and underground music isn’t large, a city’s sound can be shaped alongside mainstream radio. The youth are able to discover music from their area. Reinforcing the idea that you can make it, and providing stories from the city they represent. When you go to LA and turn the radio on, you know you’re in LA. Same with The Bay. Houston. New York, the list goes on.
We’re at the point where outlets like ours are becoming increasingly important. I hope that we can continue to do what we can to supply the Northwest region with dope content that’s made right here.
