Meet Audacy’s Hip-Hop Historians: Celebrating 50 years with voices that helped build it

A Hip-Hop Historian to the T, Ed Lover has been in the game of Hip-Hop since 1977. Famously known for being the co-host of Yo! MTV Raps, he also played himself in the 1993 film, Who’s the Man, alongside his co-host Doctor Dré and is nationally syndicated across Audacy stations. Ed fell in love with Hip-Hop because of “the fine art of MC’ing,” and the first project that made him a fan was “a cassette tape of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.”

Host of V-103 Atlanta’s Big Tigger Morning Show, Big Tigger first got his start as an intern for WPGC-FM in 1993. The very next year he landed his first radio show. His hard work and extensive career landed him the host position of 106 & Park and Rap City, the longest-running national Hip-Hop television show.

As you can see, we have all of the legends here at Audacy. The man responsible for starting the first in the world Rap format, 1580 KDAY in Los Angeles, which was the first to launch more than 60 rap artists on the radio including N.W.A., Ice Cube, MC Hammer, Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Tone Loc, and Ice-T — Greg Mack. Mack says this anniversary seems “surreal,” and it has made him reflect on all the adversity he faced trying to get Hip-Hop air time. “It has caused me to reflect back to the beginning, all the headwinds I faced with playing Hip-Hop, from politicians, parents, record companies, program directors – everyone that told me I was crazy for playing Rap,” he said.

An iconic voice of the Bay Area, Chuy Gomez, a San Francisco native, has been running the radio game of The Bay for over three decades. He currently hosts the afternoon drive at 102 JAMS. A pillar in the Hip-Hop world, Chuy remembers “bringing Public Enemy to KSOL in San Francisco” and the very first Hip-Hop album he purchased, The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

A jack of many trades, Cipha Sounds is known for his work as a DJ, comedian and television personality. As a New York native, Cipha’s favorite Hip-Hop artist is “Biggie. Hands down, every time, forever,” and even used to DJ for Lil Kim. You can catch him middays on 94.7 The Block or in the new A&E series, Hip-Hop Treasures coming August 12.

“Hip-Hop went from radio stations saying they won’t play it” to “Hip-Hop songs being power records on that very station that banned it,” DJ Buck said. He fell in love with Hip-Hop “because of its truth. It became the voice of the unheard, the loudspeaker for people to tell their story.” Buck hosts HOT 93.7′ morning show, Buck n Regg The Hot Morning Crew.

While “many said it wouldn’t last,” DJ Cocoa Chanelle knew that wasn’t the case. To her Hip-Hop means the world as she was the 1st ever resident DJ on BET Networks for the teen talk show Teen Summit, the 1st American Hip-Hop female DJ to headline in Africa, and was honored with a mural in the Bronx for contributions to Hip-Hop. She still remembers Run-DMC‘s “My Adidas” being the first song she ever cut and scratched on the radio.

“The power and freedom of expression. Hip-Hop made me, guided me, and showed me that it is possible to live my dreams. Hip-Hop is the soundtrack of my dreams,” said by WPGC 95.5’s DJ Flexx. Having been featured on some Hip-Hop classics, this anniversary means so much to him, “Hip-Hop is alive! The culture has and will continue to give a voice to the voiceless and generate economic opportunities for many who have the deck stacked against them,” he said.

Who do you know that toured with Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, DJ Kool Herc, and Grand Wizzard Theodore, the inventor of the scratch? No one? Well now you do because DJ NonStop did back in 1993. He was living and breathing Hip-Hop. Before becoming a mixer at 104.3 Jams, NonStop used to be DMX‘s official tour DJ and did so for 18 years. No surprise that DMX is his favorite Hip-Hop artist.

“We’ve come so far culturally, but we have a long way to go financially. Hip-Hop is a billion-dollar business. Everyone is making billions off of Hip-Hop except for the people in Hip-Hop,” 94.7 The Block’s DJ Scratch said. A GRAMMY-nominated, two-time World Champion DJ, Scratch was the first recipient of the Global Spin Awards “Turntablist Of The Year Award,” who has produced more than 40 gold and platinum records.

A true neighborhood hero, through his impact on Hip-Hop and his philanthropic efforts to every community he’s worked in Greg Street is Hip-Hop. He once said “I didn’t fall in love with Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop fell in love with me.” Greg has been credited for coming up with the idea of Outkast’s double solo album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. He has been named BET’s Power 30, XXL Magazine’s Top 50 Greatest DJs, and Complex’s Top 20 Celebrity Sneakerheads.

106.5 The Beat’s Mike Street says he fell in love with Hip-Hop because of “the way that the MC stood out from singers via the content and delivery, the confidence and arrogance that was displayed. It garnered attention through a sense of reverence and relatability.” He did his first mix show back in 1989 and his first celebrity interview in 1990 with MC Lyte.

Talk nice when talking to Miss Jones as she was the original Pepa in Salt-N-Pepa and she was the fist and only female member of The Get Fresh Crew with Doug E. Fresh. She says she fell in love with Hip-Hop because “it was new and available to a poor kid like me who was searching for a way to express my musicality. Up until that point, the only young girl doing music was Stacy Lattisaw. Hip-Hop gave me an angle.”

Running the New York airwaves for over 20 years, Mister Cee was the DJ and producer for Big Daddy Kane and discovered the Notorious B.I.G., who both happen to be his favorite Hip-Hop artists to date.

Having produced the Hip-Hop classic “Pistol Grip Pump” by Volume 10, which was covered by Rage Against the Machine and produced by Rick Rubin, these two say they fell in love with Hip-Hop because “it was inclusive. If I couldn’t dance, I could be a DJ. If I can’t DJ, I could be an MC. If I can’t be an MC, I can do art. It’s so available for everybody to jump in with no cultural preconceived notions.”