Before the advent of satellite and internet radio, it was very uncommon to hear authentic, genuine Hip-Hop music on an FM band. To do so, you, most of the time, one would have to turn the dial way down to the left, into the double digits. Usually a college/University radio station would have to suffice. In fact, this was pretty standard following the late 90s.
Then came the corporate dickheads like Emmis Communications, Cox Media Group and iHeartMedia, who bought up shares of some of the biggest names in rap radio and completely flipped the script on their formats, almost deading the station’s essence in the middle of the water overnight.
The standard practice then became hearing the biggest song of the week played at the top of the hour, every hour. Gone were the days of being able to hear a Biggie record, followed by something from Noreaga, Xzibit and OutKast. Instead, we were unfairly blasted with a mixture of an incredible DMX record blended with that unwanted Christina Aguilera hit. The rebellious, fuck-the-system nature of rap was sorely missing from the airwaves.
Fortunately for New Yorkers, there were two well known saviors from this falling grace: 89.9 (WKCR) and 89.1 (WNYU). The former — affectionately known as 89-Tech-9, played host to the legendary (since retired) Stretch & Bobbito Show, while the latter was home to DJ Eclipse’s The Halftime Show.
Sadly, Wednesday, March 2nd marked another bittersweet day, as Eclipse’s 18-year-long running show came to its final resting stop.
On the flip side, the show’s finale brought out the likes of Evil Dee, DJ Skizz, Marco Polo, Large Pro (who kicked a couple bars but really wanted to just play beats), Skyzoo, Pete Rock, Jakk Frost, D-Story (D-Stroy), Torae, Deejays Rob Swift, Boogie Blind and DJ Precision — plus more.
It marked the end of an era on a high note, and now, for those who missed it, you can witness what with down with both the recorded audio and video, below.
