In an effort to fill the hip-hop void in Madison radio , Tom Walker, president of Midwest Family Broadcasting, recently launched the only exclusively hip-hop station in the Madison area.
Jamz 106.7, Dane County's newest radio station, provides listeners with music Walker said is in high demand.
The station will play everything from Fergie to Tupac, and will target a younger demographic than most stations. ""It's not gangsta rap,"" Walker said of what the station will play. ""It's BeyoncAc and Snoop Dogg.""
Jamz 106.7, formerly 106.7 The Lake, was converted from a classic rock station to a hip-hop station after Hot 105.9, a former hip-hop station, switched genres.
""When Hot 105.9 went away, our reaction was, wow, that was a pretty big library of music that was pretty much unavailable in Dane County,"" Walker said.
According to Walker, Jamz 106.7 will do better than Hot 105.9 because Midwest Family Broadcasting is located close to Madison and has more financial resources. ""I think we'll do better. If not, we'll at least have more fun,"" he said.
""It's about time,"" UW-Madison sophomore Sahil Desai said of the new station. ""There is a large market for hip-hop, especially at UW.""
Devout Notorious B.I.G. fan and UW-Madison sophomore, Jake Stern, said the new station is very important because it enables an audience that already enjoys and appreciates hip-hop a station to escape from area country and rock stations.
""For the many kids that have heard a little hip-hop and like how it sounds, now they have an opportunity to explore that interest a little more,"" he said.
Although Stern is an avid hip-hop listener, he said he is still wary that any radio station can provide him with all the musicians he wants to hear. He said that a radio station cannot go too mainstream.
""I'd like to hear some quality hip-hop like Lupe Fiasco, The Roots, Talib Kweli, people who don't get enough play and publicity, but at the same time I got to hear some Jay-Z, Nas, Biggie (the greatest) and even some Ludacris too,"" he said.
Jamz 106.7 has been on air since Jan. 2 and is also available online. Walker said the station may have a hard time penetrating bigger buildings in Madison or reaching basements, but that streaming the station from the web is the best option.
