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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Hip-hop station aims to break stereotypes

By: Melissa Martin

Posted: 03/1/2010 3:20 AM | Comments: 0

IT was the last one, the last spot on the dial, and for awhile, Dave McLeod wasn't sure what he was going to do with it.It was May 2009, and NCI-FM, the non-profit broadcaster otherwise known as Native Communications Inc., had just won the final free FM signal in the Winnipeg market. McLeod, the station's director, knew he wanted to turn 104.7 into a voice for, and by, aboriginal youth.

The question was, what sound would draw them?

Enter the focus group. Under NCI's direction, Probe Research sat down with groups of First Nations university students and young aboriginal men and women in the workplace. It didn't take long for a winning format to emerge.

"We quickly found that hip-hop was very popular," recalls McLeod, noting that the preference over other genres was significant. "It was very clear that was the music of choice."

By December 2009, the choice was put into practice: Streetz 104.7 FM launched, staffed entirely by aboriginal youth and with a commitment to spin songs by Canadian hip-hop artists as well as more commonly known international superstars.

That, say organizers, isn't just a mandate, it's a mission. "I think the majority of hip-hop music gets stereotyped, as aboriginal people sometimes do," says McLeod. "For instance, it was, um, interesting to read some of the blog sites and what their first thoughts of the station were. In the long run, we're going to be breaking stereotypes about aboriginal music and also about hip-hop music."

One week in late February, seven of the 10 top Streetz songs were from rising Canadian hip-hop stars such as Little Saskatchewan First Nation MC Lorenzo.

Not bad for a station that is one of a mere handful of dedicated urban music stations in all of Canada.

As a non-profit, NCI doesn't look at BBM ratings for Streetz' success. It uses other barometers, such as the fact that within a month of its launch, more than 10,000 people had signed on to the station's Facebook fan page.

Or the fact that the local music community has been shouting its praise. "Hip-hop's growing way more since that station started," says Frankie Fontaine, 21, who raps as Young Kidd. "That's what we always said Winnipeg was lacking. All my friends listen to it."

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 1, 2010 A47

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