Why am I not playing J Electronica on Hot97?

The personal responsibility to keep good hip-hop alive lies with us all home. I’m the Deputy Editor at XXL Magazine. We gotta cover hip-hop in a blanced manner and sometimes it’s hard to argue why a Jay Electronica is important, but its worth the fight. Good music is worth fighting for.

I think it is fear. Hear me out. You’re afraid that once you sellect and play the track it becomes the bar. Now you have to look that much harder for albums that try to meet or exceed that bar. The unfortunate reality is there are not that many being made. Conversly the listern is, in some instances afraid to try it because they’ll have to judge the rest of what they listen too against “Exhibit C” or just about any other track from “Who the F$@k is Jay Electronica”. The danger there is that they may realize the degree of ear candy (Might be good for a moment but too much will make you sick eventually) that they are listening to. Who like to have reality checks like that? Nobody, but they are needed. Enuff you along with everone else is having a Matrix moment. Red or Blue pill time ya’ll who wants to wake up? Who wants to realize that what were listening too is that messed up? Who wants to own up to the fact that radion is being driven by 14 y/o girls with nothing but free time becasue they don’t study? Even if but for a moment Enuff serve up that Blue pill and wake some folks up. Let Jay Electronica be that warning shot to listeners and artist alike. It’s okay to tell folk “Step your game up”. Just a thought- Jamil Buie

Let’s play some GOOD shit from the south as well as all the hopskotch, nickelodeon, corny shit! Hahaha! The rap that defined a lot of our outlooks is being replaced, not even supplemented, with pure junk food.

Because after the song is done, everything else on hot97 would seem that much cornier

Does it have to be all those things in order to make it on the radio??? I hope not. I don’t know man. Probably b/c your going crazy. This song is mad inspirational to EVERYONE! If you really have to question why your not playing the song then your losing it. Make the right decision.

JUST PLAY THAT SHIT.

I ask myself this question every other day as well E. I sometimes question the way Radio is ran, but understand why certain things are done. Truthfully you can play it if you want at any time, but why aren’t you? There is no Bar in Hip Hop, there’s just Good Music and Good Music needs to be heard and shared with the masses, before its too late.

Why would it be too late? Because by the time people hear it the interest might not be there no more and then it’ll just be another great artists/song swept under the Hip Hop Rug. Yes this has happened before, but with people like you generating awareness to a Jay Electronica Song its preventable.

Your are not to be blamed. I don’t blame you, I understand and know why things are done. This happens across the country all the time, everyday throughout the Radio/TV Medium. This is why there such a big Cult and Boom in the internet/online game, internet radio, blogs & more, because they are not afraid to play what’s good and what really needs to be heard. What WE wanna hear. With that being said the result of this is a faithful following and an even bigger one because the stuff that radio or major tv networks aren’t playing. These blogs/sites, internet radio stations ARE all playing and showing support to those Artists that we would have never known about via the Major Radio/TV Medium. There’s a lot of politics involved in that business. I can name about 20 Artists that deserved the same success they’re getting now 5 years ago, but how we would’ve known if ‘People’ wasn’t playing they’re stuff?

At the end of the day, you now have Major Radio, TV Networks and even Record Labels getting involved and even launching their own ‘Blog’, Online series, Vlogs, and looking towards those people who have been supportive and playing people like Jay Electronica, Mickey Factz, Kid Cudi, Wiz Khalifa and more. The list is endless. You even now have these Major Mediums and Labels looking at this ‘underground/internet cult’ for the latest videos, mixtapes, songs, leaked/unreleased songs and even looking for the next big artists. They’re even using it as another Medium and form of promotion to bring awareness to their Endeavors, Artists and More.

Yet again, They Loose and US as a Culture, Genre and Generation Wins again. Good Music Will Always Win. Quality Music will find its way through the Cracks and Will Always prevail.

-Just Play Anything you want E, that’s why people fell in love with you and niggas like me look upto you as a DJ.-

DJ Laser

To even think of not playing something because “it’s so good” says it all. Who has the power to change things should do it, with integrity.

grow a pair, and play that shit.

Too long has the industry been dictating what’s hot. It started in the streets, let’s take it back into the streets and into our own hands. Just play the record…what’s the world going to say? It’s not a hot record?

Just play the record man…

don’t let the radio station play puppet master in ur ass cavity..no diss but just play the record…Jay is a cool dude and deserves the shine too…

Anotha Time,

Mally

You have a platform to influence the youth into hip hop and you have a responsibility to at least balance the BS with some real hip hop like this. Play that song.

http://www.ddotomen.com/2009/12/27/dj-enuff-why-am-i-not-spinning-jay-electronica/

I couldn’t agree more with joevasion…stop whining and PLAY THAT SHIT!

DJ’s should be breaking records and exposing people to music they might not know they like. Hip Hot (and Hot 97) needs Exhibit C.

You won’t play it because the attention will
make him feel obligated to make an an album.

Put the pressure on, pause.

LOL its a sad day when this question has to be asked… another reason the 90′s will never be recaptured. Its a shame that the younger generation cant experience the ”feeling” that us in our mid 20′s and older had during the golden era.

Hot97 needs to catch up

Man I’m an aspiring artist and I can say for myself hearing songs like “Exhibit C” keep me inspired and on my personal path faithfully..I’m a young cat too, so there comes plenty times where a lot of my peers act as if Hip Hop is dead and don’t appreciate music with some substance to it..but speaking from my perspective we deserve that BALANCE!

We deserve to hear both options on the radio if this is truly a ‘equal’ country. Why must we be bombared with only one emotion? The record sparks a plethora of feelings that an artist like Gucci or Soulja Boy cannot bring forth, and that’s not necessarily hate on them because they don’t make records that cater to those feelings…

As a DJ on the radio you have to have that balance…give us that choice. Let us decide for ourselves, don’t keep it to yourself. That’s all I have to say.

What are you waiting for? I don’t understand, you act like you really enjoy the song, and you’re willing to play the song but something is holding you back? So you play Major Lazer on the radio and nobody is really familiar with them. I can’t tell you how many people I had to inform of the group that consisted of Diplo…Jay Electronica deserves his shine, the god is nice on the mic and as a DJ on the radio with the liberty to mix the records you want to mix, you should definitely have Jay Electronica HEAVY every show on Hot 97 and on your Alistradio.com shows!

One of my favorite parts of the days is hearing Mr. C do the throwback at Noon on Hot 97! I almost wish that I have to work early just so I can catch Mr. C do his thing! He always murders it! When the Rush Hour comes on, I already know it’s gonna sound like I been throwing shots back for hours already and my workplace turns into a nightclub. I know that’s not your background. You got in this game from loving and playing HIP-HOP!

In summary, you already play music that Hot 97 doesn’t play on the regular. Sure it’s all on a dance / club tip, but why not switch it up every other show? Play some underground joints! Increase your audience! Jay Electronica is dope! Anybody who thinks otherwise is simply a hater or doesn’t know HIP-HOP!

don’t be a b!tch, play that real ish, DEATH TO THE SNAPPERS!!!! LOL

Now working in radio for so long clearly you wrote this post as a message of. Support and debate reasons because obviously you’re aware of what it takes to get music on radio with three basics; metings, demand, labels…of course there are others but that’s the best way. And although I love Jay to fucking death, him not living up to his word on the demand of the public, its doubtful him and.his camp is following through with the steps to get the track on radio vs being a song on a traffic mix…but, I could be wrong

You gotta push the record. You’re doing Jay a disservice. He makes good music, play the good music. It ain’t hard.

Play that shit.. see the response you get

you gotta play it for the kids

If Ebro had that problem, i’d understand but you? Dj Enuff? That makes no sense at all. You have the “power” to play what you want and like. Just do it!

Go Swe Ebro Just, this record could literally change the course of NY radio as it relates to classic hip hop, It deserves a 1 on 1 sit down. Give Enuff and all of their other Jocks the political in his clout to bang out on the record, It’s So Necessary. Exhibit C Goes hard and isn’t just some Backpack shit (Not That that’s bad) but it really Knocks.

Hip-hop NEEDS this. So many have lost faith and stopped trying, stopped digging in the crates. I’m in no way BLAMING the radio DJs, it’s all of us. As the first cat mentioned, we have to fight back. I understand the obligation to play that poppy shit, but there is an equal obligation to play THIS track. Set the tone, ENUFF IS ENUFF.

It’s not on Hot because people can’t dance to intellect, only ignorance, so keep jerkin’ and getting dumber.

@cathrynmarie if your talking about jay e not dropping act II on christmas, he never said he was gunna drop it on christmas he just said he was shooting for a christmas release….. and if your talking in general i agree they need to start releasing more material

Look man, either you be another victim DJ of the music (if you want to call it that) that is on the radio now, or you take a stand for the intelligent and intellectual hip hop fans that have been forced to hide from Hot 97 in their iTunes for years. On a big scale of things, right now (talented) artists like Jay Electronica are irrelevant because that’s not what the mass public is into, that is a crime to hip hop pioneers…but how do you think all these cornball rappers (the opposite of Jay Electronica) got popular and are on the radio now? The answer to that is the labels just jamming the music down the kids throats and making a saying or dance to go along with it. I mean at one point Nas was on the radio. I can’t remember the last time I heard Nas on the radio down here. Can you imagine a generation of kids that think Nas is wack because none of their friends listen to him? You are a DJ at the head of all hip hop radio stations in the country…people still look up to New York, rappers and almost all artists move their to start their career. So either you stand up for the Jay Electronicas, the Nas’, the Rakims, the Notorious BIGs, the KRS-Ones, the Commons, the Lupe Fiascos, the Talib Kwelis, the dope MCs and play dope music…or you can just please the big fat boss at the record label who is raping the youth of real talent, like every other DJ. Just look into where you came from and what made you love hip hop, to know which direction you need to head in.

Play “Exhibit C” on Hot97! With just a cult following and a grassroots movement, we made Exhibit C #10 on iTunes. Imagine what the real hip hop fans in hiding would do to make good music appear on the radio again? Artistic integrity.

Their needs to be a balance on the radio as it’s filled with the same top 40 music being played all day. Enuff, get “Exhibit C” in your rotation and hopefully other DJ’s will follow your lead!

theres really nothing to politic about here.. you’re the DJ, you have absolute power. You don’t have to NOT play all the other crap people call in and request, but it’s silly not to J’s shit just cause…

“C’mon Son!”

play it. stop being a zionist.

if you are apart of early radio late 80′s and 90′s then it would be no battlle of which time slot you should play his music.In order for you to become yesterday,today and tomorrow’s dj jock you will have to play everything…..remember good music is not always a hit……

If you want to allow hip-hop radio to continue to be held responsible for bullshit money grabs that dilute and distend what’s real and good in the genre, then let records like “Exhibit C” disappear. I mean, that must be who we as a culture of heads have become — we let it disappear and we don’t do shit about it and then, three years later, we sit there and go, “Damn that track was so ill. How come it never got anywhere?”

I am not going to crank dat to “Exhibit C”. I am not doing the fucking Halle Berry to “Exhibit C”. I am not trying to do the jerk when I listen to “Exhibit C”. Is that all the fuck anybody wants to do? If I have the power to change things and I don’t, then I am to blame when they disappear. If I don’t take responsibility, and I’m on the radio, then whose fault is it?

First of all I owe @DJEnuff an apology for this but that was my initial reaction to the thought of a DJ trying to come up with a reason or even justifying not playing Jay Electronica on any radio station. So first and foremost, let that be a warning to the rest of you industry DJ’s, I WILL SPIT ON YOU.

Secondly, it’s sad times when DJ’s can’t just PLAY what they want anymore. They have to look over their shoulder at the Tall Israeli clutching the sack with a dollar sign on it (or in BET’s case the light skinned bitch) in regards to what songs get rotation.

I’ve had this conversation, TIME AND TIME again with my fellow Hip-Hop Livers (Livers, Not Supporters) of why blogs get more attention, credibility and generally have more influence on what the consumer listens to and spends their money on. The reason for that being, 9 times out of 10, someone who runs a hip-hop website, or any music blog, media outlet etc. is an average joe like myself using their web property to share ideas, feelings, spread culture and give people an ALTERNATIVE to the bullshit we’re fed through Time Warner, Radio One and Major Labels. Blogs and Online Music Websites are suppose to be that Brita filter from the tap water of nonsense in the music industry and mainstream society in general.

Think about it, do you really think Wale, Mickey Factz, Asher Roth, B.o.B and others would have had a chance to be on XXFail’s cover in 2008 had the blogsphere not have any pull or influence? I mean, really think about who was on that cover, what they rap about, content wise and ask yourself..WHEN do you hear these type of guys on the radio consistently?

There needs to be a change, some of you pseudo hip-hop back pack revolutionaries are the MAIN ones to blame on why there even HAS to be a post of “why Jay Electronica isn’t in rotation”. You’ve spent your time trying to distance yourself in a business and social sense from the people in position to support your movement, that they don’t even care anymore. It’s about to be 2010 people..something has got to give.

When someone as high profile and polar opposite of Jay Electronica, as Diddy endorses a song and it still has trouble getting spins on the radio, something is terribly wrong.

*Steps down from soapboax*

- The [DMV] Blog Bully

Its confusing and distressing tht you have to ask that question, or write this blog.

If YOU, the DJ, who likes it, won’t play it, who will??

what am i missing where it becomes a risk for a DJ to play a song?

Dance music doesn’t fit every occasion. You can’t relax to dance music. You can’t make love to dance music. You can only praise and worship God to dance music half of the time. Radio is heard in the car most of the time and what makes a good 2 hour drive enjoyable is variety within a genre you like. Everything shouldn’t be the same tempo with the same sounds from the Fantom X with the same subject matter.

Don’t let what someone like Mr. Magic stood for and built from the ground up die along with him, play that shit, especially if you know that shit is hot. Fuck the politics, ain’t nobody selling enough to bitch about you playing whatever the fuck you want. Don’t be a robot, be a DJ, honor the culture.

Man, I heard Exhibit C the other day and I knew i was gonna buy that shit off itunes and put the clean version on my warm up tape for my high school basketball team. I played it for my team and they were all like nah nah not this. Where is teach me how to jerk? I’m sitting there like are you serious? How is teach me how to jerk going to get you guys pumped up? It seems for whatever reason the majority of people do not understand this type of music. I mean teach me how to jerk is hip-hop in its own right. And i don’t have anything against that. I don’t like the song but if i heard it on the radio i wouldn’t be mad. The fact is I dont wanna hear it every 5 minutes on the radio. That’s what i feel needs to be changed by the djs. Play different songs. People do not need to hear Drake, Jay-z, Alicia Keys, Lil’ Wayne back to back to back to back in different order. I mean in my hometown Boston I can’t handle listening to Jam’n 945 (the only hip-hop station) not because they play those songs but because they play them over and over again. The same 4 or 5 songs get played at least 10 times a day. It’s ridiculous. Radio stations need some variety thats all. I believe if you like a song as a dj you should play it even if it is not the most requested. So if you like exhibit c play that shit! more than once! maybe somewhere along the line people will begin to understand the meaning of it and like it more. Hip-hop is great because it has so many forms. But if we do not let all those forms shine then it will never reach its full potential. How do we let all forms shine? Play everything on the radio! not the same songs over and over!

You’re confusing me Enuff, so you said the record is good, ok isn’t that enough to play it on the radio? Come on man, Exhibit C is better than ANYTHING on the radio right now, ANYTHING. Come on son, you used to roll with Big and many other Hip Hop legends. Be the first to change shit and start playing good music on the radio again.

I know a thing or two about good music. I’ve been fortunate to be around jay elec and get a bit of insight from him. Its up to the deejays and radio personalities to start listening to the inner voice that made them fall in love with the music and obtain the current position in which they have. Its time to break out of the mold people!!! I hate to hear “he’s too lyrical” or “its too hip hop”. Its like we lost touch with what this is all about. A bunch of ppl who have no knowledge of our inner city struggles and culture took over and put everyone to sleep. Its time to wake up and dead the bullshit! Let’s take our culture back! RESPECT LYRICS!

Najee
Hitmemusic.com

U need help? here’s some advice, play the song every time you are on the radio.

The “Nasir of New Orleans” got you Yankees SCARED!!!!! y’all like it but y’all won’t play it cause he’s not from NY…Jay Elec has raised the bar now NY has to step up!

I’m confused…WTF do you need help with?? You did not state what’s stopping you from playing the record. It’s fire…you like it….PLAY IT. You are the DJ, the mofo spinning the records..spin it! You dnt need no damn help n*gga!

Does it have to be those things to be on the radio? b/c i duno. do what you feel is right. like Rob said above “good music is worth fighting for”. & yeah it would def’ raise the bar which is a good thing.

Play that shit! Just because he doesn’t have a six figure radio payola budget like Drake doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be on the radio. It’s 2010!!! Let’s bring back hip Hop to the people. Biggie, Pac, Big L, Geto Boys, Nas, Gangstarr, Punlic Enemy, NWA, Outkast…all these cats used to get play. Imagine if all that was played in 1990 was Kid N Play. There’s room for everything. Play Jay Electronica! Play Freddie Gibbs! Play real good music dammit!!!

Just play it. Whatever has to be done, whenever you get a chance play it. I know you have to play what your told for the most part, but if people like yourself do not step up and break the cycle it will never end and musical masterpieces like this will continue to get overlooked. If you have to create some entire segment just as an excuse to play real hip-hop that would normally get ignored then do it, but regardless the world needs to hear everything Jay Electronica makes, his music is on another level and we should all be thankful we have a chance to enjoy it and pay it forward by spreading the music around as much as possible, DJs such as yourself owe this to hip-hop, because you are the ones with the power to actually make a difference.

*lil Chinese girl from rush hour voice* PUSHAGOTDAMBUTTON
play it Enuff. You are on a platform to introduce new music to the masses. There’s only do far Twitter and blogs can do man. Play it. Look @ the music chappelle had on his show. Play the song

Its not being played because the record company isn’t paying for it to be played.

Whatup Enuff? As an independent/unsigned artist myself with a pretty extensive resume I’m actually somewhat glad to see that you at least ask yourself this question. What’s troubling is that the answer isn’t the one that I would expect. If this was 94 all over again and you heard “it Aint Hard To Tell” for the first time would you really not play it because it was too good? Would Dead Presidents have been a no go if today was 96? I understand that we don’t live in that era anymore but one of the reasons that people feel like New York is hurting so much is because our independent artists can’t get the support of a hot97 or a power105 to put us on the radar or these major labels. That’s not the model that Atlanta’s following or Houston followed when they were pumping out hits left and right. It’s gonna take people like you and Flex and Clue and Mister Cee to break the next generation of artists and being too good should always be an advantage not a disadvantage.

In my opinion “Exhibit C” is one of the best tracks all year and it deserves to get play on the radio, especially if you yourself enjoy the song. Just because the radio has only played one type of music for a while doesn’t mean that can’t and shouldn’t change. People may start being more open to better/ more lyrical/ more substance music if it got played on the radio.

No disrespect to you or your fellow DJ’s, but we (the intelligent listening public) are already in on it. We know that Program Directors mostly inform their on-air talent what songs/artists they should play, whether it be directly or indirectly. Granted, there is leverage to be had in your particular playlist, but that is usually reserved for select (read: obscure) time slots or one- off plays to grant a song exposure/ promotion/ exclusivity. I understand the position you’re in, along with all lovers of good music who begin spinning on the radio with good intentions, unfortunately it quickly becomes man against the machine when it comes to issues like this, and the machine is inherently designed to win. It’s a cycle, no fault of your own, that often can’t be stopped, slowed or reversed. Perhaps a consortium of sorts could be chosen amongst radio DJ’s to counteract these directives and convince the higher-ups to fight through temporary lost ad revenue to a place with more musical integrity and artist levity. Chances of that happening in this current system? Slim to none, but at least we’ve got the iTunes.

Shoutout to Just Blaze for campaigning via Twitter, Jay Elec for making such an amazing recording, and all the bloggers, artists and DJ’s who have recognized and done their best to put people on to #ExhibitC.

All that said…. Enuff, PLAY THAT SH*T.

You who just read this: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/exhibit-c-ep/id346331122 – It only costs $.99 to do your part.

So we can all stop being so cynical about the state of hip hop. DJs have a huge influence on the mainstream audience. They all respect opinions and because without DJs, the mainstream will never understand what good music is. So you owe it to your fanbase to give em something that you know they will enjoy.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/exhibit-c-ep/id346331122
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I really and truly mean no disrespect here but this is a ridiculous question. Play the son enuff. Just play it. When I read MegatronDon’s tweet that exhibit C was gonna be commercially available a jolt of excitement ran through me. Jay Electronica makes me happy. His music gives me hope. You’ve gotta do it enuff. PLAY IT! LOVE IT!

>> Why am I not playing J Electronica on Hot97

I was expecting an answer in the post. you can’t answer your own question with a question

Do what radio used to & should still be about…..Breaking new records & hippin’ people to the dope. Don’t continue being the reason why SOOOO many people shut off the radio a long time ago.
Play that Jay Electronica today, tomorrow & so on…..Who knows, Ya might change how horrible it is over there & get people wanting to give radio another chance.
Respect for at least voicing some of that inner voices sense that there is in fact some serious bullsh!# afoot.

This song goes hard ! It’s sad that you can’t play this …. I’m a french DJ and I’ll play this song in France !

By not playing this song you are perpetrating the belief that radio and politics are ruining Hip-Hop. I live in Chicago and if I turn on the radio all I hear is Lil’ Wayne, Gucci Mane, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, Kanye features and that damn EMPIRE STATE OF MIND. If I heard Exhibit C (or A or B) on the radio amidst all of that bullshit I would lose it, I may even crash my whip.. Matter of fact when I turned on Fight Night Round 4 and heard Exhibit A I internally smiled. Why deny good music because it doesn’t fit the mold of what is considered ‘radio friendly’? Exhibit A, B, or C is leaps and bounds above any track from the artists I mentioned above including that corny ass EMPIRE STATE OF MIND. Maybe you’re not playing it because it would expose people to the fact that Jay Electronica is the best rapper currently out? Are you protecting other rappers reputations? I mean how could Wayne be the best rapper alive if he isn’t even the best rapper from New Orleans? Are you protecting the reputations of the New York rappers who have forever claimed that southern rappers can only get by off of gimmicks and hooky dance tracks rather than lyrics? Whatever it is that is internally keeping you from playing a Classic needs to die… You are keeping the best rap song of the year off the radio. You are killing your own peeeeeeople!!! Play Exhibit C or forever remain another clown ass DJ who bought into politics and bullshit.

you need to play this…. its lyrical food for the youth.

this is hype. just blaze drop act 2 already geezz

Play it. Its some of the best Hip Hop out there! Maybe the listeners will open their ears for once…why can’t that new reflection eternal track with jay electronica, j. cole and mos def get spins? That track > Forever….step up and play some real fckn hip hop

I’m confused, what’s the reason? You can make it Heavy Hitter Pick of the Week, that’s a start. After that, it sounds like still might have some options for pushing the record at the station (mixshow rotation, putting other DJs on, etc). If you do those things it’d definitely be a step in the right direction.

Unless you guys have a live club going on in the at the radio station play the track…

I aint got much to say, but DJ Enuff, u a forerunner in this game. A muthafuckin leader. When u do, they follow. So as a DJ, u also have the power and say so in how things go down…basically wut I’m tryna get at is, if u start playin Hip-Hop(and not just beats and rhymes, real good music) then that’ll change the game. I can’t make a stand, like you can bruh…

J. Electronica deserves to be played, he has one of the best songs out right now, why not give him a few spins, will it hurt anyone that much?

Maybe ’cause you’re afraid to play it? You have the power, just spin that sh*t

PLAY IT!!! It’s your duty as a DJ to break these records to the public!! you could start a revolution of great hip hop and make everyone open their eyes to the real..be a leader and do this for the good of the music!

Just play that shit!! At the end of the day it’s just a song…no need to make it heavier than it is. It’s not really a deep philosophical question. Teach the Babies!!! Let them hear that shit!

It’s a larger question, obviously bigger than just Exhibit C, one that involves questioning why the radio’s not breaking really great new records anymore. Why DJs who aren’t controlled by Clear Channel and other such conglomerates aren’t making decisions based the quality of a song rather than whether it’ll fit with what’s hot now (no pun intended).

The fact that Exhibit C has extended past the Hip Hop bloggerati and onto the radar of so many industry cats is proof positive that a lot of program directors, DJs and tastemakers need to ask themselves these questions when they’re on the verge of not exposing listeners to new music for reasons that they can’t justify.

To some extent, I can understand DJs becoming disenfranchised with listeners. I can totally see somebody like Enuff listening to Exhibit C, thinking it’s dope, and then deciding that with the climate the way it is, listeners wouldn’t really appreciate it for how good it is. And that’s how tons of great new music gets thrown by the wayside to be lauded only by audiophiles and heads who’re used to having to dig to get to gems.

There a lot of questions to be asked about radio, and the industry in general…but the end result of all this dialogue really ought to be clear. Play the records and let the public hear them. It may not start a revolution, but getting stuff like Exhibit C heard by more than just internet denizens and hardcore heads opens the door. Listeners realize they can get more from the radio than the same joints that they’re beaten over the head with 10 times a day. Artists realize they don’t have to copy those same joints to get on the radio, and start doing what feels right to them.

Echoing the sentiments of most of the people above me, I implore you, and many others. Just play the records. Something good will happen as a result.

I don’t get it. Just play the damn song. You’re asking us, the public, why YOU, the DJ, isn’t playing the song. You have NO good no reason to NOT play the song. You have control to put the song into rotation, and instead of doing that, you’re sitting here having some internal debate as to why you’re NOT playing the song. That doesn’t make any damn sense. Play the song and stop being so fucking dramatic.

Just play the record. However many times “Empire State of Mind” has been played on any given day on Hot 97 you reply by playing Exhibit C as many times. Nothing more to be done.

The more I think about this, the very fact that you have to ask yourself this question is exactly why I NEVER listen to the radio anymore? Its sickening enough to listen to fans use everything else, but he music to judge a song, but if a DJ can’t play a record he and everyone who hears it like, then what is your purpose? You have a responsibility to make sure you do your part to make sure good music lives on, its really sad that you have to ask this question and makes you understand why some say hip-hop is dead, I don’t think its dead its just harder to find and thats because of radio and DJs who let songs like this continue to get ignored.

Its cuz commercial radio was never where the heart was, its college radio. Stretch and Bob, Mister Cee, even Flex all started off college radio. Best believe this song will be in rotation at WZBC 90.5 in Boston.

Enuff you know you’re gonna play it haha

yes please play that Jay Electronica shit!!!

we hear tonz of crappy generic sounding records on the radio all the time, and people are scared to play records that arent “radio friendly”

once in a while an artist/group breaks the mold and is commercailly successful without conforming , but the DJ’s should be more pivotal in deciding which records become hits

Hip hop DJ’s may be out of a job soon if cats like Jay Electronica don’t get more play. Hip hop is a dying art, we need voices that can inspire young artists coming up who look to HOT 97 as an authority on the art form. Exhibit C is where you can start fam.

yo phil i dont think u can just play the song as much as they play “empire state” right away,
i think they should push the Jay Electronica song and play it often enuff to let the people hear it, and see if it picks up steam (i think it would)

The radio is the club now? no disrespect but are we really asking ourselves if a records hot if its play worthy? i do understand the behind the scenes of radio but remember you dont have to be a piece of scrap to a machine. Big ups to jay e.

Honestly just play that shit along with other actually good new songs. Like Esso said (btw that’s always ill to see someone whose music I listen too comment on the same article as me), radio stations gotta support the up and coming guys that bring the fire. Plus, I feel like if you start playing some real shit along with all the club bangers, not only will you hip people that don’t know about dudes like Jay, you’ll also get real hip hop heads listening to the radio again at least sometimes.

Jay Elect would be big on the radio if you just played it, I’m sure plenty of people would relate. I see no reason to give all kinds of hip hop a chance on the radio instead of just what white kids and girls will like.

Radio stations: play it. Fans: buy it, and hip your friends to it. Friends of fans: become fans. Jay and Just: keep making amazing music.

It’s tough to find that classic song in which rapper and beat mix so perfectly (i.e., GZA’s “Liquid Swords”). It’s a new hip-hop era now and this song does that for 2010. The beat is fire and the lyrics/flow are great. Hot 97 should play this. If the people want it, then I don’t see what the problem is, DJ’s…

Why don’t you just play the joint? Like what’s the issue?

Real Hip Hop is fading because you ain’t PLAYING THIS.

And I ain’t even from New York or the rest of the 49 states.

So it shouldn’t matter to me if you play it or not. BUT This shit right here? Exhibit C? That shit? One of the best records I’ve heard this year. Possibly the BEST. Maybe I’m just biased, but fuck all that shit. Y’know it’s good. So just play it.

this record needs to b in rotation.. has music only come to playin club bangers? i thought the roll of a dj was to break records n make the ppl luv it… i dont like half the stuff on the radio as is, but these songs get played 35 times a day… stop bein a follower n lead, make it cool to play exhibit c on the radio…

I was hoping for an answer Enuff lol

Enuff, what is so difficult? Play the song! Do you forget that Deejays actually break records? Why the conflict, lol. Will you get fired for playing the song or some is? I mean really, listeners turn to mix shows to hear music your station normally wouldnt play. How many times can listeners hear the same dman 20 songs Hot 97 keeps in rotation? How many times can we hear how Drake wants “it forever” or Trey “make them say ahh”..

Seriously, the answer for you question has been stated on why its not getting played on the station. But why arent you taking a chance and playing it yourself. You’re a well established DJ but why is the song getting more airplay on one radio station in Vegas (yes the one I DJ for) being played every week since its release on iTunes (yes i purchased it) by 2 DJs once during the 5pm traffic show and once again on the 10pm to 12am show slot, usually early in the show to make sure that people hear it while they’re getting ready to go out or on the way to wherever they’re going. Take a chance!!!!! You know its hot. Play that track everyday til either they say we’re gonna put it in rotation, or I dont want to hear it again and if they say answer 2. You keep on playing it til they get the message. Thats why radio is messed up right now, not allowing the listener to decide whats hot. Or the DJ not taking chances on joint that he/she feels is hot. CMON SON’ PLAY THE TRACK!!!! YOU KNOW ITS HOT. JUST DO IT!!!!

You should definitely play Exhibit C. The amount of buzz created over the past week around this song, especially from Twitter is larger than you can imagine. I am a slight music snob; yet, I have friends who love Trey Songz, GUCCI, etc. My Trey Songz loving friend told me her time line on Twitter has been filled with buzz about Exhibit C. Additionally, on twitter I have seen Club going, VIP loving, Top 40 listening people listening and buying Exhibit C. I think we are at a tipping point and DJ Enuff you should lead the way. People are hungry. They want to hear better music on the radio. They just might not know it right now. Furthermore, I think playing Exhibit C for the next week could have HUGE positive repercussions. Be bold.

When I was sleepin on the train
Sleepin on Meserole ave out in the rain
without even a single slice of pizza to my name
too proud to beg for change, mastering the pain
when New York niggas was calling southern rappers lame
but then jackin our slang
I used to get dizzy spells hear a little rang
the voice of an angel, tellin me my name
tellin me that one day I’ma be a great mane
transforming with theMegatronDon spittin out flames
Eatin wack rappers alive, shittin’ out chains
..I ain’t believe it then, nigga I was homeless
Fightin, shootin dice, smokin weed on the corners
tryna find the meaning of life in a corona
til the 5 Percenters rolled up on a nigga and informed him:
“You either build or destroy, where you come from?”
“The Magnolia Projects, in the 3rd ward slum”
“Hmm…its quite amazing that you rhyme how you do
and that you shine like you grew up in a shrine in Peru”

Question 14: Muslim Lesson 2: Dip Diver, Civilized 85er
I make the devil hit his knees and say the Our Father
Abracadabra You rockin with the true and living
Shout out to: Lights Out, Joseph I, Chewy Bivens
Shout out to: Baltimore, Baton Rouge, my crew in Richmond
While ya’ll debated who the truth was like Jews and Christians
I was on Cecil B, Broad Street, Master,
North Philly, South Philly, 23rd, Tasker
6 Mile, 7 Mile, Hartwell, Gratiot:
where niggas really would pack a UHaul truck up
put the high beams on, drive up on the curb at a barbebque
and hop up out the back like “what’s up?!”
kill a nigga, rob a nigga, take a nigga, bust up
thats why when you talk that tough talk I never feel ya,
you sound real good and you play the part well
but the energy you givin off is so unfamiliar, Ion’t feel ya

Nas hit me up on the phone said “What you waitin on?”
(Q) Tip hit me up with a twit said “What you waitin on?”
Diddy send a text every hour on the dot sayin
“when you gon drop that verse nigga you takin long”
so now I’m back spittin that “He could pass a polygraph”
That Reverend Run rockin Adidas out on Hollis ave
That FOI, Marcus Garvey, Nikki Tesla
I shock you like a eel, electric feel Jay Electra

They call me Jay Electronica
Fuck that Call me Jay ElecHannukah
Jay ElecYaamulke
Jay ElectRamadaan Muhammad Asalaamica RasoulAllah Supana Watallah through your monitor.
My uzi still weigh a ton check the barometer
I’m hotter than the muthafuckin sun check the thermometer
I’m bringing Ancient Mathematics back to the modern man
My momma told me never throw a stone and hide your hand
I got a lot of family, and you got a lot of fans
Thats why the people got my back like the Verizon man
I play the back and fade to black and then devise a plan
Out in London, smoking, vibin while I ride the tram.
giving out that raw food to Lions disguised as lambs
And, by the time they get their seats hot
And deploy all the henchmen to come at me from the tree tops
Im chilling out at three spots, building by the millions, my light is brilliant.

You know the answer to your question don’t ask us, the reason you dont play Exhibit C is the same reason I dont listen to the radio anymore. If the radio is playing stanky leg and soulah boy and whatever other trash that floods the the airwaves its because you the DJs choose to either because youre told to do so or for personal interest or whatever the reason maybe. Theres so much good hip hop out there but no one knows about it because radio stations dont give it a shot and we’re stuck in a world where Gucci Mane is “the next hip hop superstar”.

The listening public is made up of different types of people. There is a part of those people who have been neglected, forgotten, and starved for music like this. The parity is missing, and if anyone knows that it’s you Enuff. The way technology is changed/changing, will force radio to change again soon. I predict that the people will have more say in what they listen to in the future (which includes what DJs they listen to). You can’t keep feeding the lambs and not the lions, especially when you’re a lion yourself. As a marketing guy I can see that there is a lane for this right now. If you gave it a decent set up (not a 15 minute Flex-ish world premiere type move) it could gain ground, and you would be known as the guy who broke a great record to a larger audience. All year long you fulfill your obligations to the rest of the music world, why not have Thanksgiving for the rest of us in line at the soup kitchen?

Honestly, your a DJ, and yes we as the people play a major role in what’s considered hot or a flop. BUT you play a bigger role in guiding us towards music that’s good but also shine light on some that we might have missed. So what its not Gucci Mane or along the same vein as “Pop Champagne” its hip-hop so spin the tune and make the difference. It will separate you from the mass of DJ who are indeed afraid to go left.

Rosenberg already plays Jay Elec’s tracks during his late night slots and he knows hip-hop. Exhibit C should’ve been on the radio in primetime slots by now especially since its been released on iTunes.

(PS Big Boi got 2 new singles on iTunes as well, Shine Blockas and For Your Sorrows, show those tracks love too; He’s a living legend)

I think you got to play it, man. I’m not one to tell a dude how to do his job, but jay elec deserves it. I live in the UK and in the past when I used to be out diggin for old records, at second hand shops etc – I used to find records by Rakim, De La Soul and The JBs. These were quality releases that a wide range of people bought, not just hip hop fans. That helps explain why i used to find the dopest records in the most unlikely places. I only use this as an example because those records got played on the radio and more people were able to appreciate them. I guess what I’m trying to say is maybe it’s worth giving it a shot. You never know! It could be the right time, and in 10 years a kid could be diggin up Jay Electronica instead of Gucci Mane!

play it 4 real. most club bangers now rn’t even tru hiphop. da dj can put dat underground hiphop out there n a tru fan will go 4 it. i am personally sick of most of 2days “comertial crap[rap”
spin it on da radio!!! if peeps dont like it they can go watch youtube.

OPEN YOUR SHOW WITH THIS EVERYDAY….

TALK TO THE OTHER DJ’s WITH SHOWS ABOUT PLAYING IT….

MAKE IT YOUR “HEAVY HITTER PICK OF THE WEEK” EVERY WEEK…

INVITE JAY ELECTRONICA UP TO YOUR SHOW…

DO SOMETHING

I guess it begins with defining what you think a DJ’s job is when on the radio: Follow convention and move *with* the flow of what has earned a majority of you listeners’ mind share, or introduce them to what you personally consider to be “Good solid” music.? Perhaps both? If so, in what percentages?

I understand the root of your question and pose this: How well do you feel you personally balance the hip-hop that you present specifically on-air at Hot 97?

“Then what?” Well, you are far enough along where your actions will influence the thoughts of those younger than you. If you can be one of the major market DJs to make the idea of this record tip, is it worth it? So long as you document your thoughts and let everyone know *why* you are taking certain actions (which you are quite good at), there’s always value in it.

From a 5000 foot view, It’s interesting to note that no other genre in music suffers from this dilemma. A young rock group from London or Brooklyn can rehash glam rock and the community around that genre will refer to the sound as “classic” and support it (i.e. when The Darkness emerged at SXSW five years ago and re-lit a short lived mid-80s vibe in rock). Why don’t we do the same support on a mass scale? It all begins and ends with the DJ. For us, it always has. I know – this part in particular is an *old* conversation.

I’m curious to see which way you end up going on this one. Thanks for opening it up for conversation.

YOU ARE A DJ….YOU ARE THE GATEKEEPER, WHICH MEANS YOU DETERMINE WHAT SPINS….OR AT LEAST YOU SHOULD…FUCK A PROGRAM DIRECTOR..THEY PLAY MUSIC FOR A CHECK, NOTHING MORE NOTHING LESS……..