For a lot of different reasons, I don’t really listen to commercial radio. One of the main reasons is my taste in music simply doesn’t line up with what they’re playing. That really has been my story all the way back to the 80’s when I was a teenager. Even though I often ventured outside of the mainstream playlist, I do want to mention that radio was much better back then. There was a much wider variety of music and DJ’s had the freedom to play underground local or regional records they discovered.
Anyway… Back then, when I wanted music beyond what mainstream radio was playing I had 2 other options: 1) Buy mixtapes from local DJ’s 2) Stay up late and listen to the shows that aired between 10pm and 4am. Especially on the weekends. You would hear music there that daytime radio either never touched or didn’t add for another 6 weeks. I still have many of the cassettes that I recorded back then. Classic tunes that I only heard on the air once or twice.
Well, obviously things have changed quite a bit in the 21st century. Unfortunately, almost all of the radio stations have been corporatized so the late night option no longer exists. Fortunately, beginning in the mid 2000’s the internet presented a wonderful solution that continues to this day. Podcasts & Online DJ Mixes. For the last 15 years, that is where I have discovered countless dope artists and dope tracks.
Having done a podcast of my own from 2010 to 2016 I am very familiar with scouring the internet and soundcloud for new music, but I know most people don’t do that. There are a ton of good podcasts and DJ’s out there, today I want to highlight 2 shows I’ve been listening to a lot in recent months. These 2 shows have helped fill in the musical gap for me since my show ended. I have embedded the most recent episodes for you to check out below. Enjoy!
SOULECTION RADIO – with over 400 shows posted, they’ve been going strong since 2011. You can hear them on Beats 1 radio though Apple music and on soundcloud. They are also a record label and have released some very dope artists. Checkout their Spotify playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5nyl0OhwrtNtRlhJtaqgoB
They also have a very dope YouTube channel with live sessions and interviews. Check that out here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQmEioliO9mSfg3VpcMjPoQ
And checkout their website here: https://soulection.com/
THE FUTURE BEATS SHOW – This show has also been going strong for good while. Internationally known DJ Complexion throws down a dope selection of urban and electronic beats. This show is actually on the radio in London, but unfortunately here in the U.S. the radio doesn’t get down like that.
Checkout his website here: https://www.djcomplexion.com/