Second Round Knockout: SIRIUS VS. XM on hip hop

I'm a day late, so Chris has chimed in first with what XM has to offer with the hip hop, R&B and urban music scenes. So, go read. Imagine him being Kool Moe D, and me being a decidedly less pretty LL.

Since there are so many stations covered this week, I'll try to keep things short.


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Hip Hop Nation (Channel 40):

From Sirius's revamped website: "The hottest hip-hop, rhymes and beats from the biggest names in Hip-Hop Nation. East Coast style, West Coast jamz, the latest flow from the Dirty South—it’s all here.

What we play: 50 Cent, G-Unit, Eminem, Lil Flip, Jadakiss, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G, Kayne West, Talib Kweli and many more."

They should also mention The Game, T.I. and Cassidy, because they play a lot of that. I mean, a whole bunch. It seems every time I'm in the car, I'm hearing something from two out of those three every hour, which I probably notice because I think they're all entirely over-rated. Lately, though, Hip Hop Nation has been getting more diverse, playing tracks by Common, Nas, De La Soul, which I'm definitely feeling. The on-air personalities on Hip Hop Nation shine and, in my opinion, they're another benefit of Sirius over XM--the DJs talk enough to remind you that you're listening to the radio, and not just some kind of streaming music, and they've got personality too. Amanda Diva is probably my favorite--she's crafty.

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Wax 42 (Channel 42):

Again, from the website: "Welcome to the underground, where it’s all about exclusive mixes, blends, mash-ups and freestyles from the world's best DJs. From the streets to your ears, it's the ultimate nonstop mixtape.

What we play: Eminem, Notorious B.I.G., 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Tupac and many more."

This is Cunard-approved Certified Hot Shit. You can't trust the sample playlist to give you an accurate feel for the station, which plays remixes alongside much longer DJ sets, which is what I'm into--hip hop as a listening experience, not in nugget-sized chunks. Just after Ol' Dirty Bastard died, they (I forget which DJ did the mix) aired an hour long tribute set which was on-point and not even slightly maudlin. And Wax 42 has the my favorite programming of any of Sirius's hip hop stations:

• DJ Jamad Brings You - Afromentals (Sundays 6 pm - 8 pm ET). A progressive contemporary HipHop/Nu Soul show incorporating elements of jazz, R&B and HipHop songs, from the past and into the future.

This is a new show, but it makes great driving music for my weekly grocery trip.

• DJ Premier Presents "Live From HeadQCourterz" (Fridays 8 pm - 10 pm ET, Rebroadcast Sundays 8 pm - 10 pm ET) Gang Starr's very own producer/DJ takes the stage with his 2-hour show, bringing the streets to the airwaves. Playing those hard-to-get exclusives, with special guests coming thru the studio, and some straight hip-hop music.

Come on--it's DJ Premier. It gets love just for being DJ Premier's show.

• DJ Concept Presents "The Mix Chronicles" Mixshow (Mondays 12 am - 2 am ET) Take the midnight run and listen to the hottest 2 hours of underground Hip-Hop, B-sides, album cuts, and lost gems. Taking you beneath the surface with special guests, exclusive mixes, and "The Throwback of the Week."

I wish there was some way to "TiVo" this program, because I have trouble staying up that late. Another great program.

But, if I have to play favorites...

• Kool DJ Red Alert Presents "Classic Collections" (Friday 6 pm - 7 pm ET, Rebroadcast Sundays 4 pm - 5 pm ET) The pioneer of what we know as HipHop runs an hour deep into nothing but classix. Hands down, our favorite Uncle Red is taking it to the Ole Skool! How it used to be...

The man used to spin for Afrika Bambaata, was a part of Boogie Down Productions, and was an honorary ambassador to the United Nations, so much respect for that. Classic Collections" is like the next channel I'm going to talk about (Backspin) condensed into an hour-long mix. It's the perfect way for a hip hop head to start the weekend.

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Backspin (Channel 43):

From the station list: "Put on your Adidas and your Kangol hat and join the party—you'll hear nothing but the early days of Hip-Hop. Tune in to one of the original pioneers of old skool rap, Kurtis Blow, every weeknight (7 pm – 1 am ET).

What we play: Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC, Sugar Hill Gang, Salt-N-Pepa, LL Cool J, Heavy D, Digital Underground, Queen Latifah and many more."

Backspin does this neat thing every Tuesday where they drop "old school facts" in between songs, letting listeners bone up on their hip hop history. Plus, Kurtis Blow! I mean, that's some classic hip hop right there. Backspin definitely gives props to the old school. Sometimes, though, the station gets too repetitive, and it's on weird choices--I've defintely heard Jimmy Spicer's "Dollar Dollar Bill" a few times, but for a while they were playing the shit out of his "Bubble Bunch" track. And, like Chris Brown says about XM's "The Rhyme" over at his spot, they play a lot of the "Roxanne" records. Another guy they play a lot of is Dana Dane, who's one of the station's DJs (and we all know how I feel on the bias/perceived bias issue). Props to Backspin for playing MC Hammer, though--even though we joke about him now, he had asses bouncing in clubs before hitting the national charts hard. Also, Awesome 2 DJs for Backspin, so that's old school (immortalized in KRS-One's "Outta Here": "Back in the days I knew rap would never die / I used to listen to Awesome 2 on WHBI," if it sounds familiar).

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Shade 45 (Channel 45):

From the website: "Completely uncensored hip-hop radio created by Eminem and SIRIUS. No filters, no commercial restrictions. On-air hosts and mixers who say whatever they want, including Eminem’s DJ, Green Lantern. Shade 45... the hype is real."

I don't listen to much Shade 45. It seems like they want to be a lot of things... Listening to Shade 45 is like hearing the previous three hip hop stations jammed into one, with some shows in between. I think the station has the potential to find it's niche, but it hasn't quite hit that. The morning show is kind of funny, sometimes. Plus, they have Eminem's touring DJ, DJ Green Lantern--I wonder how he feels about Rebirth... What is good about it is that, while Eminem created the station, it isn't just promoting his and his crew's music.

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Now, to the R&B tier.

Hot Jamz (Channel 50):

The site says: "The best Hip-Hop and R&B. From unadulterated crunk to smooth R&B, if it’s hot right now, it’s on Hot Jamz.

What we play: Lil' Jon, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, 50 Cent, Missy Elliott, Nelly, Ashanti and many more."


If you live in a middle-sized market that has a station that calls itself "Hot [whatever the dial number is]" that plays urban music, this is probably its closest satellite radio analogue. Hot Jamz plays a lot of top 40 hip hop and R&B, but it also has a weekly reggaeton show. What I give it props for is having both MC Lyte and Grandmaster Flash as weekend DJs.

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Heart & Soul (Channel 51):

From the site: "Today's R&B and old skool from the '80s and '90s. Get into the groove with Luther Vandross, Brian McKnight, Mary J. Blige, the Isley Brothers and other greats of modern soul.

What we play: R. Kelly, Gerald LeVert, Musiq, The Gap Band and many more."

While Shade 45's variety makes things seem disconnected, Heart & Soul's diversity has a more eclectic feel, but nothing feels out of place. I'm kind of sad that every time I listened to it, though, I never got that Isley Brother's music they promised me.


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Slow Jamz (Channel 52):

From the site: "Lose yourself in the rapture of smooth, sensuous soul ballads—the music you love when you’re in love. Soft, shimmering, sophisticated, sexy, it’s music for your body and soul.

What we play: Luther Vandross, Alicia Keys, Joe, Jill Scott, Gerald Levert and many more."

Alright. I likes me some sappy shit, so I'm down with Slow Jamz. They've got some interesting program gimmicks. On Wednesdays, they do this "Double Play" thing where they play an original recording followed by a cover, so you get to hear two versions. On Fridays, they play live versions of songs throughout the day.


Soul Revue (Channel 54):

I talked about this a while back for the first part of this thing with Chris. You can find it here, and you can find Chris's look at XM's classic soul station here.

Also, I'm holding off on the last channel of Sirius's R&B tier, because I'll need something to talk about when Chris covers the Christian stuff on XM. Sirius spreads the Christian stuff out by the musical style, not the thematic focus.