To all the supporters and fans of Top Billin’, it is with great disappointment that we share the following news. After 6 years on air, our final show will be broadcast on Friday 29th of March.
Firstly, we want everyone to know that this is not by our choice. Last Thursday we were contacted by Triple R and told that starting this April they will be taking a new direction with their Friday night programming, effectively removing Top Billin’ from their program line-up. Understandably you’re probably wondering why. To be honest, we’re not quite sure either. But read on, and we’ll explain what has happened over the past few months in an attempt to shed light on the situation.
In January of this year Rosco notified Triple R that after 5 years of hosting the show, he would no longer be able to commit to hosting duties each week, and would instead be taking a step back to appear as a co-host / guest DJ on a monthly basis, leaving Lee Rawls to continue to rep the show every Friday night.
Upon notifying Triple R management of the proposed change, we were surprised when they informed us that such a change would require the show to be put under review. We had not been aware that such a review would be required, given similar host change-ups have been made to the program in the past with no concerns at all from management.
Once we had been advised of the review process by the station, we began to have immediate concerns over the future of the program. Communication between station management was our main concern, as responses to any questions we had about the review process would be agonizingly slow and would contain little, if any helpful information. A distinct change to the levels of communication we had previously had with station management over the previous 6 years on air.
The first step of the review process was both extremely frustrating and bizarre. After co-hosting the show for over 4 years, Rawls was made to submit a new program proposal form, essentially treating Top Billin’ as a brand new program. It felt as if the years of work on the station went completely unacknowledged.
Another disappointing aspect of this process was that after being given very little direction or understanding from management about the review process, the pressure was put on to complete the submission and required forms in merely a week. A major curve ball to say the least.
As time progressed, we attempted to speed up what would ultimately prove to be an excruciatingly slow and poorly conducted review process, and were given no indication regarding the future of Top Billin’ at any stage, except that we would be notified “early March” whether the show was to continue beyond this Easter.
After waiting 6 weeks for an outcome of the review, we were finally notified Thursday 15th of March that the show would not be continuing, and we would have until Friday 29th of March to wrap things up.
While we are very unhappy with the way this entire process has been handled, the most disappointing part of all this, is that the Australian hip-hop scene is losing an important outlet for both its artists and fans alike. We have not been informed of what type of show will be replacing Top Billin’ and we are not aware if the station is planning to continue supporting both local and overseas independent hip-hop in the manner they have over the past 11 years, with ‘Wordburner’ being our predecessor in that regard. There has also been no explanation as to why, after 4 years as host on the show, Rawls received no support or encouragement from the station to continue in his current role.
Despite everything that has transpired, we would like to thank Triple R for the opportunity they have provided us over the years, which allowed us to bring the best of the worldwide underground rap scene through your speakers every Friday night. Something we took great pride in doing, and had a fucking great time doing!! Although it’s all come to very bureaucratic and unceremonious end, it was a good ride while it lasted.
We are both still a bit shocked at the way this has all gone down, as we’re sure most of you are reading this. We still have another 2 weeks on air, but after that neither of us is sure what the future holds for the Top Billin’ crew. We can still be contacted on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/topbillinradio or Twitter at @TopBillinRadio + @LeeRawls.
Before we jet, we’d like to send a few shoutouts…
Thank you to everyone who ever tuned in and supported the show, particularly all the paid up subscribers! The support you guys show the local scene is as real as it gets. Keep it up!
To all the artists out there making real Hip-Hop – you gave us a reason to do this thing in the first place.
To all the artists out there making real Hip-Hop – you gave us a reason to do this thing in the first place.
To all the guests that appeared on the show – we made a lot of great friends through the show, without question the best part of the gig.
Big ups to Son-Zu & Doc Felix for bringing us onboard. Bias & Stew for paving the way – your words of wisdom were always helpful. To all our fellow broadcasters holding down the real rap steez – keep up the great work!
With Hip Hop continuing to be one of the most under represented genres on the airwaves, you can still catch dope local and international independent rap on the following programs across the country:
‘Hippopotamus Rex‘ hosted by Ronan – Mondays from 8pm-10pm on 106.7FM (Melbourne) + stream via http://www.pbsfm.org.au
‘Rampage’ hosted by Zack – Fridays from 1pm-3pm on 106.7FM (Melbourne) + Stream via http://www.pbsfm.org.au
‘Strictly Oz‘ hosted by Cook & Big Dip – Sundays from 7:30pm-9pm on 87.6FM (Melbourne) + stream via http://www.kissfm.com.au
‘Phat Tape‘ hosted by Chubba Dubb – Fridays from 8pm-10pm on 102.1FM (Brisbane) + stream via http://www.4zzzfm.org.au
‘Best Kept Secret‘ hosted by Stej & Dan – Fridays from 7:30pm-9pm on 93.7FM (Adelaide) + stream via http://www.threedradio.com
‘The Hip-Hop Show‘ hosted by Hau – Thursdays from 10pm-1am on Triple J FM
‘This Or That Radio’ hosted by Big Stu, Mike Flood, HLG, Sypha & C.Oh Rex Mundi – Monday 8pm-10pm on 106.7FM (Bendigo) + Stream via http://www.phoenixfm.org/stream.html
Plus you can check out a great selection of different Hip Hop channels and programs broadcast on Australian based internet radio stationGoonbag Radio at http://www.goonbag.com
Peace!
