Ebro Darden has been a pillar of hip-hop commentary for decades now, although his iconic In The Morning radio show on Hot 97 has now officially come to a close. He, Laura Stylez, and Peter Rosenberg confirmed this on social media on Friday (December 12), and he has some theories as to why.
As caught by Kurrco on Twitter, Darden theorized in a social media video that the radio station's owners oppose his progressive views. He even claimed that they are more interested in casino licenses in New York than actually nurturing hip-hop culture or supporting programming.
"You look around at all the major media outlets, all of them, they all got to fold up 'cause they all trying to renew their deals and their licenses," the radio personality claimed. "We'll get into more specifics another time... Bro's a casino owner. You know those three licenses that they got here in New York City for the casinos? The guy that owns this s**t owns one of the casino's licenses. He got to raise half a billion dollars.
"They need my s**t-talking, anti-Netanyahu, anti-government, progressive s**t out the way, bro," he continued. "They need me out the way. They're trying to get to these bags that these VCs got, raise some capital. They don't really care. Especially for a Hot 97 or a WBLS, they don't give a f**k about hip-hop or Black music or Black community, they don't give a f**k about none of that. They give a f**k about access. They give a f**k about being able to bring their little nerdy friends to the concerts. 'Cause that helps them raise money. They've been trying to get to me for years, bro. Years."
Who Owns Hot 97?
For those unaware, the owners of Hot 97 – and, by consequence, Ebro In The Morning – are reportedly MediaCo Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge fund. There have been many other changes at Hot 97 recently. Namely, the departure of DJ Enuff and the time slot change of Funkmaster Flex.
Still, Ebro Darden and his cohosts look forward to the future. We'll see where they land...
