The real DJ hero

The lights are down low in the windowless control room of the WUTK 90.3 The Rock. The station, located in the basement of the Andy Holt Tower, is filled with a pale light, emanating from a laptop resting behind a pair of turntables and a mixing board. At the controls stands UT graduate Jonathan Ives, better known to his listeners as DJ Wigs. He twists and turns knobs, while scratching over digital mp3 files he uploads to his turntables and spins live — all for the listening pleasure of his radio audience.

Ives, along with co-hosts Brian Tate and Di-Ke Nwachukwu, are the masterminds behind a program called the “Edutainment Hip-Hop Show.” The program is heard only at 90.3 The Rock, and it airs just weekly from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. every Saturday night. The show, which starts its fifth year in February, offers a unique blend of music from bygone eras of hip-hop, as well as introducing new music to Knoxvillians from cutting-edge artists on the rise.

“We’re definitely big on educating the masses,” Nwachukwu said, who has been with the show for four years. “What I say is ‘reach, teach and speak’ through music. I think what sets us apart from other stations like 104.5, and all of those other guys, is that we don’t care about the top billboards. We play for the people; we don’t play for the pockets.”

While Ives spins music live in the station, Tate and Nwachukwu lend their larger-than-life personalities in between breaks, offering entertaining anecdotes and in-depth artist information at the drop of a hat. “There is a lack of personalities on radio,” said Tate, a UT student and freestyle rapper. “With our show, we’ve got topics, we’ve got discussions and we’ll break news. We’re just different.”

The station operates solely on a self-funded basis, so it cannot afford the high cost of audience-measurement technology. However, Ives says response to the program has been positive overall. Phone calls and letters from listeners of all types come in to the station requesting songs and expressing excitement about the music being played. In particular, Ives says he has received letters from inmates at a local prison that collectively chose the “Edutainment Hip-Hop Show” as their program choice for their only allotted time for listening.

“One of the few windows that they get, and (the inmates) chose our radio program,” Ives said. “It’s hard for me to describe to you something more humbling and something more heartfelt than that.”

Along with gaining a strong listener base, the “Edutainment Hip-Hop Show” has also had an influence on its commercial rivals. On numerous occasions, Ives says the show has premiered a brand new artist’s music, only to have the commercial radio stations in Knoxville begin playing the same performer’s music.

“(The commercial stations) will scream all day about how ‘it’s an exclusive’ and ‘you’re only hearing it on this station’ … and it’s something we introduced to our listeners a month ago,” he said.

As a DJ who has himself released several mixtapes without the support of a label, Ives is hopeful about the current “do-it-yourself” trend in the music industry. He cites the release of free content by newer hip-hop artists like Drake and Kid Cudi as a revolutionary model for how music is going to be distributed to audiences. With the advent of this style of self-promotion, Ives believes that the playing field has been leveled for future artists.

“If you have talented enough people around you to produce quality work that sounds just as good as what the major labels can produce, then you can go out there and compete with anybody,” Ives said. “It’s the new marketplace, you know?”

Ives dates the beginning of his interest in hip-hop music back to an early age, saying that he has always had an “incredible” draw to it. He began honing his skills after purchasing his first turntables for around $200, money he saved from working a job as a bagger at a grocery store. His current arrangement is a different story altogether. Ives estimates the cost of his setup at somewhere between $3,500 and $4,000, including the laptop he uses. Among other improvements, Ives now spins with a pair of Technique 1200s, which he describes as “industry standard.”

“The best advice I give to up-and-coming DJs is that if you’re going to be serious (about DJing), buy equipment like you’re serious about it,” Ives said. “Don’t get so excited about the money you have and spend it on cheap equipment just to get a full set. Six to eight months later, you’ll regret it.”

Along with offering the latest music and news in the hip-hop culture, the “Edutainment” crew has also had interviews with many of its influential artists and acts. Those they interviewed include icons such as Method Man, Red Man, Black Milk, Ghostface Killah, and Jurassic 5 to name a few.

It’s clear that these hip-hop radio moguls are not content with settling with where they are now, at just one program a week. The next desired step for the progression of the “Edutainment Hip-Hop Show” is to move to multiple nights. Ultimately, the group’s main ambition is to break into the realm of satellite radio and bring their comprehensive insight of the hip-hop industry to a wider, more global audience.

“There is dope hip-hop everywhere,” Tate said. “Everywhere. And somebody’s got to hear it. That’s where we come in.”