Radio stations have formats. A rock station plays rock music, a country station plays country music. No big deal. But when was the last time a radio station went out of its way to single out a genre of music it absolutely would not play?
Well, take yourself back to 1991, a.k.a. the year Milwaukee radio station WKTI 94.5 FM made sure everyone knew they absolutely would not play rap.
This recently unearthed promo starts innocently enough, with Lady #1 declaring Phil Collins, Billy Joel, Wilson Phillips, Madonna, and Paula Abdul to be “today’s best music.” Hey, who can argue with that? Madonna’s great! That Wilson Phillips song is still a hoot today! Then Lady #2 takes over:
“KTI has songs with real singers. 102 has…RAP!”
Yes, she’s referring to rival station 102.1, which at the time played…rap! Things get worse with the introduction of Guy #1:
“Rap music? Let the 12-year-olds listen to that if that’s what they want to hear.”
Can it get any more blunt and awful? Yes it can. Take it away, Guy #2:
“KTI NEVER plays rap. I mean, they do not do that.”
Anyway, here’s WKTI in zanier, Bob-Reitman-rocking-a-leather-jacket times: