Dan Charnas

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Did you know that New York’s Hot 97 was not the first pop station where hip-hop lived?

Little-known hip-hop fact #2:

In 1994, Hot 97-FM became the first pop station in New York to feature a hip-hop format. But Hot 97 wasn’t the first pop station in the country to do so. In fact, they didn’t even invent the slogan that they made famous…

Think you know the answer? Comment below! [Hint: KDAY was not a pop station]

For the complete story, see The Big Payback, pages 341-344

The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop by Dan Charnas—coming out December 2010 on New American Library/Penguin—is the first-ever definitive history of the executives, entrepreneurs, hustlers and handlers to transform hip-hop from an obscure street phenomenon into the world’s predominant pop culture and a multi-billion dollar industry. Order your copy here.