Houston Loses Classic Hip-Hop Station Boom 92

In October 2014, Radio One premiered the classic hip-hop station Boom 92 in Houston. Now, Boom 92 has been replaced by Radio Now, which plays mostly Top 40 mainstream hits.

Boom 92 was extremely well-received upon its introduction, reports Houstonia Magazine. Soon after Boom 92 premiered, Radio One brought the classic rap and hip-hop format to its affiliates in Dallas, Atlanta and Philadelphia. Other stations across the nation quickly copycatted the idea.

“Listeners who grew up on this music, in the late ’80s and into the ’90s, are now 40 years old,” says Jay Stevens, a programming executive at Radio One, tells Houstonia. “You still love this music, but it wasn’t being exposed on a regular basis at any radio station. So now you’ve found a home.”

Unfortunately, after Boom 92’s initial audience increase, the listenership had a steep and steady decline. Journalist Manny Faces of Birthplace Magazine noticed the change in ratings as it was happening and gave his assessment.

“Truthfully, the decision to switch to an all-classic hip hop format is an easy, long-overdue one, but one that may not prosper once the novelty wears off,” Faces wrote. “The true innovation in hip hop radio will be to not simply cram all these past hits onto a playlist, but to program a radio station that older hip hop heads can enjoy for the nostalgia, while also serving them new music that will appeal to those same sensibilities.”

Rest in peace to Boom 92, the station that played only Beyoncé songs during its first week in existence. The now-extinct station also played classic songs from H-Town artists like Geto Boys, UGK and Fat Pat during its two-year run.

In other Houston-related news, go back and read about how Paul Wall opened up the world’s largest custom grills jewelry store in his hometown.

40 Hip-Hop Albums Turning 20 in 2017

Subscribe to XXL on