At 105 FM, a Different Vibe

English: Sean Combs, a.k.a. Diddy, performing on the Today show in 2006. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On the same weekend that the movie "Straight Outta Compton" hit the multiplexes, a new hip hop radio station dropped on the triumvirate of stations known as WGVZ (105.7 FM), WGVX (105.1) and WRXP (105.3) in the Twin Cities area.

"105 The Vibe" replaces the low-rated sports talk format that had been there for over two years.  It is also the ninth different programming change since the three signals combined to form one station two decades ago, made necessary by the fact that none of the signals alone covered the metro adequately.

The problem with the sports station, known as "105 The Ticket", went beyond the lack of a signal.  There were already two well-established sports stations in town--KFAN (100.3) and KSTP (1500 AM), and the lack of exclusive rights to broadcasts of a local pro sports team also hurt.  The local hosts The Ticket had were gone by June, leaving the station with nothing but CBS Sports Radio as its programming.

The Vibe's format is syndicated classic hip hop and R&B from the 1990s and 2000s, a sound that has proven to be successful in other parts of the country.  This was an era when rap ruled the music charts (and probably still does), and lyrics discussing how much bling you got and talking smack about women were controversial.  Noted practitioners of this art form included Notorious B.I.G, Puff Daddy (or Diddy, or whatever), Kanye West, Jay Z and plenty of others.  Of course, by the time all of this gets to your radio, the results are so heavily edited that you could hardly understand what they're talking about.

The good folks at Cumulus Media, who are also responsible for KQRS (92.5) and 93X (93.7), put out The Vibe in response to another station with a similar format.  It's called Hot 102.5, which is sandwiched between country stations K102 (102.1) and KMNB (102.9).  Hot 102.5 is one of those small-watt translator stations that owner iHeart Media (the former Clear Channel) seems to have cornered the local market on, so they could put their conservative talk AM station on FM, or create new ones for alternative rock and a gay-themed music station.

As we mentioned, Hot 102.5 and The Vibe play hip hop and R&B from the past.  If you want that kind of music from the present, the closest you're going to get is longtime contemporary hits power KDWB (101.3), which is also owned by iHeart.  It could be argued that Hot 102.5 was positioned in such a way as to not cannibalize KDWB's audience.

So enjoy your new classic hip hop stations, if you're fortunate enough to receive them.  If there aren't enough of you out there to support them, Format Number 10 might be on its way to 105 FM.