“Radio is dead.” This is a sentiment I hear constantly. And while I don’t necessarily agree with that statement (as long as radio remains a free medium of entertainment, it will never truly die), I certainly understand why people feel that way. With the rise of commercial radio formats, syndicated playlists, and voice-tracking, radio has certainly lost some of the significance and power that it used to wield, the internet and satellite having claimed that ground in recent years.Radio has had a profound impact on my life, both as a listener and as an employee of the industry, and I have very fond memories of what radio used to be. So it was quite disheartening to hear about John “Mr. Magic” Rivas’ untimely passing 2 weeks ago (due to technical difficulties, I had to hold off on posting this until now). For those who are unaware, Mr. Magic was one of the first to bring raw, independent hip hop to the commercial airwaves back in 1983 with his groundbreaking Rap Attack show on WBLS in New York City. With a young Marley Marl on the 1’s and 2’s, Magic exposed his audience to music that may not have been heard otherwise on a weekly basis, never kowtowing to the execs that would rather have him play the commercial hits of the time.
Mr. Magic inspired many. His name has been dropped in countless hip hop classics (Whodini even dedicated an entire song to him with “Magic’s Wand,” peep the video for a nice throwback treat), and is a bonafide pioneer of the hip hop radio game. Outside of radio, among many other accomplishments, Magic was instrumental in the formation and exposure of the Juice Crew, and also, unintentionally, launched the career of KRS-One by not playing his records (and subsequently spawned the Bridge Wars).
I can’t lie, I didn’t grow on up on Mr. Magic, he was a little before my time. I’ve listened to plenty of his shows, but only as archived mp3 files and streams. That being said, Mr. Magic might not have had as immediate an impact on me as he did on others. However, as an avid hip hop junkie, and former hip hop radio host, his influence is definitely felt and appreciated. And while urban radio has certainly changed since Magic’s reign (many would argue for the worse), I think it’s safe to say that we’d be even worse off today than we are if it weren’t for him.
Whether or not you think radio is dead, it’s unfortunate times like these that can make us all reflect back on the glory days of radio, and what it used to mean to us, if it still doesn’t mean the same thing to you now. RIP Mr. Magic, you were a true pioneer.
– Brad Holmes
