You might have noticed new sounds as you tuned your car radio recently. Urban radio is here in northwest Arkansas. Hip hop and R&B is now blazing the northwest Arkansas airwaves. Many are excited about a new urban radio station.
Commuter student, Emerald Cole said she always felt something was missing. “I’ve lived in Fayetteville for about 13 years and in that time, I’ve had very limited access to hip hop and neo soul,” said Cole. “I’ve had to look elsewhere such as Pandora or just look for things I could download to my phone to play from there.”
Hip hop lovers who previously depended on iPods, mp3 players and cell phones for their favorite jams now have a new option. Kiss 105.3 is the first commercial urban radio station in northwest Arkansas. The studio will open in a few weeks right here on Dickson Street after construction. It’s located between waffle house and Qdoba.
Vice president of Perry Broadcasting in Arkansas, Marcus Carruthers, said he has big plans for this location.
Perry said, “Our d.j.’s will be right there in the windows interacting and engaging not only the audience on the radio but the audience outside the studio.
Carruthers said this station is the result of a twenty-year-old vision
“Since 1995, I’ve tried to pull teams together to discuss the possibility of bringing urban radio to northwest Arkansas and it was not a possibility earlier on but we never quit,” said Carruthers.
He said the station will change the blueprint of the area and that they believe they’re “going to transform the community, transform the culture, transform northwest Arkansas.”
The station plans to bring celebrity artist to the studio for live interviews, concerts and showcases.