Star and Buc Wild Bring the Hate Back to NYC

New York is the city of the unexpected. One can walk down the street, take a ride on the subway or even walk into a deli not knowing who they will encounter or what they will hear. Now, New Yorkers can expect to hear the outrageous by tuning their radios to 105.1.

Clear Channel radio's Power 105 (WWPR-FM), New York's new number 1 for Hip Hop and R&B, made the decision to include the "Star and Buc Wild Show" as a part of their daily rotation. The show returned to the tri-state airwaves on Jan. 17, and airs weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Star and Buc Wild signed with Clear Channel Communications in March 2004 and have proven themselves to be a big hit on Clear Channel urban stations in Hartford, Augusta and Philadelphia. Since their debut, the duo has become the first morning show to beat Howard Stern's top ratings in over a decade.

An incident on the Philadelphia station, WUSL (Power 99), however, led Star and Buc Wild into controversy this past December and may have prevented them from earning a spot on the competitive New York airwaves. WUSL decided a comedy bit included in the show was "racially inflammatory" and the audio clip was removed from the website.

The bit aired on the radio and received no complaints, but an employee at the station, who was later dismissed, posted the clip back on the Web. WUSL received over 130 complaints in the form of e-mails and phone calls. The bit involved Star acting as a white man trying to obtain beads for his 6-year-old in attempt to make her look like Venus and Serena Williams. He got in touch with a woman at a call center in India, proceeded to yell at her and call her a "filthy rat eater."

The station released an apology and made it clear that they viewed the incident as something that "is not acceptable." Star and Buc Wild were suspended from the airwaves for one day.

After listening to the show on 105.1, listeners may realize why the duo was such a hit in the first place. Both Star and Buc Wild are dynamic, comical and fresh. Nobody can ever guess what they will have to say next. They are probably much more likely to be cautious of what they say to avoid further controversy, and more importantly so, now that they are in a city as diverse as New York. Listeners are still guaranteed constant laughs and unexpected jokes, just nothing on the racist side, and rightfully so.

There should be no question that Star and Buc Wild are back on the air at all their first three stations and in New York. If the "Star and Buc Wild" show sticks around, it will prove to audiences, both those in favor and those against the show that they are able to overcome controversy and take their mistake and grow from it.

For fans of hip-hop and R&B, as well as those in search of a good, powerful morning show that will get the blood moving in the morning, the "Star and Buc Wild" show is a good contender. Even if hip-hop is not a listener's music of choice, the duo are capable of waking almost anyone up. Listeners can expect the unexpected and, after all, that is what New York is all about.