Drake is at it again, NYC radio edition

The recent decision to take a long-standing radio show off the air in New York is sending shockwaves through the city’s industry, with questions about what radio shows might be on the chopping block next. And somehow Drake is at the centre of the fallout. 

Last Friday, Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning show hosts, Ebro Darden, Laura Stylez and Peter Rosenberg, released individual statements announcing that their show, which had been on the air since 2012, had come to an end. In the days since the announcement was made, we’ve watched as the hosts have navigated the rollercoaster of emotions about the news. 

But they quickly pivoted, spending their weekend preparing for the release of a new YouTube show, which they launched yesterday. Judging by the comments under their first YouTube episode, you could say the show is being well-received. Listeners are saying that Funk Flex, who has been brought in as the new host of mornings on Hot 97 in their place, was not the most ideal start to their day - and that they much prefer Ebro and company. 

But elsewhere on social media, especially among people in the hip-hop media landscape they’ve crossed or made unsavoury remarks about over their years on air, the show’s cancellation is news not only welcomed, but celebrated. And many are saying Ebro’s polarizing nature is what ultimately cost him his spot on one of the most coveted timeslots on New York radio.

In his initial announcement video, Ebro suggested the reason for the show’s cancellation was due to his anti-Netanyahu and anti-government views and the challenges he posed for management. But according to well-known figures in the hip-hop space like DJ Vlad and DJ Akademiks, who both had a lot to say about the show’s cancellation, Ebro himself is to blame. 

DJ Vlad posted this lengthy tweet, saying that the show likely hadn’t been profitable for at least a decade and that the hosts should be grateful to Hot 97 for the opportunity they received instead of trashing the company. And DJ Akademiks, a foe of the show, spent two hours in this YouTube video slamming Ebro’s resistance to change and accused him of being a gatekeeper in the hip-hop community.

But perhaps the biggest celebration of the collapse of the show was Drake. During their debut episode, Ebro shared the DM he received from Drake at 3:30 in the morning, and it prompted several conversations about whether Drake was right to clap back in this way against all the things Ebro has said about him on air in the past or whether he took it too far.

In addition to the DM, Drake also dropped an axe emoji in the comment section of a Toronto blog page sharing the news of the show’s cancellation. After seeing the axe emoji, Ebro’s cohost Peter Rosenberg took to X to slam Drake, saying:

Peter also went on to say that Drake fans have become ‘weird twitch commenters who are absolutely virgins’. 

Ebro and Drake have had a complicated relationship, despite the prior niceties you can see in the exchange above. It stems from Drake being a hot topic not just on Ebro in the Morning, but on Hot 97 in general. The exchange was even being discussed after the trio’s departure from the station, with Funk Flex, who has been vocal in his dislike for Drake, sharing his thoughts. With so much of the conversations taking place being about hip-hop, the culture and music, it’s only natural that one of the biggest players in the industry is frequently mentioned.

Back in 2023, Ebro slammed Drake for shading Childish Gambino’s song “This Is America” and accused him of not doing enough to speak up on Black issues throughout his career. 

“Drake, who has never shown up, and y’all know I’m the biggest Drake fan on this show. Drake has never shown up to have anything to say about anything going on in society with Black folks or anything other than himself,” he said. 

But things took a dark turn earlier this year when in February, Ebro called Drake a ‘sickness’ in hip-hop during a discussion about the beef between him and Kendrick Lamar.

“Drake is not that important. The reason Drake’s in this is because he is a sickness in the game. It could have been any artist, but it’s what Drake represents. People love Drake – they love his music, we love his music. He’s beloved. He’s not willing to go rip his soul from the bottom and do ayahuasca and look himself in the mirror as Kendrick had prescribed to him. It’s about what the game does to artists who try to dominate it,” he said.

In a response, it's alleged that Drake shared a photoshopped image to a fake Instagram page of Ebro over a bowl of ayahuasca.

I think people have a hard time reconciling the remarks Ebro has made about Drake while being a self-proclaimed Drake fan. The biggest fan of all on the show, in fact. But even as a Toronto native myself and a lover of pettiness, which is what Drake has got on full display right now, I can appreciate Ebro’s willingness to critique his idols. And as a radio show host, it’s quite literally how you facilitate discussion. 

Is he an arrogant radio host? Absolutely. Is he a skilled interviewer? I certainly wouldn’t say so, especially after seeing clips of his abrasiveness towards younger rappers coming into the studio. There’s an entire TikTok page dedicated to Ebro’s cringey interviews with his guests. But New York radio is different. He’s from a different generation and has appropriately named himself @OldManEbro on X. So whatever he was doing worked, at least up until this point. I mean, something kept him on air for 13 years. 

Now, all eyes are on some of the other morning shows, with questions about the fate of these shows heavy in the air. Namely Nessa in the Morning and The Breakfast Club. Around this time five years ago, it was headline news that Charlamagne had struck a new deal with iHeartMedia. Specifically, a contract that would span five years which brings us to now. With the show’s last episode before the holidays set for this week, people are looking for certainty about whether Charlamagne will remain on the air.

With Charlamagne’s ownership of The Black Effect podcast network, alongside iHeartRadio, I don’t think he’s going anywhere. And neither does DJ Akademiks, who says Charlamagne will be in even higher demand to help usher in new shows, especially after rumours swirling that suggest Netflix and iHeart are moving towards a podcast deal. With the news of them acquiring Warner Bros., it’s just not that far-fetched.

Amidst the battle of ego, luck, and sweeping changes to radio consumption habits, there are calls to remain humble. Angela Yee, who formerly cohosted The Breakfast Club alongside Charlamagne, posted this video, reminding her colleagues in radio that you never know when your time could be up and to not be too hard on people who have had the unfortunate experience of the clock running out. Perhaps its advice that all the players in this story should heed.