Detroit hip hop station 'mutes' Kanye West; pulls songs off their airwaves
DETROIT (WJBK) - A radio station in Detroit says it's pulling Kanye West songs off their airwaves after his controversial remarks about slavery earlier this week.
105.1 The Bounce, a throwback Hip Hop and R&B station, announced Thursday morning they won't be playing his music anymore. They went live on Facebook while Shay Shay and BiGG discussed the issue on their morning show.
"Why can't we make a statement? In the small fish that we are, to say, I don't want to hear Kanye right now. I don't want to play his music; I don't want to hear him on our show," Shay Shay said.
"As of this moment, we will #MuteKanye on the Morning Bounce and we will not play any of Kanye West's music, music that he's featured on, music that he raps on, none of his throwbacks. We are banning Kanye West's music from this radio station," BiGG added.
Kanye called American slavery a "choice" in a TMZ interview Tuesday.
"When you hear about slavery for 400 years, for 400 years, that sounds like choice," he said on "TMZ Live" after questions on his pro-President Donald Trump posts and pictures that caused a dust-up last week. "You was there for 400 years, and it's all of y'all?"
Shay Shay said she'd like to take the small platform their radio station has and use it to discontinue giving Kanye his platform.
"I think it's reckless and irresponsible to use your platform in this type of way," she said, addressing Kanye. "I get that I'm a small fish in the ocean, but on my platform I feel like it's important to make a statement."
You can listen to their discussion in the embedded post above.
Click here if you can't see the post
Shay Shay and BiGG asked listeners to call in with their thoughts on muting Kanye. Many called in to say they agree with their decision, but they also got comments saying they were losing a listener. In the end, though, the listeners voted in favor of muting Kanye.
One Detroit woman called in and asked, too, if they ever considered banning Chris Brown or R. Kelly's music like many suggested on social media across the country after their controversies.
Chris Brown was convicted of assaulting Rihanna when she was his girlfriend in 2009, and R. Kelly has long been accused of behavior ranging from questionable to criminal. He wed a 15-year-old Aaliyah in 1994. He was later accused of child pornography after a widely circulated videotape appeared to show him having sex with, and urinating on, a teenage girl. He was acquitted of all charges in 2008 and continued to rack up hits and sell out stadiums around the country. More women continue to come forward, though, alleging misconduct against Kelly.
Shay Shay said she agreed with the suggestion but didn't say if they would be muting their music also.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report