Cypher Lounge Radio Premieres This Wednesday!

This Wednesday marks the premiere of a brand new online radio show — Cypher Lounge Radio. Founded by my HiPNOTT Records partner, Kareem Fort, this radio show is something I believe the readers of KevinNottingham.com will be interested in.

Hip-Hop Meets Jay Leno with a Twist of CNN.

Kareem Fort, the brain behind the scenes and Talented Emcee/Songwriter/Cypher Lounge Host, Hassahn Phenomenon invites celebrities, indie artists, and anybody out there changing the world to an experience where they get to relax, reflect, laugh, converse, and showcase their talents.

To get you all up to date on the show and its first airing this Wednesday night, I sat down with Kareem to let him give us the inside scoop…

Kevin: Sup Reem? I talk to you just about every day, so it feels weird to be interviewing you. But since you’re the man with the answers, I just got to get the inside scoop on Cypher Lounge Radio! But before we get into that, let’s talk about you for a sec. Why don’t you introduce yourself and tell the readers of KevinNottingham.com who you are.

Kareem: Wassup Kev!!!!!..for those who don’t know, my name is Kareem “Reem” Fort I am currently Chief Operations Officer (COO) of HiPNOTT Records, manager for artists such as Dasha, Hassahn Phenomenon and of course Nobody Famous and now I am also co-owner of Cypher Lounge Radio.

Kevin: Word up… sounds like you got your hands in everything! So, Cypher Lounge Radio premieres this Wednesday. Give us the details on where and when people can tune in.

Kareem: Right now Cypher Lounge will be launched on blog talk radio at blogtalkradio.com/cypherloungeradio every Wednesday night at 7pm to 9pm PST, as you said beginning this Wednesday, March 3rd.

Kevin: The show is hosted by Hassahn Phenomenon and the lovely Dasha “Divine Diva”. Tell us a bit about them and why you chose them to be the face, or rather the voice, of the show.

Kareem: I chose them because of their characters, their sense of humor and the fact that they are both great people with great energy and have a true love for hip hop. They are both very educated people and are great communicators so its a perfect fit.

Kevin: No doubt. I heard the first pilot of the show and I agree they are the perfect fit. Now, you’re promoting the show as “hip-hop meets Jay Leno with a twist of CNN.” Can you expand on that?

Kareem: Sure, what we wanted to do was provide an environment where artists, producers, writers and anyone actively involved in the hip hop community, in some form, to be able to have a voice in a relaxed atmosphere. Typically when you think of a lounge, you think of a place where you can chill and just be yourself. We create that atmosphere. We also want to be one of the central locations to where hip hop enthusiasts can go to get the latest news, and hear the most current hip hop from around the world. The cool thing about Dasha and HP is that they have the personalities that make you feel comfortable and welcoming, so i guess that’s where the “Jay Leno” part comes from.

Kevin: So, I’ve seen the promo trailer for the show (see above), sounds like a lot of work has gone into it thus far. Can you break down the format of what a typical show would include? Obviously music and interviews… what else will the show comprise of?

Kareem: I don’t want to give too much away but aside from exclusive interviews, the format is to not be repetitive but to stay fresh. We do have a segment called “Dasha’s Do’s and Dont’s” which will be very entertaining, I assure you! Also, we have a segment called the “6 Minute Mix” where you will hear all kinds of hip hop, new school, old school and indie music.

Kevin: You’ve got the homie DJ Mark-1 spinning the tunes on the show. Will any other DJs be involved? If so, will they have full reign on deciding what music they play or will you provide your input? What can we expect to hear musically? Can you breakdown a playlist of about 5-10 songs that you expect to be played in rotation? Or maybe just a list of artists that the show will support?

Kareem: Yes, I believe in family and Mark, Dasha and HP are my family and they are all extremely talented in what they do, so I felt in only right to have our main DJ for the show be DJ Mark-1. We will have guest DJ’s as well. I really believe in mixing things up, no pun intended. The reason for this is to have every DJ do their own thing, I didn’t want to influence them on what they should or shouldn’t play. I will give them a bit of direction so that its not too far out from what we do but basically they DJ’s play what they want.

As far as what music we play, you can hear everything from Biggie to U-N-I to old school Wu Tang all the way to A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, to Ice Cube…you’ll also hear artists like Wax, Chris Young, El Prez, etc…lol and of course HiPNOTT artists! I believe that hip hop needs a balance and we want to provide that on the Cypher Lounge.

Kevin: So, why a radio show? In an age where the radio is a dying form of media, why pick a radio show to get your point across? And what makes you qualified to run this show?

Kareem: I think a radio show is necessary. I constantly hear how traditional radio is so wack and there isn’t much variety. I don’t think the idea of radio is dying, I think that the music that is currently getting play on radio is dying and people are tired of it. I feel like I’m qualified to run this show simply because I like to push boundaries and I always like to see what everyone else is doing and then flip it to be even fresher! I also went to school for radio broadcasting and I still have my broadcasting license, so it wasn’t a big stretch for me.

Kevin: Alright, you got 5 seconds to tell our readers why they should tune into Cypher Lounge Radio… go!

Kareem: People should tune in to the Cypher Lounge if you want exclusive hip hop, listen to great interviews and love to laugh because Dasha and HP are complete fools! lol

Kevin: Hahaha, there you go! Thanks for taking time out to talk with us. If artists would like to submit their music to the show, where can they send it?

Kareem: Thanks bro, you know we both get tons of music on a daily basis but if artists want to submit music to be played on the show they can email me directly at Kareem@hipnottrecords.com and add in the subject line Cypher Lounge.

LISTEN TO CYPHER LOUNGE RADIO
EVERY WEDNESDAY 7-9PM PST

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