Right before the lockdown happened in early March I was asked to do a guest mix on WeFunk Radio.
This is likely how it went down: Mahdi AKA Dr. MAD would have been asked to play a guest set but probably had a live gig to play since this was back when those things still existed. In his stead, he recommended me. The lockdown happened later that week and the station closed so we had to postpone. Well. I'm more than happy to announce that my guest set on WeFunk will air Friday, July 10th!
I can't thank you enough Mahdi. This wasn't the first great opportunity you've presented me with since we connected through Loop Sessions.
I don't recall whether or not Mahdi new that I'd been a WeFunk Radio fan since early 2001. That's almost 20 years. Growing up on the other side of the country, I'd never heard of CKUT, or knew anything about Montreal for that matter. I came upon WeFunk when Apple first released iTunes. I'd been looking for a free and easy way to rip and convert audio, and organize playlists for mix CDs.
iTunes was great for that. It also had a selection of built-in radio stations that you could browse. They were essentially a curated selection of Shoutcast streams, organized by genre. Whoever put together the Hip-Hop selection had some classics on there like New York's Hot97. It also featured a stream from this show called WeFunk. A mix show from Montreal that played alternating sets of Funk/Soul/Disco, and Hip-Hop and featured guest DJs from all over the world. The DJ duo who run the show have been doing it since 1996, so it had five years of being able to establish itself before that time. In 2001, when some brilliant developer at Apple decided to include WeFunk's Shoutcast stream in their stock list of radio stations, the show gained international acclaim and has since become the station's most listened-to show globally.
CKUT relies on public donations to stay on the air. Students and teachers from University of McGill, as well as local volunteers are who run the station. Since WeFunk has so many dedicated listeners across the globe, I wouldn't be surprised if they contribute the majority of CKUT's funding drive donations. Donating to the station is just one way to support WeFunk and keep the funk alive. There's more options listed on WeFunk's Support page.
Listening to WeFunk for the last 20 years, I feel like I've earned at least a bachelor's degree in Funk and Hip-Hop. The music selections from this show have been so inspirational to me in how I both listen to and create music myself. So tonight, knowing that my guest set will air live on WeFunk Radio for the world to hear, and live on forever in the coveted WeFunk Archives, I'll be able to check one more thing off that bucket list.
Live Friday June 10th Midnight - 2AM EST on 90.3 FM in Montreal or at https://www.ckut.ca/en/node/49
Thank you so, so much.
Montréal, je t'aime.