Morning Radio

In the 80’s and up until he moved his show to Sirius radio, I listened to Howard Stern in the morning. And after Howard left KRock, I would listen to Z100 and the Z morning zoo when I drove my children to school. I listened to the phone tap religiously every morning.

I now have a new morning radio station. I did not chose it of my own volition. It was chosen for me by my daughter Briana. I drive her to the train station in the morning and she rules my car’s presets. I listen to the Cipha Sounds and Rosenberg show with K Fox on Hot 97 FM. They advertise themselves as the Black, the Jew and the Puerto Rican. Hot 97 is the rap station.

The show is, as you might guess, very politically incorrect. They do 2 segments every morning: stuff white people don’t care about as well as stuff black people don’t care about. Evidently Puerto Ricans do not fit into the formula. I learned black people do not care about Justin Beiber. White people do not care that Soulja Boy got arrested for guns and 70K worth of drugs.

When I picked Sam up from the city today she said did you hear that T.I. is out of jail?  I said Yeah pshh I knew that. He got out a couple of weeks ago. He is on parole. And T.I. got into a little thing with Diddy. Apparently Diddy was having a party at a club in Atlanta before the BET awards and T. I. and his crew were drinking some vodka other than Siroc and Diddy felt disrespected. And a fight almost broke out. But T.I. said Yo Diddy I get paid to drink that (other vodka)—my apologies—I mean no disrespect. And Diddy and his crew sat back down. The tension was averted.

And Sam laughed and said  Really Mom? And how do you know that? And I told her I knew lots of rapper stuff. I heard rapper news every morning—Lil’ Wayne and Drake and Jay-Z and Kanye. They are my new peeps. She just shook her head. She is used to me by now. She is accustomed to the fact that I do not always conform to what other Moms do and say. There was a time that would have embarrassed her---now it doesn’t seem to phase her.

That’s the best part about having kids on the other side of 20 They accept you. They want to be engaged. You still may not know anything in their eyes but they realize that you know a lot more than they originally suspected. They forgive you for being yourself---even if you are not like other Moms.

And not being like the other Moms is something I am proud to be.  I may not be able to discern between the republican candidates-- but know all the important rappers. Maybe Hot 97 should do a segment on stuff white Garden City women shouldn’t care about, but yet somehow do.

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