ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
My Future Boss: Ramiro
Your “Freakin Puerto Rican.” Your “Jam Scam man.” Your future boss? Well, your potential future boss.
For me, who is interested in radio, interviewing Ramiro Torres was my lucky break. Torres has been in the radio business since he was 21 and he has no intentions of slowing down any time soon. After speaking with him I realized there’s a lot more to the “Jam Scam man’’ than we thought.
After growing up in Everett, outside of Boston, Ramiro was intrigued by the one and only sports broadcaster Chris Berman, out of which his passion was born. Even though radio and sports are two different fields, Ramiro says he loved the way “Chris delivered the highlights.” After graduating high school around 1995, Ramiro Torres enrolled in The New England Institute of Art & Communications, or AI New England. Almost immediately, he began his internship at Jam’n 94.5 radio studios. After his internship, he became a legitimate employee of the station. Ramiro, oblivious to the wonderful union with Pebbles that was to come in the years ahead, held down nighttime radio.
From 6 to 10 a.m., Ramiro and his sidekick Pebbles dominate Boston’s mornings along with Crazy Culo, Melissa, and others. Things usually seem quite peachy on the air, but is this the norm when the microphones are turned off? “I try to keep it loose with everyone. We goof around, joke around, but at the same time everyone knows they have a job to do,” Ramiro says describing the staff’s relationships after the show.
Jam'n 94.5 radio DJ Ramiro Torresphoto by Eric Levin, Boston
R.I.P. hip-hop?
With roots in Africa, hip-hop has spread far over the past years into different cultures, regions, and races, integrating other musical influences and redefining itself. But even though hip-hop has reached different cultures and people, has American hip-hop grown? Has hip-hop really kept its message and continued to spread it? Or has it lost its way through all the money, cars, and jewelry associated with the trend?
The music played now on mainstream radio stations and TV is getting worse, many say. Hip-hop used to send a message to the world about things that really mattered and affected people. Now it spreads messages about pimping and gang affiliation. Hip-hop artists spit out albums and mix tapes only for the dollar value in the rap game. But is quantity really better than the quality of the music? MCs are not coming out with anything now and it’s killing hip-hop as it used to be.
The latest movement of hip-hop, the snap movement, started hip-hop on a slippery slope to nothingness. The movement allowed rappers to come out with anything that sounded good or had a nice dance beat to. These rappers got away with it because the people who were listening to their music didn’t listen to the words but just felt the rhythm. The songs that are coming out now make no sense if you listen to the words. New artists like Hurricane Chris are coming out with songs like “Ay Bay Bay” in which he raps: “It’s so hot up in da club dat I ain’t got no shoes on.” Of course, that line makes no sense, but it’s overlooked because the song has a catchy hook and nice beat.
Many new rappers only know how to make a one hit song. People like Soulja Boy Tellem won’t be able to come up with something that really means something to the listeners. They don’t have a reason for rapping other than wanting to make money. Before people rapped because they had something to say and wanted others to hear them. People who like what they heard kept listening to them and feeling them. People who listen to Soulja Boy Tellem don’t really listen to his songs but just go with the flow of his beats.
While mainstream American hip-hop has hit a wall, there are people who are trying to break it down like Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, and Jay-Z. There needs to be more rappers like them who actually say something instead of just coming out with dance music.