Radio has certainly played a transformative role in the
African American community during the civil rights era.
And even today, our
Lindsay Liman caught up with the voice of a
generation on Waco's only hip hop radio station,
Devin Patton, also known as DJ Precise.
He's helped launch new artists and shine a light on
issues in the black community and he's just getting started.
No,
for more than a decade. DJ.
Precise spreads positivity through the music and the mic mom and my grandmother,
they instilled in me to always be positive
and spread good news and don't spread hate,
you know.
So
I approach radio the same way because I always positive energy, you know,
because I never know what kind of day somebody else is having.
I want to make their day better.
His dream of becoming a DJ started at home and me doing DJ
and I walk my mom, you know,
because my mom would have parties at the house and she'd be like, son,
go in there and get that Frankie Beverly and Mays put that on right quick
and then I start picking up once I started listening and hearing the music,
I'd go in there and just put stuff on while they're in there.
She didn't have to tell me no more. She'd be like,
boy, what you, what you know about Stevie Wonder, whatever boy,
you know what I'm saying?
I'm putting Stevie Wonder on, I'm playing Prince, you know, Michael Jackson and
I'm watching everybody moving around and I'm like, ok,
this might be something I could do
as a teenager.
He was hired to DJ at a local club and his career in entertainment began,
I was underage,
you know, and they hired me as a DJ at my first DJ job, I was like 1516 years old.
And the crazy part is the radio station
K 104 is a big station. They used to come down to the club
and that's what made me,
that's where my dreams of being on the radio
came from because those guys used to come down,
it was bad bread. All these different people that was on the radio back then.
I used to go crazy like, oh man, he from radio station, you know,
and radio back then was like huge,
you know. So
that was, that's when I really started like, man, I can really do this.
Ladies and
gentlemen,
you're
listening
to
the
radio
in
the
world.
Radio has been a touch point for the African American community.
In the 19 twenties, Jack Cooper became the first African American radio.
Disc jockey change makers like James Brown bought
radio stations to help amplify black voices.
And as hip hop marks its 50 year anniversary,
the work being done by black broadcasters
is just as important as ever.
The SEC says only 1% of radio and TV stations are
owned by African Americans and only 5% of radio broadcasters are black
people and
our
people that lived and died and fought for what we have today. You know,
I,
that
when Waco's only hip hop station hit the
airwaves in 2010 local legend DJ Batman gave sis
his big break in radio.
He's been part of Waco radio history to give a voice and platform to the people.
I just feel like we could all
be better.
And it starts with me,
you know what I'm saying? It starts with you, starts with me.
Look in the mirror every day, look at yourself,
but you don't like what you see changing it.
Now, his new show Texas Tap in brings Texas culture to the world.
We want the world to see what's going on in Texas.
Like we're gonna, we're gonna talk to the,
to the homeless man all the way up to the CEO
you know, them being the big artist all the way down to the
artist. He credits God, his family and those who have gone before him.
I live, not only for me, I live for my brothers, I live for my dads, my grandmothers,
all of them.
They all lived through me. Like I really, I really feel in my soul.
I got major guardian angels that,
you know, have passed on Black history moment. Anybody out there
watching this or listening to this
just make yourself better
start with you.
That's gonna make the Black history continue to be better.
And for the world we, we start with each what I sell for six news. I'm Lindsay Lipman.
What a great story and we got some beats in there.
So you can enjoy the rest of your night off that note,
you can listen to DJ Precise Daily on 107.3 in central Texas or streaming online
in his new show, Texas Tap in is up on youtube,
go to KCN tv.com to get all of those links.