Peter Parker is a DJ for B96 (96.3 FM KTTB) out of the Twin Cities. He is one of the few, if not the only DJ that we know of here at Certified Hip Hop that shows a dedication to all good hip hop, whether it is mainstream or underground. His mixtape series How Hard Do You Hustle? has been doing some big things, and this is generally the type of dude we all say we want to hear on the radio giving shine to good music not just whats hot. Peter will be doing an exclusive blog with Certified Hip Hop in the future so be on the look out for that and other big things coming soon.
Some of our readers may not be familiar with you, could you give them a brief introduction to who you are, where you are from, what you've been up to, etc.?
Ok, I'm a radio personality/MC/DJ/Comedian originally from New England (Boston via NH) that is currently holding down 6-10pm on the number one rated hip hop and R&B station in the Midwest, B96 in Minnesota. I do mixtapes, host parties, and smoke trees..pretty good life!
The obvious big thing you have going on right now is a relatively new relationship with 96.3 KTTB out of the Twin Cities. How did this relationship come about and has it been a big adjustment to living in the Twin Cities area as opposed to New England where you grew up?
In Boston I was working at WBOT, Hot 97.7 (Radio One) for the last 4 years as a part-time/weekend mix show personality until that business folded last year. I was actually gonna step away from radio, but Sam Elliot at B96 in Mlps gave me an opportunity that I had to jump on. At the time I had no full time experience and B96 was the only station I sent a demo to, it was like getting drafted out of high school straight to the NBA it's been nuts! The Midwest is much different than New England, but even still I went #1 in ratings my first full book and the reception has been outstanding. We are really shaking things up out there, it's been a lot of fun.
At this point, the south, resented or not, has established a strong presence in hip hop, but lot of people, especially on the east coast don't really grasp how strong the hip hop scene in the Midwest is. How have you found the scene to be and why do you think the two coasts, west and east still don't acknowledge the in between?
The scene is growing everyday; Minnesota has a huge Indy-movement with Rhymesayers (Atmosphere, Brother Ali, etc) and the street cats out here are getting more advanced. People get it fucked up about this southern movement; personally I am not all about the music, growing up idolizing mid-90's New York boom bap shit, most of the southern shit is not my cup of tea. But the science of it is easier to grasp when you think how much of the country is "southern", it's the majority of the U.S. The music these cats make is much easier to relate to on the mainstream tip and it's easier to grasp by the masses then say a Rakim verse or a Wu-Tang album. It's brought a lot of fun back to hip hop and diversified the game on so many levels. Nobody is on top forever, but the south is as dominant as it gets right now. I think the east and west costs had brilliant times of their own and nothing says it wont get back to them...it's like 1992 all over again when the west was killin' the game with Dre and Snoop. These kids in the Midwest are some of the biggest consumers in the world, it's all love out here dude.
Speaking of the in between, despite being on a major radio station that spins a lot of mainstream hip hop you have also garnered a reputation for playing and being open to Indy/underground hip hop. How come you are so open to giving less exposed music shine, when it seems like most mainstream stations only focus on whats big at a given moment?
I need it for my soul son! It's funny that I'm rated #1 on a commercial hip hop station in the Midwest cuz I'm actually the biggest backpacker of all time! (laughs) I loved the late 90's Indy boom (Rawkus, Stones Throw, Brick, Fondle 'Em) I love indy hip hop man. It's so pure, I'm the dude that infiltrated the system and is riding for hip hop, not big business. I gotta play the game, of course, but It's chess, the station is gonna' grab onto the trend of the moment, as they should, but it's essential in my position to rep the real and showcase hip hop as a whole and let the listeners decide who they want to rock with. Shout out to 7L and Esoteric, they got the album of the year in my opinion.
How do you go about staying up with whats big on the Indy scene? You have a lot going on and it seems like it would be difficult to focus on listening to and processing so much music.
Not really, in Boston I was also involved with the #1 indy promotion team/concert promoter Leedz Edutainment, so this has always been my flavor. The internet makes it all so accessible, indy/major/whatever I'm a hiphop head at the end of the day. Big up .
Brother Ali recently out-performed several much bigger name acts in an open-vote contest on your show. What do you think it will take for acts such as Brother Ali to get more overall radio play and exposure?
I rocked that record cuz' I wanted to show the people of Minnesota I respect what they have created and prove to the heads at the station people feel the Rhymesayers Movement like crazy world wide. It was more of an experiment than anything else, and once again my gut feeling was right, the response was craaaazy. In my opinion Brother Ali is not a commercial radio artist in the grand scheme of things. He is too deep and too real, commercial radio is like the fast food of the music industry, the salad is never the number one seller, but it's mandatory to have it on the menu.
I am also curious to know if you think once acts such as Brother Ali begin to get more and more exposure if they will still be able to maintain their original fan base? It seems like a lot of fans of Indy hip hop react poorly when their favorite artist has a measure of serious success, as if the success in of itself will change the artists music or talent...how does a bridge between the mainstream and Indy begin to get built?
That's a tough situation, fans of kids like Brother Ali feel as though that is THEIR dude and I can completely understand. Being a DJ that has been on the pulse of the game for so many years, I have seen this first hand. I was a huge Eminem fan in 1997-1998, the brown haired, sadistic, dark Eminem that so few know today and when when he blew up I was SICK!! This is a kid me and my die hard underground friends used to dig for to find material on, now he's got a blond ceaser and jumping around all happy and silly on TRL??!! I remember being at a fucking frat party after his second album dropped and all these corny white chicks are singing along, I couldn't stand it. As true school fans of "real" hiphop we have this feeling of exclusivity and ownership with our favorite artists. It is what it is, now as a more mature listener and industry professional, I thinks it's a natural progression, the cream always rises to the top. Shiiiiit, I saw a Big 10 commercial on ESPN with Talib Kweli! This is the dude who made Manifesto? (laughs) I loved it. Milk the system, I do it every day.
Now aside from your radio show you have a lot going on with a mixtape series. How did you get involved in the mixtape scene?
As a fan 1st and an advocate for local/unsigned artist 2nd. I've been making mixtapes since I was 13, inspired by Funk Flex, Ron G, Craig G/P-Nice, etc. When I got on the radio in Boston I had so many local cats with a lot of talent that wanted to get on and I was handcuffed at the time. So my hustle was, pay me a small fee and I'll co-sign on your project. We can build a street buzz together, it's the smartest thing I ever did; it kept my lights on for about 4 years while I polished my skills.
Your mixtape series titled How Hard Do You Hustle? has been able to attract some serious talent. When you first started and didn't have such a strong name brand, how did you go about getting artists to agree to appear on your tapes?
I really didn't, we just used to dig for joints and beg artists for drops. I compiled about 10-15 artist drops off mini disk and cassette recorders before I ever did an industry styled cd, it was using the same concept of co-signing that I was charging local rappers for. I used to listen to Clinton Sparks' CD's when he was coming up and I thought the imaging and marketing was brilliant. I just continued to build relationships and grind out, that's where the "How Hard Do You Hustle?" was born, it's actually a challenge directed at myself.
What advice would you give to younger DJs or others on the come up trying to get people to hop on their tapes?
Quality recognizes quality, it's tough to get an artist to do drops for you if you don't work in radio or have a name already, but if you hand a rapper a mixtape that looks like a million bucks, you got a better chance to get their respect. I also recommend originality and actually DJing on the cd's.
So you are now part of the Shadyville DJ crew which is run by DJ Whoo Kid (50 Cent's DJ). How did this relationship come about and what has it meant to your career?
It's a great co-sign from one of the biggest hustlers of all time. His branding and consistency is inspiring, I was recommended by a friend who was interning with G-Unit at the time, right as I moved out to Minnesota. I appreciate the the whole Shadyville movement.
Have you had a lot of time around Whoo Kid at all? What is he like to work with?
I actually haven't, I'm under contract with B96 and that keeps me tied down as far as travel, so when this popped off, I was on the air in Minnesota 6 days a week. I take it as a major complement that my reputation alone was enough to get that going.
So you have prime time spot on a major radio station, you are part of the Shadyville DJ crew, you attract talent from all over the spectrum to work on your tapes, and you grew up in New England. I was wondering where you got the passion for hip hop and where you got your start working on all of this?
I've always been really artistic and passionate about music. I played the musical instruments since I was 7-8 years old and gradually caught the hiphip bug around 10 years old...my mother sold my electric guitar and bought me turntables for Christmas when I was 16. I'd have to say the B-side to "He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper" By Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince changed my life.
Who did you listen to growing up?
Early Ice Cube, Public Enemy, everything Wu-Tang, Boot Camp Click, Gang Starr. I love that Boom Bap era.
Do you remember the first record you bought?
I think it was "He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper," 4th grade, I popped the tape 3 times!
When did you know for sure that the music business was something you wanted to be involved in?
It's all I've ever done. I played a lot of basketball, but other than that, it's always been music related, I knew I didn't wanna scrape lead paint so I had to hustle hard homie! (Inside joke)
Any chance we are ever going to get to hear Peter Parker on the mic? You got to have some aspirations.
I was actually an emcee for a long time. I had a group in college, O.R.C with my man Tito Jaxson, but I deaded that to pursue my radio career, a reunion is in the works under a new name.. Get nervous! (laughs)
What projects from you should we be on the look out for?
Step Your Life Up vol. 1 hosted by Guru of Gangstarr and DJ Doo Wop, How Hard Do You Hustle? Vol. 3 Hosted by Joe Budden and David Banner and Grind Season Radio Vol.1 with DJ Dead Eye hosted by Funkmaster Flex and AZ. All my new Cd's have full interviews with the artist mentioned, O.R.C reunion? You never know fam!
Anything else you'd like to say?
Yea, hit me up on the myspace at and if your an unsigned artist and wanna get some well overdue exposure holla at me, mrpeterparker@tmail.com...and big shout out to myself, I work hard son! Thanks for the look!