Radio briefs: Hot 107.9 on 'The Rap Game,' August ratings, Jimmy Baron, top 10 songs

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Sunday, September 4, 2016

Hot 107.9 was heavily featured on Friday night's episode of Lifetime's reality competition show "The Rap Game," in which Jermaine Dupri is seeking the next young rap star.

The five contestants spent the opening minutes of the episode interviewing with the popular Durrty Boyz radio show featuring LA and J-Nicks. (J-Nicks was also featured recently on VH1's "Love and Hip Hop Atlanta.")

The kids later in the episode performed as two groups during the Hot 107.9 Birthday Bash free concert at Centennial Olympic Park where the Hot logo was prominently displayed for a good portion of the show. Given that Hot started in Atlanta two decades ago as the first full-time hip-hop station in town, Dupri clearly showed loyalty by using them for his TV show.

Season one winner Miss Mulatto from Atlanta also performed.

LA Durrty Boyz

J Nicks durrty boyz

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A quick overview of the most recent ratings book for Atlanta, based on Nielsen Audio data, covering mid-July through mid-August.

• News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB had its best monthly ratings since the current ratings system was set up in 2009: a 9.4, by far besting the ratings of the No. 2 station V-103 at 6.9. V-103 was No. 1 as usual among 25 to 54 year olds.
• Christian pop station Fish 104.7 has had one of its best stretches ever, finishing in the top four for four consecutive months.
• Hot 107.9 is also hitting station highs in popularity, landing in the top five five of eight months this year. It was also No. 1 across the board among 18 to 34 year olds.
• In the country battle, Kicks beat the Bull for only the second time this year, 3.9 to 3.8. But the Bull remains the leader among 18 to 34 year olds and 25 to 54 year olds.
• R&B station Majic brought back its 97.5 signal recently but the change happened too late to show up in this ratings book. Its ratings remain in the doldrums, with the station ranked 14th.
• All four pop stations remain in a tight battle for supremacy with all stations clustered tightly (B98.5 4.9 rating followed by Power 96.1's 4.7, Star 94.1's 4.4 and Q100's 4.2). This is the first time in ages that Star beat Q100 in the monthly overall ratings. Q100's the Bert Show remains top dog but Star sent me a note that Jeff and Jenn came in No. 2 among women 25 to 54 with a 7.8, just a ratings point behind Bert.
• 92.9/The Game had an impressive mid summer ratings period, especially considering the fact football hadn't started It pulled in a 3 rating compared to a 1.7 in the same ratings period a year ago. I can't reveal 680/The Fan's numbers because they don't subscribe to Nielsen but their numbers - while solid - are not as strong as the Game.
• I know some of you are watching 88.5/WRAS-FM (now mostly run by GPB) with interest. The station, after a mostly flat year, showed signs of life in July and August, with upticks across the board, especially in mornings and afternoons. Last month's morning numbers hit a 1.1 rating among 25 to 54 year olds compared to a 0.4 a year ago. It still trails WABE by a wide margin but growth is growth.

WSB, The River, B98.5 and Kiss along with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are part of Cox Media Group.

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Sia's "Cheap Thrills" was the most played song in Atlanta radio this past week with 344 spins. It was getting maximum or near maximum coverage on Star 94, B98.5, Q100 and Power. It upended Chainsmokers' "Don't Let Me Down," which fell to No. 4.

Here's the top 10, based on Mediabase 24/7 tracking:

1. Sia "Cheap Thrills"
2. Adele "Send My Love"
3. Rihanna "Needed Me"
4. Chainsmokers "Don't Let Me Down"
5. Shawn Mendes "Treat You Better"
6. Major Lazer "Cold Water"
7. Drake "One Dance"
8. Twenty One Pilots "Ride"
9. Calvin Harris "This is What You Came For"
10. Ariane Grande "Into You"

Most played songs by station:

V-103: Usher "No Limit"

Hot 107.9: DJ Khaled "For Free"

Streetz 94.5: YFN Lucci "Key to the Streets"

Kiss 104.1: Guordan Banks "Keep You in Mind"

Majic 107.5/97.5: Maxwell "Lake by the Ocean"

Q100: Shawn Mendes "Treat You Better"

Power 96.1: Ariane Grande "Into You"/ Sia "Cheap Thrills" (tie)

B98.5: Pink "Just Like Fire"/ Sia "Cheap Thrills" (tie)

Star 94.1: Calvin Harris" This Is What You Came For"

94.9/The Bull: Sam  Hunt "Make You Miss Me"

Kicks 101.5: Blake Shelton "She's Got a Way With Words"

Praise 102.5: Jermaine Dolly "You"

Fish 104.7: Jonny Diaz "Breathe"

Rock 100.5: Aerosmith "Walk This Way"/Pink Floyd "Comfortably Numb"/ZZ Top "Cheap Sunglasses" (tie)

Radio 105.7: Cage the Elephant "Trouble"

97.1/The River: Boston "More Than a Feeling"

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Former 99X morning host Jimmy Baron - now a successful Keller Williams real estate agent - used to be a child actor.

His most famous moment was interrupting Tom Cruise's character's Princeton interview in 1984's "Risky Business." But after Gene Wilder's death last week, he posted this photo on Facebook:

I actually worked with Gene Wilder a zillion years ago in Stir Crazy. Believe it or not I was an extra in the jail cell in the famous "Yeah, we bad!" scene (even though the camera never has us in the same frame). See the yutz in the cowboy hat? Yep.

Jimmy Baron Stir Crazy