Funkmaster Flex reminisced on the beginnings of Hot 97 during his last 7 p.m. to midnight slot on Monday night.
Funk has been with the venerated radio station since its inception in 1992, which is also the year he first started hosting. Of course, the world viewed hip-hop differently then—and according to Funk, so did Hot 97.
During his show, Funk said that rap was only played on Friday and Saturday nights on Kiss FM in the 90s. Still, even though the genre wasn’t widely embraced, he declared, “New York City was ours. We didn’t care if [hip-hop] was on the Grammys or whatever it might be. [Hip-hop] was ours, and it was cool.”
“There’s so many people that climbed that tree and pushed this thing forward before it got to Hot 97,” he added, shouting out Red Alert, Marley Marl, Pete Rock, Clark Kent, and Stretch and Bobbito, among others.
“No disrespect to the station, but Hot 97 played hip-hop out of desperation. Back then, they weren’t fans of the music,” Funk explained.
“They were getting ready to go out of business, and they had no ratings. I was filling in for Red Alert at Kiss FM, and [Hot 97] gave me a call, and I thought it was an opportunity to have my own show. I came over for two hours, from midnight to two. It was a failed two hours that nobody had done well in. But I came, I had a good time. But I must say that energy did change.”
Funk made headlines late last month when rumors initially surfaced that he was leaving Hot 97. However, the legendary DJ is actually only bidding adieu to his old time slot, as he’s now moving up to 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. after the Labor Day holiday.
"THIS MONDAY LABOR DAY SEPTEMBER 1ST WITH BE MY LAST SHOW ON HOT97 AT 7PM! ALL THINGS COME TO AN END! END OF AN ERA THAT I ENJOYED VERY MUCH!" misleadingly tweeted on Aug. 28.
ComplexCon returns to Las Vegas on October 25–26, 2025, with over 300 brands and live performances by Young Thug, YEAT & Friends, Peso Pluma, Central Cee, Ken Carson, and more. Get your tickets now.