DJ Bizzon
Voices of 88Nine Radio Milwaukee’s DJ Bizzon Tyrone Miller and music director Justin Barney investigate Milwaukee’s first hip-hop song on their new podcast series, “Backspin.” The two combine their appreciation for the musical genre and culture with their academic inquiries to delve into the evolution of Milwaukee’s hip-hop scene. Listeners are introduced to notable local establishments and voices of those imperative to the hip-hop scene in the ’70s and ’80s and given a cultural breakdown of an underrepresented subculture.
Miller and Barney take listeners back to old-school Milwaukee, sharing what was happening in our city during times often overshadowed by bigger cities like Atlanta, Georgia and New York. “So much was happening in Milwaukee back at that same time. People don’t know the story, but that is why we are here telling this story, right?” Miller explains.
The hosts dig deep. Vinyl samples of James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” and The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” match references to their discussions, maximizing the podcast’s medium. It includes interviews with Milwaukee’s artists, like DJs JDL and DMT, referencing streets like North Avenue, mentioning local radio stations like WMSE. An international culture brought to a local scale, a relatable scale, thrilling for Milwaukee hip-hop enthusiasts.
It’s special to hear about old-school Milwaukee—when Milwaukee was a better place for everyone, especially the black and brown folks sharing their beloved experiences. The show intertwines recollections of community, access and opportunity for everyone in their search, an ideal image left reminisced.
“Not only do you have a community that is full of places for us to go still at this point, we have access to all the resources we need. They weren’t all gone. We have resources in the late ’70s and early ’80s. I could still grocery shop, I could still find what I needed... So, what you needed was still in the community,” explains Milwaukee native Sara Noble in the pilot episode, reflecting on how things were then.
Miller and Barney’s infatuation with hip-hop radiates, it explores hip-hop’s origins deeper than most popular culture may even be aware of. They thoroughly digest uninvestigated territory for others to develop a similar appreciation.
