Sunday night D.J. Sno, Finsta and D.J. Jewell had just wrapped another episode of their hit weekly show STL Home Jamz that airs on Hot 104.1 FM. It appeared to be business as usual, but the trio is on the cusp of something big.
On Monday (Aug. 1) they will celebrate the five-year anniversary of their show with a showcase of STL’s finest at the Gramophone.
“It seems like people are just now starting to realize what’s going on as far as paying attention to what we’re doing, but it’s been awesome,” STL Home Jams founder DJ Sno said.
Sno kicked the show off with STL rap star Chingy five years ago. A few personnel changes left it in other hands for a couple of years, but it fell back in the lap of Sno and Finsta three years ago. DJ Jewell is the baby of the STL Home Jamz bunch.
“I love the fact that it gives local artists a chance to showcase their music,” Jewell said.
The show’s title is somewhat self-explanatory, but as it has grown the slot has become much more than a couple of hours set aside to showcase local hip-hop and R&B artists.
“The music we play, we dedicate it to St. Louis and the St. Louis people who are here trying to do something,” Sno said. “Because really, they can’t get on rotation unless they have a deal on the table or somebody rooting for them.”
Five years after the fact, they are celebrating the opportunity to offer shine blended with self-help to rising stars – and consider it a blessing that they’ve still around.
“I thought when Boogie D left, that was going to be it,” Sno said of the outgoing programming director who gave them the green light.
“But when Mickey J. came, he stepped the game up for us,” Finsta said. “He said, ‘I’ll give it an extra hour’ and ‘why is the show on so late?’”
The show went from the radio graveyard shift of 11 p.m. on Sunday night to the prime time spot of 7 p.m.
The expansion of time and exposure offered them the opportunity to “get involved” – a weekly tag line the team offers its listeners each week as a challenge.
“When we moved the 7 o’clock spot, we added a couple of new segments to the show,” Finsta said.
The Mix-Tape Minute offers a spotlight on an artist who is locally presenting a project to the masses, and Industry Info offers insight to what goes on behind the scenes of the music business.
On Sunday, Industry Info was served up by hip-hop and R&B super producer Jazze Pha (who has worked with the likes of Missy Elliot, Cee-Lo Green, Aaliyah, Lil Wayne, Nelly and Gerald LeVert).
As the show’s caliber has grown, the artists’ quality has risen to the challenge.
“People are understanding what they really need to do to mess with me and Finsta,” Sno said.
“Artists have started reconditioning themselves to do better and do more,” Finsta co-signed.
While the team admits St. Louis is a tough sell, the STL Home Jamz team hopes the show will aid them in dispelling the notion that St. Louis audiences don’t care about St. Louis music.
“People don’t even know what they like,” Sno said. “It just comes on the radio, and we start brainwashing you with it. And once we’ve got you, we’ve got you. So why not do that with St. Louis music?”
STL Home Jamz five-year anniversary showcase will take place at 10:30 p.m. Monday at the Gramophone, featuring STL Hottest Winner Jay Louiz, Trixie, Phat Pheezy, Seviin Li, and more. For more information, visit www.hot1041stl.com.
