Hot 97 is officially ushering in a new era with its new morning show.
On Monday (Jan. 12), the legendary New York City hip-hop radio station officially introduced their new morning show roster by welcoming The Kid Mero, who will launch his Hot 97 Mornings with Mero on Tuesday (Jan. 13).
"Hot 97 is the station—it's been the voice of NYC hip-hop and culture for decades," said Mero in a press statement. "I grew up listening to Hot 97, so to get the morning slot here isn't just a job—it's a responsibility to continue that legacy while bringing it into this next era of media. We're gonna laugh, we're gonna get into it, but it's always gonna be real, and a real good time!"
“Hot 97 has always been about representing the culture of New York, and Mero is New York,” said Kudjo Sogadzi, EVP of Content & Growth at MediaCo. “He’s authentic, hilarious, fearless, and deeply connected to the community. Hot 97 Mornings with Mero is going to set the tone for the city every morning and create must-listen moments for our audience.”
The new show succeeds the long-running Ebro in the Morning, which began in 2012 and ran for nearly 13 years until the radio station parted ways with the show’s co-hosts Ebro Darden, Peter Rosenberg, and Laura Stylez in December.
Following their exit, the show was temporarily anchored by Hot 97 jocks Miabelle, Shani Kulture, DJ Juanyto, and DJ Kast One. Funkmaster Flex also joined the morning show for a brief stint in addition to his usual 5 pm to 11 pm evening shift.
In the immediate aftermath of Ebro in the Morning’s cancellation, Darden publicly speculated that the morning show was disbanded because of his “progressive” views, implying that Hot 97’s owners, Mediaco Holding, needed to “renew their deals and their licenses.”
Stylez also revealed that the trio were broadcasting their show virtually in recent years, rather than in the Hot 97 studios, because of “roaches and homeless people sleeping in the hallways.”
The show’s cancellation also provoked strong reactions from Drake and 50 Cent.
Darden and his co-hosts have since reunited with a new daily YouTube show called The Ebro, Laura, and Rosenberg Show.
In a recent episode of their new YouTube show, Darden criticized Mediaco Holding’s management style after the company acquired Hot 97 (and its sister station WBLS) from Emmis Communications in 2019.
“When a company or any corporation is bought, the new company doesn't have reverence and regard for the history or what the brand meant or means,” he explained. “It's all about looking forward. I always knew that our end there would not be a celebrated ending, they can't afford it. They couldn't afford to allow us to be on some, like, week-long campaign tour to end.
“They wanted to try to make it abrupt during the holidays when they knew people weren't paying attention or were busy doing other things. When the ratings books were in flux and so that they could start something fresh and new.”
During that same episode, Rosenberg said he “reached out to some of the people involved” with the new morning show roster and gave them his “love and blessings and support.”
Hot 97 Mornings with Mero airs Monday thru Fridays from 6 am to 10 am E.T. beginning January 13.