Radio station 104.7 the DROP, a.k.a. “the people's station for R&B and hip hop,” is a growing favorite in the Colorado music industry. In 2020, the DROP won a Westword Best of Denver award for Best New Radio Station when it was online-only. The listener-supported, commercial-free station landed on the FM dial in 2021. The station's support for the community reaches far beyond the airwaves. 

Year one of the DROP’s annual block party was a massive success, and set high standards. It featured well-known headline act Wale and took place right as venues were opening up post-lockdown. The energy was palpable. 

“When we first started, we were named by the people and we thought, what a great birthday gift to give a live concert with great talent, national talent and local talent together, and be able to give that gift back to the people for free," recalled general manager and on-air host Nikki Swarn (a.k.a. Amerykah Jones). "And it was a dream.” 

Empowering female artists 

This year, the dream continued with even more focus on the community, starting with an all-women lineup. 

“It's really important to have a female lineup because we are not celebrated as much as we probably should be. So to actually have these ladies be able to get on the stage and really rep for their music, rep for their brand and to show that anyone, any one of us can be able to do that is life changing,” said on-air host Mercedes Howards, or “Ya Girl Cedes," who will also be hosting the event.  

Local artists were chosen through submissions. Hundreds of female-identifying artists from all over the state sent videos of themselves in action. Production quality itself wasn’t one of the standards, in fact, the more DIY, the better - especially if it displayed a natural stage presence.  

Henderson, who led the efforts, explained that with fully produced videos, “you can go back and edit things and make it look pretty. I want to see your raw talent. I wanna see how you really interact.” 

After tedious reviews by the DROP team, 10 people were chosen to compete in the cypher. All 10 contestants performed live, in-studio. The community voted for the winners. Competing artists made their way all around the city gathering the support of fans until finally, one winner was chosen: Colorado-based MC, Triiip.  

Other headlining artists for The Block Party include Denver-raised singer/songwriter Danae Simone, chart-topping R&B artist Muni Long, and one of the most popular R&B trios of the 90s, SWV.  

Long-term support for artists

The combination of local artists and nationally acclaimed ones is no accident. Not only does the combination provide various ways for the audience to connect to the lineup, but it also provides local artists with a bridge to bigger opportunities, which is a core element of the DROP’s mission. 

Swarn explained, “We want to expose our artists to as many environments as possible. And one of those things is having an opportunity to do a sellout show with a national artist and be able to have that recognition that helps with your box office sales.” 

Oftentimes, the DROP develops relationships with artists that last for months, even years. They ensure local artists receive a significant amount of airtime on 104.7 The DROP, and provide other modes of career support along the way. 

“They get the exposure and we also gain big relationships when it comes to business too. We see what they can do. We know that the people like 'em. So when we have events here at our own building or other people are looking for those independent artists, I know who I can go reach out to,” explained Henderson. 

Connections like these are essential for artists to build their careers, and in turn the DROP helps ensure the music industry better represents its fans. 

Although the event is yet to happen, it’s already met many standards of success. The event is sold out, and buzz continues to build as the block party gets closer. And while many concerts measure success by profit, The DROP has a different take.  

Just ask Swarn: “Success for a block party is everyone coming and having a great time, unifying behind the movement of music, and realizing that this station really was built by the people.” 

The DROP and Rocky Mountain PBS are both part of Rocky Mountain Public Media. 

Elle Naef is multimedia producer at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at ellenaef@rmpbs.org.

William Peterson is senior multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at williampeterson@rmpbs.org.