On Thursday night, the Deep Ellum on Air show Local Over Everything began its second season. The show's hosts Rodney Blu, Mo the Bear and Simon Phoenix brought in Dallas rapper Blue, the Misfit to mark the occasion. The show has done well with its unconventional, but authentic program format. Local Over Everything gives listeners the feel that they're hanging out at their homey's stoop rather than listening to a simple radio show.
See also: Live from the Underground Takes Its Love of Dallas Hip Hop to the Airwaves Two Dallas Radio Stations Switched to Awesome Old-School Hip Stations Over the Weekend
The show's beginnings was the stuff of dreams. In Blu's words, "We talked a of shit on Twitter. My friend Jay Wil (of Live From the Underground) said, 'You should take the shit talking on air.'" With Mo and Bluproviding the jabs, barbs and commentary, the duo brought in Phoenix, a respected local music personality, to conduct the show's music and try to moderate some semblance of order. Blu surmises, "It all just really kind of happened as it should have and whatever comes from that is as it should be."
During the season two premiere, there was a tangent between Mo and Blu about who between them was Batman and who was Robin. Blu settles by telling Mo, "I guess you're right. You did carry the workload for tonight. I'm proud of you; you've come a long way from last season. It is like watching a child grow up and go out on his own." Blue, the Misfit, interjects, saying, "Oh, you 'son'ed' him," and Mo quickly defends himself. The whole exchange encapsulated what Locals Over Everything is all about: Just a bunch of friends hanging out who happen to love rap music and the city of Dallas.
Local Over Everything is unconventional as a show for another reason: They utilize a season format. This is common in the realm of television where everything is sectioned by season. In radio and even podcasts, it is far less frequent. Mo explains that the trio took the time off in between seasons to work on auxiliary projects while also getting the show's brand out there.
For Blu, it was simply a matter of "tightening shit up." He explains that the most difficult thing in between seasons was running into people who knew of the show: "I was something that we were not at all prepared for." Blu explains that the lesson the show took from the encounters is that, "We have an audience, people are listening. We got to tighten up and come with it this season."
For the second season, the show has resolved to expand from just a weekly broadcast. They want to offer more to the fans. Through Phoenix's Black Light Black Light outfit, the show is planning to release a series of compilations showcasing Dallas producers and artists. For the season premiere, the show released LOE Presents: The Locals Vol.001, an instrumental mixtape showcasing local producers inlcuding Blue, the Misfit, -topic, YUNG_WAVE and many others. The idea going forward is to incorporate their auxiliary projects into the Locals Over Everything brand.
Another one of the projects they have in the works is a video series that Phoenix is heading called "Recognize," which documents local artists and producers in their element during the creative process. The ultimate goal is to "create an avenue," Blue sees it, or a "creative nucleus," according to Mo, for local artists and producers to come to for exposure, videos, production, and most anything else. The move is clear at Locals Over Everything: Helping to construct a unique and invaluable infrastructure that can be there for all of the Dallas music community.
What sets the show apart from others can be summed in one word: "organic." The way they get guests for the show is light years away from a Herculean task. "It works out for us with guests because they're all already fans of the show. They're excited for the opportunity to come on," Blu explains. Mo adds that he enlisted two guests for the show from chance encounters while on the train.
Local Over Everything is a labor of love, and the trio is conscious of the fact that they are not trying to dictate the creative discourse in the city of Dallas as much as they are trying to offer facilities to help the creative discourse along. For Blue, Mo and Phoenix, their pace and aspirations are anything but locals; they just plan on taking the city of Dallas with them wherever it is they're heading to.
DC9 AT NIGHT'S GREATEST HITS
50 Signs You've Been Partying Too Long in Denton Florida Georgia Line Danced on the Grave of Country at Gexa on Saturday What Your Favorite North Texas Band Says About You Does Dallas Want Its Own Austin City Limits? The Best Places in Dallas to Go When You're Stoned
