WUKY premiers new HD-2 channel ‘The Break’
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 7, 2024) — To commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and 15 years of “The Crunkadelic Funk Show,” 91.3 WUKY has launched a brand new service on its HD-2 channel "The Break."
“The Break” is Lexington and Kentucky’s first urban alternative public radio formatted channel. Urban alternative is an exciting new music format that will feature an eclectic mix of R&B, funk, jazz, blues, world music, hip-hop and more. “The Break on WUKY HD-2” will be produced and supervised by WUKY’s DeBraun Thomas.
Thomas says the vision for the programming is to provide a direct link between the legacy of “The Quiet Storm,” pioneered by Melvin Lindsey at WHUR; WERD, the first Black owned and operated radio station in Atlanta; former stations in Central Kentucky like WTLA and WCKU; and contemporary urban alternative stations across the country.
“I grew up listening to Kevin Brown every morning on KBLX in the Bay Area and it had a profound impact on me and is part of what drove me to a career in radio,” Thomas said. “Having the opportunity to program music that gives honor to ‘The Quiet Storm’ and other formats that laid the foundation for urban alternative while carving our own path and looking towards the future of public radio, is the honor of a lifetime and I can’t wait for what the future holds here at WUKY.”
Currently, the service is a jukebox of personally curated music, but this is only the beginning for “The Break.” Thomas says that while he’ll be doing the programming, there are also plans in place to bring in new talent.
“It’s an exciting opportunity, particularly when it comes to the possibility of bringing in new DJs and producers, Lexington is ripe with talent,” Thomas said. “One of the key parts of the success and legitimacy of urban alternative is the presentation by personalities who know and love this music. It is my hope that we will be able to bring on new and more diverse voices to steward the music and programming.”
You can tune into “The Break” on WUKY HD-2 on an HD Radio, through a smart speaker, the WUKY app or online at wuky.org.
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