Every now and again I call on all of us to support our local entertainment industry. Even though I may have criticized some organisations and artists in the past (and no doubt I will continue to do so as long as I have reason to) there is one company that over the years has seen tremendous growth, and that is Hits and Jams Entertainment.
Starting as a small entertainment company, HJ moved to beach parties, to productions and concerts, to an annual “Summer” festival that has now become a part of modern Guyanese pop culture. But that was not enough. Hits and Jams ventured into the media, first with its television station, HJTV which began on rocky grounds before including not only call-in talk shows but entertainment segments (E092), pageantry, exclusives and even the production and airing of local shows. The entertainment company began television production that often goes uncredited. The very popular Jingle and Song Competition and Feel the Beat both have HJ signatures.
But what is most talked about now is the radio station, 94.1 Boom FM, that HJ has added to its growing empire. Celebrating just one year this weekend, it has impacted on Guyanese like no other HJ production has.
Now let me begin to tell you that Guyana’s state-monopolized radio did very little for me. Apart from 98.1 Hot FM’s Casual Armstrong (DJ Casual) morning show and the Friday afternoon Soca – I wouldn’t have been caught dead listening to the radio!
This changed with HJ Radio a year ago. Ask my editor, there was a time she could never get on to me before 10 am. Better yet, ask my mom who used to ring the house phone from her office to get me up; I am not a morning person. But the one show that gets me up, or even better keeps me up is “Jumpstart” with the voices of Gordon Moseley and Nuriyyih Gerrard and Selector ‘Green Dungs’ on the console. You really can’t get that combination anywhere else.
The show without a doubt raised the bar among morning radio shows. From the typical announcements we hear: weather, airport schedules, traffic and the news to a more interesting uptake on waking up and feeling the morning vibes. There’s a daily message, a daily topic, a health tip and even a “Boom Song of the Day”. Jumpstart has skyrocketed with people blasting the lines to try to be part of HJ Radio; to get their views heard, to have a conversation with the presenters, to laugh a little.
This is not unique to Boom FM, but its producers, hosts and DJs served to make it better; voices like Feliz Robertson, Malcolm Ferreira, Kerwin Bollers, Rawle Ferguson, the ‘Re-mix Chick’ and others bring their personality, their style and their spirit to radio.
People wanting to be closer to the radio station can do so through an app on their smartphones, or listen online. They can comment via Facebook and Twitter as well. Boom FM has introduced international calling, reaching out to the Guyanese diaspora around the world and it works.
Boom FM lives by its motto: ‘Next Generation Radio’.
Adding to Hits and Jams Entertainment’s creativity and progressive nature, this year in celebration of Boom FM’s first anniversary, it is hosting the “Hits and Jams Mashramani Awards”. In so doing it will not only support local artistes but offer a fillip to the local industry, and perhaps prolong the creativity and artistic expressions after the Mashramani season.
HJ has revolutionized the local entertainment industry. I guess the question on everyone’s lips is ‘what will they do next?!’