Big up your station

Fuckin ell!!!! Sometimes I lose my faith in UK Garage, then I hear a set on pirate radio like the one I'm listenin to right now on Deja Vu and it just makes me realise the passion and energy in the UKG vibe. It is absolutely bloody heavy sometimes, if you get the right DJ on the case and the right tunes. Add the interactivity of textin in and the missed calls and it's a real subculture which just kicks so hard!!! The non-garageheads would not get this and non-londoners cannot understand this vibe, it's not like anything outside of London.

Pirate radio, the new educator of the masses. This is the voice of the streets, the latest tunes being smashed to pieces by the best DJs and MCs, it has raw energy that just cannot be matched. God forbid that the government clamps down on this, cos this is brilliant.

But I hear rumours through the grapevine that the government are going to start fining venues that hire garage DJs. These guys are part of an underground culture doing there own thing, pursuing a passion and getting tiny money for doing what they believe in. It's keepin em off the streets and not hurting anyone. They are perfecting their skills on the mic and the decks and entertaining the people.

The problem is a lack of understanding by the government of the need for pirate radio on the streets where the kids really need an outlet for their thoughts and feelings. Pirate radio represents a feeling, a cultural vibe a feeling of outlet for a generation and by clamping down on this rather than say drug dealing they are really wasting time and money. What are the disaffected youth going to do once they have it all taken away? They will become more disaffected and disillusioned and turn to crime.

The DTI, in their crackdown on the pirates are trampling all over something they really cannot comprehend. Pirate radio is a cultural catalyst, not a menace to society. This is the voice of real people and by clamping down they are effectively taking away our voice.

Let's look at the fact that it's illegal for a second.

Why does an acticity become illegal? Any activity which causes harm to any member of society has a right to classified as illegal in the public interest, as it is surely the duty of the law to protect the upstanding members of it's society. It has been argued that pirate radio contributes to damaging our record industry as royalties are not paid to the artists when a tune is played, but lets be realistic about this for a second. We the listener go out and buy the tune when we hear it on the pirates because it has credibility. The pirates have been responsible for breaking many artists into the public consciousness and in some cases have been the sole reason for some artists existence. Most mainstream stations wouldn't dare to stick their necks out far enough to actually play these tunes, so underground pirate airplay actually gives the artist sales and hence money. Far from harming the industry the pirates are surely contributing and from their own pockets at that. The illegality of Pirate radio shows that the law does not stop to consider the circumstances surrounding pirate stations, which are set up from a passion for music and shows an ignorance of the scene which they are trampling over.

Long live the pirate stations, the voice of the people.

Big up yourselves
The Hawk
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