The student-run, online radio station WMBC threw a live DJ party in lower Flat Tuesdays on Thursday night. Their goal was to spread the word about the station and hopefully gain new listeners. Technical delays and low turnout in the beginning made the party slow to start, but the event eventually gained momentum.
Udi Onyile, a junior majoring in media and communications studies and Spanish, attended as a member of WMBC. Onyile co-hosts “The Kudi Show,” a talk show that airs on Friday afternoons.
Onyile found the station through Involvement Fest her freshman year. She enjoys the responsibilities, but admits there are challenges in finding a new audience.
“The radio station’s online, so people don’t have the initiative to go on and listen,” Onyile said.
She also noted that the station has been absent from the UMBC community, but this year WMBC is trying to turn things around.
“This is the first event that we’ve had in a while, so we’re kind of testing a little bit for future events,” Onyile said. “I really envision WMBC being the fun thing to do on campus. People can go and listen to me and have a good time.”
Onyile’s colleagues played samplings of what they offer on their music shows. The music selection ran the gamut from old school indie music to hip hop to house mixes.
Kennedy Solomon, a freshman undecided major, was set to play EDM. New to the station, Solomon discovered the position on myUMBC. He does not yet have a show on air, but was happy to participate in Thursday’s event.
Solomon explained, “I like to DJ. I’ve been doing it for the past two, two and a half years. I saw that there was a chance to DJ for the radio station and I just took it.”
Solomon also plays lacrosse for UMBC. Before his set began, his team filtered into Flat Tuesdays to show their support. The crew quickly filled the small room and cheered loudly for their teammate.
Another well received set that evening was from Thomas Jasmine, a junior transfer student hoping to major in music technology. His stage name is DJ Soul and Jasmine’s show “Soul Tunes” features hip hop and R&B and airs at 10 p.m. on Mondays.
Like Onyile, Jasmine feels that getting students to listen to the station is a challenge.
“I know that the radio station hasn’t always been the popping thing on campus,” he said as he prepared his set list on his laptop. “I guess getting our DJs at the station more involved and more excited about their shows, and then getting us all better exposure on campus like events like this will help.”
