Box Mobile Radio aims to fill in the gaps in local hip-hop music left by radio

Graffiti Black and his team -- Big Mike Smooth and the rest of the crew from the now-defunct Livewire program Your Favorite Show -- have decided to change the way local music is heard in Denver and maintain a progressive listening audience by offering a platform for local artists to highlight their sounds.

Shirking the concept of mainstream radio altogether, the idea for Box Mobile Radio was born out of a need for more local artist support and exposure to its listening audience. Mainstream radio is at its height, but it has completely lost touch with the hip-hop crowd, Graffiti insists.

"If you turn on KS107.5, which claims to be Colorado's only "Hip Hop and R&B" FM radio station, it is almost guaranteed that you will hear a repeated playlist of pop/techno music with a little bit of mainstream rap sprinkled in every now and again," he alleges. "We have so many talented artists out here, yet it is damn near impossible for a local artist to earn a daytime slot in FM-radio rotation. This has been a problem for many years. We just decided to do something about it."

Box Mobile Radio will essentially be a cell-phone application that mainly plays local music all day. And while it will primarily feature Colorado music, Graffiti and company will accept submissions from other independent artists for rotation consideration.

While the idea sounds similar to Pandora Radio, one of the more popular streaming sites out now, Box Mobile will stream music all day, as well, but it will also broadcast local radio shows throughout the week that will include sports, news, fashion, gossip and other topics.

"What sets us apart from other mobile apps is the ability to connect listeners. Our "Connect" feature will allow listeners to create profiles and chat amongst each other," Graffiti explains. "They will also be able to integrate Facebook and Twitter profiles within the application."

Box Mobile radio will be available on all Android, BlackBerry and Apple platforms and online at connectthebox.com. The local hip-hop scene appears to be supporting the movement. So far, Food Chain, Jewell Tyme, Julox, Innerstate Ike and many others have submitted music.

"Artists, keep in mind that Box Mobile Radio will be available nationwide," Graffiti says. "You will be heard by many people. We would like to showcase every artist we receive music from, but keep in mind, not all music is good music. Artists should send their best-quality MP3s to [email protected] to get connected."

The app should be available in mid-February.