The Drop 104.7 Celebrates Women in Hip-Hop and R&B at Third Annual Block Party

Anyone who listens to 104.7 The Drop knows they'll get high-energy, entertaining hosts and unsurpassed hip-hop and R&B tracks every time they tune in. But the station's hosts are also adept at throwing parties — something they've proven since the First Annual Block Party kicked off the summer in 2021. And they'll be at it again on Saturday, June 10, when The Drop's Third Annual Block Party takes over Denver's Levitt Pavilion with sets from Triiip, Danae Simone, SWV (Sisters With Voices) and 2023 Grammy Award winner Muni Long.

The Drop, known as "the people's radio" for R&B and hip-hop, debuted in 2019 and won a Westword Best of Denver award in 2020 for Best New Radio Station for mixing the usual hit tracks with music from fresh, up-and-coming local artists. Despite its youth, the station has already broken several barriers: It's just one of seven "urban alternative" public radio stations in the country, and its (and KUVO's) general manager, Nikki Swarn (who also deejays under the name Amerykah Jones), is the first female African American radio station general manager in Colorado history.
"We had an idea when we created this radio station that it really was for the people and by the people," Swarn says. "They named us. We talk about that all the time. They selected the name The Drop. We didn't pick that; that was selected by the Colorado community."

Swarn wanted to thank that community for its unwavering support, and that's where the Block Party came in. "It grew and grew into this idea," she recalls. "A big love letter for [The Drop's] birthday, celebrating broadcast excellence and giving that back to the community for free."

Unique, assistant program director at The Drop and KUVO, was the one who suggested that the party have an all-female lineup. "It's really special, because so often you don't get to hear these voices of color coming forward, producing concerts and producing live shows," he says. "Every show is very intentional. ... And with the political environment being where it is with women and the attack on womanhood and female personalities, this seemed like the right thing to do at the right time." 

The Drop called on its listeners to decide which local hip-hop and R&B artists would take the stage at Levitt. The station hosted a freestyle cypher competition in April titled Battle for the Block, and filmed it at the Buell Public Media Center. "Finding those independent artists for that cypher — that was something amazing that we did," Unique says. 

Such cyphers are "nothing new to the hip-hop world," he adds, "but it was something new that we brought to the city, and the way we brought it to the city — [putting] those independent artists on that platform, the platform that we have and we build, to get them out there to be seen and heard." Nearly 7,000 listeners watched the performance videos and voted for their favorite performer, with local legend Triiip (formerly known as Jay Triiiple) winning the coveted performance slot.

"The competition was crazy," Triiip recalls. "I remember people telling me, 'Oh, you got it in the bag, because you're well known out here.' And I'm like, 'Nah, that doesn't mean anything. These girls are going to try to really get it because it's a great opportunity.' Getting to open up for SWV and Muni Long? Anybody would go hard for that."
Triiip began rapping as a child, freestyling with cousins before quickly discovering that she had a talent for music creation and loved the creative outlet it gave her. "I was always pretty quiet and misunderstood, so it just started as being therapeutic for me," Triiip says.

She started recording in high school, and her music career snowballed from a plethora of performances around Denver. But her recent enrollment in the Los Angeles Academy for Artists and Music Production has been a game-changer.

Since starting at LAAMP in September, Triiip's production process has evolved dramatically. What used to be a solo endeavor — writing music at home and recording by herself in a studio — has transformed into a collaboration-oriented production. LAAMP pairs Triiip with different artists and producers every week, and they all bounce ideas off each other, creating as they go.

As for her relationship with The Drop, Triiip says she has been listening to the station since it started. "Nikki is like a mentor to me, kind of like a big sister. She's always supported me, believed in me and is always super encouraging," Triiip emphasizes. "I got mad love for The Drop, for sure."

Although Triiip plans to reside in Los Angeles after graduation — the LAAMP program ends two days before the Block Party — whenever Denver or The Drop calls, she'll be there. "I feel like I'm coming home, being like, 'Yo, I did it, now we get to turn up,'" she says. "I have a lot of people that are mad excited for me to come back, and I am, too. We will just rock out, use it as a celebration for graduation or something." 
The Third Annual Block Party will also include more local flavor from R&B and neo-soul singer Danae Simone, who organized Women Crush Wednesday Live in 2017. Simone has been immersed in jazz and gospel since she was three years old and released her first solo track, "Hit It," in 2015. "I got a lot of response from the city, and everyone was super supportive. Everyone loved the video," Simone says. "And that's where it took off and I was like, 'I can start doing this.' And the rest has been history."

Simone weaves her personal experiences into the lyrics of each song. But she has to find a beat that matches her emotions in order to unlock her iconic lyrical flow. "It starts from something that I've experienced, or maybe a mental space that I'm in," she explains.

Her team will then send her a package of beats, and she'll sift through them until she finds the one that resonates with her feelings. Then she lets all of her emotions out in the studio through powerful, raw lyrics. "I think that's what separates me from a lot of other artists, because I'm not really trying to make a hit song," she says. "I'm just trying to express myself and be relatable to what people actually go through."

Simone's new single, "Crown," produced by Miccoats and FDotLawless, dropped on June 2. She describes the track as a freedom song and a summer anthem for women who have outgrown their relationships. "When you leave those relationships and start hanging out with your friends again and start going out again, you just start to feel alive and you feel better," Simone says. "And people are like, 'Oh, you look different and you have a new aura about you.' That's what 'Crown' is about."

Simone admires all of the other artists performing at the Block Party, emphasizing that they are "super-legendary women, not only just for women in the industry, but for brown-skinned women," she says. "It's going to be a night of R&B, and I'm looking forward to being able to celebrate women and Black women and really represent R&B well in Colorado, where it's not that known."

The Drop 104.7 Third Annual Block Party, 6-10 p.m. Saturday, June 10, Levitt Pavilion, 1380 West Florida Avenue. The event is sold out, but tickets can be won through The Drop.