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On Show #248, the second half of Soundscapes of Chester, Jay Ray talks with Christopher R. Rogers, Ph.D., about My City Need Something, the book that began as a letter to PnB Rock. This issue also looks back at the Nov. 5 live show with DJ Sir Daniel and Jay Ray, and pays tribute to two pioneers: Detroit techno originator Juan Atkins and Kool DJ Red Alert.
In this issue...
Soundscapes of Chester, Part 2: My City Need Something
Christopher R. Rogers wrote a letter to PnB Rock the week the Philadelphia rapper was killed in 2022, and it grew into My City Need Something: Portraits and Prose for Black Existence, made with photographer karim brown. Rogers explains how he "sampled" brown's photographs the way a producer samples a record, why hip hop scholarship should study State Property and Jadakiss alongside Tupac and Common, and why Chester still feels like the Southern cousin who moved north. The Remix plays PnB Rock, Beanie Sigel, George Benson and Patti LaBelle in full.
From the November 5th live show
Two days after the midterms, DJ Sir Daniel and Jay Ray went live on near-record midterm turnout and history-making firsts in Georgia, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Interscope's $50 million suit against Summer Walker, and Timbaland's suit against his former managers, before closing with tributes to two pioneers. The replay is here for paid members.
Flowers for Juan Atkins and Kool DJ Red Alert
Juan Atkins, the Detroit techno originator and one of the Belleville Three with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, died at 64; the news broke Nov. 1, 2026. His group Cybotron released "Alleys of Your Mind" in 1981 and "Clear," which Missy Elliott sampled on "Lose Control."
Kool DJ Red Alert, who started on 98.7 KISS-FM in 1983 and championed Boogie Down Productions, Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Queen Latifah, signs off with a four-hour mix on 107.5 WBLS on Nov. 30, 2026.
Song of the Week: Cybotron, "Clear"
Juan Atkins and Richard "3070" Davis made "Clear" in Detroit, and a generation of hip-hop fans first heard it inside Missy Elliott's "Lose Control."
"Juan was the originator of Techno, a true visionary who opened the door for so many of us, myself included." — Kevin Saunderson
Read the full issue below.