smackfest

A few weeks ago I read an article in The New Yorker entitled ‘Where Hip-Hop Lives’ – about the legendary New York hip-hop radio station WQHT – aka Hot 97, or Shot 97 as the case may be. The article goes to great length discussing the numerous controversies that continually surround the radio station and its headquarters on Hudson Street – payola, gunfire etc. - but for the purposes of Yeeeaaah Hot, I will only be discussing one thing – Smackfest! For those of you who are not in the know, the following is from the aforementioned article -

Hot 97’s recent broadcasting legacy is largely confined to shock humor. Smackfest, an extremely popular segment that began airing in the spring of 2004, featured pairs of listeners, mostly women, who’d been invited up to the studio and were asked to slap one another in the face, nine times each, with merit points awarded for style and enthusiasm, and a cash prize given to the consensus “winner.” (“We got mouth blood!” one d.j. said, after the sound of palm on cheek, in the middle of a fierce showdown between Kemeisha, from Queens, and Ray Ray, from Brooklyn.) It continued into 2005, when Eliot Spitzer, the New York state attorney general, intervened at the behest of six city council members and found the contests to be in violation of the state’s “combative sports” statute. (Only boxing, wrestling, and martial-arts exhibitions or matches are permitted.)

Smackfest eventually landed Hot 97 a fine of nearly a quarter of a million dollars! For your viewing pleasure, I present a vintage clip from a Smackfest in the summer of 2004. In it, two women face off– Aiesha, on the left (representing New Jersey) and Jitara, on the right (representing New York). The rules are simple – stay to the cheek, and open hand only! The prize - $1000 and tickets to Hot 97’s Summer Jam. Now here’s the thing – all I’m going to say is that when Jersey (Aiesha) rolls up her sleeves – you know the bitch means business.

Ok ok – so as low brow as this might be, don’t forget that I started off by making mention of The New Yorker, which, in my mind, elevates the intellectual aspect of this post – if only ever so slightly. Three cheers for Smackfest!