Industry Shakeup Continues For Urban Radio As Hot 97 Ends Its Longtime Morning Show
“Ebro In The Morning,” one of New York’s longest-running hip-hop morning shows, signed off the air Friday as Hot 97 continues navigating a broader shakeup in urban radio. The abrupt ending closes a chapter that began in 2012, when Ebro Darden returned to morning drive after previously hosting the slot from 2004 to 2007 while also serving as the station’s program director.
Fans learned the show was over when Darden confirmed it himself on X. “It’s done,” he wrote. “More to come. #EbroInTheMorning.” His co-hosts reacted in their own tributes. Peter Rosenberg reflected on social media, saying he had “lived out a childhood dream” and was “very excited for what’s next.” Laura Stylez shared a message on Instagram thanking listeners and her co-hosts, calling the experience an opportunity to “work with legends I love” and promising that the trio already has plans in motion for the coming year.
The show’s cancellation quickly fueled speculation, prompting Darden to expand on his earlier comments by resharing a clip offering his own theory. In the video, he suggests station ownership, which holds a stake in a Queens casino project, may want to avoid potential controversy tied to his commentary.
“You look around at all the major media outlets… they all gotta fold up because they’re all trying to renew their deals and their licenses,” Darden said. He went further, saying, “Bro’s a casino owner… He gotta raise half a billion dollars. They need my sh-t talking, anti-Netanyahu, anti-government, progressive sh-t out of the way.”
The end of “Ebro In The Morning” arrives as other familiar voices in New York radio are also exiting. Ed Lover and Miss Jones, long-standing figures in the city’s hip-hop radio landscape, have departed from 94.7 The Block, the throwback station broadcasting on WXBK in Newark and New York. Lover, who helped define Hot 97’s early legacy as its first morning show host from 1993 to 1999, marked another significant change in a shifting media moment for urban radio.
After 13 years, one of hip-hop’s most recognizable morning shows is now officially off the air, leaving many listeners wondering what the next era of New York radio will sound like—and what Darden, Rosenberg and Stylez are preparing to build next.
