How Classic 105 Can Improve

Apart from Kenyan music, the genre of music I most prefer listening to is the classics. If I’m not jamming to the latest genge tune, then I’m probably going to be surfing videos of Don Cornelius’ “Soul Train” on YouTube. Because of this, Classic is one of my favorite radio stations, and many Kenyans are with me on that. However, while they have a good product, Classic 105 is far from perfect. Here are some of the ways I think they could style up:

Suggestion #1. Supplement Maina and King’ang’i’s Show:

This is a contentious one, as many conservative Kenyans would like to see the show disbanded altogether. But as they say: men lie, women lie, numbers don’t. When we look at the numbers from the latest Kenya Advertising Research Foundation report on radio stations, they clearly show that this is the most popular radio programme in the country.

While this is a good thing for Maina and King’ang’i, I don’t think it bodes well for Classic 105 as a company. It’s never advisable to have your brand so tightly attached to an individual(or two). What happens when Maina is hit by a bus?

Classic have to mitigate for this, and here is my idea as to how they can do it…

I believe Classic’s best bet would be to come up with a drive show to compete with A Mbusii Deh and Willy M. Tuva for the afternoon radio throne. My suggestion would be a show where the host plays old songs which have been sampled by today’s artists. Here is an example of what I’m talking about:

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That’s Mtume’s song “Juicy Fruit.” It was sampled in the following hip hop song:

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Imagine a show where more of these samples are uncovered. It would be BALLISTIC.

Suggestion #2: Play songs from before the 70s

Classic 105 so far only play old songs dating back to around 1970. But this means that they are missing out on playing some of the great musicians from the 60s, 50s, 40s and beyond, like Louis Armstrong. Here he is singing “What a Wonderful World”:

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And how about Otis Redding, the hitmaker from the 50s and 60s, singing “Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay”

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These are the classic classics which Classic 105 is missing out on. Get these on board and I’m sure quality of the station will improve dramatically.

And the third way Classic can improve, I will leave up to the audience. What changes would you like to see to this station?