KEEPIN’ IT FRESH
Tony Montana jams the airwaves

By CAMILLE SCRINGER

At the hour when commercial hip hop is nicely tucked into bed, DJ Tony Montana and the Shut It Down DJs Squad bring throwback magic to the airwaves. Every Saturday from midnight to 3 a.m., WMNF 88.5 FM embraces genuine rap music with their Saturday Night Shutdown.

Montana, who dons the moniker “The Bad Guy” for his show, is in fact just the opposite. He’s more of a radio Robin Hood, stealing airtime from blinging artists to give local fame-seekers a chance to shine.

“If the quality is there and a person’s taken the effort to put their product together in a professional way, then I take that into consideration,” Montana said. “I may be the only outlet [local rap artists] have for radio out here.”

The Black Jack Boys, Laws, C-Skills and Prolific are just a few Tampa talents who have left footprints in the station’s studio, hoping to be heard and gain support from their home team.

Don’t get it twisted – opening windows and creating avenues for locals is only one chemical in WMNF’s formula for late-night hip hop. The funky-freshness of the Saturday Night Shutdown intoxicates listeners with hardcore underground music, giving them what other stations cannot.

“I get new music every week, and you will never hear the same song on the same day more than once,” Montana boasted. “I deal directly with the record labels and can get [the CDs] on that night.”

Perhaps that’s the very same reason why a show started behind a church with a crate full of records now broadcasts worldwide via the Web.

“I have people that listen every weekend,” Montana said. “I get e-mails from all over, from Canada to Iraq.”

While The Bad Guy assures us one of his goals this year is to increase the number of online listeners, the show’s longevity (with roots stemming back to the early ’80s) proves it already has strong community support.

Montana made it clear there aren’t any corporations to lean on for financial support. “We get all our money from the community, one dollar at a time,” he said. At the end of the day, the Shutdown is a springboard Montana hopes will catapult him into the heart of the community, where he’d like to become a household name.

“I want people to remember me for what I’ve done for Tampa, whether it be for the local artists or just listeners,” Montana said. “I give up my Saturday nights for Tampa. I do that.”

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