Do you love hip-hop? Do you love Christian contemporary music? Do you live in Austin? Great news: There’s a radio station for you.
Earlier this week, Christian hip-hop radio brand BOOST Radio launched in Austin. BOOST will play on Austin’s already established 92.1 FM station, owned by national Christian radio network K-Love. Austin is the ninth market to get BOOST, based out of St. Louis and owned by Gateway Creative Broadcasting. The company already blasts biblical beats through K-Love’s transmitters in Chicago; Fayetteville, North Carolina; Lansing, Michigan; Memphis; Minneapolis; Portland, Oregon; Pittsburgh and Phoenix, Arizona.
BOOST’s new move into Austin comes as part of a rapid expansion on the part of Gateway Creative. Last month, Gateway took over a beloved community radio station in St. Louis, KDHX, and turned it into a rhythmic adult contemporary station. Already, Gateway owns 99.1 Joy FM, a contemporary Christian station, and Boost 95.5, a Christian urban contemporary station, in St. Louis. KDHX had already stopped broadcasting after its former owners silenced the station to community outcry, per reporting from St. Louis Public Radio. And last fall, Gateway brought its BOOST brand to Memphis.
What can one hear on BOOST? According to the brand’s website, “BOOST Radio is Hip Hop Built Different.” The station blasts “music & shows adding inspiration & motivation to your daily grind.” BOOST takes pains on its website to differentiate itself from other rap and hip-hop stations. Under a section titled “What You Will Not Hear,” BOOST says that the station doesn’t promote “Profanity. Misogyny. Violence. Ads.”
“We’re here to help build your faith, not tear it down,” the website reads. “A lot of our songs are about your connection to God. Some are about your relationships with others (friends, crushes, etc.). A few are honestly just good, clean fun!”
Christian hip-hop is huge right now. Riding the coattails of Christian music’s generally wide appeal, Christian hip-hop has experienced massive growth since the mid-2010s. Houston-native Christian rapper Lecrae has broken through as a pioneering figure in the genre when his 2014 record “Anomaly” hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Apps dedicated to Christian rap and hip-hop streaming have launched, and SiriusXM launched its “Holy Culture Radio” station featuring Christian hip-hop in 2022. Besides Lecrae, fellow Houstonian Corey Paul and Dallas-native Trip Lee have seen success in the genre.BOOST’s move into Austin is part of a broader, largely unnoticed, unless you’re hip to it, growth in Christian music.
Per NPR, contemporary Christian music (CCM) had its biggest streaming year on Spotify last year, growing by 60 percent globally over the past five years. Christian rappers are crossing over with popular rappers like Jelly Roll, and songs consistently go viral on Instagram Reels and TikTok.
“This is the most exciting time to be in Christian music,” Holly Zabka, president of Provident, a Sony Music subsidiary dedicated to Christian music, told NPR. “I don’t think we’ve ever been in this season of opportunity.”
While this reporter doesn’t consider herself part of the target market, I can attest that some of the songs I heard while listening to BOOST were, in fact, good, clean fun. Having never really delved into the world of Christian hip-hop, I found many of the songs well-produced and even catchy. I imagine if I were a Christian or a person who describes myself as having a “daily grind,” I would probably find it motivational. If I were in an Uber and heard this stuff, I think I’d probably find BOOST’s programming inoffensive and maybe even pleasant.
“Trying to live right, but still love a good bass drop?” a commercial on BOOST asks. “We GOT you.”
