Urban Alternative Project ''Carbon Sound'' Launches

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, June 16, 2022

''Carbon Sound''

The Current launches "Carbon Sound," a new music stream, website and app dedicated to celebrating the influence of Black musical expression through genres including Hip-Hop, Afrobeats, Funk, R&B and Electronica, honoring the foundational role of Black music throughout all genres of music. Carbon Sound can be found at carbonsound.fm and on Carbon Sound's new app in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

The project is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and has been developed in partnership with KMOJ-FM-HD2 (89.9 The Ice) in Minneapolis. The team behind Carbon Sound is content director Julian Green; the voice of Carbon Sound, Sanni Brown; and community engagement specialist Andre Griffin. Other stations launching in this new format include Radio Milwaukee and WJSU-FM in Jackson, MS.

Julian Green built and manages the music library for Carbon Sound and oversees content output. During his time at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, he was Program Director of Radio K and founded their online Hip-Hop stream The Vanguard. "The mission and the vision here are my passions. It's showing the depth, breadth and beauty of Black musical expression and showing how it's foundational to the whole canon of musical expression in this country," he said.

Sanni Brown is the host of "The Message," The Current's hip-hop and R&B show airing Wednesdays. The show will now also be heard on "Carbon Sound," airing Monday through Thursday from 10am-1pm.

KMOJ's Center for Communication and Development (CCD) and KMOJ-FM General Manager Freddie Bell said, "This partnership will help extend and help elevate what we're doing on The Ice and beyond. Now listeners who are looking for a wider variety of Black music in the Twin Cities will have a destination to find all these different sources of programming."

"I'm excited for MPR to be joining the cohort of new stations under the CPB's project to develop a new format for public media. We're so proud of the work this team has done to create such a powerful addition to the local music community," added The Current Managing Director David Safar. "We're also grateful to the funding from the CPB and thrilled to be collaborating with Freddie, his team at KMOJ and The ICE."