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Keith C. Perrin, Shay McCray Talk How FUBU Radio Is Taking Over

This article is more than 2 years old.

The name FUBU is legendary the world of fashion. Starting in 1992 with just a collection of hats and t-shirts, the company would evolve into a global brand bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue at it’s peak. “For Us, By Us” became synonymous with Black excellence. But since 2015, FUBU Radio has been planning to transform audio content. The innovative station id poised to make a major impact in Black radio and beyond.

I spoke with FUBU co-founder Keith C. Perrin and radio host Shay McCray about why audio content still matters and the future of FUBU radio.

Grove: FUBU is one of the most recognizable brands in fashion over the last 30 years. Tell me what made you want to step into the audio world and start a radio station?

Perrin: Back in 2001, we had a record label and we put out a couple albums so that was kind of the start when I look back. But around 2015, one of my good friends Demetrius Brown, was like, “Did you ever think about doing radio?” I was like, “Nah, I never thought about doing radio.” He kept sending me little notes and different articles about radio stations and how vital they were to the culture. At the time, I was trying to be relaunch FUBU and didn’t really have time for that and plus I thought I needed a radio station. So he kind of broke down everything that I would need and as he broke it down to me, I pretty much had what we what would need. It was just about jumping out on faith and launching the brand. We launched it on Christmas eve of 2015.

Grove: Shay, how did you become a part of the team?

McCray: We’re both laughing because I always tell this funny story. My uncle who is a friend of Keith’s put me on the phone with him and he said, “Oh, your in radio?” Then he didn't answer my calls for one year [Laughs]. I’ll never forget in December of 2019, I was on my way to India and he called me asked was I still interested in radio. I was like, “Absolutely but I can't see you for two weeks because I’ll be in India.” He told me that he saw me working in the industry and wanted to know if I wanted to work with FUBU. I don’t know if I was ready when I called him but I knew I was ready when he called me.

Grove: Why were you drawn to FUBU radio?

McCray: Because it was FUBU! I mean coming up in that era everybody wanted to be a part of the FUBU and guys behind the brand. They paved the way for fashion designers by letting us know that you can be Black and still do this.I remember seeing LL Cool J with the FUBU hat on in the Gap commercial. I wanted to stand behind something that I actually believed in. It comes off a little bit better when you believe in what your’re representing.

Grove: Speaking of the Gap commercial, Keith, how did yall pull off getting all the free advertising with LL rocking your brand in a Gap commercial?

Perrin: It's a funny story behind that because LL was very conscious about his hats back in the day. When he did the Gap commercial, they didn't have a hat to fit him. I remember sitting in my office in the Empire State building and I got a call saying, “Hey, they don't have a hat to fit LL in here. Can he wear a FUBU hat?” I was like, “Hell yeah he can wear a FUBU hat.” I went with one of my guys and I bought him some hats. The thing about it, we just approved the hat. We didn't know what he was going to rap about. We didn't know what the content was going to be about. When he wore the hat, our sells skyrocketed because people were coming in looking for it. If they couldn’t find the hat, they would buy other products. It worked out for him and it really worked out for us.

Grove: Are the any similarities with launching a clothing line and a starting a radio station?

Perrin: What’s similar is that they are both hard. I didn't have any any schooling in fashion. I just knew how to dress and how to put certain things together. I was always kind of a fashionable cat. I didn't have any radio experience as well. I wanted to learn as much as I could because I'm not trying to go in here and fail. I had a couple of friends that I knew in radio like Big Tigger and some other people. I would just pick their brains and take what advice that they could give me. Some of the similarities I see is that you have to get people to believe in your brand and never take anything for granted. Just because I have this successful clothing line doesn’t mean that I'm going to have a successful radio station. I don't think like that. I think you have to put the work in and not take anything for granted.

One of the biggest challenges is getting advertisers to advertise with Black radio. I think our biggest obstacle now is just getting people to advertise on the radio to see us as a brand that they can put their put their product on.

Grove: Shay, tell me about your daily show “The Takeover.”

McCray: The Takeover comes on from 4-6, Monday through Friday. When I started out, I was only on one day a week on the station. That was Thursdays from 8-9. At that time, I would fly every week to New York to do the show in the studio. I would get right off the plane and come straight to the station every week. I'm not gonna lie to you, it was hard but I did it just because I wanted to be part of history. During lock down, the station was shut down and we continued with Instagram Live. Then I was promoted to a midday show which was amazing!

So the Takeover is about celebrities, entertainment, politics, and comedy. I interview so many people from different genres, so I don't discriminate. It's about getting different content out to the world and trying to be different.

Grove: Here’s my last question: In 10 years, where do you see FUBU radio?

Perrin: I want to see FUBU Radio as one of the biggest stations out there. I don't look at it as an internet radio station. I look at it as a radio station. We do everything that a regular radio station does. We’re making sure that we have the content, the celebrities, and the right personalities. It’s been a rocky, five, six years now. I think we’re going to break through this year. I want to be one of those major radio stations that you have to mention. Just like you have to mention Fubu when you talk about fashion or when you talking about the 90s you know what I mean? That's my goal.

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