Since 2014, NuBRLRadio has supported the hip-hop scene in Ottawa every Friday with a two hour show on CHUO 89.1 FM. Airing from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., the show broke new records, featured special guests, and provided listeners with a perfect hip-hop escape to wrap up their workweek.
It started out in 2009 with DJ Alive as the DJ and Ya Favourite Lightskin (aka Dynamic) as the host of what was originally called The B.R.L. Show (Beats, Rhymes, Life), and then Lil Thrilla took over the hosting duties when Ya Favourite Lightskin relocated to Toronto. Since then, Thrilla’s been at the helm of the show, which re-branded to NuBRLRadio when he joined in 2014.
DJ Alive & Lil Thrilla of NuBRLRadio (Photo: Supplied)
But earlier this year, DJ Alive and Thrilla made a surprising announcement when they revealed that NuBRLRadio would be coming to an end before the start of 2020. Unfortunately for us, and all of their other loyal listeners, tomorrow (Friday, Dec. 6) will be their very last episode.
Luckily, both DJ Alive and Lil Thrilla have plans to support the scene through other ventures, but we’ll have to wait and see what they get into. They were pretty tight lipped about what’s coming next in a recent interview we conducted with them, but they did answers a bunch of NuBRLRadio-related questions including why they’re ending the show, and what to expect from the series finale.
Check out the Q&A below and make sure you tune into CHUO 89.1 FM tomorrow afternoon (local time) between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to tune in to the last episode. You can also listen online by visiting CHUO.fm.
DJ Alive & Lil Thrilla of NuBRLRadio (Photo: Supplied)
Q&A: DJ Alive & Lil Thrilla
HipHopCanada: What year did NuBRLRadio start?
DJ Alive: The B.R.L. Show started in 2009 with Dynamic (aka Ya Favourite Lightskin) and I. After Dynamic left for Toronto in 2014, Lil Thrilla took over the hosting role of the show which was re-branded as NuBRLRadio.
Lil Thrilla: I was a guest on the BRL show at the time and I seen Alive was alone and we spoke after in regards to Ya Favourite Lightskin leaving, and I was highly interested so I gave it a shot.
HipHopCanada: The big question is what brought on the decision to bring the radio show to an end?
DJ Alive: We both decided due to change, growth and the desire to pursue other ventures.
Lil Thrilla: After building this brand and résumé, it felt like it was time to open our horizons and see what’s out in the world to further my radio host/personality career.
HipHopCanada: Can you speak on what you have in store for your final episode?
DJ Alive: We put together a few background stories, new music, some throwbacks and recognition for the people that have always supported the radio show.
Lil Thrilla: We invited past guests and friends to come by our last show, we are gonna talk about our time on radio, reminisce and play some hot records.
HipHopCanada: Will you be starting any new radio/podcast related initiatives?
DJ Alive: We can’t speak on that at the moment.
Lil Thrilla: We are always evolving.
HipHopCanada: What are your favourite memories from doing the show?
DJ Alive: We were the voice for the community and also putting artists on. Giving these artists that we respect a platform to share their art with a community that listens.
Lil Thrilla: We were able to break records and artists to our city and the world, while giving a lane to up and coming artists in Ottawa and across Canada and US and airing some of our listeners favourite artists/ music and doing interviews.
DJ Alive & Lil Thrilla of NuBRLRadio (Photo: Supplied)
HipHopCanada: What was your favourite episode? Why?
Lil Thrilla: Our favourite episodes would come after big events that we were involved with. We would meet some of our fans at these events. It was always a nice feeling to share our appreciation for our fans on air the following day.
HipHopCanada: How did you guys initially meet? What do you remember most about the first time meeting?
DJ Alive: We met through the hip-hop scene in Ottawa. Thrilla was motivated and ready to learn. I was already running the BRL show and needed a co-host. Thrilla was already developing CapCityHipHop and so it only made sense he would take over as the new host of the show and help with the new direction our favourite genre of music was taking.
HipHopCanada: Will fans of NuBRLRadio able to stream older episodes once the show comes to an end?
Lil Thrilla: Yes. Certain episodes are available on our YouTube channel. We should be posting some older episodes online to stream as well.
HipHopCanada: Are you guys booked for any upcoming events?
DJ Alive: I’ll be at the Hip Hop Food Drive on Friday, Dec. 13 in Ottawa.
Lil Thrilla: I’m currently taking hosting bookings for 2020.
HipHopCanada: Last song you listened to?
DJ Alive: “Family and Loyalty” by Gang Starr.
Lil Thrilla: “Laneswitch” by Lil Tjay.
Listen to NuBRLRadio online by visiting CHUO.fm.
5 Ways to Support HipHopCanada:
- Submit Your Music
- Follow Canadian Fresh (HipHopCanada’s Spotify Playlist)
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on X (Twitter)
- Like us on Facebook
